It took a couple days for Jonah and Diana to finally drop their colds. In that time, they kept up their surveillance of Ash Maker camp through Niae. That however failed as the Ash Makers scanned and then dispelled her Dove with their inherent black stare. They also tried to speak to her through the Dove, but instantly turned on the Blinder, locking her up in place. Even though she knew it was a trick, the Arch Priestess fell for it, hoping that maybe this time they would speak to her. After the fourth time, Kalyah and the couple begged her to stop, as the collective forty minutes of locked up muscles over two days had taken a heavy toll on her. Each one after it was similarly dispelled until the range of detection was so far out from the caves that could hardly see them.

Jonahh theorized trying to build a surveillance camera. Who would set it up became the biggest issue. The pinecones had much the same problem. They were simply too far away from any safe place to set any kind of watch, that didn’t turn them into figures in the distance. Whether trying to watch them was doing more harm than good was also an issue. All they had left was waiting.

With her illness gone, Diana did her best to practice her magic. She focused on control exercises. Which was difficult when the weekly Hero report came on and it was all about them sitting on the blockade between the Wanshi and the Isles of Ash. Jonah gave himself a headache trying to figure out the politics of the thing on his own.

“It’s as simple as this,” Diana began, crushing a practice stone in her hand, trying to temper her rage at the political discourse. “The Isles of Ash is a nation of refugees established after the war. They are supposedly no longer associated with the Order, and they publicly denounced Blodwyn’s rising. The Islands are also known as the Dry and Marsh. You remember Warren?” He nodded. “Well, his family originates from there. His grandfather sent the thousands of refugees there as no one else wanted them. They are desert and swampy islands, much like the lands you come from, they are quite hot and humid. They are also surrounded by mountains jutting from the ocean. Little grows there, but they have one valuable resource, precious metals. The mountains are overflowing with copper, silver, and gold. The Wanshi, on the other hand, have almost none of those, they barely have iron. So claiming that the death of my sister as an act of war, the Wanshi are threatening to invade on my country’s behalf.” She sighed, annoyed at how easily the mention of assassination came out and how much it bothered her now that it had. “Anyhow, they are very clearly trying to get metals in trade, since they only know how strong arm matters.”

“How do you know all that?” Jonah wondered.

“Because, they’ve done it before,” she sighed. “They're a tiresome ally, but they supply exotic goods that flood our marketplace. They are the foremost producer of silks and dyes. My kingdom can make it, but they make it cheaper.”

Jonah frowned, nodding, light flashing before his eyes. “There’s not a lot about these Wanshi,” he said.

“They’re very secretive about their history and present,” she explained. "My father abores one of their countries, but I suppose that the Machinist doesn't have those records."

“Hmmm…”

The couple weren’t as lucky with Niae’s estimate this time as they were with Jonah’s bout with the Clawing death. It was two weeks and several days since the mists started when they finally lifted. Diana, Jonah and Kalyah spent over a week in the tiny house in Alpha’s northern district. No Ash Maker had triggered the pinecones, and they returned to the hotel Twinklings with their hope waning. One day, any day now, Diana repeated as a mantra. Jonah had started it, noticing her grow more and more distant from him and the world at large.

It didn’t matter what he or Kalyah or Niae said, it was her fault that the Ash Makers ran off, that she couldn’t get those poor children away from them. She could have done something more if she had just kept her head on. Anything about fate she didn’t want to hear either. She knew she was being a misery guts, her familiar was irritated with her. Jonah insisted that he wasn’t, but she knew from his smile that he was at least sad for her. The two slept next to each other, but they hardly spoke and she had no time to relax.

After a night in the Twinklings again, Diana woke up and started to cry. The giant room and its plain furniture and gray walls was too much for her. She had failed, she had tried to be a Hero in her own right and failed. Now the army was engaged and the Ash Makers could even be gone. Last they had heard, Niae hadn't seen a thing for two days. That was with a Dove placed half a mile away as well. The technology was still up, they could be long gone, leaving it behind. Who knew how they got there, who knew how they could leave. None of those children would be saved and they would die, wrapped up in a stupid war.

Her self pity woke Jonah, and without a word, he hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head. She felt numb in his embrace, the sorrow was too sharp for her to handle.

What did she do now? Contact her mother, listen to her rave about how she had put herself in danger? How could she even write up a report without drawing the Heroes down on Alpha? Anonymously? They were probably the first to see an Ash Maker alive. Now an anonymous person knows so much. So suddenly. Oh gods, the Heroes would see Jonah’s arm if and when they returned. They would tear it off for study.

Diana twisted in Jonah’s hold, hugging him back. She stared into his watery eyes, such a sympathetic crier.

“No, no, no, I won’t,” she sobbed to him, holding his face.

“What? What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I won’t let them take you!” she declared.

He blinked, the tears running down his dark cheeks. “What do you mean?” he wondered.

“They’ll take your arm!” she cried.

Aiko yowled, as if it was rolling its eyes.

“What, why?”

Diana sniffled heavily, explaining the thoughts of horror flying around her head.

Panic flashed through Jonah’s eyes. He swallowed, shaking his head. “You wouldn’t let them, I’m protected by you, remember?” he said.

“Since when have they cared about the law!” she yelled so loud that he shrank back.

He returned to her, holding her face now, the metal tepid and firm. “Diana, Diana, look at me… Diana!” he said, quiet, then much louder. She breathed heavily, waiting on him. From Aiko she saw how blushed her face had become. She didn’t recognize herself, but that was common for her nowadays.

“Let’s go outside, okay?” he offered. “Let’s see that garden. You’re a Druid and you’ve been spending weeks in a miserable fucking city of stone and metal. Before that you were trapped on the ship! God, I’m used to this shit, but it must be torture. I know, it won’t fix everything, but it’s gotta make you feel better. Even if we have to haul dirt and shit up there.” He sighed, staring into her eyes as she went quiet. “We've gotta do something for you. Staying cooped up inside isn't helping. Alright?”

She saw the worry grow in his eyes with each second that she thought. “Yes, that sounds good,” she said softly.

On the tenth floor stood the gigantic penthouse, which looked nothing like the other rooms. It consumed the entire space of the hotel for one and was empty of smugglers goods. Lushly furnished, it was also abandoned for what could have been hundreds of years. One of the many windows were open and dust had poured into the place, laying an inch thick on every surface of the dimly lit location. Diana shook her head, moving towards the spiral staircase in the center of the room.

Through the quiet, Jonah heard a beeping sound as he followed Diana, she moved too fast for him to ask her. He sensed it in the elevator, but now it grew in intensity as they opened the top hatch of the stairs. The cool winter wind hit them as they left the penthouse. Ten stories up they could see the sky without the glare of the city. For the first time in three weeks, Jonah saw the sun and the blue of the sky.

Diana gasped, her boots tapping across the flat tile roof. Many of the tiles were decorated with paintings of various types of flora, some green and leafy, others blooming in an array of colors. The garden took up the roof, bordered by planter boxes of fine oak with a high lattice fence trimming it. There were a few others independent of the walls in triangle patterns, forming the cardinal directions around the entrance. Diana ran her hands along the boxes, a bright smile on her face. Jonah tried to stay positive, but the beeping had grown louder and all he saw were boxes and boxes of dead weeds. She saw hope and he was glad for that.

Dressed in her weaver clothing--a long sweeping dress and open wristed blouse--Diana drew a rune of the Sun at the top of her staff that glowed fiercely. Pointed at the weeds, they crisped and slowly ignited in flames, with her other hand she swirled the wind, fanning the flames and containing the smoke. “I can burn these and use the ash as fertilizer,” she said to Jonah. Soon the brittle weeds were just that. She stuck her hand into the dry soil. “Ah, there are worms lying dormant in there. Elven earthworms are quite resilient.” She looked over at him. “What’s wrong?”

Jonah was staring at the small shed beside the stairs that led them here. Along it were menacing scratch marks, as if some creature had fought to enter it. As he stepped closer to it, the beeping in his head got louder. He asked her now if she heard it.

“No, I do not. Maybe it has something to do with the Machinist,” she offered.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. Aiko came up beside him.

“She only smells steel, no creatures, nothing alive,” she told him.

The door rattled as he stood within a few feet of it and he jumped at the sound.

Diana held her staff and his hand. Smiling at him, she gestured her head towards the door. “You’ve got your weapon, but I am here for you, just in case,” she said.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He raised his right hand. He had been afraid of using the gun until now. Only the worst thoughts came to him: What if I summon it and accidently shoot her? He pushed them away again. His fingers fused and he pointed them at the door. Carefully Aiko the tiger raised off its front paws and twisted the door handle, walking back afterwards.

Out from the darkness of the tool shed whizzed a metal orb about the size of a cantaloupe. A whirring noise followed its odd hovering. Jonah was too confused to shoot as it circled his head. A giant camera lens zoomed in and out at him, a reddish light shining within it. “This is a prerecorded message…” came a robotic voice. Then a voice that stunned him further crackled on. “Hey, what’s up, new mechanical dude! This is Mikey, one of the Machinist’s first mechanics! In this bot are some sweet bits and pieces to help you on your most righteous of journey’s!” The riveted metal sphere bobbed in place, almost playfully.

“Wolfgang wants you to only use these in peace, and wishes for the war to end. It's totally terrible to see all the bad stuff going on now… Anyway, one day I hope to meet you, you seem like a cool dude. The big kahuna has high hopes for you. Keep the bot, and make love not war! This concludes the prerecorded message.”

Holding out his arms, the machine--that had no visible means of propulsion--dropped into his arms. The message was so unexpected and so stupid sounding that Jonah couldn’t help but laugh as he held the thing. Wide eyed, Diana watched him as he sat down on the tile, laughing hysterically.

“Did you receive a flying machine from a man out of one of your movies? I swear, he spoke exactly like one of those fools in a comedy!” she asked, smiling and laughing.

Wiping at his face with his shirt, Jonah cleared his tears. “I don’t know, it was so fucking stupid though,” he wheezed. He held out the round machine. “Why was it there? How did it get here? Why did he sound like he was straight out of Bill and Ted!?”

“I haven't seen that one, have I?” she wondered.

“No, no, you haven't. Later, later,” he said, catching his breath. “You should do your Druid stuff, I’ll figure out what the hell my care package has in it.”

She helped him up and embraced him. “Thank you. I feel better already,” she said, pecking his lips.

Within the shed Jonah found a lawn chair, thin steel tubing with loose leather straps, and took a seat in it. The bot was stuffed with goods for him, like a robotic pinata. They all sunk into his left hand with ease. Nothing would fit in his right, and he wasn’t sure why. It couldn’t be the size of the gun, he had two radios worth of parts in both his arms. He thought maybe he wasn’t trying hard enough, but trying to force it only made his head hurt. It didn’t matter, he thought, I still got plenty in my other limbs.

He rejoiced at one part, a projector lens. At first he thought it was a strange camera, but as it faded into his arm, he knew what he had. It wasn’t an Earth projector either, but one like he saw the Technophile use. Bringing the part up on his wrist, it projected an orb of his screen in a sheet about the size of an open paperback. The glare of the sun and the moving shadows made it a bit difficult to see, but not as hard as a normal projector. It moved with the same speed as his thoughts, which were sometimes a struggle to control, even with the RAM sticks in his arm now.

Diana had told him more about Sorcerers, that they had to manage the speed of their magic, manifested will. So he figured he had to make sure that the machine half of him processed things, not his head. Physically, it felt like a balancing act, scales teetering back and forth. And he had to make sure which half of him got the workload. Too fast and his head took the brunt of it. Now his phone, which was pretty fast before, could take probably as much as a well built PC. The batteries too, could take the place of his body’s exhaustion. When he was showing Diana movies, at the end of the day he didn’t struggle to sleep. How much would these parts improve over his brain?

The Technophile was doing so much more than him with tech and magic of this world. A lot of evil stuff, he reminded himself, I’m doing what I can.

Within the projection came Diana's face, smiling. "Ah, I wish my magic could have raced along like yours," she said, running her hand through the light. "It takes months to use one element, that is after weeks of mediation within the given space."

"Don't worry, I won't compete with you anytime soon," he remarked.

"You can now, I wouldn't be able to stand a single bullet from your gun, even in my armor. We had to patch the other side of the house from those rounds," she said, standing up and shaking her head. "I don't know what to do about the information we've seen."

"Maybe tell it straight to your mom?" he offered.

"That would require a lot of unpacking and the strength to speak to her again." She frowned. "It's a horrible thing to watch your mother cry…"

The sorrowful memories of his mother's passing ran him through sharply. "Yeah, I know…" he said quietly.

"Oh, Jonah, gods I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," she said, falling into his lap. "How callous of me…" she groaned, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Honey, it's okay," he said, patting her back. "I'm just agreeing with you. Don't worry about me, I'm not jealous of you or anything. It's okay."

"I'm a wreck…" she whispered. “I want to talk with her, but I just can’t.”

"That's why you're gardening. Can you talk to her if I help you?"

She was quiet for a moment. “I suppose, I’ll consider it.”

After a few long hours all the dried weeds were burned away from the planters and many were full of new life. It was then that Diana admitted that she was stalling. Not out loud, as Jonah and Kalyah were following her around, admiring her hard work.

The Pixie elf came upstairs an hour after she gave her shakey statement to Jonah, saying, “Diana, your mom wants to speak with you.” Then she had barely cleared half of the planters and settled herself to that eventuality.

In the meantime, Jonah had fallen asleep on the lawn chair. He awoke to Kalyah, mumbling like an old man. Diana was determined to leave him alone, she had woken him with her sobbing and early to boot. Kalyah accepted the excuse of, “I’m busy right now, unless it’s urgent, I'll contact her in a few hours.” Instead of leaving, Kalyah went to the shed and drew a symbol of conjuration in the wood. From it appeared a vibrant white hawk moth that flew downstairs, giving the message to the new hosts. The Priestess had learned a lot in isolation with the pair of them. She then took out another lawn chair and laid out next to Jonah, marveling at the sun overhead. They had their meals, Diana planting seeds in-between bites. Jonah ate so much that he went back to sleep. Kalyah checked him over, saying he was fine, but she was mildly concerned.

“Maybe his body is trying to charge those batteries?” Diana offered.

“Maybe…” Kalyah said.

Jonah was up and about now, asking her what all of the colorful new plants in the revitalized planters were. Wind erosion had taken out a lot of the dirt, she explained, meaning that many of them were no longer usable as she had to shift all the earth around.

“Here I have planted heather, half bedding, half blooming,” she said, signaling to the whole of the west wall that faced the back of the hotel. One part was thin yellowish green grass that moved softly in the breeze. The other half were richly green with violet bulb flowers, the stems thicker in appearance, but were equally springy.

Running his hand along the grass, Jonah marveled at the breadth of what she had done with little drain on herself. The naps had done him well, as the sun did for her. The wonderful fresh scents of the garden cut through the usual metallic scent of the city.

“Here, is burn weed,” the Druid went on, pointing to the violent plant. It was gray on the insides of its spiky leaves with vibrant orange as the trimming. “It will burn you like fire and not stop for hours or until a salve is applied. I am immune to its burn, but I still remember it well.” She shuddered at the thought. “Here is my most useful and difficult to grow in this climate, the dart rose.” She gestured to the thick stemmed and thorny plant with blue buds. Along the stems were long spikes that would eventually grow to three inches. “Each one is nearly as sturdy as steel and the flower is a good coagulant. Besides my magic, they are a fine weapon. They can be easily fletched or propelled with magic.” She went on to several more planters and the runes keeping them in their proper climate. There was: valerian root, chamomile, witch hazel, poison ivy, wolfsbane (a double planter just in case), ginger, aloe vera (beside the arid dart rose), ginseng, lavender, primordial daisies, sunflowers, milk thistle, and lemon balm. If there were any insects still left in Alpha, then they would be crowding this new garden. All the buds would soon be flowers and this dead city would be buzzing with life.

“Now is it time to talk to your mom?” Jonah asked when she was all done.

She gripped her staff. “Yes, fine.”

He grinned at her. “I’ll be there for you, it’s for the best,” he said.

She stared at him, wondering how he could be so confident with her on this matter.

Swallowing, he seemed to read her mind. “I know a thing or two about avoiding stuff,” he said.

“Yes, yes, come on then.”

Downstairs in the small alleyway, Diana breathed new life into the heather and the poor old poplar tree beside the dumpster. Without her magic, it would have withered and died all on its own. It was about one o’clock in the afternoon, so it would be deep in the night in the Magi kingdom. Putting her hand to the tree, she mumbled something to Jonah about her mother probably not being up at this time.

“Leave her a message then,” he said firmly, but with a joking look in his eyes.

Aiko joined him with a yowl.

Within a moment, Diana was stepping out of the lone willow and the stone bench outside her family’s palace. She almost turned back around, the bench was empty in the half moon light. Then her mother’s hawk screeched from the boughs of the willow. Up from the shore came a lioness, her eyes glancing around. The transformation skin faded and the Archdruid queen stood, dusting off her Weaver dress. She threw down a few spores from a pouch and up from them bloomed Lantern Caps, which glowed brightly, cutting through the moon’s silver on the river's surface.

“Diana, my love, how are you faring?” she asked, clasping her hands.

“I am well, mother,” Diana said, feeling strained. She turned her head in Alpha, eyes closed, considering leaving. Jonah held onto her real body tightly, with his help she settled into the heather. She was here for the long haul.

“I heard you were ill, you and Jonah. Were the mists so alluring that you had to be in them long enough to get sick?” the queen said, taking a seat and patting for her daughter’s ghostly form.

“No, it wasn’t the mists, though I have never seen them before,” Diana said evenly, taking her seat.

The queen was silent, waiting.

Diana took a deep breath. “Are the castle grounds secure from prying eyes?”

Now came her mother’s royal searching of her face. “Whose prying eyes?” she asked in a low voice.

“The Heroes,” she said, a labor to push it out.

“You fear Fia’s listening in?” she said with narrow eyes.

Diana nodded.

Eliza looked to her hawk and it flew off, racing towards the castle.

The two women sat there in the calm breeze of the summer night. Diana wished she could swim in the chill Greed. The nights would soon get so sticky and hot that swimming in their waters would be so relaxing. She had sat on this very bench with a man she loved, kissing deeply and wearing little. The memory became awkward now, sitting with her mother, being held by her latest and loveliest man. Maybe he would be her last and she would become a duchess with him, she wasn’t sure. Holding her together now was the best thing in the world.

“Your father ran a scan, there were Flies here…” Eliza said suddenly. “They are dead. He was always the best at countering the Witch, she hated him the most. I could never get a hold of her frequency and I only learned the finery of Spirits and Runes to pass my exams. I always had more of a kinship to the Elemental and Beast schools, even the Cloud proved easier.” She stared straight ahead, but then turned to Diana. “I assume you are going to tell me something worthy of eavesdropping.”

“Yes, something I don’t want the Heroes to hear,” Diana said. Her real face must have had a horrible scowl because Jonah kissed her head.

“Please, begin with why you are in Alpha. I must know how the Heroes have harmed my daughter,” Eliza said, her clasped hands tightening.

“Promise you won’t go after the Heroes, mother,” she pleaded.

“I will only promise to keep my avenging urges indirect,” Eliza said. “Not knowing what they’ve done, your father has made their lives difficult on my behalf. If you didn’t want that, you could have returned. Angelina has the pleasure of partaking in the blockade with many troops aboard her ship. She struggles to keep a public face on for long. You have heard of the blockade?”

“Yes, mother.”

The queen raised her eyebrows.

Diana considered her words.

“I have all night, I have slept all day as a lioness waiting for you to return my direct message. Even if you leave, then I will return to my vigil.” She gazed at the river, dark eyes shining in the Lantern caps. “All my training as an Archdruid to wait for my daughter to speak to me.”

The young Druid growled at her mother’s prodding guilt. “Under the guise of training, Angelina struck me with ice, which is nothing compared to what Fia did to me mother,” she said, spitting out the words.

“Angelina did what!?” the queen snapped, rising to her feet.