‘Over half an hour,’ George said, wiping away more tears. ‘She said she would rather go alone than be with you.’
‘She said that?’ Jack felt a sting in his chest. He didn’t like it one bit, ‘Maybe I can still catch up if I hurry-’
‘You still want to go after her?’ Georgia said, enraged, ‘Jack, she attacked me when I tried to stop her! I said, No Avalon, don’t leave Jack! And she laughed and set me alight!’
‘That doesn’t sound like Ava,’ said Jack, his heartbeat quickening.
He did not believe it. Why would Avalon deliberately hurt Georgia? He knew that they did not like each other very much – but Avalon would not attack someone completely innocent; at least, not on purpose.
‘Don’t go after her, Jack. She said she didn’t need you, didn’t want you. She said you have been nothing but a burden!’
‘She did?’ Jack felt his innards twist uncomfortably. He had been worried that his presence had slowed her journey down. Perhaps if Jack hadn’t been there, Ava might have reached Concord City in time to save her sister from being sold on the market. Is that what Avalon really thought?
Georgia nodded. ‘Uh-huh. She said … something about a woman … Korra Waterson.’
‘Did she?’ Jack said slowly. ‘What else did she say?’
‘I don’t remember much after that,’ Georgia said quickly. ‘At that point, well, it was like an explosion. You saw my hand – she ruined it!’
Jack tried to make sense of it all. ‘But … Avalon wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t attack you and then leave me. Would she?’
‘You don’t believe me?’ Georgia’s eyes filled with tears. ‘You saw what she did. How else would I have been burned?’
‘No, no,’ Jack began. ‘It’s just very out of character.’
‘I knew she hated me, that fire demon! All I tried to do was help.’
‘It’s okay.’ Jack rubbed Georgia’s back soothingly. Georgia embraced him tightly and he felt her lips by his ear.
‘She said she wished you never came with her,’ Georgia whispered.
Jack grew increasingly suspicious. This did not sound like Avalon at all. But why would Georgia lie? And how else would she have received such a burn? Did Avalon really attack her or had it been an accident, causing Ava to flee with shame?
Jack detached himself from Georgia and stood up. She looked at him curiously. ‘What are you doing?’ She asked.
‘I’ve got to try and catch up with Ava,’ said Jack, grabbing his bag from the sofa.
‘You’re going after her? Even after what she did to me?’ Georgia said, astounded.
Jack flung the bag over his shoulder and looked at Georgia apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t let her go alone.’
‘But she doesn’t want you!’ Georgia got to her feet, ‘I thought … I thought you liked me!’
‘This has nothing to do with how much I like anyone,’ said Jack. ‘I made a promise to my best friend and I intend to keep it. There must be a reason why Ava behaved the way she did.’
‘She’s a fire demon!’ Georgia burst. ‘They’re violent! All of them!’
‘Ava isn’t violent-’ Jack began, but then he thought about the previous day. He recalled the look in Ava’s eyes when she injected Korra with the serum. Satisfaction. Avalon was glad that she had taken Korra’s memories and she had wanted to do it again, to Alastor. She wanted to let Alastor bleed to death too.
‘Think about it,’ Georgia said softly. ‘You are blinded by your affection for this girl. You can’t see what she is really like.’
‘I know what Avalon is like,’ said Jack, unsure now.
Scenarios flashed through his head.
Avalon had broken Master Forsythe’s nose when he had caught her snooping through his belongings. She had melted Elvira Frost during a moment of rage at the top of her ice tower. Only yesterday, Avalon had attacked a Realm Official and threatened another, forcing him to leave the city. And today she had mutilated Georgia’s hand.
Maybe Georgia was right; perhaps Avalon was violent. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t a good person. After all, wasn’t she doing these things to get her family back?
‘She’s just … going through some stuff,’ Jack said lamely.
Georgia pursed her lips. ‘What gives her the right to treat people like rubbish?’
‘She doesn’t,’ Jack said defensively.
‘Jack,’ Georgia crooned, running her fingers through his hair. ‘She left you after everything you have done for her and I know you do so much. You’re a healer. Healers care too much.’
Jack’s mind was racing. Did he believe Georgia? Part of him knew that she was right – Avalon’s Power made her dangerous. But had Ava really said those things; that he was a burden? That she wished he had never come with her?
‘You know I’m right,’ Georgia said, sliding her arms around Jack’s neck and breathing in his ear. Her warm breath washed over his body and he felt the fight in him slipping away.