Neither side seemed inclined to say anything more. Alice, who had been hoping to keep listening, could no longer sit still. She asked Emlyn, "The Moon":
"How do you plan to punish that... that Sanguine?"
Remembering that she was asking him a question, Alice narrowly swallowed the word "vampire" before it escaped.
Audrey, "Justice," joined the audience without having to make an effort to be considerate. Emlyn, "The Moon," hurriedly said:
"He was acting on orders from above. I don't think his mistake warrants death."
Why are you telling me this...? Alice frowned. When she looked up, she found that Emlyn's attention was fixed on "The World."
Oh... At a loss for words, Alice looked away from the poor marionette and tried to make amends for "The World" at the Tarot Club:
"Mr. World isn't actually as cold and mad as the rumors say. He's... he's quite gentle, really."
Miss Fortune, I used to think so too, but after hearing what you said today, I'm not so sure... Audrey, "Justice," glanced at Alice as though she wanted to speak, but said nothing in the end.
Her explanation did little to improve the others' expressions. Emlyn, "The Moon," spoke instead:
"I plan to lure that Sanguine into one of the Church of the Earth Mother's churches in Backlund."
One of the churches...? Alice was briefly dazed. She turned to Leonard, "The Star," for confirmation:
"Am I remembering wrong? Does the Church of the Earth Mother have another church in Backlund besides the Harvest Church?"
"No." Leonard shook his head. "The Harvest Church is its only church in Backlund. The rest are in the suburbs and surrounding villages."
Emlyn's expression stiffened. Realizing that his identity might now be obvious to everyone, he felt a pang of regret.
"You want the Church of