Flamethroat (3 page)

‘
Okay Hawthorne … this is far enough,
’
I told him.

Jack clambered down from Hawthorne
’
s back and then helped me down.

I patted Hawthorne
’
s shoulder shakily.
‘
We will be back soon. Just stay hidden, okay?
’

Hawthorne snorted and began sniffing around in the dirt. I knew he didn
’
t like being away from me. It made him anxious.

‘
Let
’
s go.
’
Jack put a hand on my shoulder and steered me towards the clearing.

We stopped at the
very edge of the
forest and Jack turned to me.

‘
I won
’
t go in with you,
’
he told me.
‘
You need to see them on your own. When you
’
re ready, you can come to get me and introduce me to them.
’

Jack was right. I held my breath and stared at him. He didn
’
t blink.

‘
Okay,
’
I exhaled.
‘
Wait here.
’

Jack ruffled my hair and I turned to face the house. My legs were weak. I barely noticed I was walking. It felt as though someone else was in control of my body. My pace quickened. Before I knew it, I was running. Familiar smells overwhelmed my nose
,
f
lowers and long grass. Clothes were hanging from the line, flapping in the wind. I
watched my feet as I
clambered up the steps to the front porch. I looked up and lifted a hand, ready to turn the doorknob. I stopped dead. The front door lay broken upon the
hearth
. The wood was splintered and littered the entrance. My eyes wandered down the hall. The house was dark. The curtains were shut even though it was a beautiful, sunny day. I took one step into the house and knew instantly that something was very wrong. The house smelled of charred wood. Some forest animals had apparently made homes within the house. This was wrong. Very wrong.

My mouth felt dry and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

‘
Mum?
’
I called hesitantly.
‘
Dad?
’

Things were upturned. I could see that things were missing.

‘
Helena?
’

The only sound I could hear were the birds nesting in the rooftop, their hatchlings crying for food. No one had been here for weeks.

The walls were black and the roof beams were crumbling. My heart felt as though it was stuck in my throat. I ran for the exit, tripping over the door that lay in the hall. I stood, panting on the porch.

‘
Jack!
’
I cried. I hoped he would hear me.
‘
Jack!
’

Several seconds passed before I heard the sound of Jack lumbering clumsily through the tall grass. He saw me standing alone and frowned.

‘
What
’
s wrong?
’
Jack stepped onto the porch and tilted my chin up to face him.

‘
They
’
re gone!
’
I choked.
‘
It looks like no one has been here for weeks.
’

Jack looked past me, at the broken door strewn across the floor.
‘
Do you think they were burgled?
’
he asked.

‘
No … no, something bad happened here, I can sense it. I expect the house was looted afterwards.
’
I could hear the panic rising in my voice. Jack looked around warily. His eyes paused on the letterbox at the front of the house.

‘
There
’
s something on the letterbox.
’
He pointed towards the front lawn.

I turned and saw what he meant. A piece of parchment flapped in the wind. It had been nailed to the letterbox. I lurched forwards and pushed Jack out of my way.

‘
Avalon, stop!
’
Jack ran after me.

His legs were longer. He beat me to the parchment and snatched it away.

‘
Let me read it!
’
I demanded

‘
I recognise the stamp,
’
said Jack, staring at the notice.

‘
And?
’

‘
It
’
s the mark of
T
he Realm
’
he said, looking up at me.

I fell silent.
‘
Don
’
t be ridiculous
’
I snatched the letter from his grasp, almost ripping it. My eyes instantly fell upon the large, red stamp at the bottom of the letter. It was definitely the seal of
T
he Realm of Mages. It featured a dragon breathing fire with a large letter
‘
M
’
on its chest.

My hands were shaking, but I managed to read the letter quickly.

PUBLIC NOTICE:

HUMANS ARE NOT EQUALS.

THE REALM OF MAGES WOULD LIKE TO REMIND ALL CITIZENS OF MORTLOCK THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO OWN AND TREAT ANY HUMAN AS AN EQUAL.

IT IS ILLEGAL TO TEACH HUMANS OUR
LANGUAGE
.

HUMANS ARE DANGEROUS AND MUST BE REGISTERED AT THE HUMAN REGISTRATION OFFICE IN CONCORD CITY.

FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES.

ANY MAGE FOUND HARBOURING HUMANS AND TREATING THEM WITH DIGNITY WILL FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF THE LAW.

REGARDS,

KORRA WATERSON

REGISTRATION OFFICER

REALM OF MAGES - HUMAN REGISTRATION OFFICE

I stared at the parchment. I read it over and over until the words were embedded in my brain. My breath came in harsh, short gasps. Jack took the letter from me and read it himself, muttering under his breath. I felt dizzy. I wanted to lie down.

‘
They took them,
’
I said.
‘
They took them.
’

‘
Avalon, I
’
m so sorry,
’
said Jack.

I sat in the overgrown grass on the front lawn and stared at the house. Jack seemed unsure of what he should do, so he paced.

After a minute, I found my voice.
‘
We have to go.
’

‘
Go?
’
said Jack, coming to a halt.
‘
Go where?
’

‘
We have to go to them. The Realm.
’

‘
Are you mad?
’
said Jack.

‘
What other choice do I have?
’
I said.
‘
They took my family.
’

Jack bit his lip.
‘
It will take several days to reach Concord City, even if we fly. I don
’
t think Hawthorne can carry us both the whole way. A trip of this scale needs planning.
’

‘
I don
’
t care how we get there,
’
I insisted.
‘
I
’
ll go by myself if you don
’
t want to come.
’

‘
Don
’
t be ridiculous. You aren
’
t going anywhere without me. We will have to walk most of the way and fly the rest. Hawthorne can
’
t hold my weight for that long. We will need to prepare, but neither of us have much coin.
’

‘
Let
’
s check the house,
’
I said, getting to my feet instantly.

Jack and I entered
what
remain
ed
of my home together. I walked to the kitchen and began to raid the cupboards. There was nothing.

‘
I think the house has been raided since they were taken,
’
I called out to Jack as he searched the sitting room.

‘
It looks as though it
’
s been turned upside down,
’
Jack replied.

I checked the drawers and found that all of the cutlery, pots and pans had been taken.

‘
I think kids have been lighting fires in here,
’
Jack noted the scorch marks on the floor as he entered the dining room.

I scowled at him.

‘
What? Oh, right. Fire-Mages.
’

There was nothing of any use to be salvaged from the house. When I entered my parent
’
s room I discovered where most of the damage had taken place. It was a shell. The walls were black and the windows had been blown out as if an explosion had taken place. I counted the floorboards from the door and fell to my knees. With my fingertips I slid the correct floorboard out of its slot and felt around inside the hole. Success. My hand closed around a small leather pouch. My mother always had a small amount of money hidden. Once I had retrieved it I went back to Jack who was snooping through my old bedroom.

‘
Stop that.
’
I frowned at him as he looked under the bed.

‘
I
’
m just checking… for clues.
’
He shrugged.

‘
I found my mother
’
s hidden stash.
’
I held up the pouch and jingled it.
‘
There should be enough for a couple of meals.
’

Jack put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

‘
We can devise a travel plan this afternoon and rest tonight.
’
I heaved a sigh.
‘
Tomorrow we will buy food and other supplies. We will leave as early as we can in the morning.
’

‘
I
’
ll get Hawthorne, shall I?
’
Jack offered.
‘
I
’
m sure he would like being inside.
’

Jack lumbered from the house and I watched his tall, lanky frame walk into the garden and to the edge of the forest. Sitting down on my old bed, I allowed myself to take in everything that had just happened. My family was gone. The house was destroyed. They were in Concord City. I did not want to think about what they were going through at this moment. What did they do to people who harboured Humans? What did they do to
educated
Humans? Not only that, but what would I do when I reached The Realm? How could I prove that Helena is of a Mage heritage? I didn
’
t have all of the answers, but I was sure that I needed to try and find
them
.

Hawthorne could tell something was wrong. He followed me around the house, knocking everything over due to his size. He looked at me sadly and pressed his nose against me as though this might cheer me up. I patted him in a kind of daze, thinking about where I must go and what I must do.

As darkness fell, Jack and I sat on the floor in the bare sitting room, eating vegetables that I had salvaged from the overgrown patch in the garden. Potatoes, carrots and beans were chopped and put into a small pot that we had found under the dining table.

Jack tried a slice of carrot. He pulled a face.

Over dinner we discussed our plans to get to Concord City. We managed to find a map of the country from what remained of my fathers possessions.

‘
Okay … so we are in Mortlock, which is here,
’
Jack pointed to the middle of the map,
‘
and we are going to Concord City.
’
He pointed at the bottom of the map.

Jack consulted the map
’
s key to find the distance
and
then counted on his fingers for a moment.
‘
Which is approximately one-hundred-and-
ten
miles away.
’