Wings of Fire: The Forgotten World

Chapter 55

By CamsterDragon
Hemlock's POV

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no... Hemlock remembered now. How could he have ever forgotten in the first place? Pleiades was so amazing and kind and generous, and he had forgotten her just by falling unconscious. But, the worst part of it was that he also recalled the things he had said to her before he had remembered. And he would never forgive himself for that.

"Please forgive me," he repeated, louder this time. He could see the hurt shining in Pleiades's eyes from his earlier words. "I- I couldn't remember you! None of those things I said are true.. you're the kindest dragon I've ever met and definitely not a monster.. or anything close and..."

She smiled, and Hemlock almost passed out again with relief. "It's okay, I understand." Was it just Hemlock's imagination or was her voice a little quieter than usual? She frowned. "But, why did you come after me?! You could have gotten seriously hurt!"

"I couldn't do nothing," he argued, slightly flustered from going over what he had said to Pleiades earlier. "You're incredibly strong even without being able to use your acid, but Shatteredmoon's soldiers are ruthless!"

She sighed. "Fair enough." She studied him. "But, at least tell me this. How did you beat five armored Smokewings by yourself?"

"I..." Hemlock blinked. Had he really done that? It seemed so surreal now, as though from a dream. All he remembered was the emotions.. of being terrified for Pleiades.. and then the power.. the buzzing in his claws... And then nothing.

"I'm.. not.. sure..." Hemlock frowned. He was feeling strange. As though, upon looking back, he realized he should've had a Deja Vu moment when his claws were buzzing. Something inside him screamed that it should be familiar to him. I should know. Why don't I know? Why was that so familiar?

"So.. you take out five dragons, knock yourself out, and don't know why?" Pleiades deadpanned.

"Yes?" Hemlock was confused too.

"Is it because you used to be an animus?" she asked.

Hemlock's eyes widened. Could it be...? He looked at his paws. Was that the familiar feeling I had? Did my animus powers return to me? He didn't dare to hope. "I.. maybe..."

"Why don't you test it?" Pleiades gave him a reassuring smile that made his heart flutter.

"O- okay." Hemlock looked around him and picked up an unburnt twig from the ground. He could see the fine details in the twig, every single indent magnified tenfold in his eyes. The place where the twig revealed part of its lighter colored inside in jagged streaks where it had clearly not been cut cleanly. The light green moss growing in little specks on the edges. The two spots that looked like tiny twigs coming out the sides...

He blinked. His paws were buzzing again. He could hear their hum resonate through his body like a familiar echo from long distant times. The proper words flowed out of him like wet ink on smooth parchment.

"I enchant this stick to not be affected by Sunwing poison." He could feel his own power pulsing in his paws and matching the rhythm of the stick. He could feel that as his rhythm changed, so too did the stick's. He could see the stick's faint glow that briefly became present as he enchanted it.

Then, it was over. There was no more power buzzing in his claws. There was no more intricately detailed, glowing stick. In fact, the stick looked more normal than normal could be. Almost as if it were rejecting the very thought that it had just been enchanted.

"Did.. did it work?" asked Pleiades quietly as if speaking too loud would disturb some sort of ritual.

"Let's test it," replied Hemlock. He knew he really didn't have to test it. He now felt his animus power pounding through his veins; one weight he was happy to have back. And, if he concentrated hard enough, he could smell the animus power coming off the stick. He had always assumed it was a Cloudwing animus thing.

For the sake of certainty, he held the stick against Pleiades. It didn't dissolve, it didn't sizzle, it didn't even change colors. It was still just a normal stick. A normal stick that was the first of its kind to resist Pleiades's poison.

"Oh Tarliin," he breathed. "It worked." He stared at the stick, then at his hands, then at Pleiades. "It really worked." He grabbed Pleiades by the shoulders. "PLEIADES, MY POWERS ARE BACK!" He was elated, overjoyed, ecstatic. "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!" He let go of Pleiades's shoulders and bounced around a little. Pleiades laughed. Hemlock grinned back at her. Then, something occurred to him. "Oh no, I have my powers back."

"What's wrong?" asked Pleiades.

Hemlock frowned. "When I was working for Shatteredmoon, I made him an amulet that allowed him to see whether or not animus powers had been used in a certain area. It makes the place.. glow." Hemlock shrugged. "It's hard to put into exact words. Anyway, it also tells him what animus used said powers. If he knows I've started to use my powers again, he'll come after us with even more of his forces." Hemlock shuddered. "As if now's amount wasn't bad enough."

"Isn't there something you can make now to contradict that?" asked Pleiades.

Hemlock sighed. "I guess." He glanced at his palms again and this time, disgust filled him. "But I can't help remembering how many dragons I might've hurt last time I used my powers. How can I trust myself to not turn crazy like the other animi who used their powers too much?"

"It's just one spell..."

"And which one spell will tip the balance?!" Hemlock demanded. "I've already risked too much by making a feeble twig able to resist you!" He flopped onto the ground and took a deep breath in.. and.. out. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I get it." Pleiades came over to Hemlock and sat down beside him. "Every day, I live with the constant fear that I might hurt someone I love. Just the wrong flick of my tail could cause someone to be badly hurt or worse." She sighed and looked off into the distance. "But, I still manage to keep myself from hiding in a hole the rest of my life." She looked at Hemlock again. He allowed himself to lose himself in her deep, emerald eyes. They reminded him of the pine needles on the trees of his home. He wished he could forget all of this and go back there.

But, back there he hadn't met Pleiades. Back then, he hadn't known that she wasn't just a monster in the woods.

He glanced away. "You're right. I can't imagine what you've had to go through. My problems are petty in comparison."

She snuggled up next to him, and he leaned against her. "All I'm trying to say is, I've got your back."

"And I've got yours," he murmured back, smiling. I'll protect you even if I do have to risk my soul in the process.