Chapter One

Flight of the Fire Mage

500 years after the war between the Mages and Humans...

I sat perched upon my windowsill, contemplating what I was about to do. Would they

miss me? How long before they noticed I was gone?

It was the dead of night, and the Hawthorne tree outside my window swayed a little in

the wind. With one last glance at my bedroom, I launched myself from the window, the

gravel crunching noisily as I landed.

It took only ten minutes to walk into the heart of Mortlock. The cottages were dark,

and silent. I was determined to follow the road that would lead me out of this town, to the

nearest city. It should only take two days, tops.

As I passed the town square a rather wonderful sight met my eyes. A man was

tethering horses to a large cart that looked old and worn from over-use.

The man seemed to hear my footsteps, for he looked over his shoulder as I approached.

I recognised him at once as an acquaintance of my father’s. Jefferson, I believed his name

was.

‘If it isn’t Avalon Redding,’ the old man said.

I stopped a few feet short of the man. ‘Jefferson.’

‘What are you doing out so late? It’s not safe, you know?’

‘Where are you going?’ I ignored his question. I knew Jefferson was in the delivery

business and constantly on the move, but he came back to Mortlock every week or so for a

few nights before heading off again.

Jefferson tightened the reins of a horse before replying. ‘Frost Arch, then off to other

little towns.’

I had heard the key word.

‘Room in your cart for more cargo?’ I asked.

‘Eh?’ Jefferson looked at me curiously.

‘I was wondering if I could ask a favour of you Jefferson.’ I knew I must choose my

words carefully.

Jefferson took a step closer; his horses snorted impatiently and began chewing on the

grass.

‘I need a ride, and by the looks of it you were just about to be on your way.’

Jefferson’s face fell and he eyed me up and down. I could tell what he was thinking.

‘Hm, well, I don’t see why not. Are you safe?’ He asked.

I felt like kicking him in the shins.

I tapped my foot impatiently. ‘I wont set your cargo on fire.’

Jefferson nodded though he didn’t look too thrilled about the idea of an eighteen-year-

old Fire-Mage being confined in a wooden carriage for many hours.

‘So you’ll help me then?’ I prompted.

‘All right, all right,’ Jefferson said. ‘Hop on the cart. Don’t mind the smell, or the

noises coming from the box at the back.’

‘Thank you.’ I breathed.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. This was it. I felt my eyes begin to mist up

immediately and I tried to hold it back. I couldn’t let Jefferson see me lose control or he

would never let me onto his carriage. I clambered onto the back as my eyes began

brimming with molten tears. I sat at the back of the cart and took a deep, calming breath.

It was a little cramped on the cart. There was several crates and it smelled of hay and

horsehair. I heard Jefferson scramble onto the seat at the front of the carriage, reigns in his

hands. I breathed deeply and the carriage began to move. Within a minute we had rounded

a corner and Mortlock was no longer in sight.

The gentle swaying and trotting echoed through my body. I felt like an empty shell. I

had run away without any goodbyes. I hoped my family would understand.

Mortlock wasn’t home to any other Fire-Mages. This meant that my family and I were

outsiders.

My mother and father had cursed me with their fire starting ‘gift’. The good thing

about being part of a family of Fire-Mages is you don’t run the risk of accidentally

murdering your family in a deadly inferno. That was, until my little sister Helena had been

born.

We expected her to be a Fire-Mage like my mother, father and I, but Helena hadn’t

shown any signs that she was a Mage of any kind at all. This was terrifying for my family,

not only because it was dangerous for her to be living in a house where fires often occurred,

but also another reason entirely.

Those who are void of Power are called Humans. Pre-apocalyptic beings that have

been dying out for the past 1000 years, and are only used for one purpose. Slavery.

We were positive she would be taken away from us if anyone ever found out. No one

had ever heard of someone with a Mage bloodline being totally void of Power.

We had spread rumour that Helena was fragile and sickly, so that no one would

wonder why she never left our home. It would only be a matter of time before the Realm of

Mages found out that there was a human living amongst them an equal.

The Realm was there to ensure that no Human is a threat to our way of life. It’s a

widely known fact that the Realm does not tolerate kindness to Humans. If you defy the

Realm then you’ll be slaughtered.

My entire family, including myself faced this fate just by keeping Helena a secret.

This was why I ran away.