Flamethroat (2 page)

But then Kenneth heard it, the unmistakable sound of floorboards creaking as though someone was moving around. He sighed.

‘
Its just Helena wandering about,
’
Kenneth reassured his wife, but he got out of bed nonetheless. He wrapped a robe around himself and turned back to the bed.
‘
I
’
ll put her back to bed. She is probably upset too.
’

Anya nodded but stayed in bed, watching as Kenneth left their bedroom. As he stepped into the hall he lit a large ball of flames within the palm of his right hand where it floated peacefully, lighting the entire space. He could see to the end of the hall, but beyond it was darkness. He noticed that Helena
’
s bedroom door was slightly ajar. He was sure he had closed it as he had left her room. Sighing he made his way to her bedroom to make sure that she was all right and not too upset from the argument he and his wife had just had. Perhaps they had been a little bit loud without reali
s
ing. The door creaked as Kenneth pushed it open slowly and the ball of flames lit up the tiny room in full detail. Helena was fast asleep, curled up in a tight ball; her mousy hair sprawled around her head. Kenneth walked to her bedside and looked down at her. She stirred and looked up at him, blinking wearily.

‘
Dad?
’
she muttered sleepily, shielding her eyes from the light.
‘
What is it? That
’
s bright, stop it.
’

Kenneth reduced the size of the fireball by half and smiled at his daughter,
‘
Sorry sweetheart. Are you okay?
’

‘
Yes,
’
she said grumpily.
‘
Apart from being woken up, I
’
m fine.
’

‘
Didn
’
t you get up?
’
he asked.

‘
I was asleep,
’
Helena said. She did not enjoy her sleep being interrupted, clearly.

‘
I heard you walking around the house,
’
Kenneth pursed his lips.
‘
Did you hear us arguing?
’

‘
I already told you, I was asleep,
’
she said, becoming even more irritated.

‘
It
’
s all right if it upset you,
’
Kenneth said in a voice he hoped was soothing, rather than impatient.

Helena rolled her eyes.
‘
Maybe you were dreaming,
’
she said.

‘
I was awake.
’

‘
So, maybe there
’
s a burglar
’
she said sarcastically. She was getting quite annoyed now.

‘
It
’
s okay to talk to me about it, sweetheart.
’

‘
Dad!
’
Helena sat bolt right up in bed.

‘
Okay, okay.
’
Kenneth backed up, his hands in the air.

‘
No, Dad!
’
Helena pointed to the area over Kenneth
’
s right shoulder.

Kenneth didn
’
t even have time to turn his head before
he was consumed by
darkness. A sack smelling of dirt and sweat wa
s
placed over his head and tightened painfully around his neck. He fell to his knees in shock
and
the fireball in his hand extinguishing at once, throwing the rest of the room into total darkness.

‘
Daddy!
’
Helena
’
s voice cried. Kenneth knew that she could no longer see because the only source of light had been from his Power.

A large body slammed Kenneth to the floor and pinned him with a grunt. Kenneth struggled against the intruder but it seemed there was more than one. His hands were bound. He tried to yell for Helena to run, but the wind had been knocked out of him. He heard a scuffle before Helena
’
s voice became muffled as a sack was placed over her head too.

No, no, no
, was all Kenneth could think.

He could hear Helena
’
s muffled voice crying,
‘
Daddy, Daddy!
’
It tore him up inside. He couldn
’
t do anything. He couldn
’
t move. There were at least three of them. He was pinned to the ground, his hands and feet had been tied in an instant. He was helpless, like a pig about to be slaughtered. He tried to conjure flames, but he was stopped in his tracks.

A hand came down upon his shoulder and a wave of electricity shot through his body,
paralysing
him. The pain was so intense that it rendered him useless. His body went rigid and began to convulse involuntarily. When the pain stopped he was left gasping for air. He was dizzy and on the brink of consciousness.

‘
Now the girl,
’
a gruff voice ordered.

‘
No!
’
Kenneth wheezed.

Helena
’
s cry pierced the air like a knife to his heart. Tears escaped his eyes and he felt himself slowly slipping away.

‘
Get the woman,
’
the gruff voice sounded again.

‘
Aye,
’
replied a voice with an Irish accent.

Heavy boots tramped through the house to his right. Kenneth
listened
as the door to his bedroom was kicked in. Anya screamed and
then
there was the sound of
a
roaring fire. A man yelled in agony and
the sound of
crashing closely followed.

‘
Anya,
’
Kenneth gasped.
‘
Yes
.
’

‘
Oh, for goodness sake,
’
a man drawled. The voice was clear and curt.
‘
Go and help him will you? He can
’
t shock her if he can
’
t get close enough.
’

‘
Right,
’
the gruff voice said, slightly bored as though this was a regular occurrence. Kenneth was highly aware of the fact that he couldn
’
t hear his daughter moving, or making a sound any more.

The ruckus in the hallway continued. The roar of the fire was deafening and Anya was screaming.
‘
OH, NO YOU DON
’
T!
’

Bangs and crashes followed again. It sounded as though the house was being destroyed. Surely the
neighbours
would notice and come to help?

The sound of destruction stopped very suddenly and Kenneth held his breath in anticipation. His heart sank when he heard Anya cry, quickly followed by the sound of a body collapsing to the floor.

‘
She
’
s out,
’
the Irish voice said, panting heavily.
‘
Got her. She
’
s a feisty one.
’

‘
Good. Come and do this fellow again. He didn
’
t go the first time.
’

The footsteps were back now, along with the smell of burnt hair.

‘
Should have given this big fella a higher volt.
’

For the second time Kenneth felt the hand come down onto his shoulder and the
paralysing
shock rocketed through his body. He didn
’
t feel it for long. Everything faded.

             
Jack and I soared high above endless greenery, our spirits
soared
even higher as we made our way to Mortlock. Of course, on Hawthorne, my flying fox, the journey would pass in the blink of an eye. We would probably cover the fifty miles within a matter of hours.

I was completely at ease riding Hawthorne. It felt natural, as though he were an extension of my own body. Jack however, did not like the time we spent in the air. He got motion sick very easily and we had to stop often because of it. W
hen we
only
had approximately
one
hour left of travel time, I was determined not to make any more stops.

Jack huddled against my back and groaned in my ear. He was a tall, lanky man of twenty-one, with messy black hair, bright blue eyes and rather large ears. Jack was my best friend, he had agreed to accompany me on the journey to my hometown of Mortlock. This was the first time he had ever left Frost Arch, the city in which he had been born and raised by the servants of the Forsythe manor. Jack
’
s mother had died giving birth to him and his father had abandoned him at ten years old.

Hawthorne was my pet. I disliked the word pet, but there was no other way to explain our relationship to those who did not understand it. Hawthorne was a part of me. We were connected. The size of a bear, stark white, with enormous wings, Hawthorne was my friend and my protector. He had the appearance of a fox, but was far more intelligent than any other animal I had ever encountered.

Hawthorne was stolen from a deliveryman called Jefferson several months ago, when he was just a pup. I didn
’
t know how special he was at the time, but I had sensed that he needed rescuing. Little did I know that stealing Hawthorne would have some serious repercussions.

I was eager to see my family. It had been months. I had run away to Frost Arch because I couldn
’
t control my Power around my Human sister. I was a Fire-Mage
–
probably one of the worst kinds of Mage you could hope to be. Fire-Mage
’
s had terrible reputations. We were called all sorts of names; fire demons, devils, bringers of destruction. Luckily I had not endured much discrimination in Frost Arch, but I knew that the residents of Mortlock were not so open-minded. My family lived on the outskirts of town and they were highly unpopular, even though they could control their Powers spectacularly.

I, on the other hand, had little control over my Power. This was why I had run away in the first place. I was a danger to my little sister, Helena. I had accidentally burned her on more than one occasion.

Would my family be mad when they saw me? Would they allow me to live there again? These thoughts made my stomach do uncomfortable back flips.

Behind me, Jack was groaning and whining. I pretended not to hear him. He was cold. I assumed the air was crisp
,
though I could not feel it. He tried to cuddle up against my warm back. My skin was always warmer than other peoples because I was a Fire-Mage. Jack had once referred to me as his personal heater.
Being so close to him
made my skin tingle.

Almost an hour passed. We were soaring above familiar land now.
A thick
forest raced by underneath us. As I looked ahead, a small village came into focus.

‘
We
’
re almost there!
’
I yelled over the sound of the rushing wind.
‘
My family lives by the edge of the forest! We
’
ll be able to land in the trees!
’
I called to Hawthorne.

We began to fly lower now. I could see Hawthorne
’
s shadow on the tops of the trees, growing larger and larger every second. Hawthorne began his final decent. He searched for a gap in the trees and dove for it. He landed clumsily on the soft dirt of the forest floor. Jack and I almost lost our grip, but we managed to hang on. Hawthorne kept up a steady trot as we made our way to the edge of the forest. My heart was beating wildly.

‘
I can
’
t wait for you to meet my parents,
’
I said excitedly,
‘
and my sister. Oh! That
’
s it! I can see my house!
’

We drew closer and I felt my heart pounding against my ribcage. I was sure Jack would be able to hear it.