‘Okay,’ I exhaled. ‘Wait here.’
Jack ruffled my hair and I turned to face the house. My legs were weak. I barely noticed I was walking. It felt as though someone else was in control of my body. My pace quickened. Before I knew it, I was running. Familiar smells overwhelmed my nose, flowers and long grass. Clothes were hanging from the line, flapping in the wind. I watched my feet as I clambered up the steps to the front porch. I looked up and lifted a hand, ready to turn the doorknob. I stopped dead. The front door lay broken upon the hearth. The wood was splintered and littered the entrance. My eyes wandered down the hall. The house was dark. The curtains were shut even though it was a beautiful, sunny day. I took one step into the house and knew instantly that something was very wrong. The house smelled of charred wood. Some forest animals had apparently made homes within the house. This was wrong. Very wrong.
My mouth felt dry and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
‘Mum?’ I called hesitantly. ‘Dad?’
Things were upturned. I could see that things were missing.
‘Helena?’
The only sound I could hear were the birds nesting in the rooftop, their hatchlings crying for food. No one had been here for weeks.
The walls were black and the roof beams were crumbling. My heart felt as though it was stuck in my throat. I ran for the exit, tripping over the door that lay in the hall. I stood, panting on the porch.
‘Jack!’ I cried. I hoped he would hear me. ‘Jack!’
Several seconds passed before I heard the sound of Jack lumbering clumsily through the tall grass. He saw me standing alone and frowned.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jack stepped onto the porch and tilted my chin up to face him.
‘They’re gone!’ I choked. ‘It looks like no one has been here for weeks.’
Jack looked past me, at the broken door strewn across the floor. ‘Do you think they were burgled?’ he asked.
‘No … no, something bad happened here, I can sense it. I expect the house was looted afterwards.’ I could hear the panic rising in my voice. Jack looked around warily. His eyes paused on the letterbox at the front of the house.
‘There’s something on the letterbox.’ He pointed towards the front lawn.
I turned and saw what he meant. A piece of parchment flapped in the wind. It had been nailed to the letterbox. I lurched forwards and pushed Jack out of my way.
‘Avalon, stop!’ Jack ran after me.
His legs were longer. He beat me to the parchment and snatched it away.
‘Let me read it!’ I demanded
‘I recognise the stamp,’ said Jack, staring at the notice.
‘And?’
‘It’s the mark of The Realm’ he said, looking up at me.
I fell silent. ‘Don’t be ridiculous’ I snatched the letter from his grasp, almost ripping it. My eyes instantly fell upon the large, red stamp at the bottom of the letter. It was definitely the seal of The Realm of Mages. It featured a dragon breathing fire with a large letter ‘M’ on its chest.
My hands were shaking, but I managed to read the letter quickly.
PUBLIC NOTICE:
HUMANS ARE NOT EQUALS.
THE REALM OF MAGES WOULD LIKE TO REMIND ALL CITIZENS OF MORTLOCK THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO OWN AND TREAT ANY HUMAN AS AN EQUAL.
IT IS ILLEGAL TO TEACH HUMANS OUR LANGUAGE.
HUMANS ARE DANGEROUS AND MUST BE REGISTERED AT THE HUMAN REGISTRATION OFFICE IN CONCORD CITY.
FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES.
ANY MAGE FOUND HARBOURING HUMANS AND TREATING THEM WITH DIGNITY WILL FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF THE LAW.
REGARDS,
KORRA WATERSON
REGISTRATION OFFICER
REALM OF MAGES - HUMAN REGISTRATION OFFICE
I stared at the parchment. I read it over and over until the words were embedded in my brain. My breath came in harsh, short gasps. Jack took the letter from me and read it himself, muttering under his breath. I felt dizzy. I wanted to lie down.
‘They took them,’ I said. ‘They took them.’
‘Avalon, I’m so sorry,’ said Jack.
I sat in the overgrown grass on the front lawn and stared at the house. Jack seemed unsure of what he should do, so he paced.
After a minute, I found my voice. ‘We have to go.’
‘Go?’ said Jack, coming to a halt. ‘Go where?’
‘We have to go to them. The Realm.’
‘Are you mad?’ said Jack.
‘What other choice do I have?’ I said. ‘They took my family.’
Jack bit his lip. ‘It will take several days to reach Concord City, even if we fly. I don’t think Hawthorne can carry us both the whole way. A trip of this scale needs planning.’
‘I don’t care how we get there,’ I insisted. ‘I’ll go by myself if you don’t want to come.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You aren’t going anywhere without me. We will have to walk most of the way and fly the rest. Hawthorne can’t hold my weight for that long. We will need to prepare, but neither of us have much coin.’