‘I’m sorry,’ I said, wincing.
Dagon shook his head. ‘Don’t be, Lass. Yeh can’t be sure who yeh can trust. But I reckon yer safe in Port. A lot of people were heartbroken when Oliver was taken. A real decent lad, he was. Half the town is pissed at the Realm, and they reckon yer the answer.’
‘The answer?’ I repeated.
‘To free the humans,’ he said simply. ‘To bring down the Realm. The whole country knews yer face, so it’ll be easy to gain followers. That is what yeh want to do, isn’t it?’
I wanted revenge on the Realm for what they’d done to Helena regardless of what Dagon said. But bringing down the entire Government was not within my power.
‘Of course I want humans to be equals,’ I said. ‘But I don’t think I will make much difference.’
‘Look,’ said Dagon, fixing his eyes on me. ‘Half the damn country wants to get rid of the Realm, but are too afraid. You can unite them, and bring down-’
I held up a hand to silence Dagon. ‘You’re talking about things much bigger than you or I.’
‘But … isn’t that why yer here? Aren’t yeh looking fer other supporters?’
‘I’m trying to hide.’
Dagon looked at me as though I had not lived up to his expectations.
The sun was rather high in the sky now, and I guessed it must be nearing eleven o’clock in the morning. Dagon and I had been talking for quite a while.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said to him. ‘I really can’t stay in one place for too long.’
I stood up, the chair grinding against the floor loudly. Dagon followed suit, looking thoroughly displeased.
‘I’m going back to the lodge to get my things,’ I said. ‘Then I’ll be gone.’
‘Wait,’ Dagon said. ‘Will yeh meet me by the cliff's edge, out the front of the lodge before yeh go? I need to run home … I want ter give yeh something.’
‘All right,’ I agreed. ‘I’ll wait for five minutes, that’s all.’
‘Great!’ Dagon stooped and quickly kissed my cheek before rushing for the exit of the café.
‘Dagon!’ I called to him.
He spun around, his eyebrows raised.
‘Thank you,’ I said.
He smiled and vanished through the door.
~
The walk back to the lodge was a lonely one, though my thoughts were filled with what Dagon had said. Avalon Redding, leader of the human rebellion. It had a nice ring to it.
When I entered my room, Hawthorne was not there. I supposed I would have to find him after Dagon and I met by the cliff’s edge out in the front of the lodge. I wondered what it was he wanted to give me.
I grabbed my rucksack and repacked the items I had scattered around the room in my haste to leave this morning. Slinging it over my shoulder, I took a quick peek at myself in the mirror. I was awfully dishevelled, but there was no point in brushing my hair because I’d be clambering onto Hawthorne’s back, and we’d take to the skies within the hour.
When I emerged out the front of the lodge, I found that the clouds had passed in front of the sun, casting Port in shadow. The steely grey waves crashed against the rocks, the spray reaching the cliff top.
I walked the few yards to the cliff where an old wooden fence lined the edge. It was so decrepit that a strong gust of wind might blow it down. Nevertheless, I leaned against it and waited for Dagon to reappear like we’d arranged. I would only wait five minutes like I’d promised. I told myself that, anyway.
However, ten minutes passed, and Dagon still had not met me by the cliff’s edge. I was growing restless, and told myself I’d only wait another minute, when a voice spoke behind me.
‘Hey there.’
I turned with a smile on my face. ‘Where have you-’ I stopped when I saw who had spoken.
It wasn’t Dagon at all. It was Finn, the hunter that had detained me at my house a few days ago.
‘Oh, it’s you.’
‘Me,’ said Finn, a smile on his face.
‘I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,’ I said as casually as I could muster.
Finn was holding the same dagger in his hands, twirling the blade between his long fingers. ‘I thought you might miss me, so I decided to pay a visit.’
‘How nice.’ My voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘How did you find me?’
‘I told you,’ said Finn. ‘I’m a hunter … I specialise in tracking, and well, I already had your scent, so I just followed my nose. And here you are.’
‘You’re very good,’ I said, impressed. ‘Keeping up with me when I travel by air on … well, you met Hawthorne, didn’t you?’
‘How could I forget him?’ he said with a smile. ‘He gave me quite a shock.’
‘Yes, he tends to do that. He’s very protective of me, you see.’
Finn nodded and pursed his lips. ‘So where is he now?’
I pointed to the sky. ‘Overhead somewhere,’ I lied. Finn didn’t need to know that Hawthorne couldn’t fly without me. ‘Probably watching us right now.’