‘You’ll see,’ said R?ven, mystery in her eyes.
At that moment, they were interrupted by Xara Swanson, the red-eyed girl from the Realm. She stood beside them, her expression blank. Jack and R?ven stared at her, waiting for her to talk.
‘I know you,’ she said to Jack, her tone emotionless.
‘Uh … yeah,’ said Jack, scratching the back of his head. ‘I thought you might remember me.’
‘I remember everything,’ she said matter-of-factly.
Jack thought Xara was an unusual looking woman. She was thin and pale, probably in her early twenties, but looked far younger. There was an otherworldly aura about her that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Perhaps it was the fact that she had no eyebrows or eyelashes, and her eyes were set quite far apart. Her hair was long and stark white, which made her red eyes stand out even more. That being said, she wasn’t unattractive.
‘Did you tell anyone at the Realm about me?’ asked Jack.
‘No,’ said Xara, her tone indifferent. ‘They did not ask, so I did not tell.’
‘Well … thank you,’ said Jack.
‘Why?’ she asked.
‘Well … I’m sure you put two and two together, right?’
‘I know you were responsible for the attack on Korra Waterson and the disappearance of Alastor Newman.’
‘Oh, no, no, no,’ Jack said quickly. ‘It wasn’t my fault they … well … you know what happened.’
‘You aided in the infiltration, did you not?’
‘Yes,’ he said uncomfortably.
‘Then you are partially responsible,’ said Xara.
Well, he had to give her that one. Of course he was partially responsible.
‘Not that it matters, anyway,’ Xara continued. ‘They discovered that the attacker was the Fire-Mage a month ago.’
Jack glanced at R?ven furiously. Of course the Realm knew. R?ven had spread the story.
‘Yeah, I figured,’ said Jack. ‘It was kinda hard to miss the posters.’
‘Indeed. Alastor Newman provided a very thorough description of the Fire-Mage.’
‘Alastor Newman?’ Jack repeated. ‘The guy who ran away?’
During the attack, Avalon had forced Newman to write his own farewell, confessing to the attack on Korra Waterson.
‘He came back a month ago,’ said Xara. ‘He told the Realm everything.’
‘He didn’t tell them about me?’ asked Jack. ‘Surely he must have remembered my involvement?’
‘Perhaps he owed you a debt,’ said Xara. ‘I don’t understand it, either.’
‘A debt,’ said Jack thoughtfully, recalling the day of the incident. Alastor had wanted to kill himself rather than be injected with the serum.
‘I’ll leave the Realm, I swear it. I’ll go tonight. I promise. I owe my life to your healer friend.’
Those were the words Alastor Newman had spoken whilst bargaining for his freedom. So, as it turned out, he had returned to convict Avalon and not Jack.
‘I told you it wasn’t my fault,’ interrupted R?ven, the sound of her voice making his heart stop momentarily.
‘Don’t surprise me like that,’ he scolded her. ‘A little warning before you talk please, so I can prepare myself.’
Xara’s attention snapped to R?ven as if she’d only just realised she was there. ‘Your voice,’ she said.
Jack and R?ven exchanged glances.
‘Yes?’ R?ven said, suddenly nervous.
‘It is … different,’ said Xara.
Jack couldn’t help but smile. Poor, emotionless Xara did not know how to describe the feeling associated with the sound of R?ven’s voice. He supposed it must be strange for her, being so robotic.
‘Thank you?’ said R?ven, unsure as to whether it was indeed a compliment or not.
R?ven and Xara stared at each other for a long while, as if trying to figure one another out. Jack, feeling uncomfortable, left them to it, receding back into the crowd.
This was when Cecilia caught up with him.
‘Jack!’ she said happily, thrusting a goblet of beer into his hand. ‘I see you met Xara? It’s really exciting to have her here, isn’t it? I mean, she is a bit strange, I guess, but she works inside the Realm. Isn’t that great?’
‘Erm, yeah,’ said Jack. ‘Did she mention why she wants to help?’
Cecilia shrugged. ‘She said something about statistics and probability … well, I didn’t really understand it. She told me that she does not have access to the cure, however, it should be much easier to infiltrate the Realm with her on our side. She’s so clever, you know? I don’t think her brain works the same as ours do. Far too intelligent for her own good, I think. Everything is numbers and formulas to her.’
‘Perhaps she figured out the Realms inevitable end, and decided to jump ship,’ said Jack with a smile.
‘Maybe,’ Cecilia said, excitedly. ‘We can only hope. It’s great, isn’t it? We have so many members now!’
‘Yeah,’ said Jack, glancing around nervously. ‘Are you sure we can trust them all?’
Cecilia nodded. ‘I interviewed each and every one myself. They all told the truth, and pledged allegiance to H.W.L.’