Falling Ashes (8 page)

‘Oh.’ I raised my hand and touched it lightly. ‘You recognize it?’

Mr. Greenwood looked puzzled. ‘No. Should I?’

‘Yes … um, Jack gave it to me,’ I said. I didn’t want to say the obvious; that it had belonged to his dead wife.

I felt guilty as Mr. Greenwood stared at the locket. ‘It looks very nice on you,’ he said, with a smile.

‘Thank you.’

I didn’t want to be a burden on the Greenwoods. Perhaps it was best if I left before they asked me to leave.

‘Carol, won’t you heat up my dinner for me?’ asked Mr. Greenwood.

Mrs. Greenwood teetered for a moment, looking as though she didn’t want to leave the two of us alone. Her eyes darted between us, and she opened her mouth to speak, yet no sound came out. Changing her mind, she closed her mouth and whisked herself away.

‘Look, I know I’ve put you in an awkward position,’ I said, wringing my hands together. ‘I’ll get out of your hair, I promise.’

Mr. Greenwood frowned. ‘Don’t be silly. You need to stay here, where it is safe.’

‘But I thought-’ I paused, slightly confused.

‘So, you think Jack will be here in a couple of days, then?’ Mr. Greenwood interrupted my train of thought.

‘Oh … yes, well … I couldn’t think of anywhere else he might go,’ I said, sheepishly.

Mr. Greenwood looked over his shoulder to make sure his wife was not eavesdropping.

‘Look, Avalon, I know you are in a spot of trouble. I’ve seen the posters in town-’

‘I know … I’m sorry.’ I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for.

‘You aren’t safe here,’ he continued, checking over his shoulder again. He bent down and whispered urgently in my ear. ‘You don’t know who you can trust.’

‘I can trust your son,’ I said. ‘Jack would never-’

‘I don’t mean Jack,’ Mr. Greenwood said, gripping my shoulder. ‘But you can’t-’

‘What are you two whispering about?’ Mrs. Greenwood popped her head around the corner. ‘Sweetheart, your dinner is ready.’

‘Thank you, Dear.’ Mr. Greenwood straightened up and gave me a meaningful stare. What was he saying? That I wasn’t safe here, in this house?

Mrs. Greenwood was wiping her hands on her apron. ‘Avalon, dear, why don’t you get ready for bed? I’m sure you’re very tired. Feel free to take a bath.’

I nodded, looking around for my rucksack.

‘I put your things in Jaime’s room,’ she said. ‘You can sleep there tonight.’

‘Won’t Jaime need it?’ I asked.

Mrs. Greenwood waved a hand. ‘Jaime is sleeping over a friends house tonight.’

I was rather excited to have a bath. The relaxing water would do me good.

Entering the bathroom, I turned the taps and watched the bath begin to fill. I poured a generous amount of bubble-bath into the tub, which frothed immediately.

I stripped down and sank into the half-full bath, which almost completely covered me. I wasn’t sure how long I soaked for. I sat there for ages, thinking about Jack, and turning the locket over in my fingers. I must have been in the bath for at least half an hour because my hands were very wrinkly when I got out.

Wrapping myself in a towel, I walked down the hall to Jaime’s room. It was small and cluttered, with deep blue walls. Toys were scattered over the room, though there was something strange about the way they had been placed.

I saw my bag sitting on the bed, which was neatly made. Strange, considering the rest of the room was a bit of a mess. Closing the door behind myself, I crossed the room, avoiding the strewn dinosaur figurines.  I rummaged around in my rucksack, looking for something to sleep in. I found an old nightgown, something I hadn’t worn in years. Jack must have thrown this in the bag.

Once I was dressed, I inspected the little wooden carvings painted in bright colours. I bent down and picked up the tyrannosaurus rex, turning it over in my hands. The toy was covered in a layer of dust, as though no one had touched it for weeks, maybe months. Examining the rest of the toys, I noticed that they were all the same. Dust coated every one of them. Not a fingerprint could be seen. The desk and shelves were the same, too. No one had been in this room for a while. So where had Jaime been sleeping?

Perhaps I was thinking about this a little too much.

Click.

The bedroom door made a metallic noise. I crossed the room in three strides, and tried to open the door, but found that it had been locked from the outside.

I knocked on the wood loudly. ‘Um, Mrs. Greenwood? I think the door locked itself,’ I called, pressing my ear to the door.

There was no response. I banged louder on the door.

‘Mrs. Greenwood? The door is stuck-’

‘I’m sorry, Avalon. I have to do this,’ said Mrs. Greenwood, her voice breaking. She was standing on the other side of the door.

I dropped to my stomach and peered through the crack under the door. I could see Mrs. Greenwood’s shoes, pacing in front of Jaime’s door.

‘What’s going on, Mrs. Greenwood?’ I said, hoisting myself back up. ‘Let me out.’

‘I can’t do that, Dear. You have to stay here until they come.’

Panic flared in my gut. ‘Until who comes?’

‘It was the only way,’ she said. I could hear her crying now. Her gentle sobs echoed through the hall.

‘Please, Mrs. Greenwood!’ I called, banging on the door with both of my fists now. ‘Don’t make me force my way out!’

‘You
have
to stay,’ she repeated. ‘It’s the only way I’ll be able to see him again.’

‘See who?’ I said through gritted teeth.

‘Jaime,’ Mrs. Greenwood sobbed. ‘If I have you … maybe they will give Jaime back to me.’

My heart sank, and I cursed loudly. The Realm had taken Jaime.

‘He’s human, isn’t he?’ I asked, holding my breath in anticipation of the response.

Several seconds passed. ‘Yes,’ she sniffled. ‘They took him a month ago, but I think they might give him back in exchange for you-’

I released the breath I had been holding. ‘Mrs. Greenwood, I’m sorry about your son, but the Realm doesn’t work that way. They won’t give him back to you-’

‘Then we can buy him back with the bounty money,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘They’ve sold him, I know it. We’ll buy him back.’

‘Do you know who has him now?’

She sniffled. ‘My husband has been spending his days searching for Jaime. We don’t know who has him, or where he is.’

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘Where is Mr. Greenwood? Was he in on this too?'

‘I put a sleeping solution in his dinner,’ Mrs. Greenwood said softly. ‘He was … against the idea of handing you over.’

Suddenly, the conversation Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood had been having downstairs made sense.

‘If we can keep her here until they arrive-’

‘We can’t do that, Caroline. I won’t have it.’

‘Jack, there might not be another way-’

Caroline had been referring to the Realm, and not Jack and my family.

‘You drugged your husband?’ I said, trying to control my anger.

‘I drugged you, too,’ she whispered. ‘The milk … the dinner. But it didn’t work.’

That explained why I had been so sleepy. ‘My body temperature is much higher than the average Mage. I’d burn off any drugs you added.’

‘I didn’t think about that. I’d hoped you’d be unconscious, so I could send a message to the Realm.’

It was amazing, really, the lengths a mother would go to get her child back.

‘Look … I know you’d do anything to get your son back, Mrs. Greenwood. Really, I understand how you feel-’

‘You have no idea how I feel!’ she sobbed. I heard her lean against the door, and slide down it. 

‘My sister is a human,’ I confessed. ‘The Realm took her a couple of months ago. That’s why Jack and I visited you the first time … we were heading to Concord City to get her back.’

‘Did you … did you find her?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘We got her back … but … but she wasn’t the same afterward. They changed her. She doesn’t know who I am, or who she is, even.’

‘But you’ve got her?’

‘In a way, I suppose. Her memories are gone … or locked away, or something.’

‘Her memories? You don’t think-’

‘I’m sure Jaime is fine,’ I lied.  Just because I’d taken Korra Waterson’s memories, and forced Alastor Newman to leave the city, did not mean that humans were not being processed.

‘How’d you do it?’ Mrs. Greenwood asked. ‘How did you get her back?’

I scoffed. ‘Why do you think there is a bounty over my head? I broke the law. I took her back through force.’

I heard Mrs. Greenwood chuckle through her tears. ‘Would you do it again, knowing what you know now? If you knew that the Realm would issue a warrant for your arrest-’

‘I’d do it again. Of course I would. She’s my sister.’

There was silence for several minutes. I leaned my head against the locked door, and sighed.

‘Is it true what the posters say?’ she asked suddenly. ‘Are you the leader of the human alliance?’

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  Why the hell not? Sure, I would be the leader of the human alliance, if that’s what the Realm wanted to accuse me of.

‘Mrs. Greenwood, I want to free humans like your son.’

‘You can get Jaime back?’

I didn’t want to give her false hope, but how else would I get out? I could always set the house on fire … but this was Jack’s father’s house, too.

‘I can try.’

The door swung open, and Mrs. Greenwood was beaming at me.

Chapter Seven

The Unrecognisable City

‘I thought I was going to have to burn the door down,’ I said, relieved that Mrs. Greenwood had unlocked it.

‘Avalon, I’m so sorry-’

‘It’s fine. Let’s just forget about it, okay?’

‘No, you don’t understand,’ Mrs. Greenwood said with wide eyes. ‘You have to leave … right now.’

‘Why?’

‘I … I sent a message to the guards.’

‘You
what
?
When
?’  

‘When you were bathing.’ Mrs. Greenwood looked at me imploringly.  ‘I’m sorry … I want Jaime back so badly … I’d do anything.’

I was both furious and saddened by Mrs. Greenwood’s decision to alert the guards of my whereabouts.

‘Please,’ Mrs. Greenwood said, putting her face in her hands. ‘Just go … before I change my mind.’

I put a hand on her shoulder. ‘You’re doing the right thing,’ I said.

‘Where will you go?’ she asked.

I did not want to tell Mrs. Greenwood where I was going. What if she changed her mind, and told the Realm in exchange for her son? No, I couldn’t risk it. Besides, even I didn’t know where I was going.

‘I’m not sure,’ I said. ‘There’s nowhere for me to go. I don’t have any friends or family-’

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Someone was knocking on the shop door, downstairs.

I froze, staring wide-eyed at Mrs. Greenwood.

‘They’re here,’ she said, gazing down the hall with a wanting expression. Looking back at me, she said, ‘Get out of here.’

I dashed back into Jaime’s room and retrieved my rucksack, the ridiculous silk nightdress offering no support. Flinging the bag over my shoulder, I ran into the hall, where Mrs. Greenwood waited for me. The banging on the door downstairs continued.

‘How do I get out?’ I asked. The Greenwood’s apartment had only once entrance – through the shop front, but that wasn’t a likely option at the moment.

‘The bathroom window,’ Mrs. Greenwood said hesitantly. She wrung her fingers together, glancing over her shoulder. I could tell she was questioning her decision to let me go.

Squeezing past her, I slipped into the bathroom and found the tiny window above the tub. It was several feet above my head, but if I stood on the edge of the bath, I might be able to reach it. It was small, but I was slim enough to slide through.

I climbed onto the edge of the tub, using the tiled wall for stability. Mrs. Greenwood stood in the doorway and watched me.

I could see out of the window now, and I found that it led to the roof, and many others all joined in a row. I slid the brass latch, allowing the window to pop open, welcoming in the cool evening breeze.

Shrugging the rucksack from my shoulder I shoved it through the rectangular window, throwing my weight against the bulky bag. It squeezed through and rolled down the sloping roof, finally getting caught in the gutter, and teetering on the edge.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The knocking was getting louder, and I knew it was only a matter of time before they forced their way in. I had only a few precious minutes in which to vanish.

‘Mrs. Greenwood, can you give me a leg up?’ I asked, glancing over my shoulder, only to find that the doorway was empty. Mrs. Greenwood had been standing there only moments before.