Groaning, I got to my feet, staggering slightly. Fae copied, using a tree to balance herself.
‘What the hell … was that?’ I panted. ‘Where did it come from?’
Fae did not answer me, instead she was staring transfixed at something. Slowly, Fae pointed, her hand shaking.
‘What is it?’ I asked, following the direction of her gaze.
It took several seconds for it to hit me; Shadow was enormous.
‘Is that-’ I felt foolish asking the question. ‘It’s not … is it?’
‘It is,’ Fae breathed.
It was Shadow, and he was twice the size of Hawthorne. He stood eight feet tall and was as vast as a small cottage. At a guess, I would say he weighed over two tons. I’d never seen an animal of such epic proportions. The very size of him made me weak at the knees.
‘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.’