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"What time is it?" asked a boy who looked curiously like a shark

"Tio home," she told him, then she called out to the crowd "Listen to me, everyone We have much to do I know so time, but now you’re free--and I have a wonderful place for you!

There’s rooain!"

"Are you the Sky Witch?" asked a sirl, no older than five

Mary smiled, and knelt down to her "Of course not," she said "There’s no such thing"

"All right," said Nick, "let’s forht here--and line up by the nu anyone!" The kids began to rearrange the--there’s room for everyone!"

Mary set used to this

"Hey!" soot!"

They both turned to see Lief struggling with a heavy bucket While the others went off chasing Mikey, Lief had gone back on board the Sulphur Queen "The McGill left his safe open! I got the McGill’s treasure!"

Mary took the bucket from Lief It was full of old, faceless coins

"Some treasure," mumbled Nick

"It’s a wonderful treasure," Mary said, and gave Nick a wink "There’s enough here for everyone to get a wish at the fountain" A few kids tried to look inside, but Mary held the bucket away from them

They returned to the job at hand The kids were still rearranging the to read their numbers, which were all written upside down

So in line, not certain if they should--and so those were the kids Mary went to

She handed Nick the bucket "Hold this," she said "Make sure you keep it away from them until we’re at the fountain" Then she went off to talk to the kids ere reluctant to get in line In the end, with Mary’s kindness and charht who didn’t want to co sure that every Afterlight was accounted for, that there was one she forgot It wasn’t until they were airborne and gently gliding north, thousands of feet above the shoreline, that Mary realized it

"Where’s Vari?"

She turned to Nick, who just shrugged "I haven’t seen him at all"

Mary searched the airship--the cabins, corridors, and the catwalks up in the ship’s infrastructure Vari was nowhere on board Somehow they had left him behind

In spite of 146 years in Everlost, soe A penchant toward moodiness A limited attention span And, of course, curiosity

While Mary had loaded the thousand souls aboard the airship, Vari had boarded the deserted Sulphur Queen, along with Lief While Lief ht have been satisfied with a bucket of coins, Vari explored deeper until he found the treasure holds The moment he saw them, Vari was in heaven, and he lost himself in the search and discovery of it all Toys and jewels, and things he couldn’t identify It was a wonderland of riches and ed back on the deck with as reat zeppelin was gone, and his worst nightotten him He dropped his plunder to the deck with a clatter

"Who are you!"

Vari spun at the sound of the voice

"Who are you, and why didn’t you leave with the others?"

It was a tall boy with a crooked smile, and a head that was just a little too se of tears, he sucked in his eler froo," said Vari Although Vari couldn’t be sure, the small-headed boy seeood ship," Vari said "I like all the stuff below"

"It served us for twenty years," the boy said, and then he introduced hihed, but he didn’t The na for the crew to return, but no one had Vari suspected no one would

Vari looked out to the Steel Pier to the right and the Steeplechase Pier to the left He supposed he could make a hoe jewel-covered chair sitting on a platform on the open deck of the Sulphur Queen The chair was both beautiful and ugly Vari found himself drawn to it

"What is that?"