Wings of Fire: The Forgotten World

Chapter 52

By thedragonshifter
Pleiades's PoV

"We can't waste any time. The Darkest Flame could already be on their way thanks to their little animus traitor." Pleiades growled as Hemlock, Ash, Velocity, and her all trotted hurriedly towards Velocity's house. She had insisted on saying goodbye before they left, and Pleiades could see why, but she didn't think that stalling their mission any further was a good idea. But nevertheless, they allowed her to say goodbye one last time. This may be the last time she will ever get see her family again anyway.

Pleiades waited outside of Velocity's home with Hemlock and Ash, and it was only a few minutes before Velocity came racing back to them, looking refreshed and ready to go despite departing from her family. "Right, I'm ready. Let's do this!" She nodded her brown, spiked head and led them out of the grand city gates. And once they stepped out of the Viperwing village, Pleiades turned to take in one last look of the Golden City in all of its brilliance. There is no time to gawk. We need to move!

This time, Hemlock took the lead as he bolted down the savanna, heading towards the not-so-faraway SpiralWing kingdom. The most obvious choice for a group of wanted dragons. She thought as she ran directly behind him, followed by Velocity, and then Ash.

The swamps loomed steadily closer, and it was not long before they were squelching through foot deep muck and water. There was no time to find a Drakous to carry them across, and there were none in sight anyway. Mud splashed all over them as they slipped and slid all the way to the opposite bank and to the rain forest and the trees.

By the time they stepped onto the soil of the forest, they were completely soaked in dirty mud. But they ignored it for now and sprinted once more, tromping through the moss, vines, and trees. Ash and Velocity, with their long legs, took the lead, for it was easier for them to stride over almost all of their obstacles. But for Pleiades and Hemlock, it was a different story.

As they all began to run low on energy, Hemlock called them to a halt. So, they all skidded to a stop and sat on the soft leaf mulch, their chests heaving with fatigue. "You think that was obvious enough?" Velocity breathed quietly. Ash nodded his head ever so slightly, and Hemlock glared at them and held up a talon up to his mouth in a "ssh" motion.

They all listened to the world around them with perked ears, trying to catch just the slightest hint that they were being followed. Crack! Hiss...

Pleiades's expression melted into an even larger glare. We ARE being followed! The now familiar scent of the Darkest Flame's soldiers washed over her nose, the unmistakable scent of the ocean and stone. Ocean and stone... Could it be that they... No. It can't be possible. Living there would be a death wish.

Hemlock stood, along with everyone around him, and tilted his head upwards,"the Feather kingdom is our safest bet for now." He said loudly, and turned to look at everybody around him. At first, all of them were confused, but when Hemlock raised one brow and gave the slightest smile, they got what they were doing.

Pleiades shrugged, her tail swishing and burning a large swatch of grass,"sounds alright to me. Featherwings will totally accept a group of outlaws like us." Velocity smiled in a sort of devious way,"ahh, yes! They have all the fruit we could eat there. We won't go hungry once we've made a home in those beautiful trees."

There was another rustle in the trees above them and the scent was gone. The Darkest Flame's dragons had left to report back to Shatteredmoon. Ash dipped his head and flicked his long, purple-red tail,"let's go. I know a place where we can hide." He said quietly,"tunnels. A whole lot of 'em." They had no time to disagree before Ash gracefully bounded to the right.

Velocity followed him, and then Pleiades and Hemlock came last, silently looking out for danger. As Ash led them to his tunnel hideaways, Pleiades wished more then ever that she didn't have her death scales. Having her follow behind Hemlock, the one the Darkest Flame wanted most, and the one dragon she loved, put them all in danger of being found.  She left a trail of dead plants in her wake wherever she stepped, and if the Darkest Flame's dragons were smart enough to remember her, they would certainly notice the giant, blackened marks her scales made in the ground and around her. It was much less helpful that what she touched became diseased, and so their trail became more noticable with every minute that passed.

     She couldn't see how Hemlock hadn't realized what risk they were taking by bringing her along. She couldn't see how Hemlock didn't know that their plan was bound to fail when she was basically leading the Darkest Flame to their location like mice and a trail of cheese. Or maybe he already knows this, but just doesn't want to hurt my feelings by telling me to stay behind. Maybe... He just doesn't want anything bad to happen to me. But, what could the Darkest Flame do to me? I could kill five of them with just a flick of my tail. It's not like Fig would waste his magic on making their dragons have indestructible scales... Would he? No. He wouldn't do that. Yet, a sick feeling rose in the back of her mind that she tried to push down. Of course he wouldn't do that.

    Pleiades cringed as her foot caused a log to break in half and rot into a pile of black ashes. This is a terrible idea. "Hemlock!" Pleiades whispered and slowed down, causing Ash and Velocity to turn back. Hemlock stopped next to her and tilted his head,"what are you doing? We need to keep moving." He panted quietly, his ears flicking urgently.

     Pleiades shook her head. "No. This is a terrible plan if I'm involved in it. You know it as well as I do." She growled. Hemlock glanced at the dead, blackened earth beneath her talons, and then back at the long line of destruction that would practically act as a map to their exact location, and he dipped his head. Velocity huffed a puff of smoke from her nose and shrugged,"yah, I guess it was a bad idea to bring you along... No offense, Pleiades!" She added after she saw Pleiades's glare.

     She turned back to Hemlock, who was looking sad and uncertain as if he knew she was right but didn't want to admit it. "If I go in a different direction, at least until you are certain that you guys are safe, they won't find you. They'll find me instead, and I'm a living death machine anyway. I bet I could take on an entire group of the Darkest Flame's dragons no problem. Both of us will be safe if I don't stick to the group. And plus, it's Hemlock they're looking for, not me. So, I'll be fine." Pleiades said quietly. At first, none of them answered until Ash let out a brief sigh.

     "I suppose you're right. If we brought you with us, the Darkest Flame would no doubt find us in a heartbeat." Velocity nodded her head in agreement. She looked at Hemlock, who was trying very hard not to reveal what he was feeling. "I promise I can take care of myself, I've been doing it since I was a dragonet." She reassured him.

     Hemlock looked as if he were about to disagree before he too sighed in defeat. "You are correct. It's too much of a danger for.. you know.." He began, but Pleiades interrupted him. "I'm just trying to protect all of you. The Darkest Flame doesn't stand a chance against me, and you know it. Now, you had better start running before they find you." She growled quietly before exchanging one last glance with Hemlock and turning to run towards the direction of the Storm and Featherwings.