“Avalon, how does she even know who Hawthorne is?” Jack said pulling me away.
“Who cares, Jack? She knows where to find him!” I was frantic and struggling to free myself from Jack’s grip.
“It could be a trick.” He muttered in my ear, so low only I would be able to hear it, “She could be stalling us, or trying to get information from us, without even saying a word.”
“That’s exactly it though.” I hissed, “If she wants us to be captured, she could simply hum a tune and knock us out cold.”
Jack didn’t know what to think of the whole situation, but my mind was made up.
“Not to mention she revealed her own secret to us, Jack. We know who she is and what she can do. Is that not enough proof that she won’t betray us?”
Jack frowned and loosened his grip.
“Please.” I turned to R?ven as Jack released me, “Please.”
R?ven looked at me skeptically for several seconds and she seemed unwilling to bestow her Power upon us. I was so frantic that I didn’t think anything could stop me from finding Hawthorne, not even R?ven’s most beautiful song.
Finally, she spoke very slowly and clearly. The clearest words I had ever heard, rippling through my being. The form her words took as she spoke them sounded like elegant wind chimes tinkling through my mind. I was sure this was how angels were meant to sound. Yet what I heard coming from her mouth still gripped me and rooted me to the spot with fear.
“I was flying above on a messenger job when I saw the servant Creeley twins harassing many half-humans in the poorer parts of the city. I took no notice until one of the brothers pointed to something in the shadow of the woods. Together they entered the trees and I heard a commotion. The sound of an animal growling reached me and I stopped upon a treetop to observe what was happening below.
“The Creeley twins have the power of teleportation, making them impossible to outrun. They were circling the winged fox you call Hawthorne and taunting him, teleporting themselves at an alarming rate making it impossible for your Hawthorne to escape.
When the game was lost they simply touched the fox and teleported him with them and out of sight.”
As R?ven stopped talking I felt light headed and realized I was kneeling in the snow. I had fallen to my knees and not even realized it. Looking behind me I saw Jack had his fingers stuffed in his ears, but it didn’t seem to have worked as well as he hoped. He was managing to remain upright, but staggered a little when he helped me to my feet. After several seconds I felt clear enough to form coherent sentences.
“They’ve taken him.” I breathed. Defeat seemed to be suffocating me, “Those men have taken Hawthorne.”
Jack scowled, “I told you I didn’t like the Creeley brothers.”
I vaguely recalled Jack’s brief explanation of the Creeley twins several weeks ago.
“Where would they have taken him?” I panicked, wringing my hands together.
“They work for Elvira Frost.” Jack reminded me.
R?ven cleared her throat and Jack stuffed his fingers back in his ears instantly.
I braced myself.
“Early this morning I delivered a message to Frost Mountain and I believe I heard yowling.”
My throat felt very dry as I recalled the enormous mountain that disappeared beyond the cloud bank which cloaked the sky, “Are you sure?”
R?ven nodded and I let out a groan of despair, “Argh, Jack, I told you someone got him!”
Jack bit his lip and ran a hand through his disheveled black hair. His ears, which were already noticeable due to their slightly larger size, were very pink.
“What do we do?” He said quietly, “We’ll get killed if we are caught sneaking into Frost’s lair. We’d never even make it past the Creeley brothers. Not to mention we’d be useless in a fight. All I could do is heal our wounds, and you can’t even use your Power to defend yourself at the moment.”
It was true of course. Any attempt at rescuing Hawthorne would be useless. Why did the Creeley brothers want to keep him there anyway? Was Hawthorne locked away in a freezing dungeon, being primed for experiments, or worse? Perhaps Elvira Frost was intrigued by such a strange creature.
“We need a plan.” Jack concluded.
“I know.” I muttered. I wanted nothing more than to burst in on these Creeley twins and Elvira Frost and pummel them stupid. How dare they take away the only good thing in my life. All this time I had thought that Hawthorne had run away and didn’t want to see me, when really it turned out he had been snatched away while giving me some space.
“We’ll go back to the Inn … we’ll think of something, I promise.” Jack said placing a hand on my shoulder for comfort.
I turned to R?ven, “Will you come?” Something about her presence here made me feel calm.
R?ven shook her head and gave me a small smile. As usual such beauty made my heart pang.