Falling Ashes (38 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Avalon’s Army

JACK GREENWOOD

Jack spotted Kenneth Redding from a mile away. His thick, black, bottle-brush moustache and floppy hair were far too noticeable.

He hadn’t expected to see him here in Concord City, let alone at the next Howl meeting. But there he was, along with Penny, Tom, Elise, Bran, and Robert, the members of H.E.L.E.N.A.

Jack stood beside Xara and Ræven in the crowded living room of Cecilia’s house during the next meeting. He was the tallest person in the room and saw over everyone’s heads quite easily, which was how he had spotted the H.E.L.E.N.A members upon their entry with Cecilia.

Jack decided to wait until they had been introduced to the room at large, as was done with all new recruits, before making his way towards them.

Xara and Ræven, by far two of the shortest in the room, stood side by side, blinking in unison. They seemed to have formed an odd friendship over the last few days; a friendship where neither spoke, and only looked at each other. It unnerved Jack.

R
æven, with her blue-black, concave hairstyle and black clothing was an image of dark beauty, like a crow.

Xara, who had stark white hair and red eyes, was often seen wearing the blood-red cloak usually donned by Realm officials. She, too, would be pretty if she held any personality whatsoever.

Perhaps that was why Ræven liked Xara; because she showed no emotion, even when Ræven was talking.

Next to one another, they reminded him of a pack of playing cards; red and black.

Jack sorely missed normal, clumsy, outspoken, and hotheaded Avalon. The very thought made him sick to his stomach, so he tried very hard not to think of her. The way her eyes lit up when he told a joke, or that crease in her brow when she frowned...

Her long black hair, always down, and a tangled mess from all the running and hiding they had to do. Then there was her clothes; always burned around the hems. But her smile was the most dazzling thing about Avalon; the way it made her cheeks like two rosy apples, and the way it reached her eyes. But it had been several weeks since he’d seen her, and he fretted that the image captured in his mind was beginning to fade.

He tried to remember the way she held herself, the body language, but it was difficult to picture. He saw her in his mind's eye, crouching over a fireplace and igniting the wood. She turned to him and smiled, the flames casting an orange glow over her skin. This forgotten memory stung him. It was one of the first times he’d thought how beautiful she was, back on her first day at the Forsythe manor.

What did she smell like? He could barely recall. She smelled like marshmallow being toasted over a bonfire. Smoky and sweet. The memory of the scent made him smile, but he soon came to his senses when R
æven tapped him on the shoulder.

‘Hmm?’ he mumbled. He’d been lost in thought for several minutes.

Ræven pointed towards Cecilia, who was about to introduce the new recruits.

‘Today we have Penny and Tom Truscott, who can change their physical size, and mimic Power, respectively,’ Cecilia told the room. ‘Next there is Elise, who is super fast, and her husband Bran Stalk, who is exceedingly strong. Robert Scotland here, can manipulate naturally occurring materials, such as stone and metal.’

There was a general murmuring of appreciation for the new recruits. Cecilia then turned to Kenneth Redding.

‘And this is Ken Red,’ said Cecilia. ‘So that concludes our new recruits for this evening.’

And that was it. She didn’t say his full name, or his Power. She didn’t even mention that he was the father of the infamous Avalon Redding.

‘She didn’t introduce Mr. Redding properly,’ said R
æven, tugging on Jack’s shirt.

‘Maybe she did it on purpose,’ said Jack, dazedly.

‘Also, I’m happy to announce that we have reached one-hundred-and-eight members!’ Cecilia continued

There was a smattering of applause. Jack wondered how so many people managed to fit into Cecilia’s house. Perhaps they had enchanted it.

‘Now to talk about the recent developments within the Realm-’ Cecilia continued with the formalities, but Jack tuned out.

Instead, he made his way over to Mr. Redding, who stood amongst the other members. He seemed strangely out of place, and tense, as though he didn’t want to be here.

‘Mr. Redding,’ said Jack, slipping through the crowd.

Kenneth looked around to see who had said his name. When he spotted Jack, his face broke into an expression of relief.

‘Jack!’ he breathed, grabbing him by the shoulder. ‘I hoped I would find you here.’

‘You made it,’ said Jack. ‘Where is Mrs. Redding? And Helena?’

Mr. Redding looked around nervously, as though worried they might be overheard.

‘Please don’t use my real name, Jack,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t want word getting out that I am Avalon’s father.’

‘What? Why not?’ Jack asked.

‘Only Cecilia knows my true identity. Even she got a little over excited when she found out. I don’t know if you realise this, but Avalon has become some kind of symbol of resistance amongst the human rebellion. If they found out that I was a Fire-Mage, they’d assume I knew where she was, which I don’t. Look, just call me Red, okay?’

Jack’s chest stung. ‘Red’ had been his nickname for Avalon, ever since the day he’d met her.

‘All right,’ he agreed.

‘You don’t happen to know where Avalon is, do you?’ asked Mr. Redding.

Jack shook his head.

Mr. Redding sighed. ‘Cecilia seems to be under the impression that Avalon is going to show up in Concord City within the next few days. Do you know anything about that?’

Jack shook his head a second time. ‘I don’t know why Avalon would come here. It seems like suicide.’

‘My thoughts exactly.’

‘Oh, by the way, R
æven is here too,’ said Jack.

‘The bird girl?’ asked Mr. Redding.

Jack proceeded to tell Mr. Redding everything he had learned since coming to Concord City; how Ræven had been spreading the rumours of a human rebellion, and the fact that a cure existed within the Realm headquarters.

‘Now, everyone,’ said Cecilia loudly, grabbing Jack’s attention. ‘I have some exciting news for all of you! We’ve been sitting on this piece of information for a few days now, but we feel confident in saying that Avalon, the Fire-Mage, will be joining us within the next two days.’

Several people cheered, many gasped, and others clapped. The very fact that one-hundred-and-eight people awaited Avalon’s arrival warmed Jack to the heart. Their numbers almost matched that of the Realm’s guard.

Jack was slightly annoyed that Cecilia had held this piece of information from him. He was Avalon’s boyfriend. Surely he had a right to know whether she was on her way.

‘How do you know this?’ he demanded. All eyes turned to Jack.

Cecilia smiled warmly. ‘One of our members, Frankie, is a Dreamer. She has seen the Fire-Mage’s arrival for many nights now. She tells me it is growing clearer and clearer with each passing day. Once the Fire-Mage arrives, we will be able to follow her lead to battle!’

Raucous cheers and applause made the windows rattle in their frames. Jack covered his ears and waited until the noise died down.

‘So you’re telling me that you’re basing all of your information on a dream someone had?’ said Jack, loudly.

‘Frankie is a Dreamer,’ said Cecilia. ‘Her dreams show the future-’

‘And what if Avalon doesn’t have a battle plan?’ said Jack. ‘What if she is coming for another reason?’

‘Why else would she come to Concord City, unless she wants to destroy the Realm?’ said Cecilia. ‘Regardless, tonight we are going to sort each and every member into a group based on their Power. The group categories are as follows: Offensive, Defensive, Crowd Control, Healing, and Infiltration.’

The next hour was spent splitting all of the H.W.L members into their respective categories. Jack, of course, was put into the Healing group, with three others. They did not have healing Powers like Jack, but were as equally useful. One man, called Ned, had the ability to grow various herbs and fungi, which, when eaten, reduced pain and anxiety.

Kenneth Redding was placed in the Offensive group, because of his ability to attack with Fire, (though this was not said aloud).

Xara was placed in Crowd Control, as her ability to project holographic images of herself meant that she could be stationed at many places at once. Not only that, but she was a trusted member of the Realm, and could distract others during the infiltration.

Ræven was asked to join the infiltration group. Her ability to transform into a bird meant she could quickly and easily slip past guards unnoticed. Not only that, but she could knock everyone out cold once she was inside, clearing the way for the others.

Cecilia appointed herself head of the Infiltration squad, and gave every other group a ‘team-leader’. Jack was not the ‘team-leader’ of his group - Ned was, probably because he was far older than Jack.

Next, Cecilia produced a large map of the realm headquarters, which had been drawn from a bird’s eye view. Jack suspected that Ræven had studied the layout of the grounds and relayed it back to Cecilia to create the map. Jack could have done the same; after all, he did patrol the perimeter every single day.

The next map showed a detailed layout of the interior of the Realm headquarters, something which only Xara could have accurately described. It was drawn in excessive detail; every desk, chair, office, plant, and sector was labelled.

Jack felt his attention slowly slipping as the infiltration team placed markers on the map, showing where each group would be situated during the attack on the Realm. It was all severely boring, and by the end of the meeting, Jack had no idea what half the plan was. Several times, Ræven had to nudge Jack in the ribs to get him to pay attention.

‘The Defence team will need to be placed strategically at these points here, here, and here.’ Cecilia was pointing to various spots on the map. ‘Jack, I’ll need you to do some research on the various Powers of the guard.’

Jack wasn’t listening, and Ræven kicked him in the shins.

‘Ow! What was that for?’ he hissed at her.

Ræven nodded towards Cecilia, a meaningful look in her eyes.

‘Oh,’ Jack snapped his attention to the front. ‘What was that again?’

Cecilia sighed. ‘I need you to find out what Powers the guard has,’ she said. ‘Each and every one of them.’

Jack raised his eyebrows. ‘There are over fifty guards.’

‘So take notes,’ she rolled her eyes. ‘Xara has already catalogued the Power of every employee of the Realm and given them to us. Over four hundred names. Once you have done the same, Jack, you will need to give the list to the head of the Defence group.’

Jack nodded in agreement, wondering how on earth he was supposed to ask every single guard what their Power was without getting caught. Perhaps there was a record he could check.

Come to think of it, it was very likely that there was a list. Perhaps Ethel knew where he could find it. After all, her father was a commanding officer.

‘I have an idea,’ Jack muttered to R
æven. ‘But I’ll need your help.’

The meeting continued for another two hours, until it was three o’clock in the morning, by which time Jack was forced to leave and sneak back into the Guard’s camp as his next patrol started at four o’clock.

~

Jack was certain that no one had paid any attention to where he went at night. The guards were allowed to do as they pleased when they weren’t on duty so long as they respected the reputation of the Realm. Attending H.W.L meetings was definitely not considered as a respectable activity. Ethel was always sound asleep when he left the base camp. Or so he’d thought.

The following night, when Jack was getting ready to go to bed, Ethel poked her head up to his top bunk.

‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Hey,’ he replied, plumping his pillow. He wasn’t really going to bed, but he would wait until everyone else had fallen asleep before creeping out.

‘Where do you go at night?’ asked Ethel, resting her chin on his mattress.

Jack sat up. ‘What?’

‘I’ve seen you leave every night, and I know you don’t have patrol duty.’

Jack froze. ‘Uh … really?’ His mind went blank. He wasn’t good at thinking on the spot.

Ethel looked at him sardonically. ‘I’m not an idiot, Jack.’

‘Erm … you’re right.’

‘So?’ she pressed.

‘I’ve just been going for a drink,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Relaxing with a pint. Is that so bad?’

Ethel crossed her arms, unimpressed. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she said.

‘Why not?’

‘Because I followed you last night,’ she said.

Jack felt his insides drop, as though he had missed a step while going down a flight of stairs.

‘You followed me?’ he repeated, his throat dry.