The temperature regulating enchantments on Diana and Jonah's room broke. They were pressed to their limits before, all of the Twinklings hotel was, but now they snapped. The city outside their window was covered in fog, eating the shine that had once taken it over. All the stone around them was nothing but normal rock and might as well be ice. Winter clothes Diana never expected to wear she had to take out. Gloves, an angora jacket, thick hose, and a stocking cap, all joined her long underwear and wool socks. She gave another pair of socks and gloves to Jonah, as getting anywhere near his boot feet or hands made her shiver. Thankfully she had a spare cap as well, the fact it matched made up for the protective green clothing.

The day after she left and the freezing started, they got a message from Kalyah. She was thankfully fine and would be bunking with the sailors. Apparently this was very beneficial to her plans, as she had more than enough people to worship with and glean information from.

Meanwhile, Diana and Jonah set up a tent on the bed. Not even a huddle was enough to endure the cold. She made hooks on the wall and set a number of blankets along it. Some to cover them, others against the wall. They were borrowed from other rooms, along with a gas stove. Jonah did the taking, surprising Diana with his will.

“They stole the shit anyway,” he reasoned, stomping off in his wool socks and coming back with bundles of dusty blankets.

They had a nice haven for them to sit and watch movies, more direct comedies to lighten the mood. Diana was too cozy to ask many questions and was glad the oppressive weather didn’t interrupt the signal. She did take some time to train her magic, molding a training rock and the like. They ate canned soups delivered by the Arch Priestess, a kindness for all the city residents. They drank down what must have been gallons of hot tea over the days. A tunnel of blankets going to the bathroom. Their light source, in their small realm, was either Jonah’s arm or Diana’s Sun runes.

The Sentinel Pine was thriving, but there was no way the Ash Makers were meeting in this weather. So that day came and went with the couple mourning the loss of it.

The Mimic speech imitating Diana was much the same, the Heroes hadn't found anything. That warmed them both up as they had a good laugh. Especially when Angelina joined the imposter, making sure to tell everyone they would find something soon. However, Diana dreaded the idea of her mother saying something or the Heroes returning to try and pick them up. That was a worry for another day, whenever the city wasn't frozen over.

According to the hotel hosts, the Grands were sweeping the city on the fourth day, bringing new life to the enchantments. Only two updates had come, and since she didn't want to run to the phone every time the Grands made any progress, she told them to only give her another when the hotel enchantments were going to be fixed. The phone didn't make outbound calls, or else she would have contacted her mother.

The phone rang around two in the afternoon of the fifth day, Diana pushed the burden off to Jonah. She told him to threaten the hosts if it was them without news, and to wish Kalyah the best if it was her. Hopefully their Pixie friend would be returning soon.

Their tent kept a lot of warmth in, but the outer room was so brisk that Jonah groaned. Diana promised to heat him back up when he returned. She sat there in the small space, missing him instantly. It was pathetic and needy, but he had become her whole world when everything else was ice.

They hadn't done much but some kissing in the last few days, inspired by the formulaic ends of the movies. She blamed herself as well as the chill that kept them wrapped up. She had placed a kind of mental curse on herself by associating release with tragedy. It was also clear that Jonah wanted to please her, but didn't want to press it or even speak it. The way he held her said it all. They slept and ate and lived in such a closeness, it was more than warmth. To her, it was better than some momentary pleasure. Also, in five days they had taken one shower, the heated water wasn't worth all the magic it took to negate the icy air rushing in.

Besides learning all sorts of Earth knowledge that was useless in the world at large, some basic training and reading, their lives were on hold. Frozen over. She didn't want to think about the slow and steady plot, she just wanted to let it all pass. If this easy entertainment was available to her before, then she might have given into it. Had her sister died naturally or from some illness and she had no magic for her aspirations, she would have lounged like Jonah did. He felt the icy prison all the time. He didn't need to say it, she could see it in his eyes and his body. Watching the movies on his arm, he would sometimes zone out. In this state, he wouldn't reply or laugh until she did, broken out of it. When she caught that expression, she would cuddle in closer or squeeze his hand.

"Um, yes, I'll get her Niae," Jonah was saying.

Diana perked up at the name. Aiko dug under the tent and perked up its ears. "Tell me what's wrong," the Druid said through her familiar.

"Niae says her children spotted something," Jonah said.

“How are you, child?” Niae greeted as Diana held the phone to her ear.

Jonah held her as she shivered in the cold room.

After confirming they were fine, Niae went on. “My children, Sea elf darlings, were taking a walk in the mists, they love the chill of them. Well they found themselves by the abandoned houses in the north district, they heard some strange sounds, stranger than usual. Casting their senses they caught human heartbeats. My dears were terribly frightened, and ran quickly away. They are my youngest offspring and never saw the war, so they are not warded. The stroll was without my permission as well, so it took them some hours to admit to it.”

“The northern neighborhood…” Diana mumbled. “That’s quite far away from where I saw the others. How could they go out in the mists? Doesn’t this weather affect them as much as any forest might? Is that even them?”

“I do not know how they are out there, my dear girl,” Niae sighed. “My aquatic girls did not sense any strife in the humans. There is a telltale stress on the heart for the poor afflicted souls. However there is no reason to assume they are anyone but those you seek, as the humans of Alp’a Linn total a mere four. Two of which are you and Jonah and two work at the docks.”

“So while we have sat here idle, they have been in the city…” Diana growled in frustration.

“You cannot blame yourself for not knowing, dear girl. To expect an afflicted out in this weather is to know the future. The Goddess has seen fit to tell us through my children, so rejoice in that knowledge,” Niae said calmly. “I do not think it wise to go out in this weather, and if you do, please make sure your wards are in place. If you require any help, then I can provide it. I cannot give you a vehicle, all of ours run on Azure.”

“We don’t need that disaster, thank you,” Diana said.

"Please, whatever you do, stay safe. This plot of yours is not worth your life," Niae stated firmly.

"We will be, I promise. Farewell, Niae, thank you for the information," Diana said, having to repeat the promise several times. She turned around in Jonah's arms, half covered by his jacket.

His eyes were flashing with colors and blurred writing, accessing his data without his screen, a trait that Diana had called “indexing.” He gladly took the term, because she had given it to him. “The Ash Makers can make the fuel explode?” he asked, grimacing.

“Exactly,” Diana said. “Your database doesn’t have image examples, does it?”

“Sadly yes,” he said, shaking his head.

“It’s quite troublesome to ward against that,” she said. “Not that driving through the mists would be any better than walking. It would probably be worse.”

“Are we going out into the mists?” he asked.

They stood together for a while in silence. She ran her gloved hands up around his neck. She wasn't sure if she wanted to leave their comfortable place. We have to, she thought. Though the urge was weak.

“It could be many days before the Grands sweep the entire city. Even worse, they could run into the Ash Makers first." She swallowed, seeing a reason for inspiration. "Go on, look up how the Grands were during the war. See if the Machinist put down a battle called ‘The Revenge of Ancients.’”

Jonah’s eyes flashed for a second and then he gagged.

“Ah, images and everything,” Diana said, pushing away the illustrations of that battle from her mind.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“They’ll slaughter them,” he said.

“I know, it’s unlikely, whatever is keeping them from the storm’s bite must have some detection on it. We have to at least do something. Come on, we need to put the wards on ourselves.” She exhaled. “I wish we could have made it a more special occasion.”

The ward stones had to be placed on every part where the leylines of magic met. They were: the mind, the throat, the shoulders, the elbows, the hands, above the heart and below, the stomach, the groin, the small of the back, the knees, and finally the soles of the feet. This is where magic gathered the strongest in the body, and even though Jonah’s limbs were machines he still had them present. The ward had to be imbued with another’s magic, skin to skin. The runes would swirl in around the leypoint, etching into the metaphysical gathering of magic and guarding them against the bursting an Ash Maker could inflict. It was a strangely unique ability, and the wards were fairly new in concept. The first person to really show how an Ash Maker (or afflicted or cursed, one of many names), could destroy a person was Blodwyn. She was extremely powerful and taught many her power before the start of the war.

Diana was explaining this while placing the wards on Jonah. He didn’t like to always rely on his database, too vague or too expansive of a search made his head hurt. Sometimes, he wasn’t exactly sure what was going to be a question with too many results.

He seemed to be dealing with one as she finished the wards on his torso, moving onto his legs. Not looking at his screen, he couldn’t hide his indexing without closing his eyes. He was wincing now as the lights faded, frowning.

“What are you trying to find, Jonah?” Diana asked, holding his leg. They were under the tent again, lit by the Sun rune etched into the wall. His emerald eyes stood out sharply from his skin darkened by the low light.

He hesitated for a long moment as she rolled up his pant leg. “Something I shouldn't be searching for,” he said, putting his hands behind his head. “Don’t worry, babe.”

The Earthen terms of endearment usually made her laugh, his objective here, but they didn’t now. “If it’s causing you pain, then please let me answer it,” she said, seriously.

“It’s only gonna cause you pain,” he said with the same severity.

“Why?” she asked.

“It’s about your sister,” he said flatly.

Try as she might, she couldn’t hide the tense in her body. Over a month and a half, six weeks or six minutes, he would say. Jonah’s hand stroked her back, silently smiling at her with kindness. Aiko the cat brushed up against her, coming to lay beside him and her.

“Is it important?” Diana asked, dreading answering it.

“Not right now,” he said.

She quietly moved the ward stone as it stopped glowing to his boot foot. She held it there for several minutes, a tenseness all along her body. No amount of calming caresses could ease it. She had to know.

“Just tell me what you were looking up,” she said harshly. Then added softly, “Please…”

There was more hesitation in his eyes and she thought he might be thinking up a lie. He didn’t have it in him though. “Why did she have to die for Blodwyn to live?” he asked. "I can't find the answer in the database. Don't worry about answering it if you don't want to."

She breathed a ragged breath. “That’s right, I never told you,” she said, pressing the stone to his other foot.

“You don’t have to, I can see you’re upset,” he said.

She was quiet. The stone for Jonah was burned out, the last of its wards in place. Still she sat silent. She put her ward stone in Jonah’s hand, holding her palm against it. “Will the magic into it until it glows, it will only take so much,” she said, distantly. "You don't have to worry about it being greedy."

He focused on their interlaced hands.

“Blodwyn cannot die, she is a Warlock on contract. The being holding the contract, one of divine or demonic power has enough to keep one mortal alive indefinitely. Should the person bore the holder or displease them, they return to a mortal again. That is why the Wood Tombs exist, that is why she was there. She is Ash Maker and Warlock, her contract holder unknown,” Diana began suddenly, going on at a rapid pace.

“My Druid family made the Tombs and only my grandfather’s descendents can free her again. The stronger the lock, the steeper the key, for all locks need keys, just as all woven magic can be dispelled. If we could have scattered her to the winds, then we would have, I assure you. The ashes would have reformed without the Tomb, and she would be born anew…”

The light went dim and she was still staring at it, clutching it. Jonah rose up and gently pried her fingers from the stone. He took a place behind her, embracing her as he set it in her other hand. The comforting hold took some of the tenseness from her, as well as the cold, constantly trying to seep into the tent. The metal of his fingers held it, and the shock spun her out of the stupor.

“I haven't told you about what beings usually sign Warlock contracts,” she said, noticing a waiver to her voice.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jonah said, kissing her cheek.

“There were dozens of Warlocks in the Tombs, my family put away so many. Why my grandfather put such an intense lock on Blodwyn, I…” She sniffled, eyes blurring with tears.

Jonah shushed her. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, burying his face in her neck. His lush lips kissed the hollow of her throat deeply.

“So many were freed because their locks were so weak,” Diana continued. “All it took was Blodwyn snapping the roots.” Her hand shook as Jonah pulled up her sleeve, the breaks between wards being placed seemed like only seconds. She was back, living in that night, in the moment she stood in the doorway. The blood dripped down from her sister's sheets onto the stone floor. She saw the death glaze on those big green eyes. In the past, she turned and ran.

“I would spill a gallon of blood to have her back,” Diana said now, her voice small. He stopped her as she clawed at her forearm. Her nails had turned her white skin pink, and she turned them on Jonah's metal skin, unable to mark it.

“Don't hurt yourself, not over something I did,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “I’m sorry, I should have lied. Please, forgive me, dear.”

Aiko had been in her lap, but now the cat climbed up her torso, mewling at her. She embraced the cat fully, letting Jonah continue with the warding at her whispered insistence. She was so blind she had forgotten her own familiar for a moment. The rest of her arm and shoulder warding went on without a word.

“I appreciate your honesty, you know I do,” Diana said, calming down finally. “Don’t lie to me. I can handle this…”

“I won’t,” he said. “I promise.” He patted her back. "Promise you won't hurt yourself over me, please. Or I mean, please don't do it, period."

"I won't, thank you for stopping me." She held Aiko to her chest as Jonah lifted her shirt and placed the ward on her belly. Which along with the chill brought her frustrations. Unable to exercise and days spent sitting and eating, there was a new pound or two on her and she hated it. Normally it took Druids months to retain, but her body loved to hold onto whatever she ate. The way Jonah’s hands moved along her, the way he held it constantly in bed, it went against all her insecurities.

Her sister was so slender on that bed. If she had the chance, Luann would have grown up so regal and thin. The papers never said it, but she felt they wanted to say that the wrong princess died.

Gods, would this tragedy ever fade?

Desperately trying to bring herself back to the present, she contorted her voice higher. “You like more than my bum and belly, eh?” she asked, trying to chuckle. "This, this gives you the chance to feel them up…"

He checked her face, maybe seeing her feebleness. He had driven her to sorrow, on her own encouragement, but now she wanted distraction and maybe some praise as well. Bless him, he saw that too. “You’re forgetting your princess boobs.” He poked her chest over her sweater. "There's nothing I don't like feeling up on you." He chuckled lightly. He patted her belly, pressing his fingers into it.

She breathed in relief. “Ah, yes, I can always rely on you to admire me,” she said, Aiko leaping out of her hands, settling beside her. "I haven't got anything but admiration for your being either."

He grinned, lifting the stone above her heart. She lifted her sweater all the way up, giving him a better view.

“Now you’re just trying to delay,” he said, staring at her eyes the whole time the ward set.

"Would it be so bad?" she asked.

"Yes, it would be, you made up your mind."

"I said it was unlikely they should be found…"

He frowned and laid his hand flat on her back, making her hop in place. Yelping at the shiver, she put her sweater down. She laid on her stomach as he did the base of her spine. He moved on quietly, shifting her clothes around. The only strange one was her reproductive core.

“Right here?” Jonah wondered, lifting up her layered bottoms to get to the right area.

“A bit lower,” she said, her hands resting on her stomach.

“Okay, it's glowing,” he said.

His fingers were in her scruff, an inch down would be starting something. For a moment she thought it wouldn’t be so bad.

The days spent in the tent had dampened her resolve. This is really what Jonah had done for years, she thought. Still, she was so tempted to just lower her trousers, let something start. It would warm them and keep them away from this plot of revenge. Which wasn't even about her sister much anymore, but those that claimed to be avenging her in Diana's stead. Was it worth rushing out into the mists?

Jonah moved on and Aiko curled up on her chest. It was too late to have second thoughts. Jonah’s quietness proved that he had none. When he was finished, he helped her up.

Wrapped in as much clothing as they could walk in, Jonah and Diana stood before the back door. They wore the headphones as earmuffs, and stocking caps with scarves wound around their faces. Jonah had his leviathan skin jacket on top, the bright green bulged out from the extra clothing. Diana had put on her breast plate, angora jacket, and her bracers, carrying her staff even though it was hard to cast spells in this much bulk. This was reconnaissance only, she had reasoned, no need. For bottoms they had two trousers on, Jonah’s first pair tied off below his metal knees. His machinery didn’t truly register a cold that was unable to damage it, which was much lower.

“Ready?” Diana asked, holding the door’s handle. Aiko the tiger stood beside her, growling low.

Jonah adjusted the coverings on his face and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said.

She opened the door and the mists of the city billowed in, stopping as they entered into the fog and slammed the door behind them.