Flamethroat (9 page)

‘
I
didn
’
t suggest it. I only said -
’
he stopped abruptly.

‘
What? What did you say?
’

‘
It
’
s nothing.
’
Jack waved a hand.
‘
I just wanted to get to know her, that
’
s all.
’

Anger boiled in my stomach and I was sure that Jack could feel the heat emanating from my body.

‘
Avalon,
’
said Jack, his brow furrowed.
‘
Your clothes are smoking.
’

‘
What?
’
I asked. I looked down. Billows of smoke floated up from my clothes,
‘
Oh.
’

I patted them down. It would not be a good idea to ignite my clothes for I had so few of them. I must control my temper.

‘
What
’
s really bothering you?
’
said Jack, colour flooding his cheeks.
‘
The fact that I talked to another girl? Or that someone seems genuinely interested in me?
’

This pulled me up short.
‘
What?
’
I said aghast.

‘
Well?
’
he
pressed
his hands on his hips.

‘
It
’
s nothing like that!
’
I said, flabbergasted.
‘
You have completely missed the point. We are
travelling
to Concord City with, what other people might refer to as, a monster! Not only that, but we are going to the City to find my family! Or did you forget that too?
’

‘
No,
’
said Jack.
‘
Of course not.
’

‘
This is not the time to flirt,
’
I said, the colour rising in my face.
‘
Jack … I need your help to reach the City … I can
’
t afford for you to become distracted, no matter how pretty the girl is.
’
I swallowed hard.
‘
Please don
’
t make me go alone.
’

‘
I
’
m sorry, all right?
’
he said.
‘
I wasn
’
t thinking.
’

Gripping the strap of my rucksack tightly and throwing it over my shoulder, I said,
‘
I just … I want to keep this a secret, okay? I don
’
t want word getting to some Realm Official that a Fire-Mage is making their way to the capital. If I had been home at the time of my families arrest … well … I would have been imprisoned too. It won
’
t be hard for
T
he Realm to work out that I am related to the other Fire-Mages they
’
ve detained.
’

Jack nodded, his ears turning pink.

‘
Just … just wait until we find them, okay? Then you can flirt with as many people as you like,
’
I said.
‘
And don
’
t tell anyone what my Power is. Please.
’

Jack nodded,
‘
All right.
’

Forty minutes later, when we went behind the stables to be reunited with him, Hawthorne was extremely grumpy. As a way of an apology, I bought a large leg of ham from the lodge and gave it to him. He was thoroughly delighted and it took only minutes for him to devour it. Now much happier with me, Hawthorne allowed me to sit upon his back while Jack walked alongside us. Jack was not too pleased about this, but I reminded him that his Healing abilities meant he could walk much further than I.

What
’
s really bothering you? The fact that I talked to another girl? Or that someone seems genuinely interested in me?

Jack
’
s words reverberated around in my head as I rode along on Hawthorne. I watched Jack walking only a few steps ahead of us. He wore a thick coat to protect himself from the cold and large, heavy boots which loudly crunched fallen twigs and leaves. Mist cascaded from his mouth with every breath he took. On the other hand, I wore nothing but a thin dress and simple leather shoes, for the cold did not affect me in the way it affected other people.

Why was I so upset about Jack making new acquaintances? It was a protective feeling that I had inside my chest. Yes, that was it. I was disgruntled because I thought of Jack like a brother
–
and I didn
’
t want him getting hurt. Regardless, I could not afford to lose Jack when my family
’
s liberty was at stake. Jack had promised to help me, had he not?

Several hours passed and I ignored the burning sensation in my stomach. Jack barely spoke to me as we walked. After a while, I dismounted Hawthorne and tried to fall in to step with Jack, but his legs were too long and he ended up several paces in front of me. In the back of my mind I knew that he was slightly annoyed with me and had perhaps increased his pace so we would not have to talk.

After another hour of silence I began to jog in order to keep up with him. Jack noticed my persistence and slowed down a little.

‘
I
’
m hungry,
’
I said, rubbing my stomach.
‘
Aren
’
t you?
’

‘
We have some bread and cold meat left,
’
Jack told me, his eyes staring straight ahead.

I could tell by the position of the sun that it was nearing midday and we would need to stop and rest for a little while.

Lunch was a quiet affair. Jack and I ate the bread and cold cuts and were disgruntled to find that our supplies were running low. We needed water and more food, but we did not have much money left. Jack
’
s decision to spoil us the previous night had severely damaged our funds.

‘
We shouldn
’
t have done it,
’
I grumbled that evening when we were cooking our pitiful dinner
–
chopped vegetables stewed in water.

Jack poked at the floating vegetables in the pot that we had brought from home.
‘
The next town is still a few hours away. We can stock up on supplies tomorrow.
’

‘
But will we have enough food to last another three days?
’
I asked.

Jack shrugged.
‘
We could always steal food.
’

I frowned.
‘
I don
’
t know how I would feel about that.
’

‘
Me either.
’

Something landed into my lap with a soft thump. Looking down I saw a dead bird sitting there
–
it
’
s neck broken. I screamed and leapt away from the animal, backing straight into Hawthorne.

Jack laughed heartily.
‘
It looks like he wants to share his catch.
’

My heart rate returning to normal, I saw Hawthorne look at me, then at the bird and back to me.

‘
Is that for us?
’
I said with raised eyebrows, pointing at the feathery mess.

Hawthorne nuzzled me and I took that to mean yes.

‘
Thank you!
’
I said, scratching him behind the ears.
‘
How nice.
’

Jack picked up the bird by it
’
s legs and it dangled sickly in front of him. It was a plump pheasant.

‘
I guess I
’
ll be the one plucking and skinning it, right?
’
he said, pulling a face.

‘
Naturally.
’

While Jack got to work preparing the bird, I made myself useful by collecting more firewood. Hawthorne sniffed the dirt around me while I walked about picking up sticks and twigs to burn. He found some mushrooms growing underneath a mossy tree and I inspected them, but I was not confident enough to pick them, I didn
’
t know much about edible fungi in the forest.

By the time I got back to the camp, Jack had finished preparing the pheasant.

Together we cooked the bird
by tying it
to a long stick and hoisting it over the fire. Hawthorne sat by me, watching the flames lick the sides of the bird, a small amount of drool accumulating at his jowls.

Within the hour we had picked the pheasant clean and the bones lay in a pile in the middle of the clearing.

Jack and I leaned against Hawthorne
’
s massive body, using him as a giant fluffy pillow. We stared at the night sky for what felt like hours, unable to sleep. After a long while of counting bats that flew overhead, I could not stop myself.

‘
Jack?
’
I spoke into the silence.

‘
Mmh?
’
Jack
’
s response was instant
–
so I got the impression that he too had been laying awake. He lay comfortably with his hands behind his head.

‘
What are you thinking about?
’
I asked.

Jack let out a small laugh.

‘
What?
’
I said, rolling onto my side to face him. The moonlight and the dying embers of our fire illuminated Jack
’
s features. His expression was calm. Serene.

‘
Nothing,
’
he said with a small smile and a glance in my direction.

‘
You were thinking nothing?
’

Jack rolled onto his side to face me too.
‘
Why? What
’
s on your mind?
’

I pursed my lips and rolled onto my back again, looking at the stars.
‘
What were you and Georgia talking about in the stables?
’
I was glad Jack couldn
’
t see the blush creeping up my neck.

Jack took a deep breath.
‘
Nothing interesting,
’
he said, rolling onto his back too.
‘
She asked me to help her saddle up Altair and I agreed.
’

‘
When I walked in … you were both laughing at something. Her hand was on your arm
–
on your chest. It looked like -
’
I faltered.

‘
She was thanking me,
’
he said, shifting his weight.

I didn
’
t believe him.

A moment passed in silence before the words blurted from my mouth,
‘
Have you ever kissed anyone before?
’

Jack glanced at me.
‘
Why?
’

‘
Just wondering.
’

He pondered this for a moment.
‘
Four,
’
he said.

This surprised me, but I wasn
’
t sure why. Was I expecting more, or less?

‘
Who?
’
I asked.

Jack sighed.
‘
You wouldn
’
t know them.
’

‘
Tell me,
’
I said.

Jack cleared his throat,
‘
Well, there was Rose Bailey. We took classes together in the city. She was a Water-Breather. She kissed me when we were both fourteen, in an alley at the marketplace.
’

I watched Jacks face for some sign of change in his expression, yet nothing happened.