Flamethroat (31 page)

‘
You-You have one of those creatures?
’
My father said unsure.

I nodded.
‘
He
’
s great, Dad. You
’
ll love him!
’

‘
Isn
’
t he rather, uh, large?
’
My mother said tentatively, looking through the window. Hawthorne pressed his nose against the pane and sighed, causing the glass to fog.

I waved a hand,
‘
If he were smaller I wouldn
’
t be able to fly on him-
’

‘
Fly?
’
My father repeated.
‘
You fly on that thing?
’

I laughed,
‘
Of course.
’

‘
Isn
’
t it dangerous?
’
asked my mother.

I waved a hand dismissively.
‘
Don
’
t worry about that. The important thing is that we are here together.
’

After paying a ridiculous five gold pieces for a mediocre room, Jack and I ventured upstairs, my father carrying my rucksack for me. After being informed that the rear entrance to the lodge would be large enough to fit Hawthorne through, I went to fetch him hastily. I was rather excited to show him off and couldn
’
t help but laugh at my parent
’
s expressions when Hawthorne and I entered our room.

‘
Goodness me,
’
my mother said faintly.
‘
He is monstrous.
’

‘
He is very gentle,
’
I promised, patting Hawthorne
’
s neck.

‘
Where did you get him? You can
’
t afford something like this,
’
my father said; his arms folded across his chest

‘
I found him,
’
I lied.
‘
He feeds himself, so it
’
s no trouble keeping him.
’

‘
Can I touch him?
’
my mother asked.

‘
Of course.
’
I dragged her forwards so she was inches away from Hawthorne
’
s face. His tail wagged in a dog-like fashion.

Hesitantly my mother and father patted Hawthorne, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the attention. He had been quite neglected over the last week, so I thought he would enjoy staying in Flamethroat.

It was getting dark outside now, so I lit the fire in the grate and sat down with my parents who recounted the night of their capture and what they had been doing since their release.

‘
They took the three of us to Concord City, bound and blindfolded,
’
my father said.
‘
But once we arrived, Helena was taken from us. Your mother and I were left in a cell overnight and in the morning we were charged and released. We have a permanent criminal record now. We kept an eye on the Human market in the city, just in case. A few days later, low and behold, there she was, up for sale with the rest of the Humans.
’

It was hard for me to hear this, but I wanted to know everything.

‘
She just stood there,
’
my father
’
s voice cracked.
‘
Like a shell. We called out to her, but she didn
’
t even know her own name.
’

Beside him, my mother began to cry silently.

‘
Of course, we tried to buy her,
’
he continued.
‘
But we don
’
t have much money and she was up for auction. A dark skinned man bid for her and won.
’

‘
Martinez,
’
I scowled.

‘
You heard?
’
my mother said through tears.

I nodded and Jack elaborated.
‘
We visited
T
he Realm Headquarters.
’

‘
What
?
’
my mother and father gasped in unison. I nudged Jack in the ribs and shot him a glare.

‘
It was Avalon
’
s idea,
’
Jack said quickly.
‘
She posed as a Human and I took her there to be registered.
’

‘
Shut up,
’
I hissed at Jack.

‘
Are you
mad
?
’
my father said.
‘
Do you know what they do to Humans there!?
’

‘
Thanks Jack.
’
I snapped.
‘
We didn
’
t know at first, but we certainly do now.
’

‘
How did you get out of there? When they realised you weren
’
t a Human they must have arrested you,
’
my mother said with wide eyes.

I glanced at Jack who looked guiltily back.

‘
We, uh,
’
I began. I didn
’
t think it would be wise to tell my parents the whole story.
‘
Well, they just kicked us out.
’

‘
What? You weren
’
t charged?
’
my father asked.

I shook my head, but they could tell I was lying.

Jack exhaled loudly.
‘
We kind of threatened our way out.
’

‘
Jack!
’
I scolded.

‘
Threatened?
’
my father repeated.

‘
More like
attacked
,
’
Jack said.

I closed my eyes and prayed for Jack to shut up.

My father pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
‘
That was very foolish. You shouldn
’
t have stepped foot inside
T
he Realm-
’

‘
Well we did,
’
I said.
‘
That is how I found out where you were.
’

‘
You don
’
t know what it
’
s like at
T
he Realm-
’
he began heatedly.

‘
Dad, it
’
s fine. Jack and I went to
T
he Realm, got the information we needed and left. We can take care of ourselves.
’

‘
I was against the idea,
’
Jack piped up.

Dad ignored this.
‘
You can
’
t be so reckless,
’
he said to me.
‘
Haven
’
t you heard? The Realm is cracking down on Humans and Human-lovers alike. We are just as bad as Humans in their eyes.
’

‘
Me? Reckless?
’
I said with raised eyebrows,
‘
I
’
m not the one starting pro-Human activist groups.
’

My mother and father glanced at each other wearily.
‘
You saw the posters?
’

‘
Of course I saw them,
’
I said.
‘
How could I miss it?
’

‘
They were for you,
’
my mother said with a sad smile.
‘
We hoped you would see them and be able to find us.
’

‘
I did. Do you have many followers?
’

‘
A few,
’
she replied.
‘
There are many families that have Human relatives here who were carted to Flamethroat.
’

‘
So how do we plan to get Helena back from Martinez?
’
I said eagerly.

‘
Shhh,
’
my father hissed, looking around the room.
‘
Not so loud.
’

‘
Who is going to hear?
’
I asked.

Jack shifted in his chair and my father
’
s eyes snapped to him.

‘
This boy,
’
my father said with a nod in Jack
’
s direction.
‘
Is he trustworthy?
’

‘
Kenneth!
’
My mother scolded.
‘
Really! The boy is sitting right there. Don
’
t be so rude.
’

My father ignored this and asked again.
‘
Well? Do you trust him?
’

‘
With my life,
’
I said, mildly offended.

Jack gave me a small smile, which I returned.

‘
Boy,
’
my father said.
‘
Do you mind leaving us with our daughter?
’

‘
Dad!
’
I said.
‘
His name is Jack and he is not going anywhere.
’

‘
It
’
s all right,
’
Jack said uncomfortably, getting up from his chair.
‘
I
’
ll wait at the bar or something -
’

‘
No,
’
I said flatly.
‘
Sit.
’

Jack did as he was told and sat back down.

‘
She
’
s got you on a tight leash there, boy,
’
my father said, but dropped his gaze when he saw my glare.

‘
So tell me about the group,
’
I pressed.

‘
There is a meeting tonight, at midnight,
’
my father told us.
‘
You can come if you like.
’

‘
Yes!
’
I said eagerly.
‘
Of course.
’

‘
Meet us in the lobby at half past eleven,
’
he said.
‘
Get a few hours rest until then.
’

With a nod and another embrace, my mother and father exited the room, leaving Jack, Hawthorne and I alone.

Hawthorne curled himself in front of the fire and watched me cross the room.

‘
Your parents seem nice,
’
Jack said casually, inspecting his fingernails.

‘
Thanks.
’

‘
Only … are you sure we should be going to this meeting?
’

I frowned.
‘
Of course I am, Why?
’

‘
It might be dangerous. You heard that guard earlier. They
’
re on the look out for H.E.L.E.N.A.
’

‘
They must have ways of going undetected,
’
I said.
‘
My parents wouldn
’
t ask me to come along if it wasn
’
t safe. You saw how much they worried when they found out we went inside
T
he Realm Headquarters.
’