Flamethroat (18 page)

‘
Oh no, nothing like that,
’
Jack said quickly.

‘
Good,
’
Georgia gave a sigh of relief,
‘
It
’
s utter nonsense if you ask me.
’

‘
Mmmh
’
Jack agreed half-heartedly. I could hear something being chopped up.

‘
So, why do you need to see
T
he Realm?
’
Georgia pressed.

I clenched my fists, praying that Jack was not about to reveal our purpose to this stranger.

‘
Um, nothing interesting, really,
’
Jack said slowly.
‘
We … uh, need to get planning permission to … build an apothecary in Mortlock.
’

I exhaled, thankfully.

‘
Your own apothecary?
’
Georgia sounded delighted.
‘
Will you run it all by yourself?
’

‘
Oh no, I suppose Avalon will be there to help,
’
Jack invented.

‘
Avalon?
’
Georgia repeated, then she lowered her voice,
‘
And you would trust her completely, not to, you know … set everything on fire?
’

‘
Yeah, of course. I don
’
t see why not.
’

‘
Hm
’
Georgia made a tutting noise with her tongue.
‘
Have you been friends long, you and her?
’

Jack thought about this for a moment.
‘
We met only last year,
’
he admitted.

‘
That
’
s a big commitment
–
travelling so far and going into business with someone you barely know.
’

I grinded my teeth together.

‘
I hadn
’
t thought of that,
’
said Jack.

Of course he hadn
’
t
–
we weren
’
t going into business together at all.

‘
Are you sure she isn
’
t using you?
’
Georgia said in a hushed tone.
‘
She has this … dark look about her, as though she is up to something.
’

I was surprised to hear Jack laugh loudly.
‘
Nah. Avalon always looks a bit moody,
’
he said with a chortle.
‘
Good kid though.
’

Kid
. I scowled. I was almost nineteen.

‘
So there
’
s nothing going on between you two?
’
Georgia pressed.

‘
Going on?
’
Jack repeated.
‘
No. I mean, she is my best friend, so of course we care about each other-
’

‘
So you
’
re single?
’
Georgia interrupted.

I was gripping the folds of my dress so tightly that my knuckles were white.

‘
Yes.
’
Jack replied.
‘
I am.
’

The conversation ended here. I could hear my heart throbbing in my ears so loudly, it was deafening.

I thought things could not get any worse, but I was wrong. Halfway through dinner, which was a course of mashed potatoes, roasted chicken and peas, Georgia asked where we were staying. She was appalled by Jack
’
s living arrangements and promptly offered him her spare bedroom, free of charge, for one week. Once again, Jack assumed that the offer was for the two of us and accepted without asking me.

When Georgia got up to clear the plates, I rounded on Jack.

‘
What are you doing?
’
I hissed at him.

‘
What?
’
he said innocently.

‘
I don
’
t want to stay here with
her
,
’
I said, my voice obviously full of disgust.

Jack made an impatient noise,
‘
What is your problem? Can
’
t you see that she is trying to do something nice for us?
’

I glowered at Jack.
‘
I don
’
t want to be in her debt.
’

Jack looked over his shoulder to make sure we were not being overheard.
‘
Look, it
’
s just for a couple of nights, okay? It will save us a ton of money on renting a room at the lodge.
’

‘
I know,
’
I said through gritted teeth,
‘
But I think she is up to something.
’

Jack rolled his eyes.
‘
Stop, you
’
re being paranoid. Someone is doing something nice for us. Not everyone has an ulterior motive you know.
’

I strongly disagreed, but I didn
’
t get a chance to voice my opinion before Georgia re-entered the dining room. It seemed Georgia hadn
’
t been lying
–
she was very persuasive.

Jack fetched our belongings from the Dragon
’
s Head lodge after supper and brought them to Georgia
’
s home. As it turned out, she only had a single bed in her spare room, so either Jack or I would have to sleep on the sofa in the sitting room.

Jack graciously volunteered, even though I was more than happy to sleep on the sofa. While Georgia gathered pillows and blankets for Jack, he pulled me to one side and muttered to me.

‘
Just try to be nice, okay?
’

I crossed my arms.
‘
I
’
m not good at that.
’

‘
Please?
’

I saw his expression and my
defences
fell.
‘
Fine.
’

Jack gave me a smile and a wink before turning back to Georgia.

‘
That looks really comfortable. Thank you so much for this. We really appreciate it. Don
’
t we, Ava?
’

‘
Yes,
’
I said stonily. Then, seeing Jack
’
s expression, I put a smile on my face.
‘
It is very kind of you.
’

Georgia lapped it up.
‘
Oh, it
’
s nothing.
’
She waved a hand.
‘
I just love to help the less fortunate.
’

‘
I bet you do.
’
I muttered so she could not hear.

After a poor nights sleep, I entered the sitting room to find Jack still fast asleep, his limbs dangling from the sofa.

‘
Wake up.
’
I kicked his leg. He stirred, staring groggily up at me, confused. This made me laugh, but I stopped when Georgia bustled in with a tray laden with food for Jack.

‘
Good morning!
’
she chirped merrily, bustling around Jack, fluffing his pillows and putting a breakfast tray on his lap.
‘
I made you breakfast!
’

I salivated over the food that had been brought for Jack and noted that my own stomach was grumbling loudly.

‘
Thank you,
’
said Jack, amazed.
‘
You really didn
’
t have to.
’

‘
Well someone has to,
’
Georgia smiled.

I wondered if Georgia was trying to show Jack what a good homemaker she would be.

‘
Are you hungry, Avalon?
’
Jack asked me, offering a piece of toast.

‘
No,
’
I lied as my stomach growled again.

‘
Avalon is a big girl
–
she can make her own breakfast,
’
said Georgia, sitting on the sofa next to Jack.

‘
Aren
’
t you working today?
’
I asked her.

She looked up at me, confused.
‘
What? Oh, yes. I was just about to leave. What are you doing today Jack?
’

‘
We have things to do,
’
I said bluntly.
‘
Together.
’

‘
Fair enough,
’
said Georgia slowly.
‘
I guess I
’
ll see you this afternoon Jack.
’

‘
Yeah, of course,
’
said Jack, standing and rummaging through his rucksack for clean clothes.

Jack and I did not have a plan. Our hope was to arrive at
T
he Realm Headquarters so early that no one else would be there. But we were sorely disappointed. Crowds of people stood in front of the gates, yelling and throwing things. The guards were out in force today, beating back anyone who came within a meter of the perimeter. Jack and I made several attempts to engage the men in red cloaks in conversation. They would not even talk to us in a civilized manner let alone answer our questions. Instead, we were shouted at and threatened with violence if we didn
’
t keep our distance. I was quite angry after several hours at the gate and resorted to shouting along with the rest of the crowd. Jack, who did not enjoy confrontation, stood back warily while I shouted myself hoarse. By the end of the day, I was just another lunatic in the crowd. That afternoon, I asked a fellow protestor how long she had been at the gate. She told me that she had been camping out the front of
T
he Realm for the last week and a half.

‘
A week and a half?
’
I gasped.
‘
And they still haven
’
t let you in?
’

The woman shook her head.
‘
They haven
’
t let anyone in
–
except those who come to register their Humans.
’

And then it dawned on me; I could get into
T
he Realm if I wanted to register a Human.

It was dark now. Jack was sitting on the curb by the side of the road. We were both extremely tired and Jack was slightly sunburned after a day at the gate. The sun, of course, had no affect on my skin.

‘
Have you had enough of shouting?
’
Jack asked when I sat on the curb next to him.

‘
It is no use,
’
I said.
‘
We are never going to get an audience with
T
he Realm at this rate. One of those women has been here over a week.
’

Jack swore under his breath.
‘
I promise, we will do everything we can to appeal your family
’
s arrest.
’

‘
Anything?
’
I asked slowly.

‘
Of course,
’
said Jack.
‘
Why?
’

‘
Because, I have an idea,
’
I said, looking up at him.

‘
It is utterly mad?
’
Jack asked, with a frown.

‘
Yes,
’
I admitted.