‘I won’t let that happen again,’ Jack promised, his voice gentle, his breath soft on my cheek.
I stopped fighting and Jack’s grip slackened slightly. Panting, I stared at Jack who knelt on the floor beside me. His eyes were pleading.
‘Would you forgive me?’ I said, getting to my feet, ‘If I took his memories?’
‘Will you forgive yourself?’ said Jack, avoiding my eyes. He couldn’t look at me.
I turned to face Alastor Newman and was shocked at what I saw. He stood there, a scalpel in his hand.
‘What are you going to do with that?’ I asked, slightly amused…
‘I’d rather die than forget who I am,’ he said in a shaking voice. He dragged the scalpel across his own forearm.
‘No!’ I shouted.
Jack scrambled to his feet and skidded to a halt by Alastor’s side.
‘Don’t touch me!’ Alastor flailed, spraying Jack with blood.
‘Stay still!’ Jack ordered.
‘I can’t forget! I can’t!’
‘How do you think all those Humans felt?’ I said grabbing a syringe and brandishing it in Alastor’s face.
Alastor continued to flail, but Jack managed to grab hold of his blood soaked wrist. Alastor stopped struggling to watch the healing process.
‘Incredible,’ Alastor whispered. ‘Outstanding abilities. We could really use someone of your talent at The Realm.’
The wound was gone. All that remained was the blood that soaked his clothes.
Jack got to his feet and turned to me. ‘See what you almost did?’ he shot.
‘What I did?’ I said. ‘He deserves to bleed to death after everything he has done to the Human race. He has ruined hundreds of people, Jack! He has taken their memories-’
‘They’re just-’ Jack began, but stopped abruptly.
‘Just what?’ I said quietly. ‘Just Humans?’
‘I didn’t mean-’ Jack started. ‘I didn’t … Avalon, you can’t inject him with that serum. It’s not right.’
I looked at the needle in my hand. Did I feel bad about taking Korra Waterson’s memory? I turned to face her. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking around the room with great interest. She didn’t seem unhappy; if anything, she looked mildly surprised.
I turned back to Jack. ‘So what do we do? What if he tells the guards?’
‘I won’t tell anyone!’ Alastor said quickly, ‘Please! I’ll leave The Realm, I swear it. I’ll go tonight. I promise.’
‘How do I know you’re not lying?’ I said viciously, pointing the syringe like a dagger.
‘I owe my life to your healer friend,’ Alastor said. ‘I beg of you, please. I’ll even leave a note saying it was I who erased Korra’s memories. That way I will be forced to leave the city for an act of treason.’
‘Write it now,’ I said, grabbing a sheaf of parchment from the workbench and thrusting it in Alastor’s hands. I threw a quill at him.
With a shaking hand, Alastor wrote his own farewell upon the parchment. I read it upside down easily.
I, Alastor Newman have betrayed The Realm of Mages and taken Korra’s memory against her will.
‘Write that you are a Human lover,’ I ordered.
Alastor did as he was told.
I cannot harm another Human for they are blood of my blood.
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Well? What are you waiting for? Run!’
Alastor scrambled to his feet in a hurry and bolted through the door. We could hear him tearing down the hall at top speed.
‘He won’t be coming back to Concord City any time soon,’ I said to Jack.
‘You shouldn’t have done it. You’ve turned his whole life upside down. What if he has children? A wife?’ said Jack, his face full of anger.
‘What other choice did we have?’
Jack ignored me. ‘Let’s get out of here before people start getting suspicious.’
~
It was rather easy to leave The Realm. Jack walked with false confidence and no one batted an eyelid at him. I, on the other hand, wore Korra’s red cloak and so blended easily with the other Realm Officials. Once we were back on the street, Jack and I almost ran back to Georgia’s home.
Luckily for us, Georgia was still at work, so there were no awkward questions as to why I was wearing the cloak. Jack remained distant for the rest of the evening so I took the time to visit Hawthorne in the outskirts of the city. I sat in the woods with him until night fell and told him what had happened at The Realm. While I spoke to Hawthorne, it was hard to stop the tears escaping my eyes. I wiped them away furiously.
Tomorrow we would head for Flamethroat Valley, a town only a few miles from Concord City. It would only take us one day of walking to reach it.