Then it’s back out into the day light, breathing the air again, which isn’t as stuffy and murky as the inside of Elizabeth’s house, but still stinks of soot and smoke. We make our way through the streets, and I notice they seem to be unusually quiet for this time a day. They’re nearly empty now. They’d been busy and crowded not three hours ago, on our way to Elizabeth’s. When I remark on this, Josephine whispers that the city folk retreat when the palace guards are walking the streets and back alleys, and to keep a low profile and try to avoid being seen.

                So we creep like mice, darting down back alleys and edging around corners, backs flat against the walls, until we reach the market square. It’s eerie to see it so empty now. All the carts are gone, as if they’d never been there in the first place, or they’d simply vanished like smoke dissolving into thin air. There isn’t a scrap of fabric or fish head left behind. Nothing to indicate there’d been a market here at all.

                “Hurry, give me the diamond.” Josephine’s head is whipping around jerkily. Like a sparrow on the lookout for cats. I drop the diamond into her hand, feeling a tiny pang of something, fear or anxiety when it leaves my hand. It isn’t as if I want to keep the damn thing, but I’m so used to carrying it around. When I glance up at Josephine’s face my insides freeze. Her face is grim, and terrified at the same time and she’s looking straight at me, “Molly, I’m no more immune to this than anyone else is. The plague will hit me as soon as I’m done the incantation. For those infected earlier, it will disappear, and the plague will cease to infect others. It will not do the same for me. Do me a kindness and end me before I hurt anyone.”

                My mouth falls open, and her words impact me like blows in the gut. The witch had known she would die all along. And she expected me to be the one to do it.

                “Can’t you…heal yourself…” I stammer out, but she’s shaking her head. Then she hangs her head over the diamond, nearly touching it with her nose, and begins mumbling feverish incantation.

                Noise in the street makes me jerk away from her, running footsteps. The palace guards are coming. That’s just perfect. It’s all I need right now.

                “Gus, Ellie,” I snap at them, “when that wizard shows up, you run. I don’t care what happens, but until he does, we’ve got to hold the guards off so Josephine can finish the spell.”

                “We haven’t got any weapons,” Ellie cries, “what do we do?”

                But it’s too late to come up with a plan. The footsteps grow louder and suddenly they’re on top of us, rounding the corner and bursting into the square, tall, blocky men in silk robes. It’s tempting to make some crack about being surrounded by men in bath robes, but again, the long, pointy spears make me hold my tongue.

                I brace myself, sword hovering in the air, ready to take them all on if I can. I’ll go down fighting.

                But the men aren’t looking at me. They’re staring wide-eyed at something just behind me, and I turn to see Josephine in the throes of what looks like some kind of fit. Her entire body goes rigid, and her eyes are white slits. One hand his held aloft and frozen, fingers clenched tightly around the diamond. Horror turns my muscles to water as I spot the thick, black veins twisting from her hand, snaking down her arm at alarming speeds.

                Some of the guards begin to back away, and I have to resist the urge to follow them, to flee down the street with my tail between my legs. But Josephine is sacrificing herself for this, and I can’t let it be for nothing, so I grip the borrowed sword more tightly and step forward.

                I’m ready. I’m ready. I can do this.

                The inky black threads running through her skin grow thicker and darker, shooting up her arms, her shoulders, the pale skin of her cheeks. Soon her skin begins to melt away. I’d seen it before in the others, faces twisting and sagging, but I watched Josephine die with a scream in my throat, heart pulsing so hard it hurt.

                She had asked me to end her, but when the black diamond finally gets through with her, I doubt there will be anything left.

                Finally her hand opens, fingers curling and black, and the diamond drops to the ground, striking the cobble stones with a heavy “chunk” noise, clinging to the ground like it weighs a ton. The darkness is still shooting from its facets, like dead vines crawling across the ground, and I leap backwards, horrified. Whatever it is, I feel sure I can’t let it touch me.

                The vines surge upwards, clumping together, forming the shape of a man just as the thing that used to be Josephine crumbles into dust. I have to shove my scream down so that it doesn’t rip from my throat on its own. I know I should leap forward, like a hero to save the day, and chop off that thing’s head. Only I can’t seem to move an inch, so overcome by fear.

                The blackness dissolves slowly, but the man-shape stays, turning slowly from writhing darkness to what looks like…a man. He’s tall and slender, with hawk-like features and murky brown eyes. And his expression is chilling. He doesn’t look surprised, or shocked, like I expected him to. Like Josephine said he would be. He looks furious.

                Behind me there’s a stampede, the thundering of retreating footsteps, and I  hope desperately that Gus and Ellie are with them. That they’re running to safety with the guards.

                The wizard smiles, an expression that gives me the willys. Like I’m a cat, and someone is rubbing my fur the wrong way. There’s something about him that makes me think of snakes.

                “Who are you, little girl?”

                I can’t speak. There’s a voice in my head screaming at me to jump forward and lop his head off, but the sight of him seems to leave me incapable of movement.

                “Not talkative, hm? I can fix that…” he waves his hand, and when nothing happens a mixture of emotions crosses his face. Confusion first, then fear, than realization. Finally, it’s anger that curls his lips and makes him start towards me, “anti-mage!”

                And I’m propelled into action finally. I jump forward, swinging wildly with the sword, heart pulsing wildly. The wizard ducks sideways, dodging my blow, and suddenly he’s on top of me without warning, the heel of his hand hits my chin and knocks my head back, and white stars burst in front of my eyes. I hit the stones hard, knocking my head a second time, and I hear the clatter as he kicks my sword away.

                His voice is low and amused in my ear, “they sent a little girl to finish me? They truly have forgotten the extent of my power.”

                His hand is on my throat suddenly, pressing down, cutting off my air. The stars burst in front of my eyes again, and I lash out at him, beating at his arms uselessly. He’s too strong, even if he can’t use magic on me, strangling will work well enough.

                His face looms, ugly and smiling. Pleased with himself. Then there’s a blur in the left corner of my eye, and the wizard is knocked over sideways with an angry shout. Lights are still dancing in front of my vision, so Gus’ face is blurry as he hauls me up.  I shake my head until my vision clears, turning to tell him to get away from us….that the wizard will hurt him…but the words die on my tongue, and I can only stare in astonishment at my rescuer.

                He grins at me, brushing long blonde hair over his shoulder. Grey eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. Just like I remember.

                “Jasper?” his name leaves my lips in a gasp, and I immediately hate myself for it.

                He drops me a sarcastic bow, “thought you might need my service.”

                Suddenly I’m filled with panic, picturing the wizard – who is lying on his back on the cobblestones groaning and clutching his head – jumping up and blasting Jasper into pieces.

                “You have to run,” I hiss at him, “he’s a wizard. He’ll hurt you…”

                Jasper folds his arms stubbornly, looking as if he’s about to argue, then I hear scuffling behind us and whirl around, “no!” but the wizard is on his feet again, and he flings one hand out at Jasper, vengeful anticipation on his face.

                To my shock, Jasper laughs, and the wizard’s face crumples in rage, “Two!” he screams, “god-damn you, anti-mages. How did they dig up two of you!” He turns, flinging up his hands, and a wooden crate from the nearbye fruit stand flies up as though drawn by a magnet. For a moment it hovers in the air, and my mouth goes dry - then it moves, coming straight at me. I react in blind panic, throwing myself to the cobble stones. The wizard laughs, "are you immune to flying objects, my dears?"

More debris flies up, scraps of wood from the shattered crate arrow through the air. I hold up the sword foolishly, as if I can block it and I feel splinters rip through the skin of my arms, warmth trickles down to my wrists. Blood. Jasper crouches over me, sheilding me with his body, and I hear him grunt as his back is pelted with splinters.

Over his shoulder I see the wizard, eyes wild, rearing back to kick Jasper in the head. Putting my shoulder into Jasper's stomach I shove him to one side, whipping the sword around. The wizard screams as the blade bites into his leg. It sends a shock into the palms of my hand as the blade is stopped by his shin bone. He falls back, screaming. Black blood gushes out onto the dirty street. I stare at it uncomprihensively for a moment. He bleeds darkness.

Jasper grasps my arm "Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine," I pant, "are you hurt?"

He doesn't say anything, we both turn to see the wizard scrambling to his feet, still screaming in pain, slipping on his own blood. He turns for the street, bolting for the nearest alleyway. The alleyway that I can see Gus and Ellie standing at the end of.

“NO!” I launch myself, desperation propelling me, arms and legs flailing. It isn’t a graceful move, but I catch the wizard off guard, plowing into him and knocking him off his feet. We go down in a tangle of limbs and curse words, and there’s a sharp crack and then….nothing.

                I push myself up on my elbows, discovering that I’ve landed on top of him, and in the process, knocked his head back onto the cobblestones. His murky eyes are shut, and there’s a pool of black blood spreading from underneath his head.

                I gape, and then Jasper hooks me under the arms and pulls me up, holding me against his chest. His blond hair tickles my neck, and right then and there I’m ridiculously grateful for him, because my knees couldn’t possibly support me right now, seeing as they seem to have liquefied.

                His voice rumbles against my back, sounding low and breathless in my ear, “A wizard is only a man in the end, when his head cracks open, there isn’t any magic spell he can do for that…”

                I actually manage a watery smile, and he helps me stand up straight, turning me around to face him, “you alright?”

                “I’m fine,” I wish my voice didn’t shake that way, “you came back.”

                He shrugs, “I figured you might need some help,” Jasper suddenly looks bashful, running his fingers through his long blonde hair, “and…it’s ridiculous, but I kept dreaming about you. Nearly every night. It was driving me crazy….”

                Maybe it’s the relief of having survived all this that makes me do it, but whatever it is, I grab his shirt collar and pull him towards me, crushing his mouth against mine, kissing him in an almost desperate fashion. After a minute of shock his arms encircle my waist and he presses me close to him, one hand reaches up and tangles in my hair and for several breathless moments there is nothing in the world but Jasper.

                Then Ellie’s voice jerks us apart, “is he dead?”

                When I look over, Ellie and Gus are standing beside us, staring down at the still form of the dark wizard.

                “We’re fairly certain,” Jasper grins, and it sends a thrill through me when, instead of letting me go completely, he slips one arm around my waist and bumps his hip into mine, “death is usually the result of someone’s brains leaking out on the sidewalk.”

                ‘Oh, thank god,” Ellie sighs, “we were going crazy, just watching. Gus kept trying to run down the alley and help you,” she shot him a narrow look.

                “Glad you kept him from doing that,” I tell her, “he was just dying to curse someone, or whatever it was all the crazy hand gestures would have done.” I suddenly rounded on Jasper, “why didn’t you tell me you were an anti-mage?”

                He shrugs, “it never came up. I try not to tell anyone about it. People tend to try and use you.”

                I thought about the high empress and her collection of “useful” people and nodded. That made me think of Josephine though, and I suddenly had to blink back tears. I sagged a little against Jasper, feeling suddenly and completely drained, “can this be over now? Can we…”

                I trailed off, about to say “go home”. But that was ridiculous wasn’t it? Where was my home? The dirty streets of Chesire? And going back there meant never seeing Gus and Ellie and Jasper again…

                “My ship is waiting,” Jasper glances back over his shoulder, “just on the outskirts of the wall here,” he glances around at all of us, “my crew took some convincing, but I managed to bribe them all to come here. Do any of you fancy the pirate life, now that this little job is over?”

                I snort. He’s making it sound as if we’d been paid for this, like it hadn’t just been dropped on our heads without warning, “your crew hate us already,” I say, “why in hell would they welcome us aboard and let us stay with you? We accidently turned half of them into monsters, remember?”

                “Oh, I remember,” Jasper shrugs, “but they can always be bought, my crew.”

                “Bought with what?” I protest, “we haven’t got a penny between us.”

                “Want to wager on that?” Jasper steps away from me and hunkers down on his heels, he reaches out with a forefinger and thumb and plucks up something from a crack in the cobblestones. He holds out his hand and I stare down at it in astonishment.

                There, nestled in his palm, twinkling cheerily in the fading light, is an enormous diamond. It’s crystal clear as spring water and completely flawless.

                “the black diamond…” I gasp.

                And Jasper grins around at us, “not black anymore, but I’ll wager, still enough to buy another whole airship. If you come on board with this little beauty, my crew will accept you like you were there own kin.”

                He hands me the diamond, and I let it roll back and forth on my palm. It doesn’t feel heavy anymore. Finally I tuck it in my pocket and glance over at Gus and Ellie.

                “What do you say?”

                To my surprise Ellie pulls up her top lip, affecting a kind of grotesque looking snarl, and lisps, “Aye, captain, I be sayin’ that sounds mighty fine.”

                Gus laughs, slinging his arm over her shoulders, and Jasper shakes his head, “We will absolutely have to teach you to talk like a proper pirate. And don’t ever pull that face again, you’ll terrify my crew.”

                We walk down the empty streets of Bristol, and I’m secretly delighted when Jasper slips his hand into mine.  Our foot falls echo off the rows of cramped houses and disappear into the eerie silence. Nobody even peeks out their windows at us.  I can’t wait to get out of this strange city. We have to find a way to slip out of the walled city without attracting the attention of the guards.  We’ll need to be fast, and quiet. It probably won’t be easy. But I glance over at Gus and Ellie, and feel Jasper’s hand in mine, and suddenly I’m not worried.

THE END