Falling Ashes (36 page)

Cecilia’s face fell, utter disappointment consuming her expression. ‘Oh,’ she said, her arms dropping to her sides. ‘That’s … that’s too bad, I guess. I thought … never mind.’

‘You thought she would be with me?’ Kenneth assumed. ‘My daughter is an independent girl.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Cecilia waved a hand as she walked back to her chair. She picked it up from the ground and sat in it heavily.

‘I’m sorry you got your hopes up,’ said Kenneth. ‘But … why were you so excited to meet her?’

Cecilia stared at Kenneth with wide eyes. ‘She is the leader of the human rebellion,’ she said. ‘We look to her to take us to battle against the Realm.’

‘Avalon? Battle? Are you mad? She’s just a kid.’

‘The Fire-Mage is a
woman
, not a child,’ said Cecilia, ‘and her fire will light a beacon of hope for us all. We know that she will join us in days to come – it has been seen.’

‘Seen?’ repeated Kenneth. ‘
What
has been seen?’

Cecilia pressed her lips together as though she had said too much. ‘It’s no concern of yours.’

‘It damn well
is
my concern,’ said Kenneth, sitting on the edge of his seat. ‘This is my daughter we’re talking about. If she’s in some kind of danger, you need to tell me right now.’

‘I never said your daughter was in danger,’ said Cecilia, crossing her arms.

‘You said she will be here within days. Why? Avalon isn’t stupid. She’s not about to go marching into a capital city where every man, woman, and child knows her face. She won’t make it two steps without being arrested.’

Cecilia smiled. ‘You underestimate her.’

‘How do you know she is coming to Concord City? How can you possibly know what she is doing? Have you spoken to her?’

Cecilia shook her head. ‘A member of H.W.L has dreamt of her arrival. Their dreams are often correct.’

‘Often?’

‘She is seldom incorrect,’ said Cecilia. ‘Sometimes her dreams show what is to come, other times it shows one's desires. We believe that the Fire-Mage will come to Concord City to take down the Realm.’

‘I need to be here when that happens,’ said Kenneth.

‘We’d be more than happy to welcome you to our group, Mr. Redding. All you need to do is sign this document pledging your allegiance.’

Cecilia placed her quill upon the parchment and slid them across the desk. Kenneth snatched it up at once and signed his name at the bottom without hesitation.

‘Excellent,’ said Cecilia, clapping her hands together. ‘Mr. Redding, welcome to the Human Welfare League.’

‘I won’t be the only one joining,’ he said. ‘There are others. Five others. They sent me to make sure it was safe,’

‘Well, Kenneth. It looks as though
Howl
will have a small army soon enough.’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Follow the Leader

AVALON REDDING

‘I’m hungry,’ Dagon complained.

‘You just ate a whole pheasant,’ I replied.

‘Pheasant is too tough. I’m hungry fer salmon.’

‘Well, we don’t have any salmon.’

‘I haven’t had any seafood in a week,’ he groaned. ‘I miss it. The soft, flaky meat, a drizzle of lemon-’

‘I haven’t had any
vegetables
in weeks,’ I retorted. ‘This all-meat diet is giving me a headache.’ I yawned widely. ‘And making me tired.’

Dagon scoffed. ‘Ha. Vegetables.
Honestly
.’

We had stuck to the road, and our journey was far easier because of it. I’d taken Fae’s advice and decided not to hide myself, or the Vulmessian’s, and it was going better than expected.

No one dared to stop us, or even talk to us. Children watched us pass from their bedroom windows, and mothers stood on the doorstep, hands over their mouths. I ignored the whispers and kept my head held high, sometimes hearing snatches of what onlookers were saying.

‘It’s
her
. The one from the posters.’

‘Is she a bad lady, Mummy?’

‘She’s just … just a teenager by the looks of it.’

‘What are those things they’re riding?’

‘I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.’

I didn’t bat an eyelid. Perhaps I was being cocky, but I felt invincible upon Hawthorne. My gaze passed over the onlookers, daring them to try and stop me. None of them did. Fae had been right. Either they feared me, or supported me. I couldn’t be sure which was true. 

Fae and Dagon rode Shadow and Emilija on either side of me. They were my entourage; Fae with her bow and arrow, and Dagon with his rippling muscles.

Perhaps Dagon had planted the idea of rebellion in my head, and Fae had fuelled my thirst for revenge, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to go to Concord City and face my enemy. The Realm had taken too much from countless families. 

We were currently walking the streets of Scyre, and were being followed by a number of curious onlookers. When I turned around to look at them, however, they pretended to be doing other things.

‘Who are we here to see?’ Dagon asked.

‘The Greenwoods,’ I replied. ‘We’re almost there.’

‘And they’re yer boyfriend's parents?’ he asked.

‘His father and step-mother, yes,’ I said.

My thighs ached from riding Hawthorne for so long, and I was looking forward to a rest stop.

‘Their apothecary is up ahead,’ I said, pointing forward. ‘You and Fae can wait out the front. Watch for any suspicious activity, okay? If you need to alert me, get the Vulmessians to yelp as loud as they can.’

‘Gotcha,’ said Dagon, giving me the thumbs-up.

‘Fae?’ I said, turning to face her. ‘Did you catch all that?’

‘Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sure.’ Fae looked as though she were a million miles away.

‘Great,’ I said, dismounting Hawthorne. I stretched my legs and rubbed my thighs vigorously. They were so stiff that my first few steps were slightly strange.

We stood out the front of Greenwood’s Apothecary, Fae and Dagon watching for any suspicious activity.

I entered the shop, the bell tinkling loudly, and found Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood behind the counter, measuring herbs on a set of brass scales. They both looked up as I entered and gasped at the sight of me.

‘Avalon!’ Mrs. Greenwood said, clutching her heart. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I needed to see you both,’ I said.

‘But … you’ll be seen by the guards!’

‘Don’t worry about me,’ I said, jerking a thumb over my shoulder. ‘I have lookouts.’

Mr and Mrs Greenwood looked over my shoulder and out of the shop window. They gasped when they saw the three magnificent beasts standing on their doorstep.

‘My goodness!’ gasped Mrs. Greenwood. ‘What are they?’

‘That’s not important right now,’ I said, waving a hand. ‘I’m here to ask you something.’

‘You know Jack is looking for you, right?’ Mr. Greenwood interrupted.

‘Jack?’ I repeated. ‘You’ve seen him?’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘He showed up a day or two after you did.’

I cursed. Jack had indeed assumed I would go to his father’s apothecary. It was too bad I hadn’t been able to stay to greet him. That was Caroline’s fault.

‘Well, it was hard to stick around and wait for him,’ I said, glancing in her direction.

Mrs. Greenwood bowed her head, looking ashamed.

‘Did he say where he was going?’ I asked.

Mr. Greenwood nodded. ‘He was heading to the Capital City, to find out if you were captured.’

I pursed my lips. ‘Well … In that case, I will see him soon enough.’

‘What?’ blurted Mr. Greenwood. ‘You can’t go to the city! You’ll be arrested within seconds!’

‘Don’t worry about me,’ I said. ‘I came here because I need your help.'

‘Our help?’ Mr. Greenwood repeated. ‘What do you need?’

I began to tell them what had happened over the last few weeks since leaving their home, including Hawthorne and Emilija in the story.

‘I’ve decided to fight the Realm,’ I admitted a few minutes later. ‘And I will help you get your son back, Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood, but I need your help in return.’

‘You’re … you’re going to get Jaime?’ Mrs. Greenwood asked, breathlessly.

‘Mrs. Greenwood … I’m going to free every damn human in the country,’ I said.

They looked at each other, surprise in their eyes.

‘Will you join me?’ I asked.

‘Go with you?’ asked Mr. Greenwood. ‘To find Jaime?’

I nodded. ‘And free the others that have been forced into slavery.’

Mr. Greenwood nodded fervently. ‘Yes, of course. I need to find my son.’

‘Will it be dangerous?’ Mrs. Greenwood asked.

I nodded. ‘Very.’

They glanced at each other again.

‘You should stay here, with the shop,’ said Mr. Greenwood.

‘No,’ his wife responded. ‘I can’t let you go alone.’

‘You need to keep up appearances,’ he ordered. ‘I will bring him back to you.’

‘What if something happens to you? How will I know?’

‘I’ll be fine,’ he assured her. ‘I’m a healer, remember?’

‘You can still die,’ she snapped.

‘Not easily,’ he smiled.

‘Um … I’ll let you two talk about it, okay?’ I said, stepping towards the door.

I left the Greenwoods to discuss their options, rejoining Dagon and Fae in the street. I noticed that two of the men who had been following us were talking to them. I hurried over, though the conversation did not look hostile.

‘What’s going on?’ I demanded, marching towards them.

Dagon looked around and saw me approaching. ‘Ask her yourself,’ he said to the men.

‘Ask me what?’ I said, standing amidst them. ‘What are you doing here?’

The two men seemed nervous, shifting their weight from foot to foot.

Fae sighed. ‘They want to know where you’re going,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

‘What? Why?’ I asked.

‘They want to follow you,’ she said.

I narrowed my eyes. ‘Follow? Are you mad?’ I ignited my hands threateningly. ‘Get out of here, both of you, before I-’

‘No! Ma’am, you don’t understand,’ piped up the smaller man, who looked to be Dagon’s age, but was far skinnier. ‘We want to join you.’

I raised my eyebrows, shocked. ‘Join?’ I repeated.

They nodded in unison.

‘Is that why you started following us?’ I asked. ‘To join us?’

‘We want to aid your cause,’ said the larger man.

‘This isn’t a good idea,’ Fae muttered to me. ‘We can’t trust them.’

‘They want to help,’ Dagon objected. ‘We should let them come along.’

It was like having an angel and a devil perched on my shoulders, with Fae and Dagon whispering different things in my ears. The trouble was, I didn’t know who was right. 

I beckoned Fae and Dagon closer. They dismounted the Vulmessians and huddled next to me. We whispered so the two onlookers couldn’t hear.

‘What do we do?’ I asked. ‘How do we know if we can trust them?’

Fae spoke at once. ‘We can’t be sure. They could be spies.’ Bundled in her arms was Willow and Rue, who were fast asleep.

Dagon sighed. ‘They want to help,’ he said. ‘They know how dangerous it is to approach yeh. Why would they risk it?’

I hardly considered myself dangerous, but that was the impression I seemed to give.

‘If they betray us,’ I said slowly. ‘Do you think we could take them on?’

Dagon smirked. ‘I reckon yeh could take ‘em on single handed, Lass.’

Fae nodded in agreement. ‘If not, you have us, and the Vulmessians. We’re more than a match.’

I nodded, coming to a decision. Straightening up, I turned to face the two strangers watching us.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘You understand what I am trying to do, and where I am going?’

They nodded.

‘You’re going to free our family … my daughter,’ said the larger man.

I licked my lips nervously. ‘Your child is human?’

He nodded.

‘What are your names?’ I asked.

‘Terry Pratchet,’ said the smaller man, stepping forward. ‘My brother was taken by the Realm.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I said. ‘What is your Power?’

‘I’m … uh … flexible,’ he said nervously.

‘Flexible?’ I repeated. ‘Show me.’

I watched as Terry Pratchet pulled his leg high over his head, and wrapped it around his neck. For anyone else, such a manoeuvre would be impossible. Just looking at him made my muscles hurt.

‘Ugh, gross. Okay. Thanks.’ I winced.

‘It’s almost impossible to confine me,’ he said. ‘I’ll get out of any situation, no problem.’