Flamethroat (8 page)

‘
You started without me?
’
I said to Jack, taking a seat next to him.

As I sat, the girl
’
s eyes snapped to me and narrowed.

‘
I was starving,
’
Jack waved it aside as though it was no big deal.
‘
Oh, this is Georgia.
’
He pointed to the longhaired beauty.
‘
Georgia, this is Avalon my -
’

He paused, unsure what to say.

‘
Your sister?
’
she prompted. For some reason, this irritated me.

Jack laughed,
‘
No, no. She
’
s my friend.
’

‘
Oh.
’
Georgia threw her head back and laughed.
‘
You two look so alike; I thought you must be related. Black hair, blue eyes, masculine.
’

I clenched my teeth together, but Jack cut in before I could retort.
‘
Georgia was telling me that she is on her way to Concord City too.
’

‘
Is that so?
’
I said.
‘
How nice.
’
I didn
’
t find it nice at all.

There was no mistaking my tone. Jack noticed, however Georgia did not seem to pick up on it.

‘
Oh yes,
’
she said with a radiant smile.
‘
Your friend was telling me what a trek you
’
ve had! I
’
ve been travelling for only a few hours. I
’
m from Black Town, you know? It
’
s just over the mountain. Of course the journey is easy with Altair, my horse.
’

‘
So why are you going to Concord City?
’
Jack asked.

‘
Oh, nothing too exciting, I can assure you
’
she waved her hand airily.
‘
The truth is, my family has gotten into a spot of money trouble
–
and as the eldest I am now required to take care of myself. So, off to the capital city I go!
’

‘
Money trouble?
’
I repeated.
‘
Why rent a room then? You could save your money and camp instead, like Jack and I have done.
’

Georgia raised her eyebrows as though this was unthinkable.
‘
And look at the state you
’
re in!
’
She waved a hand in my general direction.
‘
You poor thing, you look as though no one owns you.
’

I flattened my damp hair, rather self-consciously.

‘
When do you expect to arrive in Concord City?
’
Jack inquired.

Georgia thought for a moment.
‘
At this pace, a few days. Thank goodness I
’
m not walking, can you imagine? I suppose I would have blisters all over my feet already.
’

As she spoke, the blisters on my own feet throbbed angrily.

Jack nodded in agreement and shovelled more food into his mouth without taking his eyes off Georgia.

Begrudgingly, I began to eat my own food that had just been brought to me. I watched Jack eat, while he watched Georgia
–
who ate as though she was a princess. I, in comparison, must have looked like an absolute slob. My hair was damp and tangled, my boots were worn and my feet were blistered and bloody. My dress was torn around the edges and was fairly dirty too. There was still dirt under my fingernails. Georgia, on the other hand, was immaculate. Shining hair, neat clothes and manicured nails.

Soon the conversation turned to Powers. Jack talked about his Healing abilities and, when asked for a demonstration, he complied by slicing his hand with a knife. Georgia gasped, but a moment later burst into applause when she saw that the wound had vanished.

‘
Didn
’
t that hurt?
’
she said in awe as Jack mopped up the blood with a napkin.

‘
Nah,
’
said Jack, puffing out his chest.
‘
I
’
m used to pain.
’

I snorted into my food, catching their attention.

‘
And what do
you
do?
’
Georgia asked.

‘
Can
’
t you tell?
’
I said through a mouthful of food.
‘
I
’
m charming.
’

Georgia pursed her lips.

‘
Avalon is a Fire-Mage,
’
Jack cut in.
‘
Aren
’
t you Ava? Right? Show her.
’
Jack
’
s smile faltered as he saw my expression.

‘
We have a name for Fire-Mages in Black Town,
’
Georgia said with a smirk.

‘
What
’
s that?
’
I asked, not taking my eyes off Jack.

‘
Fire-Demons,
’
she said icily.

‘
How lovely,
’
I said, putting my fork down.
‘
I think I
’
m full. Jack? Are you coming?
’

‘
What? Oh, in a minute. I
’
m just going to finish talking to Georgia.
’
He turned back to her without another word.

I was momentarily stumped and stood at the table for a few seconds before finding my feet and walking out of the dining room. I was extremely annoyed with Jack, but I wasn
’
t sure why. I decided that I was just tired and grumpy from the past two days of walking. I shouldn
’
t take Jack
’
s actions to heart. Besides, I knew what he was like around women.

~

I slept extremely well that night. In the morning, my legs were stiff as though they were made of lead. Everything ached from travelling, yet we weren
’
t even halfway through our journey. When the morning had reached
the seventh hour
, I dressed silently, brushed my hair and went to the adjacent room to knock on Jack
’
s door. Once again, just as it had been last night, there was no answer to my knocks. Agitated, I gathered my things, slung my rucksack over my shoulder and descended the staircase, which took me to the dining room. Jack was not here either. I had figured he would be having breakfast, but no, he was nowhere to be seen. A smiling old lady was clearing away plates and bowls from the table.

‘
Was Jack here?
’
I asked her.

‘
Oh yes, your brother already had breakfast,
’
she said.
‘
I believe he is in the stables right now.
’

‘
The stables?
’
I frowned, ignoring the brother remark.
‘
We don
’
t have a horse.
’

‘
He went with Miss Devereux. She asked for his assistance in preparing her horse.
’

‘
Devereux?
’

‘
Yes, dear. Georgia Devereux.
’

‘
Ah … Of course.
’

Stepping onto the lawns I saw that there was a large amount of mist across the field. The grass under my feet was damp as I made my way to the stables. The door was ajar and I could hear laughter coming from inside. I quickened my pace, intent upon finding Jack. When I slipped through the open door it took me a moment to find him. I spotted him inside one of the stalls, saddling a handsome palomino steed. His sleeves were rolled up over his arms and I watched as he threw the saddle over the back of the tall mount. Georgia stood next to him, very close, talking rapidly and smiling to her fullest extent. She wore attire fit for riding and a handsome tan cloak that matched her caramel hair. Georgia placed her hand upon Jack
’
s arm and leaned close to him in order to tell him
some private joke
. Jack laughed freely and turned to face her once the saddle was in place. Her hand lingered upon his arm. She toyed with a button on his shirt. They were standing far too close to one another for my comfort. Anger flooded me.

‘
Jack,
’
I said loudly.

Jack jumped away from Georgia as though an electric current had shocked him.

‘
Hey!
’
he smiled.
‘
You
’
re up!
’

He made his way to the stall door and opened it, stepping towards me. My body language was standoffish and he seemed to notice this.

‘
I was just helping Georgia saddle up,
’
he offered as a way of an explanation.

‘
I noticed,
’
I said. My hands were shaking.

Georgia came towards us and stood next to Jack.
‘
I was just suggesting that perhaps the three of us could travel together.
’

‘
Oh.
’
I didn
’
t feel comfortable elaborating on what I was thinking.

‘
I said we would just slow her down,
’
said Jack with an apologetic expression upon his face.

‘
I
’
m sure the journey would go much faster with good company.
’
Georgia nudged Jack playfully.

‘
Jack
has
good company,
’
I said through gritted teeth.

Georgia pursed her lips.
‘
I see.
’

This was the reason I did not like making new friends. There was no way we could travel with another person when we must hide Hawthorne and there was no way I would send Hawthorne away, just so Jack could
cosy
up to some woman he barely knew.

‘
We would slow you down,
’
I said to her with narrowed eyes.
‘
And we have other business to attend to along the way, don
’
t we Jack? We are going to … Scyre … to visit … we are visiting-
’

‘
My father,
’
Jack lied.

‘
I see,
’
Georgia said with raised eyebrows.
‘
That is too bad. Perhaps we could meet up when we reach Concord City? I think you
’
ll find I
’
m rather persuasive.
’

‘
Of course,
’
Jack beamed.

‘
We are leaving within the hour,
’
I told Jack, interrupting the lingering eye contact he was sharing with Georgia.

‘
Right. Yes. I
’
ll get my things,
’
he said, rather pink in the face.

I turned away as Jack kissed Georgia
’
s hand and bade her farewell. My face felt hot.

‘
Goodbye Jack. Farewell Fire-Demon.
’
Georgia said to my back as I walked from the stables, Jack following me.

Muttering under my breath, I walked from the stables until Jack and I were a hundred meters away, in the shadow of the lodge.

‘
What are you playing at?
’
I said, turning to him.

‘
What?
’
He looked around nervously.

‘
She wanted to come with us!
’
I said, pointing over his shoulder towards the stables.