Broken Spirit: The Next Avatar

Chapter Five: Serefina

                  

I lightly stroke Mizuchi's face, and he closes his reptilian eyes. "How would he know?" I wonder to myself. "I hadn't told anyone except my sister, you two, and . . . the White Lotus." I turn and take in their widened eyes.

"You think there's a spy in the White Lotus?" Terra asks.

"It's the only thing that makes sense." The quaint backyard suddenly feels so exposed.

"That was awesome!"

All three of us jump at the new voice. We stare at the newcomer, keeping a respectful distance by the side of the house. My eyes narrow at the blond kid from the White Lotus.

He waves awkwardly. "Hey."

"You," I say. I march over to him, grab his shirt in my fist and shove him against the side of the house. "Was it you? Are you the spy?"

"What?" he asks. He holds up his hands in surrender.

"That's the guy who saved me at the market!" Nadia says.

I narrow my eyes. "How did you find us?"

He points at the dragon. "A giant flying beast is pretty easy to follow."

"Drake just let you go?"

"Well, yeah, now that you say it that does seem sort of strange . . ."

"Unbelievable." I'm surrounded by idiots. I let him go. He gives me an uncomfortable smile and smooths out his shirt.

"Which one of you is the Avatar?" he asks. "Er, the other one."

Nadia halfheartedly raises her hand, as if still hoping it's all a mistake. "I guess that's me."

He brightens considerably, and I force myself to keep a straight face. "What's your name?"

"Nadia. And this is Terra, my cousin."

"I'm Levi," he says. He eases past me, careful to keep his distance, as I mutter my name.

He takes a closer look at the dragon.

"Fascinating," he mutters. "I've never seen one up close before."

"How did you know we were at the market?" Nadia asks.

That's a good question. I give her an approving nod behind her back.

He rubs the back of his neck. "I didn't. I was just going to get some fruit, like I do every morning."

"You seem a bit young to be a member of the White Lotus," I point out.

He laughs, a bit awkwardly. "Yeah, well—"

Whatever he was going to say next is cut off by the sound of helicopters blades high above us. I raise my head just in time to see metalbenders diving out of the side, controlling their descent with thin ropes of metal. They surround us, and I swear angrily.

"Get out of here, Mizuchi!" I shout, and he does, giving me one last glance before disappearing.

"Don't move!" one of the policemen order. "You're all under arrest."

***

The police station is fairly small, with only two holding cells. Nadia, Terra, and I are all shoved into one tiny cell, made entirely of wood. Levi is forced into a separate one with a middle-aged man. He glares so terrifyingly Levi loses what little color he had in his face.

I press a hand against the walls, trying to determine the thickness of the wood. I could burn us free, but I risk setting the whole place aflame and killing us all. I've been detained many times, but never formerly arrested. I've never felt so far from home, but I can't afford to freak out. My companions are doing enough of that for all of us.