Falling Ashes (27 page)

‘Well,’ I said, gulping. ‘At least I chose the right name for him. He really does cast a very large shadow, doesn’t he?’

‘But how – how did this happen?’ said Fae. ‘Did Hawthorne do that?’

I shook my head, staring transfixed at Shadow. ‘No. But you wished Shadow was fully grown right before it happened.’

‘So?’

‘So,’ I said slowly, ‘he did as he was told – by his master.’

Chapter Twenty-One

True Identity

JACK GREENWOOD

They say animals have a sixth sense. Well, that certainly seemed the case with Merry Legs. From the get-go, the horse did not want anything to do with the Realm, or its Guard. He refused, point blank, to be stabled with horses that belonged to officials, or guards. He kicked up an enormous fuss when Jack was asked to parole the perimeter of the Realm Headquarters on the back of his steed. The tantrum became so violent that Jack was forced to resume his chore on another guard’s horse.

‘Get that thing trained,’ said his commanding officer, ‘or they’ll dice him up and feed him to the dogs.’

Luckily for Jack, he had not been asked to enter the Realm Headquarters as of yet. He’d only been asked to parole the outside perimeter, or guard the entrance. He worried that someone might recognise him as the one who’d brought in the ‘rebel’ Fire-Mage, but no one had made that connection – yet.

Later that night, Jack was surprised when Ethel chose the previously empty bunk beneath him.

He found it rather odd that there was not a separate base for the women to sleep. Nevertheless, the number of men greatly outweighed the females, so perhaps it was impractical to build a female-only base.

Jack had watched Ethel unpack her belongings into the tall and narrow cabinet beside their bunk. He’d noticed that the other five females who were part of the guard had taken the bunks towards the front of the hall – closest to the door.

‘Wouldn’t you prefer sleeping closer to the other females?’ asked Jack a few minutes later. He couldn’t help but feel that Ethel was trying to get close to him. Perhaps that was vain of him.

‘No,’ she said, folding her pyjamas and placing them under her pillow.

‘Aren’t you uncomfortable around so many blokes?’ he asked.

Ethel shrugged. ‘I tend to get on with the men better.’

‘You mean the women don’t like you?’ Jack couldn’t help but smirk.

Ethel glared at him playfully. ‘Perhaps.’

‘And why would that be?’

‘Do you really need to ask?’ she raised an eyebrow.

‘Well, I’m not psychic. But Arnold over there is – perhaps I should ask him?’

‘Oh, shush. Isn’t it obvious? They’re jealous of me,’ said Ethel in an undertone, glancing over her shoulder.

Jack couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

‘What?’ she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘Why would they be jealous of
you
?’ He hadn’t meant to sound so rude. ‘I mean … I don’t know how women’s minds work.’

‘Come on, Jack.’ Ethel smirked and gestured to her body with a wave of her hand. ‘What’s not to be jealous of?’

Jack sighed and flopped back onto his bunk, deciding to ignore Ethel’s vanity.

‘Wait,’ said Ethel, standing on her bottom bunk and peering at Jack. ‘You mean, you don’t know?’

‘There’s a lot I don’t know,’ he said.

‘
You don’t know
,’ she repeated with a laugh.

‘Know
what
?’ Jack rested his forearm over his eyes, not wanting to look at Ethel. He was annoyed, and tired. He just wanted to lay back and miss Avalon in peace.

‘Perhaps it is better I don’t tell you, otherwise
you
won’t want to be my friend, either,’ Ethel teased.

Jack groaned and rolled onto his side so he was facing away from Ethel. ‘I’m tired. Can you let me rest, please?’

‘What’s the matter with you?’ said Ethel, offended.

‘Nothing. I paroled the perimeter at least twenty times tonight. I’m exhausted. Not to mention I’ve got to get up early for guard duty. I’ll be lucky to get a couple of hours sleep.’

‘Fine.’

Jack heard Ethel step down from the bunk. He watched her shadow on the wall as she stood there for a moment, watching him. Finally, she turned and left him alone. He felt a little bit guilty – Ethel had been trying really hard to befriend Jack. He wasn’t usually so dismissive

~

Jack was scheduled for guard duty at the front gate at five o’clock in the morning, with a man called Hester. He’d relieve the current guards from their duty and stand at his post for the next eight hours, being bored out of his mind. Jack only hoped that there were no protests or riots scheduled for today. So far, he’d been lucky in avoiding such things, though he’d heard some rather nasty stories from the permanent guards.

At a quarter to five, Jack pulled on his uniform, listening to Ethel’s gentle snores issuing from the bottom bunk. Sleepily, he stepped into his boots and staggered out of the door. When he arrived at his post, he found that Hester was already there. Jack had never spoken to the man, but had heard his name around the base.

‘Morning,’ Jack yawned, stepping into position in front of the gate. The baton he’d been given was fastened to his belt, but Jack refused to use such a thing on any living being.

Hester did not respond. He stood there, unmoving and unblinking.

‘Nice night for it,’ tried Jack, rolling onto the balls of his feet and swinging his arms like pendulums.

Still, Hester ignored him.

This is going to be a long shift
, Jack thought irritably. The only conversation he’d get would be with the patrol guard, who would walk the perimeter of the headquarters every half an hour. Even then, he wasn’t sure if the officer on duty was someone he liked.

Perhaps a visit from a protest group would be nice – at least he’d have something to do.

The morning passed without incident. Hester did not utter a single syllable to Jack, and the officer on patrol was someone Jack didn’t know. However, by the time the sun had risen the patrol guard had clocked off, so Jack was surprised to see Ethel marching along the outskirts of the gate.

‘Patrol duty, eh?’ said Jack as she walked past his post for the first time.

Ethel nodded. ‘Swap you?’

Jack snorted. ‘Not bloody likely. My legs are still aching from yesterday.’

‘What about you, Hester? Fancy a stroll?’

‘I wouldn’t bother trying,’ said Jack, jerking a thumb in Hester’s direction. ‘He hasn’t spoken all morning.’

But as Jack said those words, Hester left his post and offered Ethel his place at the gate.

‘Thanks, Hester,’ said Ethel with a radiant smile. Hester tipped his hat and resumed the walk around the perimeter. Ethel sighed and leaned against the wall, rubbing her legs.

‘Ooh, that’s better,’ she sighed.

‘How did you do that?’ asked Jack, putting his hands on his hips. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to Hester all morning.’

‘Well, I’m not surprised he didn’t talk to you,’ said Ethel, straightening up.

‘Why is that?’

‘Well, he hasn’t got a tongue,’ said Ethel.

‘He
what
?’ said Jack, shocked.

Ethel shrugged. ‘He’s never had a tongue, as long as I’ve known him.’

‘How – how did he lose it?’

‘He didn’t
lose
it, Jack. It was stolen from him,’ said Ethel, crossing her arms.

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘All right then, who
stole
it?’

‘Who do you think?’ asked Ethel. ‘Ten years ago, a human attacked Hester with a blade, and cut his tongue out.’

Jack felt sick. ‘Oh … what was he doing to enrage a human like that?’

Ethel looked at Jack curiously. ‘What do you mean? Humans are savages. They don’t
need
a reason to be violent.’

‘Well … I mean … whose human was it?’

‘It was Hester’s slave, of course. It got loose and went mad.’

Jack bit down on his own tongue to stop himself from retorting. In his opinion, Hester deserved the disfigurement for owning a slave in the first place. That kind of statement would definitely get him in the Realm’s bad books.

‘So how do you know that?’ asked Jack.

‘Hester is a friend of the family,’ said Ethel. ‘I’ve known him since I was a little girl.’

Silence fell upon the two of them. It was a warm morning, and birds could be heard singing. Jack wished he didn’t have to wear the full uniform – it was very thick, so it wasn’t long before he was sweating. But he liked it; the warmth reminded him of Avalon.

‘So, what was it you were saying last night?’ asked Jack, breaking the silence between them. ‘About not knowing who you are?’

‘Huh? Oh, it was nothing.’

‘No, it was something. What was it?’ he pressed.

Ethel waved a hand. ‘I was just messing with you.’

He watched her expression for a few seconds before shrugging the dismissal off. If she didn’t want to tell him, fine. He didn’t really care anyway – he’d just been trying to make conversation. Besides, if he really wanted to know, he could ask any one of the females that didn’t want to be Ethel’s friend.

‘So,’ said Ethel another hour later. ‘You’ve got a girlfriend, haven’t you?’

Jack swallowed hard; the thought of Avalon made him dizzy. So far, working for the Realm’s guard had not yielded any information regarding Avalon’s whereabouts, nor whether she had been captured. Not only that, but Jack had not heard anything about this ‘cure’ which could bring back Helena’s memories.

Jack grunted, instead of responding to Ethel’s questions.

‘You do?’ she asked.

He grunted again.

‘What’s her name?’

‘Um.’ Jack had not been prepared to think on his feet.

‘Um? Have you forgotten her name?’

‘No,’ he said, a little too defensive. ‘Her name is ... Ada.’

‘Ada?’ Ethel repeated.

‘Yeah,’ he nodded. It was the closest name to Ava he could think of.

‘A lot of wives visit their husbands whilst they’re on duty. Why doesn’t Ada visit you?’

Jack didn’t like all the questions; it was as though Ethel was interrogating his personal life.

‘She … works in another city,’ Jack invented.

‘Oh, what does she do?’

‘Uh … she’s a Healer like me.’
Lie after lie
.

‘Oh, how nice.’ Her tone indicated that it wasn’t nice at all. Ethel’s arms were crossed, and her lips were pursed. ‘Sounds like a perfect match.’

Jack grunted noncommittally. He and Ava were complete opposites, but that was why he liked her so much. She was his flame, filling him with hope and passion, and he was the only one who could get close to her without getting burned. He figured, in a way, that they were like two pieces of a puzzle.

Avalon was fire and brimstone, whereas Jack was calm and rational.

Yin and Yang.

‘How long have you been together?’ asked Ethel.

A more complicated question - one that Jack didn’t have an answer to. ‘You ask a lot of personal questions,’ he replied.

Ethel shrugged. ‘I’m just interested.’

‘There’s no need. I am exceedingly boring.’

‘I am beginning to realise.’

‘So what about you?’ asked Jack. ‘Do you have a special someone?’

Ethel took a deep breath before shaking her head. ‘Men aren’t really a priority right now.’

‘What
is
a priority?’ he asked.

‘Work,’ she replied. ‘Serving my government for the good of Mage-kind.’

Jack couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

Ethel shot him a daring look. ‘What?’ she snapped.

‘Nothing,’ said Jack, hiding a smile.

‘Why is pride for my country amusing to you?’

‘It’s not,’ he said. As a matter of fact, he found it extremely contradictory. Ethel was proud of her country, which was built off the back of slave labour – and it disgusted him. But he’d never tell her that. He’d be imprisoned as a human empathizer.

But something about the way that Ethel spoke led Jack to believe that she had been brought up to think this way. She was young – perhaps the same age as Jack, but she spoke strongly of matters that she probably had no experience with.

‘What do your parents do?’ asked Jack.

Ethel seemed shocked by the question. ‘That’s none of your business.’

‘Now you’re the one keeping secrets.’

Ethel crossed her arms. ‘My father is a green grocer,’ she said.

‘And your mother?’ asked Jack.

‘She is dead. She could create force fields as well.’