Return, dear friend unto the night,
Give up this body, this life, this fight.

Cade's death anthem bursts from our lungs, floating up into the night sky to search for it's place amongst the stars. I sing as loudly as my aching heart will allow, my vision blurring as the too-familiar pit of loss opens up within me.

Though our paths diverge, this is not the end,
We will speak of it all, when we meet again.

Luca and his brothers stand flanked before the funeral pyre. Great tongues of flames lick the sky above their heads, twisting a furious dance in sharp contrast to the mourners' somber farewell. I notice Luca's hand resting at his side and on instinct I reach out, grabbing hold of it and lacing my fingers with his. He squeezes back tightly, his warmth seeping through my cold exterior. Blinking through the haze of sparks and song I look up to find the long neck of a catapult looming over us. Our weapons are ready but the way to Babel seems fraught without Cade's light to guide us.

Our sendoff ends with a low hum. Twenty thousand people join together in a single note, the sound setting the earth to tremble and the stars to quake. The hand holding mine gives a gentle tug, coaxing me out in front of the crowd. It's time.

Grabbing a lit log from the pyre I heave myself atop the catapult, clambering one-handed up it's frame until I am standing on it's highest point. Thrusting my torch into the air I hold firm as the hum transforms into a deafening roar.

"Friends," My voice is hoarse. Swallowing, I try again. "Sisters and brothers, the depth of this loss cannot be expressed. Cade is...was..." My voice cracks as the scene before me begins to swim. I squeeze my eyes shut tight, willing away the tide threatening my composure as I sway on my perch. "...Cade is irreplaceable. He had a gift for healing both inside and out. The world is a better place for having had him. I am better for having known him. Who among you can say the same?"

Another bone-rattling cry of assent erupts from below. I tilt my head up to the sky in an attempt to hide my face. Pinpricks of light appear out of the blackness above me and for a moment I imagine that Cade is a part of it, forever watching over us.

"We will keep Cade with us." I say, some of my strength returning when I am forced to shout over the growing frenzy. "In our minds and in our hearts. Let his lessons feed our fire, let them be the boulders that turn Babel's walls to dust!"

A thrill runs through me, alighting like firecrackers across my skin and setting my hair on edge. The combined spirits of twenty thousand souls fills me, lifting me high above the catapult and out into the great beyond.

"This famine will claim no more lives." My voice is strong and steady. "Never again will we allow some madwoman cowering inside a dome to dictate our fate. Babel's time has ended and now it is our story that will be told! We march to take back what we are owed! We are warriors and we are not afraid to tip the scales with blood!"

The roar has grown so loud that I am no longer sure if they can hear me. Nonetheless, I hurl my voice as far as I possibly can, "This is our time! Our victory awaits us in Babel, all we have to do is seize it!"

Sliding down the neck of the catapult, I toss my torch to Jaron and land amid the bloodthirsty fervor. Hands clap down on my back and shoulders, setting my scars to burn and propelling me further away from the camp. The horizon calls to me as my muscles twitch with the anticipation of flight. Weaving my way through the swell I search for two people, one with freckled features and another sporting a pair of blue-black eyes.

Frye catches up to me near the fringes of the mob, red-faced from the exertion of running. I grab hold of his arm to keep from losing him and spin around, cupping my hand over my mouth to project my voice towards the crowd, "When we next meet, it will be on the battlefield!"

Another outcry follows my departure and I tug Frye over to where the shadows can hide us.

Frye keeps moving, leading me around the back of the rabble. "You have a talent for riling them up." His joking tone is betrayed by a slight shaking. "Are you sure I can't come with you? I suspect Babel is safer than camp."

"You only have to survive the night, Jaron is moving the warriors out at first light." I begin gathering my hair, tying it back in preparation for my run. "You and the others will have a few days of peace."

"You say that as if I won't be worrying myself sick the entire time  you're gone."

"I'll be fine." I respond automatically. "I've been planning this seige for a long time and besides, I've been in worse scrapes."

"So I've heard, but that doesn't make me feel any better."

"I can handle myself."

"But you're still human, despite what your people are saying, back there." He gestures towards the camp.

"Frye—"

"And you know those stories they're swapping? The ones that are being repeated in every pub, across every campfire, in every corner of the desert? The rumours that I helped to spread so that you could raise your army? Those stories scare the ever-loving shit out of me."

I freeze, letting my hair fall back to my shoulders.

"It's all well and good for the rest of them to go on about the Runner," Frye has halted a few paces away, "But when I hear them talk, I know it's not some mythical daredevil that's slaying monsters and toppling kingdoms. It's my kid sister."

I remain still, waiting. Frye seems spent, his shoulders hunched as he kicks absently at the sand. The fire rages in the distance, creating a savage backdrop to the whoops and hollers of the warriors enjoying their last night of revelry.

"This is who I am." I say quietly. "I'm not going to change. I tried to, once and it... it just didn't work. I know myself and until the Madam's reign is over I can't stop. I won't."

He heaves a heavy sigh. "That's what I was afraid of."

"What would you have me do, Frye?" I ask helplessly, all of my fight spent on speeches and missing Cade.

"One favour." He inclines his head towards the camp. "Will you come with me?"

Falling into step beside my brother, I ignore the warning that tells me I've already put off returning to Babel for too long. "Lead the way."

"You might want to put your hood up."

I do as he says, covering my hair and ducking my chin as we loop around the party and back into camp, eventually drawing to a stop before a patched and faded tent. I dig in my heels and stare at the candlelight flickering within until a gentle nudge directs me forward. Rough canvas passes by me and I slip off my hood, brushing the hair from my face while the tent's lone occupant hurries to stand.

Lara and I regard one another. Her light blue eyes dart nervously across my face as I tilt my head curiously, waiting for the anger to bloom. Several seconds pass and there is nothing, only a dull thud sounding from within my chest.

"Kay," She utters my name as though it were a breakable object, "I'm so sorry about—"

"Don't." I interrupt her. "I know that you're sorry for what happened between us."

Lara raises her brows, "I was going to say, I'm sorry about the medicine man. I know that he was a good friend of yours."

"Oh," An embarrassed cough escapes me and for just a moment, it's as though the cramped quarters of the tent were the clapboard walls of my old attic. "Yes, thank you."

"You were incredible back there." She continues timidly. "That speech. All of this..." She spreads her arms to indicate the camp.

"Thanks to you, in part." I tell her. "Those posters you drew turned out to be worth their weight in gold."

"It was nothing." She toys with the blonde tendrils of her braid. "The entire Runner campaign was Frye's idea. He's truly brilliant, Kay. You're so lucky to have him—" She stops herself, staring at me while a pink blush stains her cheeks. "Of course, you already know all this."

"It's helpful to be reminded, sometimes."

"Coming here was my idea, not his. You're not cross with him, are you?"

"No."

"Good." Lara relaxes visibly. "He had nothing to do with this. I was the one who asked him to bring me here—begged him, really—and still, I didn't think about what I would say if I actually got a chance to talk to you."

"Maybe that's because there's nothing left to say." I shrug. "We've said it all."

"Yes." She looks to the floor. "That's probably what it is."

Several moments pass with nothing but the distant sounds of half-drunk warriors readying themselves for battle. I listen to the rise and fall of riotous music being played off-key until I slide my toe forward, nudging Lara's foot.

"For what it's worth..." I trail off, waiting until she looks up at me. "I'm sorry, too. For what I did that night."

She shakes her head furiously, "You were upset—"

"That's not an excuse." I break in. "What happened to Will affected me badly but I didn't mean the things I said to you. I don't wish anything horrible upon you. Not anymore."

As I regard the person before me, the last of an old weight is finally lifted from my shoulders. Cade may be gone from this earth but I know with an ironclad certainty that a part of him remains with me.

"I'm finished being angry at you." I hear myself say. Lara ceases fidgeting and stares at me, her eyes stretched wide.

"You...are you sure?"

"Yes." I roll my shoulders back. "I've wasted enough time dwelling on the past; what's been done is done. I'm ready to move on." It isn't until I say the words that I recognize the amount of truth they hold.

She blinks, her mouth opening and closing again. "Kay, I...I don't know what...thank you."

I wave her off, turning to go.

"Oh, one thing." I hover near the exit, speaking loudly enough that anyone standing just outside would be able to hear me. "You and my brother."

"I would never." Lara speaks quickly. "I'll keep my distance. As soon as this battle is over I'm going back to the Outer City, neither of you will ever have to see me again."

"Go wherever you want, it's no business of mine." I dismiss her protests. "I was going to say that you had better use a great deal more care with Frye's heart than you did with mine, because if you do not..."

I make a sharp gesture across my throat, grinning a little when she releases a frightened squeak.

Pushing my way back through the tent flaps I find Frye standing on the other side, his arms crossed and his hair blown askew.

"Was that last bit really necessary?" He asks as I pull my hood back up and knot it tightly.

"Just doing my sisterly duty."

By now the moon has drifted well above the camp. Waiting until nightfall in order to say my goodbyes has cost me dearly and I know that my journey back to Babel will be a race against time. Not wanting to waste what little I have, I grab my brother and hug him tightly, whispering a farewell into his ear before releasing him and darting off into the gloom.

Tents turn to open desert as I tear across the plains, taking the most direct route back towards the dome. Sand falls in dimpled ridges ahead of me, showing me sky and earth, earth and sky until I find him waiting for me upon a distant hill.

Luca watches my approach, nodding a greeting when I draw up beside him.

"Have you been waiting long?" I ask.

"Hours. You are exceedingly slow."

"I decided to take the scenic route." I lift my chin to the night breeze, sighing a little as it washes over me.

"Are you ready?"

I look over at him. Luca tightens the pack sitting across his shoulders and checks that the bedroll is tied securely. I realize that he is prepared for travel and panic digs it's icy claws into my chest.

"You can't come with me." I blurt.

Luca stops his movements, his brows lowering.

"Not this time." I shake my head fiercely. "We're sticking to the original plan: I'm going on ahead and you're going to follow with Jaron and the others. This is something that I need to do alone and I can't...I won't risk anything happening to you."

The few days spent in the desert has returned the old wildness to his hair and eyes. He pushes the dark locks from his face, regarding me with the practiced gaze of a hunter.

"Please, Luca," My voice is barely a whisper, "Don't fight me on this."

"I was not planning to." He responds. "And if you are through, perhaps I could say something."

I clamp my mouth shut, fire coursing through my veins.

"I know that this is a journey you must take on your own." He speaks carefully, never rushed. "You have worked hard to reach this point and the last thing I want to do is stand in your way."

Relief floods me but still, my heart does not beat.

"I am not going to insist that you take me with you. I understand your reasons for going alone." He moves closer. "But If you asked it of me, I would follow."

"I know you would." I tell him. "I wish that I could take you with me. I'm better when you're there."

"You are plenty strong on your own."

Echoes of camp pass us by, carried by a cool wind that ruffles our hair and leaves a trail of goosebumps across my flesh. Beyond Luca I catch sight of the funeral pyre's red-orange glow and a sudden swell of grief rises in my throat.

"It doesn't feel right, leaving you at a time like this." I say. "You must miss him so much."

Luca draws a shaky breath. "Cade is not so far away." He thumbs the strap binding his bedroll to his shoulders. "Why do you suppose I have come out here? The old man and I have plans to share some time together."

"I hope that you will put in a good word for me." I joke, turning to brush at my eye.

"Of course." Luca studies me, his head tilting to the side. "Did you mean what you said before? About not killing the Madam?"

"I very well can't now, can I? The Madam holds the secret to saving life on earth."

"It seems so."

"Then killing her wouldn't just be selfish," Red pulses. "It would be monstrous."

"Killing her would be monstrous but the Madam, herself is a monster." He muses. "The two almost cancel one another out."

"I don't think it works that way." A vision of Luca drenched in rain and blood flashes before me and my instinct is to take a step back. Ignoring the impulse I remain perfectly still, my senses on high alert.

"I am sure you are right." Luca nods slowly.

I bite my lip, something occuring to me, "With that said..." I surrender to some of my own darkness. "If you have any advice to offer, I think that I need to hear it."

He considers my question for barely an instant before turning serious, his voice dropping low. "Three things. Do not treat her as a barrier for your weapon; strike as though you are moving through her. Remain light on your feet and run as soon as the deed is done but most importantly..." He grabs my wrist to emphasize his point. "Do not hesitate."

I drag my gaze from our hands to his eyes. Moonlight reflects pure blue and I follow his advice, taking a single step forward.

Our kiss is alive with the same electricity we shared back in the airship hangar, despite the relative gentleness of his touch. I linger for longer than I should, pressing my forehead to his and swallowing the ache threatening to spill forth.

His arms wrap around my shoulders as he hugs me to him. "You can do this, Kay. Trust yourself."

"Be careful." I whisper back.

We release one another slowly, remaining hand in hand until I place a foot downhill. Not daring to look back I keep my eyes trained steadfastly ahead, listening to the blood rushing in my ears as my legs chew up the wilderness. Uttering a final goodbye to all that holds me back I redouble my efforts, gritting my teeth as the pain of running eclipses the pain of living.

Somewhere in the distance a hidden cave calls out to me, urging me back into it's depths.

The time has finally come to finish what I started.