Falling Ashes (35 page)

‘You will,’ said the voice. ‘Please be patient. What is your name?’

‘Why should I tell you?’ asked Kenneth.

‘You received an invitation to our meeting, did you not?’ asked the voice.

Kenneth nodded. ‘Yeah. So? Bit of a strange place for a meeting, isn’t it? Where’s everyone else?’

‘Oh, this isn’t where the meeting is held,’ said the voice. ‘I will take you to our meeting if you will allow it.’

‘And how do I know you’ll do that?’ said Kenneth. ‘What if it’s a trick?’

‘How do I know you aren’t a Realm Guard?’ asked the voice. ‘As you can see, we have reached an impasse. Please, sir. I have only your best interests at heart. We are like you, human empathisers forced to meet in secret. I assure you that you will be able to leave at any given moment if you so desire.’

Kenneth looked around, unsure what to do. The other’s probably thought he was barking mad, talking to himself like that.

‘Only if you show your face,’ said Kenneth.

‘As you wish,’ said the voice.

A man materialised out of thin air before Kenneth’s very eyes. He was used to seeing strange things, but this was certainly out of the ordinary.

He was an older gentleman with a large moustache, who wore a suit and top hat.

‘You’re awfully dressed up for an invisible man,’ said Kenneth.

The man removed his hat and bowed deeply. ‘Allow me to introduce myself. I am Francis Cavendish, a man of many talents.’

‘Many talents, huh?’

‘Yes. Why, I can transfer the invisibility to anyone that is willing. It’s not so much
invisibility
per-se, but rather bending light around an object or person. If light does not bounce off an object, the perceiver is unable to detect it.’

‘So, technically, you’re not invisible at all. You bend light?’ asked Kenneth.

‘Many people have a hard time understanding-’

‘Spare me the educational lecture,’ Kenneth interrupted. ‘Let’s talk about this meeting-’

‘I do apologise. I didn’t catch your name.’

‘It’s Ken,’ he said.

‘And what do you do, Ken?’ asked Francis.

‘I’m a Fire-Mage.’

Francis seemed momentarily star-struck. ‘Really? A Fire-Mage?’

‘Yes. Now, are you going to walk me to this meeting or what?’

Francis Cavendish placed his hat upon his head and gave a wink. ‘No need to walk, my friend. My gift can provide a shortcut.’

‘A shortcut?’ Kenneth repeated, unsure.

‘I’ll show you,’ said Francis with a wild twinkle in his eye. Kenneth was not sure whether he liked this man or not. He seemed far too happy for no reason in particular.

Francis closed his eyes, concentrating hard, drawing a circle in the air with his index finger. A beam of light followed his hand as he traced the circle in the air, several feet above the water. Once the two ends had joined, the circle filled with a bright white light, blinding Kenneth momentarily.

‘What … what is it?’ he asked, shielding his eyes.

‘A portal,’ said Francis. ‘It will take you to the meeting.’

‘A what?’ said Kenneth, absolutely flabbergasted. ‘How do I know it will take me there, and not somewhere dangerous?’

‘You can trust me, Ken!’ said Francis, patting him on the shoulder. ‘We’ll jump together. Ready?’

‘Jump?’ repeated Kenneth. ‘What if I fall in the water?’ As a Fire-Mage, he was not partial to being submerged in great depths.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Francis. ‘You’re safe in my hands.’

For some reason, Kenneth trusted him. 

‘One,’ said Francis, bending his knees in preparation for the jump. ‘Two.
Three
!’

They jumped in unison. Mid-way, Kenneth felt an irresistible pull towards the portal, as if it was sucking him in. The sensation of entering the light was like being pulled through a tube at great speeds. A loud sucking noise filled his ears, and before he knew what was happening, Kenneth was lying flat on his stomach in the middle of the street. Coughing, he got to his feet and looked around, shocked to find that he was in a totally different part of the city. Standing beside him was Francis, who was brushing himself off.

‘That wasn’t so bad, was it?’ he asked with a smile.

‘I’ve never felt anything like it,’ said Kenneth. ‘Where are we?’

‘We’ll tell you the official location after you’ve spoken to our leader. She will ask you some questions to see if you are worthy of admittance to the meeting.’

‘What? Like a test?’

‘Oh no, nothing like a test.’ Francis waved his hand airily. ‘Don’t worry. If you tell the truth, you won’t have a problem.’

Feeling extremely anxious, Kenneth followed Francis a few meters down the street, until they reached an empty lot between two townhouses.

‘This is it,’ said Francis, pointing at the vacant land.

‘What? Here?’ asked Kenneth, rather sceptical.

Francis nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘There’s nothing here,’ said Kenneth, worried that he was going to be ambushed at any moment. He realised that if he was attacked, the others wouldn’t have a clue where he went. To them, he’d vanished in a flash of white light.

‘Ah,’ Francis said mysteriously, holding up his index finger. ‘To the naked eye, there is nothing here.’

‘Let me guess,’ said Kenneth. ‘It’s invisible?’

‘Right you are!’ he replied. Kenneth thought that Francis was far too excitable. ‘Follow me. You’ll be able to see it once we enter the bubble.’

‘Bubble?’ repeated Kenneth.

‘Yes, the bubble that surrounds the property, which refracts light. Once you pass through it, you’ll be able to see everything inside. You haven’t realised, of course, that we are invisible at this very moment.’

‘We are?’ Kenneth looked down at his own feet, expecting to see nothing but the pavement below. He was wrong, however, and his dirty shoes were as plain as day. ‘How come I can see myself? And you?’

‘We are in the same bubble,’ said Francis. ‘Well, bubble isn’t exactly a correct description, but for those who may have … uh …
difficulties
comprehending the Power, it’s easiest to explain it that way.’

Kenneth ignored the insinuation. ‘So let’s go.’

‘Jolly good. Now, if you wouldn’t mind placing your hand on my shoulder, please.’

‘Why?’ asked Kenneth.

‘Well, to pass through the shield, of course. Being invisible isn’t nearly enough protection. What if a guard accidentally wanders into this apparently vacant lot? He’ll see everything once he passes through the bubble. So we have a shield surrounding the perimeter, and only those who have been granted access may pass through it. It also blocks out all sound contained within.’

‘Okay,’ said Kenneth slowly. He was feeling rather foolish. Their level of security was far stronger than H.E.L.E.N.A’s.

‘So, as I already have access to pass through the shield, you must stay in contact with me so you can pass through, too.’

‘Let’s just do it, shall we?’

Placing his hand on Francis’ shoulder, they walked forward. ‘Now, be careful, Ken. There is a step just here that you can’t see. And … lift your foot …
now
.’

Kenneth did as he was told, putting his foot onto the undetectable step. As soon as he did, he felt himself pass through the “bubble”, and a house materialised in front of him.

‘That was really strange,’ he said, in awe.

Now that they had passed through the bubble and shield, Kenneth could hear a lot of chatter coming from inside the house. It sounded as though there were many people here.

‘Welcome to H.W.L,’ said Francis. ‘Cecilia is waiting for you in the library.’

‘Lead the way,’ said Kenneth.

Kenneth was taken into the residency and through a long, wide hall with many portraits hanging on the walls. He could hear a lot of talking coming from the sitting room, but he was led away from it. Francis pushed open two large, French doors at the end of the hall, revealing a cosy, personal library inside. A middle-aged woman with shoulder length hair sat behind the desk, which was situated in the middle of the room. She was looking over a roster, which contained over one hundred names, ages, and addresses. This woman did not look old, by any means, but stress seemed to have aged her prematurely.

‘Cecilia,’ said Francis, walking Kenneth inside the room and shutting the doors behind them. ‘This is Ken. He was at the meeting point tonight.’

‘Was he alone?’ asked Cecilia.

‘Yes,’ said Francis.

Cecilia looked up and smiled. ‘Hello, Ken. Please, won’t you sit down.’

Kenneth did as she asked and took a seat in front of her desk.

‘It’s a nice house you’ve got here,’ said Kenneth, looking around at the hundreds, if not thousands, of books.

‘Well, thank you. It was my husband’s.’

Kenneth noted that Cecilia used past tense when referring to her husband.

Cecilia stacked the parchment that littered the surface and placed it inside a drawer, before resting her elbows on the desk and interlocking her fingers. She looked at Ken with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

‘My name is Cecilia Pinschmidt, the founder and leader of H.W.L, also known as
Howl
. I am very pleased to meet you, Ken.’

‘Thanks,’ he muttered.

‘Now, Ken. There are a few questions I need to ask you. Of course, I expect you to have many questions for me, too, but we’ll get to those soon enough.’

‘Quite a lot of security you’ve got here,’ said Ken. ‘Has anyone ever infiltrated your meetings?’

‘I said we will answer your questions once I am sure that you are trustworthy. Do you understand?’ Cecilia asked, the same forced smile on her face.

‘Erm, right. Yes.’

‘Excellent, thank you for your cooperation Ken. Now, first of all, I’d like to know your full name, please.’

Kenneth fidgeted. He didn’t wish to disclose his full name to a complete stranger in case it was a trap.

‘Uh … Kenneth McDonald,’ he invented.

‘Ken, I understand that you may be nervous, and even untrusting, but I can assure you that your true name will not leave this room if you ask it of me. All of our members retain the right to remain anonymous. I, however, need to know your true identity. Now, please, what is your full name?’

‘I told you,’ he said defensively. ‘Kenneth McDoogle.’

‘Very well, though you did just say McDonald not thirty seconds ago.’

‘Redding,’ he said with a sigh. ‘Kenneth Redding.’

Cecilia pursed her lips as she jotted the name down. ‘Excellent, thank you Mr. Redding. Can you please tell me your age?’

‘Forty-five,’ he said, thinking it was best not to lie.

‘Where is your hometown?’

‘Mortlock.’

Cecilia’s quill paused above the parchment as she stared at his details. Kenneth knew at once that she recognised the name ‘Redding’. Everyone knew the infamous Avalon Redding was from Mortlock. He considered readying himself for a quick getaway, but something kept him there. Trust. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew he was in the home of other human empathisers.

‘And … and your Power?’ asked Cecilia, staring at him as though trying to detect any lies he might spill.

Kenneth sighed and closed his eyes. ‘Fire-Mage,’ he admitted.

Cecilia jumped up from her seat, knocking her chair onto it’s back. ‘It’s true,’ she said, excitement in her eyes. ‘You
are
related to her.’

‘To Avalon?’ Kenneth guessed. ‘Yes.’

Utter relief washed over Cecilia’s face. She looked as though she might burst into tears, or dance. Hurrying around the desk, Cecilia grabbed Kenneth’s hand and wrung it tightly.

‘I am so pleased to meet you, Mr. Redding. What relation are you to Avalon? Uncle? Cousin?’

‘Uh, no. I’m her father.’

Cecilia clutched her heart, breathing heavily. For a moment he feared she might be having a heart attack, but before he knew it she had jumped into his arms, embracing Kenneth in a back-breaking hug.

‘Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe I’m meeting the Fire-Mage’s
father
. I am
so
honoured.’

Cecilia broke away, holding Kenneth at an arms length. She studied him, her eyes roaming across his face.

‘Yes, I can see it. Your hair is dark and thick like hers. And you’re short too. I heard Avalon was rather small.’

‘You … you know my daughter?’ asked Kenneth.

‘Only by name,’ said Cecilia excitedly. ‘I can’t wait to meet her. Oh goodness. When will she be here? Is she with you? Hiding? Is that why you came? To make sure it was safe? I can assure you, we have the highest security available. We’d be more than happy to offer this home as a safehouse for your daughter. We understand the danger she is in, and the task she has ahead. We want to do everything in our power to help her!’

Kenneth held up a hand to silence Cecilia. ‘Hang on just one minute,’ he said. ‘Avalon isn’t with me. I … I don’t know where she is right now, but I know she’s safe.’