Flamethroat (37 page)

‘Come here, girl,’ said a deep voice. I could not see the face of the man who spoke.

I inched closer, trying to peer inside the dark cart.

‘Who are you?’ I asked, rather nervous. The man ignored my question.

‘That animal spirit, is it yours?’

‘Yes,’ I said.

The speaker leaned forwards. It was a man in a deep purple suit. The setting sun illuminated his dark skin, heavy brow and large curved nose. While I had never seen this man before, I thought I knew very well who it was.

‘Where did you get this animal?’ he asked coolly.

‘I – I inherited him,’ I lied. ‘Who are you?’

I heard a rush of wings pass by and knew that Ræ
ven
had landed within earshot, but had not transformed from her bird-form.

‘Inherited him?’ the man repeated. ‘How very fortunate of you.’

‘Who are you?’ I asked again.

The man allowed himself a smile. ‘You are not a local I take it?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘How did you know?’

‘Because you do not recognise me, or the coat of arms emblazoned on my carriage.’

I looked at the door of the carriage. It featured a shield with wings. I was sure I had never seen it before in my life.

‘Martinez,’ said the man, seeing my blank face. ‘Nicholo Martinez. Might I say that you have a very impressive animal spirit.’

My mouth went dry almost instantly. I had been correct in my assumption.

‘You might say that,’ I said stiffly.

‘I myself am the owner of a rather impressive animal companion. I think you might like her.’

I didn’t respond. I didn’t know where Martinez was going with this. All I knew was that I hated him – but if I could get him to like me then it may be easier to get Helena back.

‘I often hold garden parties at my home and I tend to invite those who have extraordinary companions. I must say that you are the first commoner I have seen to own a Vulmessian.’

‘How do you know I am a commoner?’ I said, trying to hide the maliciousness in my voice. It took every ounce of fibre I possessed not to set him on fire then and there.

Martinez looked me up and down before smiling. ‘A hunch,’ he said.

I looked down at myself. My boots were worn and my dress was stained. Of course I was a commoner. Perhaps I could set Martinez alight and threaten his coachman to take me to the manor. No, Martinez would be able to absorb the energy from my Power. I was useless against him.

‘Here.’ Martinez handed me an elegant envelope sealed with a silk ribbon. ‘It’s formal attire. Make sure you wear something nice or don’t bother coming.’

The cart trundled away leaving me standing there, utterly bewildered. I ripped open the envelope immediately to discover a pastel purple invitation. Ræ
ven
flew onto my shoulder and read the invitation too.

You have been chosen to attend Nicholo Martinez’s bi-monthly garden party to showcase your animal spirit.

Following this statement was a time and date.

‘You have got to be joking,’ I said to Ræ
ven
. ‘Can you believe this?’ Hawthorne sniffed the invitation before looking up at me.

Footsteps behind us indicated that Jack had returned.

‘About time,’ I said, turning around. ‘I’m starving.’

Jack had his arms wrapped around a bag of delicious smelling fish. ‘Who was that I saw you talking to?’ he asked.

I handed Jack the pastel invitation, which he read quickly. His eyes grew wider as he took in all of the information.

‘No way,’ he said. ‘You’re pulling my leg.’

‘Nope,’ I shook my head. ‘That was Martinez. He was interested in Hawthorne.’

‘Avalon, this is great,’ Jack beamed. ‘You’ve been
invited
to the Martinez manor. And Look! You get a plus one.’

I took the invitation and saw that Jack was right. It stated that I could bring a guest provided that they too had an animal spirit.

‘When is it?’ asked Jack.

I consulted the invite. ‘It’s in three days.’

‘That’s enough time to form a plan. There’s a meeting tonight, we can-’

‘Shh!’ I hissed, looking around. ‘Not so loud.’

Jack lowered his voice. ‘We can tell everyone tonight. I bet
they will
be really pleased.’

‘Martinez said it was formal attire only. I don’t own anything
formal
.’

‘We’ll worry about that later,’ said Jack. ‘In three days you will have your sister back!’

~

The meeting couldn’t come soon enough. That night, at a quarter to midnight, my parents, Jack, Ræ
ven
and I set out for the new location that Penny Truscott had found. Tonight we would meet in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. The others complained that it was cold here, as the wind whistled through the gaps in the walls, but I was perfectly comfortable. Greeting everyone, including Bobby the Human, I took my place in the circle with Jack and Ræ
ven
. I could barely wait to tell the others what had happened today, but I waited until it was my turn to share news.

‘Tom and I have managed to find out some information on a couple of Martinez’s guards,’ said Bran, pacing the circle. ‘A mate of ours from the docks had a little run-in with a pair of them at the pub last night. He said it got a little messy.’

‘What happened?’ asked my father.

‘Well it didn’t end well,’ said Tom. ‘For Martinez’s lot, that is.’

Bran and Tom chortled in unison.

‘What’s so funny?’ I asked.

‘Well,’ Tom sighed. ‘To be honest, their Powers were rather useless.’

‘One had supersonic hearing,’ Bran smirked. ‘Not much use in a fight. Loud noises paralysed him.’

‘That was one Power I didn’t want to mimic,’ said Tom. ‘The other bloke is omni-lingual. He can speak every language there is.’

‘Even troll,’ Bran laughed.

‘Well those Powers aren’t much use,’ said Elise Stalk. ‘Why would Martinez have those two as part of his guard?’

‘That omni-lingual man would be useful in overseas transactions and we know that Martinez ships Humans all over the world,’ said Tom.

‘Enhanced hearing would come in handy if you were listening for intruders,’ said my father.

There was a general murmur of agreement.

‘I don’t think we will need to worry about that,’ I chimed in. My tone was suggestive.

‘Why not?’ asked my mother.

‘Well,’ I said with a small smile. ‘I don’t think we will need to
sneak
onto Martinez’s property.’

The other members looked at each other in confusion.

‘I don’t follow. Do you know someone who is able to teleport?’ asked Penny Truscott in her tiny voice.

I shook my head as I reached into the depths of my pocket. I pulled out the purple invitation and handed it to my father.

‘Zat coat of arms,’ began Maria, pointing to the folded invitation. ‘Eet is familiar.’

‘That’s the Martinez shield,’ said Robert, as my father shook open the piece of paper.

I watched my father’s expression change from confusion to shock as his eyes travelled down the page.

‘Where did you get this, Avalon?’ he asked, looking up at me.

‘What is it, Kenneth?’ said my mother, standing to get a better look at what was written on the paper.

Clearing his throat, my father began to read the invitation aloud. ‘You have been chosen to attend Nicholo Martinez’s bi-monthly garden party to showcase your animal spirit. An animal spirit is required to enter this event, which shall take place at the Martinez Manor on the second Saturday of this month at one o’clock in the afternoon. You may bring one guest.’

Everyone in the circle stared at my father with wide eyes.

‘But ‘ow did you get zis pass into zee manor?’ said Maria. ‘Where did you find eet?’

‘I didn’t find it,’ I said. ‘Nicholo Martinez gave it to me.’

‘You
spoke
to him?’ gasped Elise.

‘I didn’t know who he was,’ I said, shrugging.

‘Maria and I have been trying to get an invitation to the Martinez garden parties for years … before Bobby was taken from us,’ said Robert.

‘We were always rejected. Our animal spirits are not interesting enough, apparently,’ Maria said hotly.

‘Martinez holds these garden parties every two months. It is extremely difficult to attend. Usually only those of great Power or influence are invited,’ said Tom.

‘So why was Avalon invited?’ asked my mother.

More murmuring.

‘Martinez saw Hawthorne and thought he was magnificent,’ I said.

‘It sounds fishy to me,’ said my father. His comment fell on deaf ears.

‘When she goes, one of us must escort her,’ said Tom.

‘I agree,’ said Elise. ‘We will need to devise a plan of action.’

‘I don’t think we should let Avalon go,’ said my father loudly.

‘I will escort Avalon,’ said Jack.

‘You don’t have an animal spirit,’ said Robert.

‘No, I don’t,’ Jack agreed. ‘But I have Ræ
ven
.’

All eyes turned to Ræ
ven
, who smiled politely.

‘That could work,’ said Bran, seeming rather impressed.

‘Avalon is not going,’ my father growled.

All eyes snapped to him.

‘Why not?’ said Elise.

‘It might be dangerous,’ my father said.

A collective sigh passed around the room.

‘Dad,’ I said, my cheeks becoming pink. ‘It’s a
party
. I was invited-’

‘It might be a trap,’ he snapped.

‘Oh, for goodness sake,’ said Maria. ‘Zis may be our only chance to infiltrate zee manor.’

‘And you think a little girl should be the one to do it?’ shot my father.

‘
Dad
,’ I groaned.

‘She is ‘ardly a leetle girl,’ Maria glowered. ‘She is a woman!’

I beamed at Maria.

‘I don’t think it will be safe,’ said my father through gritted teeth.

‘Ken,’ said my mother. ‘She won’t be alone. Jack, Ræ
ven
and Hawthorne will be with her.’

‘You think Ava should go?’ my father said, shocked by my mothers suggestion.

I was rather used to my father being overprotective. He had been that way my entire life. I was always sheltered as a child, which resulted in my poor social skills.

‘Penny and I could fit in Avalon’s handbag,’ Tom interrupted, nudging his wife. ‘With Penny’s Power to shrink and my ability to mimic her, we can hide in Avalon’s purse and slip inside the manor together.’

‘That’s a great idea,’ I said. ‘Except I don’t own a handbag… or anything formal for that matter.’

Robert Scotland looked me up and down before turning to his wife. ‘Maria, she looks about your size, dear.’

‘Oh yes, around zee waist, I expect so,’ Maria replied. ‘Zee bust may be a leetle too baggy.’

I flushed and folded my arms across my chest.

‘I think I have a suit that might fit Jack,’ said Tom, who was close to Jack’s height and build.

‘Oh goodness,’ Penny rolled her eyes. ‘Not that old one from your twenty-first birthday?’

‘What’s wrong with it?’ demanded Tom. ‘I like that suit.’

‘It’s tweed,’ said Penny.

‘Tweed is very fashionable,’ said Tom, rather disgruntled.

‘It sounds great. Thank you,’ Jack interrupted.

‘Right, now that the
outfits
are organised,’ my father said irritably. ‘What is your plan?’

My father did not seem pleased that I was going to the garden party, but it was time he learned that I was capable of doing things by myself. Besides, Jack, Penny, Tom, Ræ
ven
and Hawthorne would be with me and that was more than enough protection.

As the meeting continued we began to devise a plan of rescue. We came up with numerous, complicated ideas, none of which were plausible. There were a number of factors we had to consider.

Firstly, the manor would be swarming with guests and staff, inside and out. It would be difficult to go through the kitchens during the event.

Secondly, if we did manage to find our families, how would we get them off the property without drawing attention to ourselves? Someone was bound to notice.

The first part of the plan was simple; Penny and Tom would slip into the manor while Jack and I chummed it up with the other partygoers, steering conversation towards Martinez’s line of work – the exportation of Humans.

The next part was a little tricky. Towards the end of the party, once many of the guests were gone, we would linger behind. This would be the moment for Ræ
ven
’s song. She would put all the Mages in the vicinity to sleep with her voice, meaning we would be free to slip into the kitchens along with the rest of H.E.L.E.N.A.