Flamethroat (23 page)

‘
If we leave them they will raise the alarm.
’

‘
What are we meant to do?
’
Jack said.
‘
Tie them up?
Kill
them?
’
He scoffed as thought this was unthinkable.

‘
They would kill us in a heartbeat,
’
I said without a hint of amusement in my tone. Jack saw that I was serious. His face fell.

‘
You
’
re joking, right?
’

‘
They erased Helena
’
s memories,
’
I said, my voice breaking mid-sentence.

Jack
’
s eyes were wide and searching. His pupils darted across my face. As a Healer, it was very hard for Jack to deal with anything regarding death or pain. He generally disliked violence unless the situation called for it and was a very compassionate and forgiving person. I, on the other hand, was not. Revenge blazed in my eyes.

‘
No,
’
said Jack.
‘
You can
’
t.
’

‘
Who says?
’
I challenged.

‘
Me,
’
he said, pointing at his chest.
‘
You
’
re upset and I understand that-
’

‘
No you don
’
t,
’
I said hotly.
‘
You don
’
t understand at all.
’

Jack took a deep breath and backtracked.
‘
This is not the way. There must be another option.
’

I turned away furiously, my gaze falling upon the syringes that lay on the table. I picked one up carefully. Jack licked his lips nervously as I studied the syringe. Meanwhile, Alastor and Korra
’
s eyes darted between us fearfully, awaiting their fate.

‘
No,
’
Jack held out a hand when I took a step towards Korra.

‘
Why not? They have done it to hundreds of Humans, they said so themselves! They did it to Helena.
’

‘
Erasing their memories won
’
t bring Helena
’
s back.
’
Jack edged slowly towards me and I held the serum close to my chest so he could not confiscate it from me.

‘
They will forget we were here,
’
I said.

‘
They will forget their whole lives,
’
Jack corrected.

I stared at Jack disbelievingly.
‘
Whose side are you on?
’

‘
I
’
m here to stop you from doing something stupid,
’
Jack said in a calm voice.

‘
Stupid is it?
’
My breathing was heavy.

‘
You don
’
t know what state Helena is in just yet. The serum might not be permanent,
’
Jack reasoned, holding out his hand and waiting for me to give him the syringe.

‘
I
’
m not waiting to find out,
’
I said, my chest rising and falling as the anger surged through my veins.

Before Jack could stop me I had lunged at Korra and wrestled her to the ground.

‘
No!
’
He yelled, trying to tear me off
T
he Realm official, but it was too late.

I jammed the syringe into Korra Waterson
’
s forearm. She shrieked in shock as the green liquid was pushed into her arm. A glazed look spread over Korra Waterson
’
s face instantly and I knew it had worked. She went limp and strangely calm.

Alastor Newman scrambled to his feet and made a break for the door, but I was too quick for him. A jet of flames blocked his only way out.

Jack grabbed my arms and wrestled me to the floor.

‘
Get off Jack!
’
I spat,
‘
Get off!
’

‘
I know you want revenge,
’
Jack said hoarsely into my ear.
‘
I know you are hurting, but taking their memories will not bring you satisfaction.
’

‘
I think it might,
’
I said through gritted teeth, trying to wriggle free of his grip.

‘
Please,
’
Jack begged.
‘
Don
’
t be like them.
’

This angered me even more,
‘
They are getting what they deserve.
’

‘
You are using
their
methods. It
’
s wrong.
’

‘
If we don
’
t do it, they will lock us up,
’
I said, tears stinging my eyes.

‘
I won
’
t let that happen again,
’
Jack promised, his voice gentle, his breath soft on my cheek.

I stopped fighting and Jack
’
s grip slackened slightly. Panting, I stared at Jack who knelt on the floor beside me. His eyes were pleading.

‘
Would you forgive me?
’
I said, getting to my feet,
‘
If I took his memories?
’

‘
Will you forgive yourself?
’
said Jack, avoiding my eyes. He couldn
’
t look at me.

I turned to face Alastor Newman and was shocked at what I saw. He stood there, a scalpel in his hand.

‘
What are you going to do with that?
’
I asked, slightly amused…

‘
I
’
d rather die than forget who I am,
’
he said in a shaking voice. He dragged the scalpel across his own forearm.

‘
No!
’
I shouted.

Jack scrambled to his feet and skidded to a halt by Alastor
’
s side.

‘
Don
’
t touch me!
’
Alastor flailed, spraying Jack with blood.

‘
Stay still!
’
Jack ordered.

‘
I can
’
t forget! I can
’
t!
’

‘
How do you think all those Humans felt?
’
I said grabbing a syringe and brandishing it in Alastor
’
s face.

Alastor continued to flail, but Jack managed to grab hold of his blood soaked wrist. Alastor stopped struggling to watch the healing process.

‘
Incredible,
’
Alastor whispered.
‘
Outstanding abilities. We could really use someone of your talent at
T
he Realm.
’

The wound was gone. All that remained was the blood that soaked his clothes.

Jack got to his feet and turned to me.
‘
See what you almost did?
’
he shot.

‘
What
I
did?
’
I said.
‘
He deserves to bleed to death after everything he has done to the Human race. He has ruined hundreds of people, Jack! He has taken their memories-
’

‘
They
’
re just-
’
Jack began, but stopped abruptly.

‘
Just what?
’
I said quietly.
‘
Just Humans?
’

‘
I didn
’
t mean-
’
Jack started.
‘
I didn
’
t … Avalon, you can
’
t inject him with that serum. It
’
s not right.
’

I looked at the needle in my hand. Did I feel bad about taking Korra Waterson
’
s memory? I turned to face her. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking around the room with great interest. She didn
’
t seem unhappy; if anything, she looked mildly surprised.

I turned back to Jack.
‘
So what do we do? What if he tells the guards?
’

‘
I won
’
t tell anyone!
’
Alastor said quickly,
‘
Please! I
’
ll leave
T
he Realm, I swear it. I
’
ll go tonight. I promise.
’

‘
How do I know you
’
re not lying?
’
I said viciously, pointing the syringe like a dagger.

‘
I owe my life to your healer friend,
’
Alastor said.
‘
I beg of you, please. I
’
ll even leave a note saying it was I who erased Korra
’
s memories. That way I will be
forced
to leave the city for an act of treason.
’

‘
Write it now,
’
I said, grabbing a sheaf of parchment from the workbench and thrusting it in Alastor
’
s hands. I threw a quill at him.

With a shaking hand, Alastor wrote his own farewell upon the parchment. I read it upside down easily.

I, Alastor Newman have betrayed
T
he Realm of Mages and taken Korra
’
s memory against her will.

‘
Write that you are a Human lover,
’
I ordered.

Alastor did as he was told.

I cannot harm another Human for they are blood of
my
blood.

‘
Good,
’
I said.
‘
Well? What are you waiting for? Run!
’

Alastor scrambled to his feet in a hurry and bolted through the door. We could hear him tearing down the hall at top speed.

‘
He won
’
t be coming back to Concord City any time soon,
’
I said to Jack.

‘
You shouldn
’
t have done it. You
’
ve turned his whole life upside down. What if he has children? A wife?
’
said Jack, his face full of anger.

‘
What other choice did we have?
’

Jack ignored me.
‘
Let
’
s get out of here before people start getting suspicious.
’

~

It was rather easy to leave
T
he Realm. Jack walked with false confidence and no one batted an eyelid at him. I, on the other hand, wore Korra
’
s red cloak and so blended easily with the other Realm Officials. Once we were back on the street, Jack and I almost ran back to Georgia
’
s home.

Luckily for us, Georgia was still at work, so there were no awkward questions as to why I was wearing the cloak. Jack remained distant for the rest of the evening so I took the time to visit Hawthorne in the outskirts of the city. I sat in the woods with him until night fell and told him what had happened at
T
he Realm. While I spoke to Hawthorne, it was hard to stop the tears escaping my eyes. I wiped them away furiously.