‘Hey,’ I said, catching up to him and standing on the bottom step.
Jack turned. ‘Oh, hey. Aren’t you meant to be staking out the manor?’ he looked slightly downcast.
‘Yeah right. Dad gave me a phony job to keep me out of trouble.’
‘Let me guess,’ said Jack thoughtfully. ‘You found trouble anyway?’
‘Stop jumping to conclusions,’ I smiled. ‘What are you doing back here anyway? I thought you were at Robert and Maria’s?’
‘I was.’ Jack looked strangely pale. ‘It’s no good Avalon. I can’t help him.’
I looked at Jack sadly. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No, I’m sorry.’ He twisted his shirt in his fingers. ‘I know you were hoping I could heal Helena.’
‘I wasn’t depending on it,’ I said truthfully.
Jack ran a hand through his dishevelled hair and clenched his fist around large tufts. He looked rather stressed.
‘Let’s go inside,’ I said quickly, before adding, ‘Hawthorne, you go through the back entrance again.’
Hawthorne slinked off grumpily.
Once Jack, Hawthorne and I were back inside our room, Jack put his hands to his face and sat on the bed.
‘Are you all right?’ I asked timidly as Hawthorne sat by Jack’s feet.
Jack groaned into his palms. ‘I’m sorry Avalon.’
‘Why?’
‘Bobby. The serum,’ Jack looked up at me. ‘It’s permanent.’
I took a deep breath. ‘You don’t know that.’
‘I do,’ he said with wide eyes. ‘It destroys the mind. I saw it. I felt it.’
Jack held his hands in front of his face and stared at them as though he did not recognise whose they were. I approached Jack and knelt on the floor beside him. He looked down at me sadly.
‘It’s not your fault,’ I told him. ‘Maybe Bobby can relearn everything.’
Jack shook his head. ‘They are brain damaged, Avalon. All of them. Helena too.’
I shook my head defiantly. ‘We’ll work something out, I’m sure of it.’
‘Even if we rescue those Humans,’ Jack continued, ‘they won’t know who we are. Helena won’t recognise you.’
‘Stop it,’ I said. ‘Maybe you just weren’t trying hard enough.’
Jack shot a glare at me. I looked away, ashamed of myself for such an accusation.
‘So what have you been up to then?’ Jack changed the subject. ‘Causing trouble, I assume?’
I leaned back. ‘Well, I found out what Nicholo Martinez’s animal spirit is.’
Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘And? What is it?’
‘A Vulmessian,’ I said smugly.
‘Come again?’
‘A Vulmessian,’ I repeated slowly and clearly, nodding in Hawthorne’s direction.
‘What?’ Jack looked at Hawthorne, then back to me. ‘A fox?’
‘A flying fox,’ I said with a smirk.
‘Exactly the same?’
‘Female,’ I nodded suggestively. ‘A shop assistant got Hawthorne confused with Martinez’s animal spirit. She said she has never seen two spirits the same before.’
Jack leaned back on the bed thoughtfully. ‘Well that’s useful information.’
‘There’s more,’ I said. ‘Guess who I bumped into at the market?’
‘Not Georgia?’ Jack pulled a face.
‘No,’ I smiled. ‘Someone nice.’
Jack raised his eyebrows. ‘Who?’
‘R?ven Blacklock.’
Jack sat up straight. ‘Great! Where is she? Is she coming here?’
‘She will be here within the hour,’ I said, checking the clock on the mantelpiece.
‘She could join the activist group,’ said Jack eagerly.
‘Do you know her stance on Human rights?’
‘Hm, no,’ Jack pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘I’m sure she will sympathise with us.’
‘I hope so.’
‘It would be so easy to get Helena back with R?ven.’
‘She could sing them all to death,’ I said brightly.
Jack shot me a glare. ‘To sleep, you mean?’
‘Sure.’
‘Sometimes you are violent.’ Jack eyed me warily.
‘Sometimes you are condescending,’ I retorted.
Jack sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed, deciding to ignore my rude comment, ‘Do you think Martinez’s animal will be a problem when we try to get Helena?’
‘I’m not sure,’ I said. ‘If she is anything like Hawthorne, then they will be in tune with one another.’
A tapping on the window interrupted us. Jack jumped up from the bed and wrenched it open at once, allowing R?ven to swoop into the room. She glided elegantly to the floor and transformed at once. Jack grinned at the sight of her.
‘Hey!’ said Jack, closing the window once again.
R?ven smiled in greeting and allowed Jack to kiss her on the cheek.
‘You came,’ I said happily.
I was nervous to discover what R?ven would think of H.E.L.E.N.A. Would she help us? I couldn’t deny that her assistance would make a world of difference.
‘Of course,’ said R?ven.
Beside me, Jack swayed and steadied himself on the window ledge.
‘It’s good to see you,’ he said. ‘What are you doing in Flamethroat?’
‘I am on a job,’ said R?ven coolly.
‘Er, won’t your boss notice if you are gone too long?’ said Jack.