City of Air (Lost Cities Saga 1)
20 Memento Mori

Leona found it more than a little unsettling that she could sense Lavender's body knitting itself back together. This was precisely because Leona was the one guiding it where only minutes earlier she would have been forced to sit by and watch the girl die. And as if that was not nerve-wracking enough, Master Opal hovered nearby—not literally, this time, thankfully—observing the process. He offered no comment nor tried to help, but Leona felt self-conscious still. It was so much like their days as master and apprentice that it made her heart hurt.

The battle continued unabated around them. The White Tiger's presence was still great enough to smother Leona's sense of anyone else, but the occasional bursts of flame informed her that Lord Aries was holding his own. It should not have been possible for an ordinary magician to carry on a sustained fight against a Great Spirit. Lord Aries and Leona should have been both been dead the moment they entered the chamber and yet, despite everything, they were alive. It made Leona wonder if something was helping them along. It certainly seemed that way since neither the magician nor the spirit had noticed yet that Leona had discovered the "book". But she was grateful for that most of all. She had yet to figure out how she was going to escape the chamber and Lord Aries' men on the other side unseen to help Sebastian.

More constructs had also gathered to replace the first group obliterated before, claiming positions along the walls or on more broken pieces of the floating garden like insects on lily pads. Each one of them was an air elemental and yet, somehow, felt like the Union construct soldiers had, a spark of aether within that had to be their souls. They stared directly into the alcove at Leona as she worked on Lavender, unmoving, unflinching even when pieces of flaming debris slammed into them from the battle above. There were also a few Valkyrie, hovering among the constructs in their full armour, gleaming dully in the light from above. They had yet to make an attempt to get at Leona though of course, they did not have to, sooner or later she would have to come out. Clearly, Leona's efforts at healing Lavender were not going to absolve her of the intrusion into their city.

There was a moan and Leona looked down at her hands. Lavender's eyes fluttered open and she hissed at a flash of light from a bolt of lightning—Lord Aries had upped the ante some moments earlier—and then turned to Leona. For a moment the two girls stared at each other, Lavender in surprise and confusion, brows furrowed, still blinking, and Leona in concern. Then something exploded overhead, startling both, and broke the connection.

"What was that?" Lavender demanded, turning at once to look for it.

Leona had only just managed to steady herself against the tree trunk above Lavender's head. The fruit had provided her with knowledge, not energy, and healing was draining. She replied, "Lord Aries is fighting your White Tiger."

Lavender turned back to look at her, incredulity plain in her wide-open eyes, and then she turned to look out the entrance again. The elementals and constructs had disappeared, though one or two remained or were leaping upwards to join the battle overhead. Leona could hear gunshots now, echoing through the chamber, though she could not tell if anything had been hit. Lavender gasped and shot upright, nearly butting Leona in the process. Leona sat back, the girl crawled to the edge and looked out. Then she swung back at Leona, eyes wide and asked, "Where are we?"

"The White Tiger's home, and we need to get out of here," Leona replied. "Lord Aries wants the Book of Earth and I have to help Mr Tyne."

At this, Lavender took another look around her, at the grass and trees and dawn-light further within. Then she scrambled to her feet and asked, "What is this place?"

"This is where the Book of Earth is," said Master Opal, walking over to them.

Lavender's gaze snapped to him, and then she backed into the wall of trees behind her. Master Opal stopped. Leona tried to placate her, lifting her hands in surrender as she explained, "You may not remember him but this is my teacher, John Opal. Master Opal, this is Miss Lavender Garnet."

His eyes went wide at this, and he took a step forward. Lavender pressed herself even further into the tree. He halted again and said, "House Garnet? The League…your father works with Lord Aries."

Lavender's eyes filled with tears and she swallowed a sob before she snapped, "We do not! My father…my father is dead. My father died…"—she turned and pointed at Leona, who shrunk back at the hatred that filled the older girl's eyes at this—"for her. For your precious pupil who you refused to surrender to the cause!"

"The cause?" asked Master Opal, eyes narrowed. "Young lady, do you have any idea what you're talking about?"

"They overthrew the government of the Confederate States of America," Leona replied. He looked over at her but she kept her focus on Lavender. "They took me with their 'White Tiger League' and they made me summon an army of dead soldiers and some General Grant with who they tried to take over the city. Lord Aries caught up with us and set the city on fire but they had already won. Mr Tyne said that the Union and the Confederacy are at war again."

"There is no 'Union' and 'Confederacy', we are one nation. How could we hope to stand up to the Empire divided? We could not. The Confederacy was their ally," said Lavender, glaring at Leona.

"And you all worked with Lord Aries until you betrayed him, which is why he burned your father to death," said Leona. This argument was beginning to give her a headache.

Lavender recoiled as if Leona had slapped her, but before she could respond, Master Opal said, "That was your cause? That has nothing to do with Order's revival, nothing to do with the Zodiac Society. Why should I have given her to the League when our enemies are in Londinium? And your League threw your lot in with that 'Lord Aries'? He is a governing member of the Zodiac Society, you all should have been expecting betrayal the moment he first approached you."

"No!" snapped Lavender, shaking her head. "We should have had your aid. This was merely a practice run for the real thing. That girl's powers worked beyond our wildest imaginings. If we had had her sooner none of this would have happened."

"No," said Master Opal, nostrils flaring, glaring at Lavender. "I could not do that to her. She was just a child. I…the way things have gone, I should have left her where I found her. What lies ahead…it is too cruel."

Leona's eyes went wide at this admission. What did he mean by that? She asked, "What are you talking about? What 'lies ahead'? Do you know something? What…what did you not tell me?"

Master Opal did not reply. Lavender wiped the tears from her face and, looking back at Leona, said, "She will never leave this city. Not unless the White Tiger allows it."

Leona's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately began looking around her for another exit. Lavender started towards her. "No!" cried Master Opal, throwing himself at the girl. "Run Leona! Get out of the city, you already have what you need!"

Leona gave up her search, ran for the entrance and jumped out.

She did not fall far. There was another piece of the fractured garden hovering mere metres below. As soon as she landed, she scrambled to her feet, grabbed a handful of her skirts and sought out another, higher up and dove for it. She was not a moment too soon. Lavender was quick on her heels, yelling as loudly as she could, "Stop her! Thief! She has stolen from the book! Stop her!"

Leona stopped and looked to the walls. The constructs from before were already leaping back into the fray. She secured the fruit into a makeshift pocket of her dress, tying one loose end of fabric into a small bundle that hung across her knees. It would jostle her as she ran but she hoped it did not fall out. She thought she still remembered what to do when she got to Sebastian, but she did not wanted to take any chances. She could not afford to let the constructs or Lavender stop her now.

The first to attack her was a Valkyrie, diving in from above with a broadsword raised above her head. Leona, jerked back at the sight of her and then only just managed to leap out of the way, throwing herself bodily onto a nearby floating piece of earth. Then she screamed at Lavender, "I just saved your life! What are you doing? My mother says that when someone helps you, you should say 'thank you'!"

A whirlwind slammed into her perch and sent it spinning across the room. Leona pressed her fingers into the earth and held on, eyes squeezed shut. It helped, a little, so that when she opened her eyes again, all the way on the other side of the room, she did not dizzily roll off into the abyss. It also gave her enough time to get up and jump to another fragment before the one she was on was cleaved in two by the Valkyrie. But Leona was already pulling gnomes from the halves as she went, which leapt onto the Valkyrie's legs, arms and wings and dragged the air elemental down into the darkness.

Leona looked up then to catch a glimpse of Lavender directing the constructs towards her, just as something slammed into her from behind and knocked her off her perch. This time she fell into a whirlwind that tore at her clothes and hair, pelted her with pebbles from the fractured garden and pulled the air from her lungs. A voice within bellowed at her ears, "Thief! Brigand! Thou shall beg mercy and be granted none!" A lamia!

"No!" shouted Master Opal and moments later the whirlwind dissolved, dropping Leona heavily onto the wooden surface of the broken bridge.

Leona lay there for a time, taking in great breaths of air, shaking so badly her teeth chattered each time she closed her mouth. She could hear the sounds of the constructs being knocked back, their brass bodies clanking together as they collided and scattered. Lavender was screaming something but all Leona could hear was Master Opal repeating, "You shall not have her! You shall not!"

Then the rain started again.

Leona looked up to the ceiling and was surprised to replace that Lord Aries had finally entered the chamber, astride—or was that wrapped up in?—a flaming dragon that spat fire against a shield of air the White Tiger had conjured. The tiger seemed to be having trouble keeping its corporeal form, more than half of its body was a white mist that appeared to be probing around for a means of getting at Lord Aries unseen. It was not having any luck. The dragon's fire made sure of that even as it heated the shield until it glowed white and began to crackle with lightning. One bolt broke free and burst a hole through the glass ceiling without breaking it. Behind them the door hung open and empty. Leona had to get up there or she would die.

She pulled on the aether and the water swirled into a spout that swung wide first to throw off the still-leaping constructs and knock Lavender off her feet, before funnelling down under Leona's perch and lifting again to send her up to the entrance of the chamber. The heat increased the higher she climbed, and Leona could feel the spout weakening below her. She started reciting the summoning for a water elemental, hoping to strengthen the spout before it scattered to mist and dropped her. Lord Aries and the White Tiger had still not noticed her, though more than once she had been forced to shift the spout out of the way of a blast of wind or fire. But then Master Opal was there, Leona could just sense his arms around her, shoving her higher, faster and up through the door and then she was clear. She jumped off the spout, rolled to her feet and started running—a tricky thing on a moving walkway—right into another battle.

Mr Diamond had a struggling Rose Garnet by one arm, his pistol in the other and his back against a wall while facing down an advancing group of constructs led by two air magicians dressed in white and leather. Mrs Howard stood silently nearby, similarly surrounded, hands clasped in front of her and gaze to the floor. The djinniyeh was nowhere in sight. Leona skidded to a halt. All eyes turned to her. She stared back at them a moment, then Master Opal disembodied voice roared, "Go!"

She did not hesitate, charging at those directly in her path. They moved as she got to them too, shoved out of the way by Master Opal or the command of the wind he somehow still possessed. Leona pushed at those he missed, ducking the grasping hands and kicking out at anything that stepped into her path. She was not going back into the chamber, she could not.

Someone yelled behind her, "Catch that girl! She's one of them!"

Leona was already halfway down the stairs, and not about to stop for anyone. Then she heard Lord Aries call, "Where do you think you're going?"

For one desperate moment Leona was convinced that he had been speaking to her. Then she heard a tremendous crash, Rose's scream, gunshots and a roar of flame that scorched the air overhead just as she got to the doors on the ground floor. She could not help it. She looked back.

The djinniyeh had broken through the ceiling, bringing with her a number of flying constructs. They were shooting at her but wherever the bullets hit burned for a moment and then disappeared. The djinniyeh continued as if nothing had happened, slicing through anyone who got too close with a long, curving blade. Leona turned again and pushed through the doors to the outer room.

It was, as she suspected, filled with even more advancing constructs. They started firing at her before she could get the doors all the way open, which was fortunate for the door acted as a shield. The bullets ricocheted off the metal and Leona felt something sharp slice across her arm. She screamed, dropped onto her rear and scampered back across the floor. When her back hit the side of the steps, she stopped and grasped at her arm, gritting her teeth against the pain. The wound burned and bled warm over her fingers.

A clatter from above and she turned to look back to the top of the stairs just as Mr Diamond appeared, pistol in hand and grinning. When their eyes met, he called down, "Where are you going, ma cherie?"

Leona stood up and said, "That way is blocked. There's more of them coming." As if on cue, there was a rumble from the other side of the door. The djinniyeh stepped into view then. Another rumble and the doors began to roll open. Leona started up the stairs. The djinniyeh flew past her, a flash of black and rush of heat into the outer room, forcing the doors shut behind her. Almost before the door closed though the gunfire started again. Leona ran up to the second level but stopped at Mr Diamond's chuckle. She had forgotten all about it in her fright. She could not go back up there.

Lord Aries now stepped into view with Mrs Howard beside him. Leona met his gaze but did not move. Mrs Howard, as calm and cool as if nothing had just happened, turned to Lord Aries and said, "Let her go, James. She will bring you nothing but trouble."

Lord Aries glanced at her for a moment and then back to Leona. He said, "You're bleeding, Miss Ruby."

Leona tightened her grip on her wound and said, "I got h-hit. They almost killed me. Did you kill it?"

At this he chuckled and said, "No, of course not. It is a Great Spirit. I separated the elements that was giving it form and caused an explosion in his chamber. He will recuperate, given time, but not in enough time to stop me."

Leona thought about the constructs and magicians that they had been fighting. The gunfire continued unabated in the next room, punctuated here and there by the sound of something hitting the walls or floor. She hoped that there were no humans there. The magicians and elementals were only trying to protect their city and the treasure it contained. Thinking about it that way, she and Lord Aries and his allies were nothing but thieves. She asked, "Did you kill everyone?"

Lord Aries chuckled again and said, "So like Sebastian…no, they're not all dead. At least not yet. Some of them were even smart enough to get out of the way."

Leona took a breath. She did not have to tell him. She said, "The book is in there with the tiger. It's not a book, it's a tree."

"Ah," said Lord Aries. He exhaled then and straightened his suit. He did not look harmed though given all the heat he should have been severely burned. Being an elemental magician did not preclude anyone from being harmed by the elements they commanded or magicians' duels would never end. "Come up here, Miss Ruby, and show me."

Leona did not move. She said, "It's halfway down the chamber, set into the wall. It looks like a pipe or an exit but it's lined with trees. At the end you will replace the tree. I don't know how you are going to take it, but that's where it is."

Lord Aries repeated, "Come up here, Miss Ruby, and show me."

Leona swallowed and said, "We cannot go in there, you just said that you separated the elements."

Mr Diamond rolled his eyes and walked out of view. A moment later, Rose screamed, "Lavvie!"

Leona flinched. Lord Aries smiled and said, "I met her on my way out, shouting something about a thief. What did you take, Miss Ruby?"

Leona did not reply. She started walking up the stairs. Lord Aries put his hand up and Mr Diamond said, "I'm getting a little tired of this."

And then the ceiling exploded overhead. Leona screamed and then froze as the glass panels shattered and fell into the room in a deadly shower. The others started screaming and yelling too, though Lord Aries turned his face to the sky and blew out a fireball. Then the flying glass began cutting Leona's face, arms and hands and she dropped into a ball and pressed herself against the railing.

"No, do not do that, I have come for thee," was the whisper. Leona could not bring herself to move, paralysed in her shock.

"No, Leona," said Master Opal, his voice gentle. "Go with her now." Leona opened her eyes just as Kara wrapped her arms around her and lifted her away from the railing, then up and out through the ceiling.

Leona gasped as the building fell away from them. Kara ascended quickly, too fast for Leona to see if Lord Aries had noticed but that was not her concern. Once the shock fell away, all Leona could think about was Rose and Lavender trapped in the building with Mr Diamond. They would kill them, surely, if they were left behind. She screamed against the wind, "We have to go back!"

"What?" the Valkyrie called back. They were already down to the first tier and heading to the bridge. The broken remains of many constructs, alongside a handful of air magicians, littered the path from the bridge to the White Tiger's den.

"Lavender and Rose!" she yelled over the wind. "Mr Diamond, he'll kill them! You have to go back for them! You have to get them away from him!"

Kara took them directly to the bridge and set Leona down in the middle of it. The gate Lavender had made was still open, the room beyond it empty. But Leona turned back to the city and said, "I cannot leave them. Mr Diamond will shoot them like he did Sebastian. He'll shoot them."

Kara held her fast by the arm and said, "No. The master is with them and my duty as Guardian of House Opal is to protect thee. Thou must go back to thine own world."

Leona tried to shake her off and when that did not work, glared at the Valkyrie and said, "My name is Leona Ruby, not Opal. Let me pass!"

Kara bowed her head a little, dropping her gaze from Leona's. Leona tried to shake her off, twisting left and right against the vice grip on her arm. Then the Valkyrie looked up again and said, "I am sorry, but this is my duty." And then she shoved her.

Leona barely had time to register what had happened before she was back through gate and falling into the dark, torch-lit castle. She landed heavily onto the cold stone floor, her vision filled with stars and all air left her lungs. It took her a while to sit up again, pain radiated from where she had landed on her back and made her unwilling to move. But she had a mission. She sat up and met a blank wall. Kara had closed the gate.

Leona stood up slowly. The gate was closed. She was out of the city but Lavender and Rose were trapped within with Mr Diamond and Lord Aries.

Someone groaned behind her. Leona stepped back from the wall and swung round searching. The room had been nearly empty when they left. Her gaze fell on a figure lying by the doorway. They groaned again and Leona started towards them, already untying the fruit from the bundle on her skirt. There was nothing more that could be done for the sisters, but Leona could do something for the people on this side of the gate.

She turned the man over as she got to him and gasped. It was one of Lord Aries' men, Arthur Teach. But Leona had seen that man leave earlier with the White Tiger League double agents. Unless he had been betrayed again?

A quick visual assessment told her that Mr Teach had only been knocked unconscious, the blood on his forehead nothing more than a flesh wound. He was already on his way to wakefulness and would be fine, perhaps, if she left him. There was no one else about anyway to finish the job so she stood up and headed for the door.

Leona tapped into the aether to help her navigate while she ate the rest of the fruit. She could not tell whether those she sensed were friend or foe, but gradually she realised that most of them were unmoving and laid out along the same path she was on. That was even stranger than replaceing Mr Teach had been. It meant that something had happened after they left for the city. Had Sebastian and the others gotten away? Generous and Orchid Garnet…had they freed them? The largest concentration of energy was in the courtyard with the ships, or just next to it, so Leona guessed that Sebastian and the others were there. It was just unfortunate that she could not tell one group from the other to know if the attack on Mr Teach was a good thing for her or not.

She finished the fruit just as she got down to the courtyard, and was left with a tiny, almond-shaped, fibrous seed. She considered a moment before dropping it down the front of her dress. Her corset was hardly a pocket but for the time being would have to serve as one. Then she walked out into the courtyard.

The cold hit her first. The dome was still shut and the blizzard was still going. Except for the wind, it was eerie how quiet it was. The sides of the dome and areas of the courtyard were covered in snow, and it was climbing higher. How were they going to escape in this? Who was going to help them when Lord Aries finally came back across the gate?

The two airships were still where they had landed, though no one was in either of them as far as Leona could sense. She stuck close to the edges, wary of the life-forms she had sensed earlier, but there was no one actually in the courtyard. No, they had gathered in a small room to the back of it. Leona hurried over, already beginning to shiver, her face cold and dry. The door opened before she could get to it and that was when Leona heard the wailing.

She did not attempt to lie to herself. She just ran into the room, pushing past the person who had opened the door—Captain Nemesis, half-turned back and saying something about a telegraph—and came to an abrupt halt.

Sebastian lay on a pallet in the middle of the room, dead.

It was Lady Diana's crying that Leona had heard. The older girl was on her knees beside Sebastian, face pressed into Mr Suda's shoulder, bawling like a child. Mr Suda's eyes were wet but he otherwise showed no emotion, staring at Sebastian's still form. Generous stood behind them with Mr Volage and Mr Hyacinth, and the three of them had looked up at Leona's entry. "Leona!" Generous cried, running over to her.

Leona barely acknowledged him, though he hugged her still and pressed his face into her side. Mr Volage and Mr Hyacinth hurried past her to join their captain, no doubt trying to figure out what she was doing there alone. All her attention though, was focused on Sebastian's white form and the crumbled remains of what had no doubt been Persephone.

Something about this was not making any sense to Leona. Persephone had not been around when Sebastian had been shot earlier. Of course, the crew of the Zephyrine had also been prisoners and they certainly did not look like it now. She looked around the room for the first time and noticed Captain Marcel, Ghislaine, Saraswati and Cedric all tied up in one corner, with the group who had been with Mrs Howard and Kara. Their scowls deepened as Leona's gaze swept over them. Orchid was sitting alone on the other side of the room, staring at her with wet eyes, gaze searching the doorway behind her. The others were probably unconscious or otherwise incapacitated around Aerie. Alphonse, for one, was missing. And yet, how had they managed it?

She looked at Persephone again. Then Lady Diana said, "Miss Ruby…how are you here?"

Leona tried to walk over to them but her legs gave out. Generous tried to stop her fall but someone else, Mr Hyacinth, caught her by the arms and helped her sit down. She never took her eyes off of Sebastian's body. His eyes were closed, his hands loose at his sides, but the general slump of his body was not natural.

"Ruby-san, what happened to Lord Aries and his people?" asked Mr Suda.

Leona half-turned her head to answer as she said, "He was…when we left, he was…."

Lady Diana started crying again, but managed through her sobs, "I told him, I told him not to but he insisted on helping. I told him that help was on its way but he would not hear of it. He said that you might…that they might have…it took the last of his strength."

At this, Leona shook off the hands on her and crawled across the floor to Sebastian's pallet and grasped his hand. His skin was cool, the bones shifting below her fingers as easily as a baby's. She shook it and said, "Mr Tyne! Mr Tyne, you have to get up. You have to take me to Vincent, Mr Tyne, you cannot do this. How am I supposed to get back to Vincent?"

Someone grabbed her and tried to pull her away. Leona kept her grip on Sebastian's arm and his whole body shifted with the movement. The cry tore itself from her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut and pushed. The hands disappeared, her brother crying out as he tumbled and the others scrambled backwards to their feet. "No!" she cried, her vision blurring with tears. "No, Sebastian! You have to take me back to Vincent!"

"Stop it, Miss Ruby!" snapped Lady Diana. "He's d-dead!"

This time when they pulled her away Leona let them, pressing her face into Mr Hyacinth's chest as she sobbed. Sebastian was dead. She had failed him. The pompous boy magician that had thought to deceive her teacher to get his way, who believed it possible to stand up to the monster that was Lord Aries…had not even lived to see what he had travelled so far to replace. He had died almost literally at the gates to the city. She should not have told him about what she had heard from Mr Diamond, the same man who had shot him. This was all her fault. What good was anything that she had learned from the Book of Earth?

At this thought, Leona stepped away from Mr Hyacinth. He let her go, hands falling away from her back. She swallowed her sobs and thought. Maybe she could do something. She went back to where Sebastian lay, wiped her eyes and sat down beside him and took his hand again. His body was clammy, not outright cold but cooling fast in the chill. She tried the scan she had done before with Lavender but it only confirmed what she already knew. He was dead, though not very long, mere minutes at most. But there was still a trace of something when she pushed the aether through him. It was not strong but maybe it would be enough.

Somewhere outside there was the sound of commotion. There were more sources of aether coming across the courtyard, and further from outside of Aerie along the route they had taken earlier to exit. Leona ignored it. Instead she took a deep breath and began,

"The Black Turtle rises from the Northern seas,

Mother of the waters, her eyes see the world,

Giver of life, Healer,

I call your name: Water."

The door was thrown open behind them and Lady Diana gasped. Leona did not turn around, focusing instead on letting the aether seek out and repair the damage the bullet had done. Mr Suda stood up. Mr Diamond said, "Don't bother, we've got the men you knocked out back and they have the place surrounded." There was the sound of pistols and rifles being cocked, and four figures marched in, Alphonse and Bonnie-Anne with Mr Volage and Captain Nemesis as hostages. Mr Diamond continued, "We're not here to fight. I just came here for our crew…oh and something that His Lordship keeps misplacing."

Leona tightened her grip on Sebastian's hand. The bullet had done a lot of damage when it struck him. It popped out of his stomach and rolled off of him onto the pallet. She palmed it with her free hand. Mr Diamond said, "There you are, Mademoiselle Ruby. You can't keep running away like this, people will die. Oh, what happened to the boy?"

Mr Suda spat, "You will pay for this!"

Mr Diamond started walking into the room as he replied, almost nonchalant, "The boy is dead?"

Leona started another incantation. The healing had repaired the damage but his heart did not beat and his lungs drew no breath. The spark she had sensed earlier was now almost gone. Sebastian was still dead. But she had seen the mural. Some of the people had lived after the aether magicians had used the philosopher's stone on them. Leona did not have the stone, but maybe if she applied some of her own aether it could work. She recited under her breath,

"The Golden Dragon emerges from the Centre,

He who stands between the worlds above and below,

He who binds all elements together and severs the tie,

He who is the force behind all things, I call your name: Aether.

I call your name: Sebastian Henry Alexander are not dead, do you hear me? You cannot die here."

Mr Diamond was at her back. She tightened her grip on Sebastian's hand and pushed more aether into his body, feeling the healing as she had Lavender's. But unlike with Lavender, Sebastian's body did not help her. Her head began to hurt again. Mr Diamond was saying, "This was all an accident. While seeking shelter during a blizzard our two groups encountered hostile Indians. His Lordship was shot in an exchange of gunfire." Here he bent forward to grasp hold of Leona's arm, continuing, "Due to the blizzard we could not safely seek help but did all that we could. His Lordship will be given a state funeral and Lord Aries will declare his replaceings in the boy's honour. Now come along, Miss Ruby. We should not keep your teacher waiting."

He pulled but Leona pressed her knees to the ground and bent forward over Sebastian. Something changed in that instant. Something reached out for her soul and she shuddered but did not let go. Mr Diamond pulled again and then Leona turned around to slap him, even as the energy began to trickle out of her. Mr Diamond snatched her arm before the blow could land and she snapped, "Leave me alone, I'm not going anywhere!"

Mr Diamond squeezed her hand until she cried out and said, "That is not your decision to make."

"You killed Sebastian, and your master killed my teacher," she said. "I'm not going anywhere with any of you!"

The half-amused expression on Mr Diamond's face fell away to be replaced by a hard glare and he twisted her arm and repeated, "That is not your decision to make."

She screamed, as much from the pain as from a sudden yank on her soul. Generous shouted, "Leave my sister alone!" There was the sound of a struggle and Leona's vision began to darken.

Mr Diamond finally noticed. "Hey," he began, pulling her upright to look at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

She ground out, her breathing short, "This is your fault and you will not even let me heal him. You hurt him and you will not let me help him." Then she curled her fingers over Mr Diamond's and pulled.

Leona was not sure what she was doing, not exactly, but she wanted to punish Mr Diamond. She wanted to do to him what Lord Aries had done to Cedric that day in the street, nearly suffocating while she watched and he threatened to do worse "the next time". She would not be threatened by Mr Diamond, who was not even a magician. And soon enough, Mr Diamond started gasping for breath while her head cleared, his energy flowing into her as she fed more of hers into Sebastian.

A struggle started somewhere in the background, the others fighting again. "Miss Ruby! St—" someone cried out and was cut off. Leona ignored it. This man had shot Sebastian and killed him and now he would help her heal his victim. Mr Diamond started pulling back on her hand and she pressed her nails into his flesh. They were not finished yet.

Mr Diamond had threatened her and her brother and Cedric Miller with a smile on his face as if it had been nothing more than a joke. This man was not Lord Aries but he was his ally and she hated him for it. She hated him more for the fact that he did not even care. She wanted him to feel as weak and frightened as she did every time she was in Lord Aries' presence. She wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face and make sure he never called her "ma cherie" ever again.

"Leona! Stop it!" Generous screamed. Then a shot rang out.

Leona blinked and jerked back, releasing her grip on Mr Diamond. He collapsed heavily at her side and she looked at her brother. He was staring back at her with wide, horrified eyes, his mouth hanging open, his complexion ashen. When their eyes met he took a step back and she turned to Lady Diana and the others. But they were not looking at her, even Bonnie and Alphonse, now held by their former hostages. They were looking at Sebastian's pallet. Then she felt another hand moving in her own. She looked back down at the pallet and dropped Sebastian's hand, falling back onto her butt. Sebastian, deathly pale, was moving, shifting about and blinking open his eyes, grimacing slightly at the glare. Sebastian who moments ago had been dead.

"What have you done?" asked Lady Diana, her voice barely above a whisper.

Leona just stared. Sebastian, eyes fully open now, looked at his cousin, then turned to Leona and his eyes widened. He wriggled the fingers of the hand she had just been holding and asked, voice hoarse, "You…got…you got away?"

Leona blinked and looked back at Mr Diamond. Colour was fast returning to Sebastian's face, his cheeks flushed pink but Mr Diamond was pale and stared unseeingly back up at her from where he had fallen. Sebastian was alive now, but Mr Diamond was dead.

Leona choked on her own breath and then clasped her hands over her mouth. "Leona?" asked Sebastian, turning to follow her. Then he stopped and put his hand to his stomach, where the bullet had hit him, and patted it for a bit. Leona shot to her feet and took a clumsy step back, almost tripping over her dress.

Sebastian pulled his shirt from his trousers and pressed his hand against the bare flesh, then brought up his unblemished fingers for a closer look. Leona felt her head swim, then bile rose in her throat, threatening to choke her again. Sebastian pushed himself upright and she took another step back. Mr Diamond still lay unmoving at their feet.

She had just killed a man.

An explosion sounded outside, rumbling along the walls. Leona started, then turned and ran out into the courtyard. Lord Aries was waiting for her, and caught her just as she came through the door. The others came spilling out of the room behind her too, and all froze at the sight of him.

He looked at the others then turned to Leona and asked, "Miss Ruby, where is Mr Diamond?"

Leona opened her mouth to reply but found that she could not get the words out. Bonnie began, "That girl just—"

"Dead," said Captain Nemesis, cutting her off. "We were attacked by Indians and he got shot."

Leona swallowed and dropped her gaze from Lord Aries' face. Captain Nemesis continued, "And if you don't let that little girl go, I'm going to shoot you too."

Lord Aries tightened his grip on Leona and pulled her to his side, shifting her so she faced the others. She shivered at the contact and then could not stop shaking. To the captain, Lord Aries said, "I'm going to need my crew. Would you be so kind as to release them into my care?"

Noor dropped into the centre of the courtyard between them, her blade out, still gleaming with the blood of the air elemental magicians she had attacked in the West City. Leona almost vomited and ended up coughing instead. Captain Nemesis replied, "The girl, please."

"Miss Ruby is my apprentice, captain. I could not release her to you. But you will give me my crew or I will kill you all!" He yelled this last part and Leona flinched and squeezed her eyes shut. She was freezing now, her fingers, feet and hands as numb as her face, the shaking so bad Lord Aries was having trouble keeping his grip on her arm.

Lady Diana spoke up then, to the captain, "Release them."

"My Lady…" the captain began.

Lady Diana repeated, firmer now, "Release them. We are outnumbered and my cousin is gravely ill."

There was a pause and then the sound of men walking away. Leona opened her eyes, looking past them to the room where Sebastian lay. Minutes later, Captain Marcel and his crew walked out. Leona realised that her brother was not with them. She looked at Lady Diana and said, "Please…please g-get Gen—Gen…my b-brother home."

"We will," she replied not looking at Leona.

Leona nodded at this even as Cedric said, "Release him too."

"No," said Lord Aries. "He can stay. We have no need for the boy." Then he let go of Leona. She swayed a little, unsteady on her feet. Her head felt light but she did not otherwise move. Lord Aries continued, "I've told you before Mr Miller, you do not require an assistant. Let the boy go home."

Captain Marcel approached them while his crew went ahead to the Sylphide. Lord Aries asked then in a whisper, "Hugo?"

The captain glanced at Leona a moment before he shook his head. Leona felt Lord Aries' gaze on her and the strength left her legs. He caught her by the arm before she could hit the ground and said to Captain Marcel, "Prepare for departure immediately. We'll be right along."

They had gotten the tree then, Leona thought, squeezing her eyes shut. But what had happened to the sisters? Did he force the sisters to help him?

"Sir," said Captain Marcel, but instead of moving off immediately, he asked, "You have the Book?"

"And soon we shall have the Dagger," said Lord Aries.

The captain acknowledged this with a nod and walked away to the ship. Leona was left with Lord Aries and, surprisingly, Cedric, before Lady Diana and the others. Leona slumped further against Lord Aries, no longer strong enough to stand. He bent down, slipped a hand under her knees and lifted her into his arms. She went easily, too weak and numb to protest. Then Sebastian staggered out of the room on the arm of Mr Hyacinth.

Lord Aries stared at Sebastian for a time in silence and then said, almost cheerily, "You've lost this round, Sebastian, perhaps next time?"

Sebastian did not answer. His eyes were seeking Leona's gaze. Reluctantly, she looked at him. Then he gave her a weak smile.

The Sylphide rumbled to life behind them. Lord Aries turned at once to head to the ship, Cedric at his heel. Lord Aries said to Leona as they went, "You'll be happy to know that the Misses Garnet are alive and mostly well. This could have all been settled much peacefully much sooner if everyone had behaved more reasonably."

Leona's eyes were still on Sebastian. He did not look away from her, not even when they got to the gangplank and Lord Aries started up it. And the last thing Leona saw before they stepped through the door, was Sebastian mouthing one sentence, "I will replace you."