‘Why can’t you just buy another Vulmessian from the Mage who creates them?’ I said.
Martinez scoffed. ‘Emilija cost most of my fortune. I could not afford another like her, even if I wanted to. With your beast I will be able to create many, more affordable creatures. Like Emilija, your Vulmessian will be given a life of luxury here at my manor. He will be fed, bathed and exercised. I dare say I will take better care of him than you ever could.’
Panic was beginning to consume me. I didn’t know what to do. How could I choose? Was there another option?
‘Can’t … can’t I lend Hawthorne to you?’ I said pleadingly. ‘You can still breed from him.’
‘You want to offer your Vulmessian as a stud?’ Martinez asked. ‘How do I know that you will remain in Flamethroat when his services are needed? What is stopping you from fleeing?’
I didn’t have an answer to that question. I knew, as soon as I got out of this manor I was leaving Flamethroat and never coming back.
‘Your pet will be happier with another of his kind,’ Martinez said coolly. ‘Didn’t you see the way they interacted earlier this evening? They were made for each other.’
‘Don’t listen to him, Avalon,’ Jack’s voice was in my ear.
My mother and father watched me with baited breath, hoping I would choose Helena. My heart said that I must choose my family, but my head argued that this shell was not really my little sister. Helena was gone, just like these other Humans.
‘Decide,’ Martinez ordered. ‘Your pet or the Humans? There is no need for a fight tonight.’
I stalled, on the verge of tears. I looked at Hawthorne, who gazed back at me with his large, ice-blue eyes. He knew perfectly well what was going on. I wanted to know what he thought of this situation, yet his eyes were unyielding.
I looked at Jack, who shook his head solemnly. Turning to my parents, they nodded encouragingly at me.
Hawthorne or Helena?
Chapter Twenty
Revenge
‘You can’t have Hawthorne.’ I said, my voice strong.
Penny, Maria and Elise gasped in unison.
‘She chose the fox!’ Elise burst. ‘What about my daughter?’
Martinez raised his thick eyebrows. ‘I don’t think you understand,’ he said. ‘The Humans will remain in this dungeon and you will be hanged for the murder of Elvira Frost.’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘I’m taking these Humans and I’m keeping Hawthorne.’ I pointed to the ground to reinforce the finality of my decision.
A vein throbbed in Martinez’s temple. ‘Do you think I will just stand by and allow it?’
‘No, I don’t.’ I glanced at my father who stared at me with wide eyes.
Martinez let out a laugh that sounded like a bark. ‘What? You actually think you and your friends can get past my guards and I?’
‘There are twelve of us and six of you,’ I stated.
‘I could destroy you all by myself,’ Martinez smirked.
I held out a hand in front of me and formed a ball of fire in my palm. It was easy, for the rage had been building inside me this whole time. I wanted revenge. I wanted to fight for Helena and the other Humans.
Martinez laughed. ‘You’re a Fire-Mage sweetheart, I can absorb your Power.’
‘You’re a level eight energy-absorber,’ I reminded him. ‘You can’t absorb all of our Powers at once.’
I looked around the room for support, hoping H.E.L.E.N.A would come to my aid. Upon seeing my expression, my mother stood and she too produced a fireball. My father, cottoning on, followed suit.
Next, Tom the mimic got up and used his Power so he too was holding a handful of flames. Now the dungeon was fully illuminated. The Humans shied away from the light and hid in the dark in the furthest corner.
Penny clambered to her feet and began to inflate like a balloon. Soon, she was twice the size of everybody else. I knew Penny could manipulate her physical size and shrink, but I had no idea it worked the other way too.
Maria and Robert raised their hands slowly above their heads. I watched in awe as the sixty-year-olds began to summon large pieces of rock that rested on the dungeon floor. The rock circled the pair as if they were planets.
Bran set his daughter on the floor and flexed his bulging muscles while Elise flitted around the dungeon at extreme speeds.
Jack stood and took my hand despite the heat that radiated from my body. R?ven shape-shifted into her bird-form and perched herself on my shoulder.
The members of H.E.L.E.N.A stood together ready to fight.
The response of Martinez’s cronies was instantaneous. There were five of them, each one bigger than the last. They were dark skinned, tall and surly looking. We didn’t know what their Powers were, but I knew we were about to find out.