Flamethroat (4 page)

‘
A hundred and t
en
miles?
’
I gasped.
‘
How long will that take if we are walking most of the way?
’

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking hard.
‘
Let
’
s assume we maintain an average pace of three miles an hour, right?
’

‘
Right?
’
I agreed.

‘
-And we manage to walk five hours each day.
’

‘
Sure.
’
I nodded.

‘
Then it should take us … about a week,
’
Jack grimaced.

‘
A week?
’
I repeated, aghast. What kind of state would my family be in within the week?

‘
Don
’
t worry,
’
said Jack, guessing what I was thinking.
‘
They will be fine. Besides, it
’
s the only plan we have.
’

After eating
our
pitiful meal we washed ourselves in the basin. I offered Jack my bed, which he gallantly refused, saying he would take the couch. After telling him that I would sleep in Helena
’
s room, he changed his mind rather quickly and proceeded to my bedroom.

As I lay in Helena
’
s bed, I tried to inhale her scent from the pillow. It was no use. The smell of her had left weeks ago, like she had.

Hawthorne slept on the floor; the room was so small he didn
’
t have any space to stretch his wings. He groaned and sighed sulkily, shifting this way and that to try and get comfortable.

I could not sleep. My mind was full of horrible thoughts. I could hear Jack snoring loudly from the room next door and suddenly I felt immensely alone. Helena, my mother and my father had been taken. The only person in my life at the moment was Jack, who felt a million miles away.

Hours later I woke to see that sunlight was streaming in through the open curtains. The night had passed in the blink of an eye.

I hoisted myself from the bed, my stomach growling loudly.

In the kitchen, Jack rummaged in his pockets and pulled out
what little
money he had. I did the same and we piled the coins together.

‘
Well, we can afford breakfast,
’
said Jack once he had counted the small pile,
‘
but not much else.
We m
ight have to make do with just buying some ingredients.
’

Once we were dressed and presentable we ventured into the little village. I had sent Hawthorne into the woods so he could find his own breakfast and we would meet him back at the house after an hour.

I took Jack to the small markets in town where we bought supplies to last us a few days. We bought bread, potatoes, rice, water and a pheasant. Since I was a Fire Mage we would always have a way to cook our food. I refused point-blank to have any part in skinning or cleaning the pheasant. That would be Jack
’
s job. We bought two cheese buns for ourselves, which we ate greedily as we walked back to the house. When we returned, I saw that Hawthorne had found a squirrel and he crunched the bones noisily. The sound made my stomach churn uneasily.

‘
I packed a blanket,
’
Jack told me as he hoisted a rucksack over his shoulder.

‘
I have the food and the map,
’
I noted, checking my own bag,
‘
and what little money we have left.
’

It was pitiful, really, but I ignored the nervous feeling in my stomach. After all, hadn
’
t I
travelled
to Frost Arch with nothing but a few morsels of food and
very few
coin
s
? This felt different though because this time
,
I was dragging Jack and Hawthorne along with me.

‘
We will have to fly at night so no one spots Hawthorne,
’
Jack told me.
‘
We will go
as far as we can
on foot until it gets dark.
’

~

Jack and I followed the path that lead out of town. We walked through the trees, only straying a few meters from the winding trail. The ground was uneven off the beaten track and Jack tripped clumsily several times. Hawthorne walked over the potholes and tree roots as though they weren
’
t there at all. As we walked
,
Jack reviewed the map, pointing and muttering things under his breath.

Jack nodded to himself.
‘
Yes, I think we should walk for three hours, have an hour break for lunch before walking some more. When it gets dark we can fly for another hour before finding somewhere to stay the night.
’

‘
Okay,
’
I agreed. My stomach was already rumbling even though the cheese bun had not been that long ago.

Jack and I talked very little while we marched through the woods. Every now and then Jack would deviate from
under
the
cover of the
trees to make sure we were still following the adjacent path. Sometimes Hawthorne would spy a small critter in the distance
and would bound off in pursuit of it. This did not bother me because I had no other way of feeding Hawthorne. He was exceedingly self-sufficient.

It became rather awkward when the time came that Jack and I needed to relieve our bladders. It was all well and good for him; he could disappear am
ong
st the trees and emerge only a few seconds later
–
task completed, but I was not so lucky. I fidgeted, whined and danced on the spot until Jack was so sick of my complaining that he ordered me to go. I was not enthusiastic about this.

‘
It
’
s embarrassing,
’
I said as Jack pushed me towards the depths of the forest.

‘
Just go
’
he said rolling his eyes.

‘
You will forever remember me as the girl who
went
on a tree.
’

‘
It
’
s either that or I remember you as the girl who
went
in her underpants,
’
Jack retorted.

Fair point
, I thought.

With a sigh I ducked and weaved through the trees until I was absolutely sure that Jack was out of sight and earshot. I had only just lifted my dress above my ankles when a tantali
s
ing smell reached my nostrils. Sniffing the air, I turned this way and that; trying to figure out which direction the smell was coming from.

I
followed the delicious smell
deeper into the forest, before emerging in a clearing. Little houses sat within a valley; smoke billowing merrily from their chimneys. Then I spotted it, an Inn.

‘
Jack!
’
I called over my shoulder, into the trees.
‘
Jack!
’

I figured he couldn
’
t hear me, so I ran back to find him. When they came into view, I saw that Jack was leaning casually against Hawthorne.

‘
Done?
’
he asked.

‘
No
’
I panted.
‘
There
’
s a village on the other side of the trees.
’

‘
A village?
’
Jack frowned, pulling out the map,
‘
The closest village to Mortlock is … Hew town.
’

‘
So that must be it,
’
I insisted.
‘
Let
’
s go … I really need to … you know.
’
I crossed my legs and squirmed on the spot.

‘
All right, all right,
’
he said with a laugh.
‘
Hawthorne, stay here, okay?
’

Hawthorne gave an audible sigh and began pawing the ground, looking for worms. I walked Jack to the edge of the forest and showed him the village.

‘
See?
’
I said.
‘
There
’
s an Inn. I bet they have a lavatory.
’

We crossed the field, making our way towards the little village. Children played in the long grass, mothers hung their washing on the line and fathers walked about the town, greeting each other merrily. Jack and I
had a chance to take in the this peaceful sight
before they spotted us. The mothers called for their children and ushered them inside at the sight of us crossing the field. Father
’
s faces became stern and they ran inside
after
their wives.

As we passed the houses, curtains closed, doors slammed and silence fell. Soon, Jack and I found ourselves standing in a ghost town.

‘
What just happened?
’
I asked in an undertone. The silence was so eerie that I feared my voice would carry on the wind.

Jack looked around, craning his neck.
‘
Did they all go inside because of us?
’

‘
I don
’
t know.
’

‘
Maybe we should go back,
’
said Jack, tugging at my sleeve.

‘
No. The Inn is just there.
’
I pointed ahead.

‘
I
’
m not sure this is a good idea,
’
he said, but he followed me anyway.

As we approached the Inn I heard talking and the chink of glasses. When I opened the door and stood
i
n the threshold, all
of the
noise died. Jack and I stood nervously in the doorway, dry mouthed and wondering what to do.

Shakily, I took the first step into the Inn. The barman, an older gentleman with a bushy ginger beard, eyed me beadily. As I approached the bar, he straightened his back and raised his chin defensively.

‘
Um, hello,
’
I managed to say, before I was interrupted.

‘
You aren
’
t from around here,
’
the barman said instantly.

I felt myself turning pink. Every pair of eyes in the room was upon me. I felt Jack sidle up beside me,
sensing how nervous
I was.

‘
I was wondering … if I might use your lavatory?
’
I
asked
hopefully.

The barman frowned.
‘
You aren
’
t from the city?
’
he asked.

‘
No.
’
I shook my head.

‘
Humph.
’
He raised a hand and pointed to the back of the Inn,
‘
Ladies
’
over there.
’

‘
Thank you,
’
I said, my heart thumping frantically.

Rushing to the restroom, I quickly locked the door behind me. I took a deep breath and went about my business, hoping Jack would not be too nervous without me.

When I emerged I found that Jack was deep in conversation with the barman. I approached them, but they did not stop their discussion.

‘
-We
’
ve been getting a lot of city folk in town lately. Men in red cloaks, asking
funny
questions.
’

‘
What kind of questions?
’
Jack asked.

‘
Things to do with blood,
’
the barman scowled.
‘
Researching families and their history to see how far back their Mage blood goes.
’