Flamethroat (30 page)

‘
Well, we
’
ll keep an eye out for those pro-Human rebels,
’
said Jack with a small smile that did not reach his eyes.
‘
Good luck with your search Mr. Walter.
’

Reginald gave us a nod and we began to edge away from the Flamethroat Guard. We kept up a quick pace until we had rounded a corner and Reginald was out of sight.

I let out a long, low whistle.
‘
Wow.
’

‘
I know,
’
Jack said with wide eyes.
‘
That guy was intense.
’

‘
It sounds like my parents are in a whole lot of trouble.
’

‘
Look on the bright side,
’
said Jack with a smile.
‘
At least we know where your parents are staying.
’

‘
The lodge on Eastmoreland Place, around the corner from the Martinez manor,
’
I recalled.

Jack nodded.
‘
They
’
re staying close to Helena.
’

‘
And by the sound of it, they
’
ve got supporters in town.
’

‘
Let
’
s find this lodge,
’
said Jack.

~

After receiving directions from a friendly guard, Jack and I found the lodge on Eastmoreland Place easily. It was larger than anywhere else we had stayed to date. It looked as though it had once been a grand manor, but had been converted in recent years. I could see a crowded bar through one of the windows. The building was rather pleasant, with green vines covering the entire surface of the building and large orange flowers grew from them. As Jack and I ascended the few steps that would take us to the front door, I felt a sense of heightened anticipation. My parents were staying here, I was sure of it. I would be reunited with them soon enough and together, we would get Helena back.

There was a small sign on the door that read
‘
Spirits Allowed
’
however it did not look like Hawthorne would fit through the doors, he was far too vast.

‘
Sorry,
’
I said to him.
‘
Wait here for a minute, all right?
’

As soon as we entered the lodge I found it to be quite loud. The sound of chatter filled the hall and many people were in the bar area adjacent to the entrance. Overall, the atmosphere was quite merry. I heard many familiar accents and dragged Jack towards them.

I stood on my toes in order to see over the heads of the many occupants of the pub, but could not see the balding head of my father, nor my mother
’
s
mousy hair.

‘
They
’
re not here,
’
I told Jack after only a minute of searching.

‘
They might be somewhere else. It
’
s a large lodge.
’
Jack turned on the spot and looked around.
‘
See? There
’
s a library and a sitting room.
’
he said, pointing to open doorways beyond the sea of people.

‘
Let
’
s check the library,
’
I said at once, grabbing Jack
’
s sleeve and dragging him towards the library doors.

It was clear at once that the library was empty. Not a soul was here. It looked at though the books had never been touched, a thick layer of dust covered each of the large, leather-bound volumes.

‘
Excuse me. The library is out of bounds to non-guests,
’
a voice came from the doorway.

Jack and I turned to face the
greying
woman who had spoken.

‘
Oh, sorry,
’
I muttered.
‘
We were just looking.
’

The woman pursed her lips.
‘
Will you be staying at the lodge?
’

‘
Yes, Ma
’
am,
’
Jack nodded.
‘
Do you have room for two?
’

‘
We have one room left,
’
the woman confirmed.
‘
Five gold pieces a night.
’

‘
Five!
’
I repeated, aghast.

We could live on five gold pieces for a week.

‘
We are a very popular hotel for tourists,
’
the woman said
humourlessly
.
‘
Especially at this time of year, during the orange season. The rooms are in high demand. If you do not wish to stay-
’

‘
It
’
s fine,
’
Jack interrupted.
‘
We
’
ll take it.
’

‘
What?
’
I muttered to Jack.
‘
We can
’
t afford five gold pieces a night. We could be here for a while.
’

Jack told me to be quiet and followed the woman from the library. She took us to reception where she rummaged around for her logbook.

As she opened the volume I tried to peek at the list of names that ran down the page, hoping to see something familiar. This did not go unnoticed for she eyed me beadily.

‘
Um,
’
I began, my throat rather dry.
‘
Do you have anyone under the name of Redding staying here?
’

Checking her list and tutting, the woman shook her head,
‘
No, no Redding.
’

‘
No Anya? No Kenneth?
’
I tried.

‘
No, no one here by those names.
’

My heart sank. They weren
’
t here after all.

Jack sensed my disappointment and changed tact,
‘
Uh, this may sound odd, but do you have any Fire-Mage
’
s staying here?
’

The woman looked up and seemed mildly surprised.
‘
We do, in fact.
’

‘
You do?
’
I said, glancing at Jack and then the woman.
‘
Who? Where? What room?
’

‘
I can
’
t just give you information on my lodgers,
’
she said coldly.
‘
They are entitled to their privacy-
’

‘
Avalon?
’
said a voice behind me.

My heart leapt and I knew who had spoken my name before I had even turned around. I spun on the spot so fast it made my head spin.

Standing in front of me was my mother and father, looking thinner and more tired than I had ever seen them. Large, dark circles were under their eyes and both of them looked quite pale.

‘
Mum!
’
I choked. My legs refused to move, but there was no need. I found myself in a tight embrace with my parents, who held me so close it hurt my ribs.

My mother said my name over and over again, while my father wrapped his arms around the both of us. His eyes were watery.
‘
You found us,
’
he said thickly.

I didn
’
t want to let go. It felt like it had been years, not months. The familiar smells came flooding back and I realised how much I had really missed them.

I feared that my parents would be cold, distant or even furious with me, but those fears left instantly. For the first time I realised that my parents had been without both of their children for the past few weeks.

‘
I came looking for you,
’
I blurted as we all disentangled ourselves and my mother held me at an arms length in order to analyse me.
‘
I found you!
’

‘
You did,
’
my mother said through tears.
‘
Clever girl. So clever.
’

‘
I knew you would be here!
’
I said.

‘
We
’
ve been so worried about you,
’
said my father, gripping my shoulder.

‘
I know, I
’
m sorry. I
’
m sorry I left. I
’
m sorry for everything.
’
Apologies spilled from my mouth with no sign of stopping.

‘
We didn
’
t know where you were, what you were doing, or if-if-
’
my mother
’
s voice broke and she was reduced
to tears
.

‘
I
’
ve been fine,
’
I promised her.
‘
Really
.
’
My parents didn
’
t need to know the specifics, not yet.
‘
I was worried about
you
! I came home and found the house destroyed with a notice pinned to the letterbox! I didn
’
t know what to do, what to think. If it wasn
’
t for Jack I would never have made it here!
’

‘
Jack?
’
My father repeated.

‘
Well, Jack helped,
’
I said. Then, remembering that they had never met Jack, I exclaimed,
‘
Oh! Jack!
’

I turned around and saw Jack standing a few paces away, looking rather awkward. I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards my parents.

‘
This is Jack,
’
I said, thrusting him in front of them.
‘
My-my … my -
’
It was very important that my parents understood how much Jack meant to me. Yet I didn
’
t know how to describe our relationship.

‘
Friend,
’
Jack said helpfully.
‘
Mr. Redding, it
’
s nice to finally meet you.
’
Jack
’
s ears were bright red as he shook my father
’
s hand.
‘
Mrs. Redding.
’
He shook her hand too.

‘
You helped Ava come here?
’
My father said.

Jack gave a small nod.
‘
There was no stopping her, really, but I couldn
’
t let her wander off alone.
’

‘
Thank you,
’
my mother said, embracing Jack.
‘
Thank you for bringing our daughter to us.
’

Jack
’
s face turned a bright scarlet.
‘
I, well, of course it was no trouble.
’

‘
Oh! And Hawthorne! You haven
’
t met Hawthorne!
’
I blurted. I felt like a small child, showing off my newly acquired friends.
‘
He
’
s outside.
’

My father looked out of the lodge window, as though expecting to see a man standing on the pavement outside. However, there was only Hawthorne who peeked through the window longingly.

‘
He
’
s, well, he
’
s … what are they called, Jack?
’
I asked.

‘
Animal Spirits,
’
Jack helped.