Flamethroat (17 page)

But my voice was drowned by the sound of the other Mages and their pleas for help.

‘
Please! I need to see my daughter-
’

‘
You took my brother!
’

‘
Where have you taken them?
’

‘
She
’
s not Human, I swear!
’

I looked at Jack for support, but his expression was bewildered. Eventually, we were buffeted by the crowd and found ourselves back on the street.

‘
Jack,
’
I breathed.
‘
All of these people have lost someone.
’

‘
There must be over a hundred people here.
’

‘
What do we do?
’
I fretted.
‘
They
’
ll never see us.
’

Jack bit his lip, his brows furrowed.
‘
I don
’
t know what to do.
’

I felt tears begin to sting my eyes. I had come all this way and I would be thwarted by the sheer amount of people who also sought an audience with
T
he Realm. But I couldn
’
t give up yet. There must be a way to get their attention.

‘
Maybe we can distract them by setting that trash can-
’

Jack eyed my wearily.
‘
No, you are not setting anything on fire.
’

‘
Perhaps Hawthorne could fly us over the fence and-
’

‘
No.
’

‘
Okay. We can find out where Korra Waterson lives and-
’

‘
Avalon, we can
’
t do anything that will result in you getting arrested. You
’
ll be no help to anyone locked in a cell.
’

‘
Do you have any ideas?
’
I said desperately.

Jack thought for a moment,
‘
I guess we can camp here and wait until they start letting people in.
’

‘
Is that it? Is that all we can do?
’
I said.

‘
I don
’
t have any other ideas. It was
T
he Realm that took your family
–
so it
’
s them we need to talk to.
’

Jack and I spent all day at the gate of
T
he Realm. As the day progressed, more people came to protest. What started off originally as one hundred people, soon swelled to triple the size. The amount of guards quadrupled.

Jack and I did not involve ourselves in the fray
–
but helped people that had sustained injuries. Grazed knees, black eyes and bloody noses were common because the guards were not gentle. One young man scaled the high fence within a matter of seconds but was soon thwarted when one of the guards captured him in a large, translucent bubble. Another young girl shrunk to the size of a mouse and scurried through people
’
s legs, but she too was captured and arrested.

By late afternoon not a single person had been granted entrance into
T
he Realm Headquarters.

‘
It
’
s hopeless,
’
I sighed.
‘
They aren
’
t letting anyone in.
’

‘
They
’
ll have to see people eventually. They
’
re
T
he Realm
–
the government
–
it
’
s their job to take care of the public.
’

I gave a snort of derision.
‘
They aren
’
t taking care of anyone Jack.
’

‘
Regardless,
’
he said,
‘
they hold the answers. We will get in one way or another.
’

‘
If we haven
’
t seen
T
he Realm before the week is out, I
’
m doing something reckless. You know that, right?
’

‘
I did assume as much,
’
Jack replied, nonchalant.
‘
Let
’
s go and get something to eat, I
’
m starving.
’

We still had most of the money that Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood had gifted us. This time around we made sure that we were extremely careful with our spending.

Dinner was cheap. We walked through the markets buying bread, goat
’
s cheese and what little meat we could afford. Our shopping done and bundled into a basket, we made our way to leave the marketplace, but stopped when we heard Jack
’
s name being called out.

‘
Jack! Jack!
’

Jack spun on the spot, trying to work out which direction the voice was coming from. My fist tightened around the handle of the basket angrily when I saw Georgia Deveraux waving a hand through the crowd. I was annoyed to see that Jack was waving back to her, a smile on his face.

Georgia pushed her way through the evening shoppers until she was in front of us.

‘
My goodness, you
’
re here!
’
She beamed up at him. She went onto her toes to kiss Jack
’
s cheek in greeting.
‘
I wondered when you would arrive. Did you just get here?
’

‘
We arrived last night,
’
Jack told her.
‘
How long have you been here?
’

‘
Three days,
’
Georgia admitted.
‘
I
’
ve rented an apartment down the road. I got it awfully cheap
–
the landlord says no one wanted to rent it because it
’
s above a funeral
parlour
.
’

I stood idly by while the pair chatted. I might have been invisible.

‘
Have you been job hunting?
’
Jack asked.

‘
Oh yes! I found work almost immediately! Concord City is so wonderful and full off opportunities. I started my new job this morning! I only just finished my first shift.
’

‘
Great!
’
said Jack.
‘
It seems like everything is working out for you. What are you doing for work?
’

I wasn
’
t sure if it was my imagination, but Georgia seemed to stiffen as she answered Jack.
‘
Oh, I got a job at a bakery.
’
She smiled widely.

‘
Really? Which one?
’
Jack asked.

‘
Oh. You wouldn
’
t know it.
’
She waved a hand.
‘
It
’
s on the other side of the city.
’

Something didn
’
t seem quite right about this.

‘
What
’
s it called?
’
I pressed.

Georgia glanced at me for a moment before answering,
‘
Concord Patisserie.
’

‘
Oh, I think I know it,
’
I lied.
‘
Perhaps we should visit you there one day. What do you think Jack?
’

‘
Oh, no, really,
’
Georgia raised her eyebrows.
‘
It would be awfully boring. Besides, we haven
’
t worked out my schedule just yet.
’

‘
Oh. What a pity,
’
I said dryly.

‘
Yes,
’
Georgia agreed, her eyes cold, but her mouth smiling.
‘
Well, what are you doing this evening, Jack?
’

Jack buried his hands deep in his pockets.
‘
We were just heading back to the lodge to eat dinner.
’
He nodded to the basket in my hands.

Georgia peered into my basket and sneered at our supplies.
‘
This
? This is what you
’
re eating for supper?
’

‘
Well, yes.
’
Jack
’
s ears went rather pink.

‘
This is no meal for a man,
’
Georgia said in shock.
‘
You need a proper dinner!
’

‘
Oh, it
’
s fine, really.
’
Jack waved a hand airily.
‘
This is luxury compared to the last week.
’

‘
You poor thing. Come back to my apartment with me and I will fix you up something warm and delicious.
’
She placed a hand onto Jack
’
s arm.

Jack turned red.
‘
Oh, I don
’
t know if I could do that.
’

‘
Don
’
t be silly.
’
She took one of his hands into both of hers,
‘
I
’
ll cook you dinner.
’

Jack bit his lip and turned to me.
‘
What do you say, Avalon? Shall we have dinner with Georgia?
’

It was clear that Georgia had not meant to invite me, her face fell as soon as Jack had asked me whether I wanted to go. I did not want to go, but I did not want Jack spending time alone with this woman.

I shrugged in a noncommittal way and Jack turned back to Georgia.

‘
Count us in,
’
he said with a smile.

‘
Great,
’
Georgia said, the grin on her face faltered.

Disgruntled, I followed in Jack
’
s shadow as he trailed Georgia back to her apartment. It was above a rather depressing looking funeral
parlour
. The apartment was small and bare, with only two bedrooms, a kitchen, sitting room and a washroom.

I sat on her sofa in a sour mood with crossed arms and pursed lips, listening to Jack rattle on in the kitchen while Georgia cooked. I knew Georgia was being kind but I could not get past the feeling that she was up to something. I felt as though she was trying to steal Jack away from me. I had to remind myself that Jack did not belong to me; he could be friends with whomever he liked. But he was
my
friend first.

I eavesdropped on the conversation between Jack and Georgia, which carried from the kitchen into the sitting room.

‘
So how long are you in the city for?
’
Georgia asked over the sound of clanging pots and pans.

‘
Not sure,
’
Jack replied.
‘
A few days, maybe a week.
’

‘
Why are you here anyway?
’
she asked.

Jack
’
s pause was short.
‘
We are trying to make an appointment with
T
he Realm.
’
He said slowly.

‘
The Realm?
’
Georgia
’
s response sounded confused.
‘
I
’
ve seen people protesting out the front every day since I arrived; something about Human rights or some other nonsense. Oh gosh, don
’
t tell me that you
’
re part of one of those Human liberation groups?
’