I stood before the two officials, my heart racing and my eyes glued to the floor.
Korra Waterson took out a sheaf of parchment, a quill and began to jot things down as Alastor Newman spoke.
‘How old is this one?’ Mr. Newman asked, pulling back my eyelids and staring at the whites of my eyes.
‘Uh, eighteen,’ Jack said quickly. ‘I bought her only a year ago. Deceased estate.’
Alastor pulled back my lips to inspect my teeth.
‘She is in good health,’ Alastor Newman said as he looked down my throat. ‘Did you know her previous owners?
‘No,’ said Jack.
‘Hm.’ Alastor seemed to be lost in thought.
‘How tall is she?’ asked Korra.
Alastor whipped out a measuring tape.
‘Five foot, two inches,’ he told Korra, who began to scribble upon her parchment. ‘Blue eyes. Black hair. One hundred and ten pounds.’
Alastor pulled out a small pin and grabbed my wrist. He brought the pin to my finger and jabbed me. I gasped and snatched my hand away.
‘What are you doing?’ Jack said quickly.
‘We need to take a blood sample,’ Alastor said. ‘It is necessary.’
Once again, Alastor grabbed me by the wrist and let a droplet of my blood fall onto a piece of glass.
‘Your Human is quite tame,’ Korra noted. ‘Many turn violent during the process or urinate themselves.’
‘She knows to behave,’ Jack said with the appropriate amount of maliciousness in his voice. ‘So, you’ve registered a few Humans then?’
‘Hundreds,’ Alastor said, listening to my heartbeat.
Jack licked his lips nervously. ‘I noticed the rather large mob outside.’
Korra sighed, ‘Yes, there are some Human lovers out there, believe it or not.’
Jack forced a laugh. ‘Ridiculous,’ he said. ‘Many of them seemed to think you had taken their families. Strange, huh?’
Alastor laughed. ‘Families. What a load of nonsense. They are enraged because we have confiscated their Humans. A Mage can not be related to a Human.’
‘It’s impossible for a Mage to produce a Human child?’ Jack asked cautiously.
‘Of course it is impossible Mr. Deacon! They are an entirely different species. It would be like a Mage giving birth to a monkey.’
I felt my rage growing every second. Liars, I thought to myself. They know damn well that they have taken the children of those people outside.
‘So why did you confiscate their Humans?’ Jack asked.
‘It is illegal to teach Humans the English language. It is illegal to conceal a Human under the identity of a Mage. The Realm did what was necessary to protect society,’ Alastor said. ‘We tracked down all educated Humans and arrested those responsible for the felony.’
‘Humans are not to be treated as equals. We have discovered many Mages concealing Humans, teaching them to talk and act like Mages,’ Korra added.
‘You don’t say?’ Jack said with raised eyebrows.
‘The number of educated Humans is rising at an alarming rate. We believe they are breeding in secret. It is our job to find them, register them and ensure they cannot procreate.’
‘What do you do with the educated Humans you find?’
‘They are processed and sold.’
‘Processed?’ Jack said. Luckily neither Korra nor Alastor noticed that my head had snapped up at that moment.
‘Yes, they must undergo a process to erase all memories. Humans that can talk or think for themselves, are capable of plotting against us Mr. Deacon. It is our duty to make sure that does not happen. We cannot allow the Human race to destroy the earth once again. We inject them with a serum that erases their memories.’ He pointed to the metal table where several syringes were in a row.
‘And then you sell them?’ said Jack, his face very pale. ‘You sell them once their memories have been erased?’
‘Of course,’ Alastor said, now taking my fingerprints. ‘Well, after they have been made sterile, of course.’
I could not help it. I gasped. Jack and Korra turned their attention to me. Jack looked alarmed, Korra, simply curious.
‘Quiet, girl,’ Alastor scolded me.
‘If I was looking to buy one of these … processed Humans-’ Jack continued hurriedly, ‘-where would I go? Do you keep them here, at the Headquarters?’
‘Oh no, of course not. We sell them at the marketplace,’ Korra said.
‘What is that?’ said Jack suddenly, pointing at Korra.
I hadn’t noticed because I had been listening so attentively, but Korra had pulled an assortment of frightening looking instruments out of a drawer.
‘The surgical equipment we will use to brand her and perform the sterilisation.’
Jack took an involuntary step forwards, ‘Brand?’ He repeated, aghast, ‘Sterilisation?’
My fists curled into balls. My hands were shaking. Only one thought entered my mind. Helena. What had they done to Helena?