Hawthorne leapt into the air before any of the men could weigh him down, and within seconds, we were rising above the houses with each beat of his wings.
The villagers looked up at us disappearing into the night sky, cursing and shouting.
I briefly saw my parents and Jack, struggling to restrain the men who had taken to using their Powers to bring us down. I watched as a man’s fist made contact with Jack’s face, sending him to the ground. My father jumped onto the man’s back, and they fell into the grass, wrestling. My mother sent jets of fire amongst the villagers, forcing them to scatter.
Jack was getting to his feet, shaking his head. He looked up at me, his eyes wide with fear.
‘Jack!’ I bellowed. If we swooped, I was sure I could grab him. Hawthorne could take the lot of them on.
A bolt of electricity, sent by one of the Mages below, shot past my ear, narrowly missing us.
Hawthorne growled and snarled, wanting to attack those who had tried to hurt us.
Crack.
The teleporter, an extremely vast man, had materialized right onto Hawthorne’s back. We spiraled and veered out of control as Hawthorne struggled to stay in the air with the added weight on his back. He beat his wings as hard as he could, but the sheer vastness of this man was too great to bear. We were losing height fast.
The fat teleporter tried to grab me, and I knew that I was done for if he managed to touch me. He could teleport me to the ground within a second. But I was too quick for him.
The fire that spilled from me sent him flying, as though a small bomb had erupted. I watched as the fat man fell to the ground, a large, burning ball.
Looking down, I saw my mother, father, and Jack struggling against the many villagers. And the mob was growing. Other people had seen the fray and joined the fight to capture me. There was no telling what someone might do for a small fortune.
But one thing caught my eye in particular, and it was the window of my house.
Helena was staring up at me, through her bedroom window. She raised one hand, and waved goodbye.
It was time to go.
‘Go, Hawthorne!’ I cried, jamming my heels into his side. We shot upwards, into the night sky. Where were we going to go?
I didn’t have a clue.
Chapter Five
The Hunter
We flew for an hour, at least. It was too dark to see the ground, but every once in a while we would pass over a cluster of lights, indicating a town below. I didn’t know how much distance I needed to put between myself and Mortlock. One thing was for sure; in the morning, I would go back home to make sure my family was all right.
But there was something I needed to take care of first, and that was somewhere to sleep for the night.
‘Find a clearing, Hawthorne,’ I yelled over the deafening sound of the wind. ‘We need to land.’
Obediently, Hawthorne scoured the trees below, searching for a suitable place to land. He circled a small opening and prepared for descent. A moment later, we landed on the forest floor with a soft thump. Hawthorne slowed to a trot and let me slide off his back.
I stretched my legs and looked around the clearing. I had no idea where we were, or what the time was. Hawthorne began sniffing around the mossy forest floor, searching for worms and other bugs that he could eat. This brought my own hunger to my attention. Stomach grumbling loudly, I began foraging dead wood and piling it into the middle of the clearing, so I could make a fire. It was a matter of minutes before I’d managed to illuminate the forest with the flickering flames of my campfire.
The firelight cast long, dark shadows between the trees, which seemed to twist and distort in my peripheral vision, giving the illusion that something dark was looming beyond sight. I sat next to the fire and wrapped my arms around my body, shivering; not from the cold, but fear. Fear of being alone for the first time in months.
At least I had Hawthorne for company and protection. My companion circled the clearing, his ears perking up whenever he heard a sound in the distance. He paced while I listened to the sound of my own stomach grumbling.
What a way to end my birthday, I thought miserably. I now had time to absorb what had happened within the last few hours. Somehow, the Realm had gotten wind of the things I had done. Who had dobbed me in? Korra Waterson? Alastor Newman? Perhaps Nicholo Martinez?
I didn’t want to dwell on Who. I needed to worry about what I was going to do from here.
Resting my head against a log, I looked up at the night sky. It was perfectly clear, and the moon illuminated the forest well. I lay there, deep in thought, for several minutes, my eyes becoming heavier with each passing moment. I was on the brink of sleep when an unfamiliar sound jolted me awake.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
I could hear careful footsteps, snaking their way through the trees. Trees and bushes rustled as whatever it was made it’s way closer to my clearing.