‘Mum,’ I cringed. ‘Please.’
‘What? I’m just curious. I haven’t seen you in months.’
Guilt panged my chest. ‘No, it’s not like that,’ I fibbed.
‘What is it like then?’
I took a deep breath. I had never been one to share my thoughts and feelings with my family. I liked being private and working through things on my own. However, this was my mother. She could guess these things. I remembered, even as a child, she had always been able to tell when I was lying.
‘It’s … complicated,’ I said.
‘Does it need to be?’
I thought about this for a moment. Of course it was complicated. Being with Jack had already proved to be a distraction. Were we not already late for the pro-Human meeting?
‘Let’s not talk about it,’ I said as I heard my father and Jack coming down the stairs. My father put a hand on my mother’s back and led her out of the Inn. I looked at Jack for an indication that he was okay, but he avoided eye contact with me. I followed my parents and Jack tagged along behind us.
I noticed that he kept a meter distance from me at all times. I wanted to know what my Dad had said to him in private but I couldn’t ask that just yet.
‘So where is this meeting?’ I said in an undertone to my mother.
She put her finger to her lips to indicate that I must be silent. I sighed and kept my mouth shut for the remainder of the walk.
Flamethroat was silent. The streets were empty. I thought that the guard would be patrolling at night, in the hopes of finding the creators of H.E.L.E.N.A. However, we didn’t see anyone along the way, which I thought was strangely lucky.
After fifteen minutes, my father led us down a narrow alleyway with very uneven ground. I stumbled on the cobbled stone but Jack grabbed my arm before I fell. Once steady, he quickly let go of me.
‘In here,’ my father muttered, ushering us in through a little wooden door at the end of the passage.
Ducking inside, I saw that we were in a cellar. Bottles of wine lined the walls and several candles illuminated the room. There were many people here already, all of whom were sitting in a circle; at least half a dozen, but I didn’t recognise any of them. They all seemed to be middle-aged couples.
‘Kenneth,’ one of the women said. ‘We thought you weren’t coming.’
‘Sorry Elise, we were delayed,’ my father replied.
‘Not the guard?’ Elise’s husband said with raised eyebrows.
‘No, nothing like that Bran.’ My father waved it aside.
‘Who have you brought with you? More members?’ a tiny woman with mousy hair piped up.
‘This,’ my father put his hand on my shoulder. ‘Is my daughter, Avalon, the one I told you about. And this is her … friend, Jack.’
Many people raised their eyebrows and muttered between themselves. At that moment, it came to my attention that there was another person in the cellar that had not yet spoken a word. There was a man who sat in a chair in the middle of the room, staring dazedly at the floor. The circle of chairs surrounded him.
‘Come and sit down dear.’ My mother took my hand and led me to a chair in the circle. Jack sat two chairs away from me and stared fixedly at the man in the middle.
‘I think introductions are in order,’ my father said. ‘Elise, why don’t you go first?’
‘Hi, Jack, Avalon. I’m Elise Stalk. I am host to the Power of Speed. I’m the one that has been putting up all the posters across the valley. No way they’ll catch me doing it. Oh and this is my husband, Bran. He is strong.’
Elise and her husband were both very tanned and very fit. Bran gave me a small nod of acknowledgement.
‘Hi,’ Jack and I said in unison.
Next in the circle was the mousy woman.
‘I’m Penny Truscott,’ she squeaked. ‘I can fit into tiny spaces.’
‘How tiny?’ Jack asked at once.
‘Well,’ Penny smiled nervously, ‘Once, I locked myself out of the house and managed to slide in through the mail slot.’
‘But how-’ Jack began, bewildered, but he was interrupted by my father clearing his throat loudly.
Penny Truscott smiled. ‘I guess the best way to describe it, is that I’m like rubber. And this is my partner, Tom.’
‘Wotcher,’ Tom Truscott greeted us. ‘I’m a mimic. I can borrow people’s Power when I am close to them.’
‘That’s handy,’ I said, impressed.
Next was an older couple, who looked to be in their sixties.
‘Pleasure to meet you Avalon and you too Jack,’ said the greying man. ‘I’m Robert Scotland and this is my wife Maria. We can manipulate earth and stone.’
‘Bonjour,’ Maria said in a soft voice.
‘It’s nice to meet you all,’ Jack said politely. ‘Um, I’m Jack and I’m a Healer.
‘Oh good,’ squeaked Penny Truscott. ‘How useful!’
I felt that I would not be very useful to this group for I would be the third Fire-Mage to join.
‘And who is that?’ I murmured to my mother.