Flamethroat (13 page)

‘
Oh … no, please,
’
I said.
‘
Don
’
t worry about me.
’

‘
I insist.
’
She bustled away without another word.

While alone, I sniffed my clothes and frowned. I suppose I could do with a thorough wash.

‘
I heard Jack say that you are
walking
to Concord City. That is quite a way!
’
I heard Mrs. Greenwood call from the bathroom.

I ventured down the hall, following the sound of her voice.

‘
Uh, yes. We are going to … visit my family,
’
I lied as I entered the washroom.

Mrs. Greenwood was kneeling over a handsome bathtub with clawed feet. She hadn
’
t been lying; they really did have running water
–
something which I had hardly seen. Most villagers had to collect buckets of water from a well.

‘
How can you afford running water?
’
I said.
‘
Even the manor I worked at did not have it and they were fairly rich.
’

‘
My sister
’
Mrs. Greenwood smiled,
‘
She is a Water-Mage. We collect rainwater in a tank on the terrace. She comes over every week to purify it. Her husband is quite handy with metal too, so we set up some pipes to run the water straight into the bathroom. In exchange I give her medicines. Of course, the only problem is the water is always cold. I usually heat a few pitchers of water for Jamie when he bathes, so it is warm for him.
’

‘
That won
’
t be a problem for me,
’
I said.

‘
No, of course not. How silly of me.
’

Caroline Greenwood left me in the bathroom once the tub was full. I had never had the luxury of a spacious bath before. At home we had a small metal tub in which to bathe, but it was tiny in comparison to this.

Once I was undressed I found an assortment of soaps and other miscellaneous things that foamed when they hit the water. I had a lot of fun filling the bath with different smelling liquids before finally lowering myself into the water. The bath was so large that the water came to my collarbone and my body was completely obscured by bubbles. For the first time in months I felt relaxed. The water was soon steaming and mist filled the bathroom, fogging the mirror.

I jumped, splashing a lot of water over the side of the bath, when someone knocked on the bathroom door. I realised I had been soaking for a good twenty minutes.

‘
Yes?
’
I said hesitantly.

‘
It
’
s me.
’
Jack
’
s voice came through the door.
‘
Just making sure you haven
’
t drowned.
’

‘
I
’
m fine,
’
I said with a laugh.

‘
Um, Caroline wanted me to tell you that dinner will be ready in an hour … and … she made you a cup of tea.
’

‘
Oh, thank you,
’
I called.

‘
I
’
ll … I
’
ll leave it by the door,
’
said Jack, unsure.

‘
No, It
’
s all right. You can come in,
’
I said.

‘
What?
’
said Jack after a moment of silence.
‘
While you
’
re in there?
’

‘
Yes, it
’
s fine.
’
I said. The dense cloud of foam and bubbles skimming the water covered me completely, so the only thing that would be seen was my head poking above the water.

Several seconds passed before the doorknob turned and Jack entered holding a cup of tea, his eyes screwed up so he couldn
’
t see.

I laughed at him.
‘
It
’
s all right Jack, I
’
m covered. Put the tea on the edge there, will you?
’

Peeking through his eyelashes, Jack placed the cup of tea next to the bathtub. Once he saw that I was concealed he opened his eyes fully.

‘
That looks relaxing.
’

‘
Close the door will you?
’
I asked in a low voice.
‘
I want to talk.
’

He did as he was told. Once the door was closed he sat himself upon the edge of the bathtub.

‘
Are you all right?
’
I asked.

‘
I think so,
’
Jack replied.
‘
It
’
s weird, you know?
’

I frowned.
‘
No, I don
’
t know.
’

Jack sighed and looked at the ceiling.
‘
I
’
ve wanted to find him for years and years, but when I saw him standing there, I don
’
t know … this anger took over me and I hated him so much.
’

I put my wet hand over Jack
’
s and he smiled at me.

‘
I thought to myself; would I be a completely different person if I
’
d had a father figure while growing up?
’

‘
I hope not,
’
I said.
‘
Then you wouldn
’
t have been
you
.
’

‘
I might have been better,
’
he said.

I shrugged, sloshing water.

Jack took a deep, steadying breath.
‘
It hurts to think that he has moved on. He has a wife and a
kid
. I have a half brother.
’

‘
What
did
you expect?
’

‘
I don
’
t know. I guess I always imagined him to be alone, like I was.
’

‘
You aren
’
t alone,
’
I said.

‘
I was.
’
Jack looked down at me.

‘
You have me now. By the way, your Dad and Caroline think we are together.
’

Jack allowed himself a sheepish grin.
‘
Yeah, sorry about that. He was asking me all sorts of questions about myself
–
and I wanted him to see how well I have coped without any parents, so I kind of … well-
’

‘
Well what?
’
I said, narrowing my eyes.

‘
Well he just
assumed
and I didn
’
t correct him.
’

‘
You didn
’
t hesitate in telling Georgia that we were
just friends
,
’
I said coldly.

‘
Well that was different,
’
Jack waved it aside. I disagreed, but did not voice my opinion.

‘
So what did you talk about?
’
I pressed. I was eager to hear Mr. Greenwood
’
s side of the story, but did not want to pry into matters that made Jack uncomfortable.

Jack began to fidget.
‘
He rattled on a little bit, saying how he never wanted to leave and that he never stopped thinking about me. He said that he was too ashamed to face me, or to go back. But here
’
s the kicker, he told me
why
he left.
’

I frowned.
‘
Well, it
’
s because he couldn
’
t heal Noah
’
s fiancé, Madeline, isn
’
t it? That girl who died?
’

Jack nodded.
‘
That
’
s only half of it.
’

‘
Then what?
’

‘
He says … he says her brain was affected. You know how it works. Healers can
’
t fix anything that is permanent. Madeline
’
s mind was gone. She was wasting away.
’

‘
I thought she was sick?
’
I said.

Jack shrugged,
‘
Apparently much of it was in her head.
’
Jack tapped his temple.
‘
Dad said that she took her own life
–
he was too late to revive her.
’

‘
But then why does he feel so guilty about it? It
’
s not his fault!
’

‘
Shhh.
’
Jack waved a hand to quiet me.
‘
He knows that.
’

‘
So why did he abandon you?
’

‘
Noah Forsythe.
’
Jack scowled.
‘
No good scumbag.
’

I clenched my teeth together. I did not like talking about Noah Forsythe one bit. Several months ago I had been infatuated with my Master
’
s son and sought his affections, only to learn that I greatly resembled his dead fiancé Madeline. This had resulted in Noah attempting to force himself on me using his Power of hypnotism, which rendered me completely useless. It was because of him that I had lost my Power for so long.

‘
What about him?
’
I said stiffly.

‘
Well he blamed my father, didn
’
t he?
’
said Jack.
‘
He threatened to have him hanged for killing Madeline. So Dad did the only thing he could think of
–
he ran for it.
’

‘
But why didn
’
t he take you with him?
’
I said, my anger rising once again.

‘
He didn
’
t know where he was going
–
or how long he would be alive. He said he spent months on the road, walking and starving. Said it was no place for a child.
’

‘
But … once he had settled down-
’
I began.

‘
Why didn
’
t he come and fetch me?
’
Jack finished my sentence.
‘
I wondered that too. Dad said it would look suspicious. He assumed that Noah Forsythe would be keeping an eye on me, to see if I made contact with him.
’

‘
Did you try?
’

‘
Many times
’
Jack admitted.
‘
I sent messengers into every corner of the country looking for him
–
but nothing.
’

I squeezed Jack
’
s hand tightly when I saw his eyes become rather shiny.

‘
So,
’
he said, slapping his knee and standing up.
‘
That
’
s what he said. He said he didn
’
t want me to get dragged into the whole mess and that once everything had settled down, he was too ashamed to show his face to me.
’

I bit my lip.
‘
Are you still mad at him?
’

Jack pursed his lips.
‘
I don
’
t know anymore. I guess time will tell. This isn
’
t the kind of thing that will fix itself overnight. I don
’
t know if I trust him.
’