‘Dad, what’s going on? You look like you’ve had a fright.’
‘The Realm,’ my father wheezed, wiping the sweat from his brow. ‘They know.’
I stared wide-eyed at Jack, who looked just as confused as I felt.
‘What? What do they know?’ My first instinct was to worry about Helena.
It was then that I noticed a large piece of parchment clutched in my father’s hand. I bent down and took it from him, unfurling the paper quickly.
I stared at a perfectly accurate drawing of myself, underneath a title that said:
WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST MAGE-KIND
I dropped the poster as if it had electrocuted me. Jack swooped down and snatched it from the ground, looking at it for himself.
‘Is this a joke?’ Jack waved the poster in front of my father, who finally seemed to be catching his breath.
‘No joke,’ my father said, straightening up. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. ‘Avalon, you have to go.’
‘What? Why? I don’t understand-’
Jack stared at the poster and read it aloud. ‘Wanted for crimes against Mage-Kind: Traitor, and known leader of the human-alliance. Reward of ten-thousand gold for capture.’ Jack looked up and stared at me.
‘Leader?’ I repeated, aghast.
‘Where did you get this, Mr. Redding?’ Jack asked my father.
‘I was in the marketplace when a flock of carrier-birds flew overhead. They dropped these posters all over the place. One of them hit me right on the head. Soon, people will step out of their front doors to find your face plastered all over the town. I daresay Mortlock isn’t the only place to receive these.’
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of this situation. ‘You’ve got to be joking, right? I mean, how? And who?’
‘I can think of a few people,’ said Jack, looking over his shoulder to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. ‘Sebastian Forsythe? Or perhaps Korra Waterson and Alastor Newman in Concord City? Maybe Martinez? You’ve made a lot of enemies over the last year.’
My heart raced. ‘No … Sebastian’s got nothing on me. I only broke his nose. As for Korra and Martinez, well … they lost their memories, didn’t they? I made sure of that. And Alastor … well, you let him go.’
Jack’s expression became hard, like stone. All the colour had drained from him.
‘But we made him write his own farewell,’ said Jack, trying to keep his voice steady.
‘There’s no time to worry about who or why,’ my father snapped. ‘The Realm has issued a warrant for your arrest, and labeled you leader of the human-alliance. That is treason, and it is punishable by death. Avalon, you have to go before they find you. With a ten-thousand gold bounty over your head, every man, woman, and child in the country will be on the lookout for you. That kind of money is to die for. Do you understand? People will be breaking our door down within the next ten minutes.’
The panic was beginning to seep its way into my veins. My legs felt like lead, and my knees were locked in place.
‘But I’m not the leader of the human-alliance!’ I said, looking to Jack for support.
‘Do you think that matters? They know you have some involvement with the Realm, or Martinez, or whoever. Please, just go. Grab a bag, get Hawthorne, and fly out of here.’
‘Where will I go?’ I asked, panicked.
‘My dad's house?’ Jack suggested.
My father shook his head. ‘No, it’s too obvious. They’ll know you two are connected by now.’
‘Then why isn’t my face on that poster, too?’
‘That isn’t important right now!’ my father yelled, making Jack jump. ‘Sweetheart, please. Go.’
‘You want me to … to leave?’ I asked.
My father nodded, so I looked to Jack for support.
‘Jack?’
He too nodded.
‘Isn’t it better to stay and … and fight?’
‘Listen to yourself.’ My father squeezed my shoulders. ‘You can’t fight your way out of every situation.’
I looked around for something, anything to make the situation better. I didn’t want to go. I’d only been home for two months. It would ruin all the progress Helena had made.
‘Hey!’ A few meters away, a little boy was holding his father’s hand. In his other hand he held one of the posters. ‘Daddy, it’s that lady form the poster that fell on us!’
The father of the child squinted at us before grabbing the poster from the child, in order to inspect it.
‘Time to go,’ Jack said, grabbing my arm and steering me in the direction of our house.
‘Hey! You there! Stop!’ the stranger called to us, beginning to run in our direction, his son tottering along behind him.
My father held out a hand. ‘Stop right there, my friend, if you know what’s good for you.’
‘Get out of the way, Fire-Mage. That girl is a wanted criminal. We just saw the poster.’
‘C’mon,’ Jack tugged, forcing me to break into a run as we left my father behind.
‘Dad!’ I called back.
‘Go!’ my father yelled back.