Falling Ashes (24 page)

‘Hey, Greenwood,’ she said, closing the door behind herself.

‘Hey,’ he muttered, turning back to scanning the grounds.

‘I brought you something to eat,’ she said, placing the sandwich near him.

‘Oh … thanks.’

‘You know … they say the leader of the Rebellion is a Powerful Fire-Mage – a heartless woman who isn’t afraid to destroy anything in her path to free the humans.’

Jack almost smiled, but he kept his face straight. ‘You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.’

‘It came from a reliable source.’ Ethel crossed her arms. ‘I overheard the General talking about it.’

‘So? How does it affect you?’

Ethel seemed agitated. ‘My shield is useless against fire. I’ll be dead within seconds.’

‘You really think this
Fire-Mage
would slaughter innocent Mages?’ Jack couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the idea.

‘Why would they make up such a thing? This is the government we’re talking about.’

‘They like to exaggerate,’ said Jack in an undertone. He leaned closer to Ethel so she could hear him better. ‘I bet she’s just some kid who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.’

‘And Korra Waterson? How do you explain what happened to her?’

‘Gimme a break.’ Jack rolled his eyes. ‘She probably stuck herself with one of those needles and lost her memory by accident.’ It was a lie, of course. Avalon had been the one to inject Korra Waterson with the memory serum, but Ethel didn’t need to know that. He hated the idea of people imagining Ava to be some kind of vengeful monster.

Ethel raised her eyebrows, seemingly shocked with what Jack had said.

‘What?’ he said, wary of her reaction.

‘Who said she lost her memory?’ Ethel whispered. ‘No one knows what happened to her exactly. So how do you know?’

Jack jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating to the camp which they’d left behind twenty minutes ago. ‘Sergeant Jenson said it at that emergency meeting … didn’t he?’

Ethel shook her head. ‘No. He said Korra was the victim of a vicious attack.’

Jack didn’t like the way Ethel was staring at him with wide eyes.
Shit
. He’d just dobbed himself in by revealing information that only Realm officials should know.

‘So … how
do you
know?’ she asked.

Chapter Eighteen

Ræven’s Past

AVALON REDDING

I stared at Fae. ‘Excuse me. Did you say Ræven?’

Fae finished eating the pheasant and threw the bones into a corner. ‘Yes. Why?’

I wasn’t sure how to phrase my question politely, so instead I asked. ‘You don’t mean Ræven Blacklock, do you?’

Fae’s eyes became as round as saucers. ‘You know R
æven?’

I nodded fervently. ‘Yes, she’s a friend of mine.’

Tears sprang into Fae’s eyes immediately, and for a moment I was worried that I’d upset her, but her face broke into an enormous grin, changing her whole appearance. For a moment, I saw a sixteen-year-old girl looking through Fae’s eyes.

‘What’s the matter?’ I asked, concerned.

‘I haven’t seen Ræven in years,’ said Fae. ‘I didn’t know where she was … if she was okay … nothing.’

I smiled. ‘R
æven is fine. Well, at least she was the last time I saw her. I haven’t seen her in a few months.’

Fae wiped the tears away that leaked from her eyes. ‘That’s so good to hear. You have no idea how happy that news makes me.’ She gave me a watery smile.

I returned Fae’s smile. ‘I’m glad. Though I’m not sure where Ræven is at the moment. Last I heard, she quit her job at the Frost Arch messenger service.

‘Frost Arch?’ Fae repeated. ‘Where is that?’

‘It’s in England,’ I said.

‘England?’ Fae repeated. ‘R
æven is living in England?’

I nodded, unsure of where else R
æven had lived.

Fae frowned. ‘She went a long way.’

‘Well, it’s in her nature to fly, isn’t it?’ I asked.

Fae looked at me confused. ‘Fly?’

‘Yes, of course. I mean, as a shape-shifter she can go anywhere she likes, can’t she?’

Fae raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you sure we are talking about the same R
æven?’

‘Well, it’s not a very common name, is it?’

‘The Ræven I knew was
not
a shape-shifter,’ said Fae. ‘Her parents were … but Ræven was a Siren.’

‘A what?’ I asked.

‘A Siren,’ Fae repeated. ‘A Siren’s song takes both body and soul in a lethargy that can sometimes be fatal. Of course, I was never able to appreciate the full intensity of her voice-’

‘Yes!’ I said loudly. ‘That’s
Ræven!’

‘But … you said she was a shape-shifter-’

I nodded quickly. ‘Ræven has two Powers. I know it’s a little strange, but she told me several months ago that she only discovered her shape-shifting Power when-’ I paused, unsure whether I should reveal this information to Fae. After all, Ræven had told me of her troubled past in confidence. That being said, I had no idea of Ræven’s life before she discovered that she could turn into a bird. According to Fae, Ræven had been terribly abused by a man in her hometown.

‘When her parents lost their memories?’ Fae finished.

‘You know?’

Fae nodded. ‘I haven’t seen
Ræven since the incident. It was an accident, of course. After school, I went to visit Ræven, as usual. We spent every day together. But when I got there she was gone, and her parents were … well … they were there, but they weren’t themselves. It was as though they were empty shells of themselves.’

‘That’s when R
æven discovered her second Power,’ I said.

Fae nodded. ‘It is unusual. But sometimes new Powers blossom when one is put under great stress.’

‘And Ræven’s parents were shape-shifters too?’ I asked.

Fae nodded. ‘All this time I thought I would find her near our own country … but she was in England.’ Her eyes began to water again, and I couldn’t think of anything comforting to say, so I remained quiet instead.

The return of Hawthorne, Emilija, and the pups was a good distraction, but with seven of us inside the windmill, things were becoming quite cramped. However, Shadow made it his business to curl up in Fae’s lap and go to sleep.

‘So … have you been looking for her since she vanished?’ I asked.

Fae nodded. ‘I set out on my own … I had to tell her … had to tell her that it was okay - that the damage was not as bad as she thought.’

This alarmed me. ‘What do you mean? What wasn’t as bad as she thought?’

‘Her parents,’ said Fae. ‘I can only assume she thought the damage was permanent – that’s why she left and didn’t come back.’

‘But … but it wasn’t?’

Fae shook her head. ‘Not at all. They were themselves again within a month. It was gradual, but eventually, their memories came back to them.’

My heart pounded frantically in my chest because at that moment I knew who it was that had set the Realm onto me.

Nicholo Martinez had been exposed to the raw Power of Ræven’s voice, and his memory had been wiped clean. At least, that’s what we’d thought. As it turned out, Ræven’s Power was not permanent – Martinez would have gained his memories within a month.

‘You seem concerned,’ said Fae as she scratched Shadow behind the ears. His little wings flapped with delight.

I chewed the inside of my lip. There was nothing I could do about Martinez now, so there was no point in worrying myself too much.

‘It’s nothing,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘I just remembered something is all.’

‘Enough about me, anyway,’ said Fae. ‘Why don’t we talk about you?’

‘What’s to know?’ I said quickly. ‘I’m boring. You don’t want to hear about me.’

‘But I do,’ said Fae, stroking Shadow gently. ‘What are you doing so far from home with these five … uh … what are they again?’

‘They’re called Vulmessians. Hawthorne and Emilija were created by a Mage in Flamethroat Valley.’

‘Okay, so what are you doing in Belgium with five Vul-mess … these things?’

I shrugged. ‘Camping trip.’

Fae smirked. ‘You are a bad liar.’

‘I know.’

‘So?’

‘So what?’ I asked.

‘Aren’t you going to tell me?’

‘There’s nothing to tell.’

The fact that Fae hadn’t heard of me, or seen my face before, was a good indication that the Realm was not searching for me abroad. Either that, or she had been disconnected from society for so long that she not had the chance to see the posters.

‘If you say so,’ said Fae, nonchalant.

She dropped the subject, for which I was grateful. Fae was a stranger, and I needed to keep my guard up. After all, hadn’t I seen her murder a man in cold blood?

I felt conflicted. I liked Fae a lot. She was strong and independent for her age, but at the same time, she scared the hell out of me.

~

I asked Fae to stay the night and rest – it was the least I could do after she’d saved me and Shadow. She was hesitant at first, but agreed eventually when Shadow’s whining became too much for her.

Fae lay down on the hard floor with her bow in her hand. She said she always slept with her weapon – just in case. I told her that there was no reason to worry, not with Hawthorne and Emilija around – they would protect us. But Fae insisted that she did not like being dependent on anyone – even an animal.

I, on the other hand, felt very safe indeed. No one would be trying to catch me in a hurry. And now, with Finn out of the picture, it seemed I was in no immediate danger.

~

I lay awake for most of the night thinking things over; the ease with which Fae had taken revenge on the man that hurt
Ræven, and her hatred of men everywhere. In a way, we were very similar; I hated those who had hurt Helena, like Alastor Newman, Korra Waterson, and Nicholo Martinez. As a result of their role in the enslavement of humans I despised the whole damn Realm. Even Finn, who did not express any loyalty for the Realm, had played a part in the oppression of humans, simply by hunting me.

Suddenly, I was filled with such rage that it took a great amount of effort not to spontaneously combust. Strange, considering Fae was merely a few feet away, and her Power was to repress others. Perhaps raw emotion cancelled her Power out.

Hawthorne, who had been asleep in the corner with Emilija, looked up and stared at me. I wasn’t sure whether he had noticed a rise in temperature, or if he was so connected to me that he sensed a spike in my emotions. Either way, he knew something was wrong because he stood quietly and then lay down by my side, resting his chin on my legs.

When I finally fell asleep, I had an assortment of unusual dreams. I was flying on Hawthorne and looking down at a grand building that I did not recognise, perhaps because it was on fire.  The sound of the building’s structure failing was deafening. Dust filled the air and clouded my vision, but I was happy - ecstatic, even. I was laughing as Hawthorne and I flew away.

When I awoke, I remembered the dream vividly; the elation I’d felt watching the structure burn to the ground, and knowing I’d done it. Part of me thought that perhaps the building I’d seen was the Realm Headquarters, but I couldn’t be sure.

It’s just my subconscious
, I told myself.
I’m just angry at the Realm. I do not want to burn down their headquarters. Do I?

I shook my head vigorously, trying to erase the thoughts that lingered.

~

The next morning was one of phenomenal beauty. It was the middle of summer so the sun was warm, the birds were singing, and flowers everywhere were blooming. Not only that, but the local wildlife was also out to play. Red foxes darted around the forest hunting squirrels and rabbits while Fae and I watched.

Shadow sat in Fae’s lap, loving the attention she provided. I couldn’t help but notice that Shadow’s size seemed to have increased since the night before. It seemed Fae had noticed this too.

‘He is much heavier than yesterday,’ she said, weighing him in her hands.

I shrugged. ‘They do grow fast.’

‘No, I mean, considerably heavier. But the other two are much smaller.’

‘Yes, Shadow was always bigger,’ I said.

Fae frowned. ‘I suppose their mother and father are quite large too.’

But Shadow continued to outgrow Willow and Rue over the next three days. Whilst the two females remained small, Shadow was nearing the size of an average fox. I remembered how Hawthorne had grown at an alarming rate too. So why weren’t Willow and Rue growing at all?

I was glad that I had Fae for company. She was a little intense sometimes in her approach to situations, but I was growing used to her. Also, it seemed, was my Power. After a few days around the fiery redhead I was able to produce Fire once more – though not as Powerful as usual.