by Anne Bishop
“I’m fine. Nadia, tell him I’m fine. Women get pregnant every day.”
“You are fine,” Nadia replied. “Women do get pregnant every day, but it’s your first time and his first time, so do us all a favor and humor him.”
His eyes never leaving Danyal’s, Sebastian pulled out a chair for his wife. Lynnea sat down, looked at the empty table, and huffed. “I was going to get some food.”
“I’ll get it,” Teaser said quickly. “What kind do you want?” He looked at Sebastian. “What kind does she want?”
“Just food,” Lynnea said. “And why are you asking him?”
“Because he’s the other person who gets to listen to you throw up in the morning,” Teaser muttered. When Nadia smacked his arm, he hurried out of the room.
Family, Danyal thought. Related by blood or not, all the people in the room were family.
His hip began to ache and he wanted to sit down, but Sebastian hadn’t taken a seat yet—and still stared at him. He didn’t think he could escape another attack, but he had a better chance of surviving a few seconds longer if he was on his feet.
Then Michael walked into the room, and the woman who came in with him…
All the Dark currents of the world given female form. Every cruelty the human heart could conceive was in her green eyes. She was the thorn tree with the sinuous limbs. Then Michael touched her hand, and the Dark shifted and became a thunderous, breathtaking Light.
“I am Belladonna,” she said. “We’ll hear your story and then decide if we can help.”
You’ll decide, Danyal thought as they all took their seats around the table. Because of what you are, you’ll be the one who decides.
???
Sebastian sat on Belladonna’s right, his arm resting along the back of her chair, his fingers drifting through her long black hair. Michael sat on her left and kept his hand linked with hers.
Contact. Connection. Balance.
Seeing those three together, he had a better understanding of the story Lee told him about the Warrior of Light. Michael and Sebastian’s physical contact helped her maintain the balance between her two halves—and kept the rest of them safe in her presence.
Then Danyal felt currents of power flow around him, saw Michael’s look of surprise, and saw Belladonna tip her head as if listening to a child whisper in her ear.
Then she looked at him, and the amusement in her eyes was almost as chilling as the cruelty of a moment before.
“Voice-guide?” she asked.
yes yes yes
He wasn’t sure if they all felt Ephemera’s response, but he was certain Michael and Belladonna had.
“All right, voice of the world,” Belladonna said. “Tell us your story—and remember to include the part about how you know my brother.”
Teaser and a young man came through the swinging doors at that moment, carrying trays filled with dishes of food. “We brought enough for everyone. I think.”
Caitlin Marie jumped up and started unloading Teaser’s tray, putting a selection of food in front of Lynnea before distributing the rest of the dishes along the table, while Nadia helped the young man. Bottles of wine were opened, and glasses of water were poured.
Grateful for the momentary reprieve, Danyal drank some water and watched everyone else at the table trying to help Lynnea fill a plate without appearing to be too helpful. It reminded him of Kanzi and Nalah, and it would have been amusing if he hadn’t been so aware that his escape from the wizards might not have been an escape after all.
“Phallic Delight?” Teaser asked, holding up a basket half full of penis-shaped rolls.
“No, thank you,” Danyal replied.
“Not turning into a prissy prig, are you?”
“No, but—”
“I’ll take one,” Yoshani said.
Teaser sighed and passed the basket. “I’m not sure Danyal here qualifies as a holy man—”
Danyal choked.
“—but your being so comfortable here is just not right.”
“I like to think of my presence as a way to help you expand your view of the world,” Yoshani said calmly as he swirled a Delight in the bowl of melted cheese.
“My view is expanding just fine,” Teaser muttered.
No one ate much, but the talk remained general until Lynnea pushed her plate away and sat back. Then everyone focused on Danyal again.
Taking a last sip of water, he set the glass aside and told them about the darkness that had come to Vision and the Shaman Council’s decision to send him south to be the Asylum Keeper, because that was where they hoped he would find the answers that would help them save their city. He told them about the arrival of a blind madman named Lee who, once free of the drugs that made him act insane, was providing some of those answers about the enemy who had come to Vision. He told them about the plants that appeared and disappeared, and the pocket watches that kept showing up in the gardens. He told them about the place of stone and vines that had appeared and then vanished—and how Vito had vanished a few days after that. He told them that Lee had been befriended by one of the Handlers at the Asylum, but he didn’t tell them what he knew about Zhahar. Last, he told them about the death of the two Shamans and the walk that had led him to a bridge where he found another pocket watch—and also saw the Dark Guide with the wizards who had posed as Lee’s uncles.
Silence. Then Nadia said, “He’s still blind?”
“The eyedrops we were given to reverse the damage are helping,” Danyal replied. “Some sight has been restored. But there is no way to tell how much of his sight Lee will regain. I’m sorry.”
Nadia blinked away tears and leaned against Jeb when he scooted his chair closer to hers and put an arm around her shoulders.
“Does he want to stay away from us so much that he wouldn’t come home even after he was hurt?” Lynnea asked. “Why didn’t he come home?”
“He wanted to stay away from me,” Belladonna said.
Danyal heard pain in her voice—but the cruelty she struggled to control still flickered in her eyes.
Sebastian and Teaser made a rude noise.
“Blind or not, surrounded by enemies or not, he didn’t stay to avoid you, Glorianna,” Sebastian said. “He stayed for the girl.”
“Sebastian wins the pot,” Teaser said as he broke a Delight in half and scraped the remaining cheese out of the bowl.
“The Shaman was being careful about what he said about…” Sebastian gave Danyal a sharp look. “Zhahar, wasn’t it?”
Wary, Danyal nodded.
“If Lee is still pretending to be mad in order to stay clear of the wizards, a Handler couldn’t afford to be seen romancing with an inmate,” Sebastian continued. “That would raise questions that could get her dismissed from her job—or even put her in danger. But that doesn’t mean Lee isn’t feeling a pull.”
Teaser snorted out a laugh and got another smack in the arm from Nadia.
“A one-shot bridge could get them both to safety,” Michael said. “I’m not making light of the danger to your people, Danyal, but Lee would have known he wasn’t able to fight against them on his own. If he didn’t want to leave the girl, she could have come with him.”
“There was…concern…about Zhahar’s sisters,” Danyal said.
“Ah.” The sound was made by every person around the table.
“Yes,” Yoshani said. “His heart may be somewhat conflicted right now, but Lee understands and respects loyalty to family.”
A thoughtful—and aching—silence filled the room. When Nadia finally broke the moment by reaching for her wineglass, Danyal asked, “Is there a way you can help us?”
“Can people travel anywhere in your city?” Belladonna asked.
Or had Glorianna asked the question?
Thorn trees. Thunderous Light.
Or had both sides of this woman spoken the words? He sensed two distinct heart-cores in her, the same way he’d sensed three in Zhahar.
“In the city of Vision,
you can find only what you can see,” he replied.
“So if your heart doesn’t resonate with a part of the city, you’ll do what?” Sebastian asked. “Walk past the street without seeing it? Head out for a particular part of the city and never quite get there?”
“Something like that,” Danyal agreed.
“Not quite as noticeable as it is here, but more apparent than in Michael’s part of the world,” Nadia said. “What about people who don’t belong in your city?”
“There are coaches that travel to cities and towns beyond ours. There are ships that bring passengers as well as cargo. A person could buy passage on one of those to reach another part of the world.”
“Reaching another part of the world doesn’t mean they would reach the right part,” Michael said. “You can travel as far as you can afford to reach and still not find the place your heart needs.”
Caitlin Marie’s breath caught. Lynnea reached across the table to clasp her hand.
An old grief in Michael and his sister that was just beginning to heal. Who had they lost—and how?
“You have no stories about a special place in your city where a person could go to begin the journey to find what his heart desires?” Yoshani asked.
Unsettled by the question, Danyal shifted too quickly and then had to wait for the pain to settle back to a dull ache.
“In this part of Ephemera, a person can’t reach a place that doesn’t resonate with his heart,” Sebastian said. “It sounds like our stationary bridges, which provide limited possible landscapes, act more like the pieces of your city. But the resonating bridges—”
“Are like the Sentinel Stones in Elandar,” Michael said. “They take you to a place that resonates with your heart. Maybe your will can exert some influence on the destination, but when you walk through the Sentinel Stones, it’s a fair certainty that you’re leaving behind everything you know.”
“Lee must have created resonating bridges for the people who disappeared,” Nadia said, looking at Glorianna Belladonna.
Glorianna nodded. “I probably muddled things when I made Ephemera put back the pieces that it had taken from other parts of itself.”
!!!
“Pushy little world,” she muttered.
“Can’t you…” Danyal stopped, not sure what to ask.
“Do what, Shaman?” Her voice was sharp with frustration. “You survived an attack because Ephemera turned a pocket watch into a resonating bridge that brought you here. Maybe it did that because your heart and will were focused on escape, and because of your association with Lee, it brought you to a place he knew. Maybe there was some residual power flowing in the currents from your contact with him. Maybe Ephemera is changing. I don’t know. Here, the Bridges are the ones who connect the pieces of the world, but other parts of Ephemera aren’t broken and have shaped other ways for hearts to find the place they call home. The point is, even Landscapers can reach only the places in Ephemera that resonate with their own hearts. Nadia, Michael, Caitlin, and I don’t know your city, which means none of our landscapes are in your city.” She hesitated, and there was sadness in those green eyes. “Which is one of the reasons why Lee is there. It wasn’t a place we—I—could reach.”
Danyal started to sit back, but Yoshani touched his left shoulder, stopping him before his injured shoulder brushed against the chair.
“Can I get back?” he asked.
Glorianna looked at Nadia before answering. “We don’t know. Ephemera and I can create a pair of Sentinel Stones that will act as a resonating bridge, but whether it will take you back to Vision…”
No way back? He had wanted to see the world beyond the city, but he had never considered that he would find himself unable to return home.
Teaser shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “I don’t have any suggestions for getting the Shaman home, but we might be able to send a message, let his people know where he is—if Zhahar has a friend named Kobrah.”
Sebastian and Michael snapped to attention. Danyal stared at Teaser. That was where he’d heard the name—when Kobrah had told him about her dream friend.
“The girl you go out walking with?” Sebastian asked.
Teaser nodded. “She’s never said much about where she is. Doesn’t say much about anything, really. But she did mention a friend once or twice. Kobrah and Zhahar aren’t names from around here. That’s why I remembered them.”
“Kobrah is a Helper at the Asylum,” Danyal said. “She mostly works with Zhahar.”
“So we can get a message to Lee,” Sebastian said. “Let him know what happened to Danyal and find out what he knows. Or at least what Kobrah knows.”
“Can’t always reach her,” Teaser said. “It’s usually easier after I’ve prowled the Den for a while, but I’ll go back to my room and give it a try.”
“Is there anything else we can do?” Nadia asked.
Glorianna stared at Danyal. A few years ago, he had faced down a grief-crazed man who had come to the Temple of Sorrow, still holding the bloody knife that had been used to kill the man’s wife. He hadn’t felt this vulnerable.
“Glorianna?” Michael asked softly.
A slow release of breath as she said, “Perhaps the Shaman should sit out in the courtyard, where he can get a feel for the Den.”
“Good idea,” Sebastian said, giving her a smile that warmed the room by a couple degrees. “The Magician can keep him company, and you can prowl with me.”
Lynnea leaned forward. “While you’re here, Glorianna, I wanted to talk to you about making a little garden in that one corner of the courtyard.”
Sebastian and Teaser groaned.
“Some of the flagstones are all broken and loose back there.”
“It’s behind a statue,” Teaser said. “No one sees it.”
“I do.” Her look dared them to say anything more.
???
“Did you have something in mind?” Glorianna asked, smiling.
Lynnea caught her lower lip between her teeth, then said, “Philo wouldn’t want something that would dig into the walls, but maybe a plant that is sturdy enough to grow upward to cover the space—and will flower?”
“You need a trellis?” Jeb asked. “It would be easy enough to put one together.”
“Oh,” Lynnea said. “A trellis would be wonderful.”
“Ephemera,” Glorianna said at the same time Michael said, “Wild child.”
They sounded like parents who had just stopped a child before it could do some mischief.
Danyal’s eyes widened as the currents of power suddenly swirled around him.
“If you can’t get candy from your parents, try your uncle,” Nadia said, watching him.
“Uncle Voice-guide knows better than to give out candy without permission,” Glorianna said. “Doesn’t he?”
He could have sworn he felt the world sulk for a moment before the currents drifted away.
Remembering how quickly Ephemera had responded to his flippant remark about a ruby, Danyal reached for his water glass and drained it—and said nothing.
“Fine,” Sebastian said, pushing his chair back. “You two rearrange Philo’s Place to your liking. And then, Glorianna, we’ll prowl. Just try to remember it is Philo’s place, and he should have the final say.”
“Of course,” Lynnea said sweetly. Then she turned to Glorianna. “Maybe we could add a couple of pots for autumn-blooming plants to give that spot a bit of color now.”
The four women and Jeb left the table and went outside.
“I’ll try to contact Kobrah and let you know what I can,” Teaser said. Then he left too.
Danyal wanted to sit out in the courtyard, wanted the chance to see something unlike anything he’d seen before, wanted to talk to these men whose understanding of the world was so different from his own. But remembering Teaser’s comments about holy men visiting the Den made him hesitant. “I don’t want to make your people uncomfortable,” he said to Sebastian. “Perhaps I should g
o back to the room.”
Sebastian studied him and then smiled. “Even a Shaman’s heart has no secrets from Glorianna Belladonna. Not much scandalizes the Den’s residents, so your presence will just add spice.”
“Come,” Yoshani said.
They settled at a table near the street, where they could watch the carnival called the Den of Iniquity. Sebastian, Michael, and Yoshani pointed out the incubi and succubi. Not that they had to point out the succubi. His body did that all on its own, making him glad he was wearing underwear, no matter how brief.
Then there were the bull demons and the demon cycles—machines that looked like engorged bicycles without wheels and had a demon living inside them. The cycles could be persuaded to give you a ride, but were just as willing to have you for dinner.
After a while, Michael pulled a tin whistle out of the inner pocket of his jacket and began to play. The first song was beautiful and haunting, so full of despair and hope it made Danyal’s heart ache. The second song…He knew that tune but couldn’t say why it was so familiar.
Michael finished the song, put his whistle away, and asked Philo for a glass of ale.
“Those songs are beautiful,” Danyal said. “Did you write them?”
“I play what I hear,” Michael replied, murmuring his thanks when Philo brought a pitcher of ale and glasses for all of them. “The first song is Glorianna Belladonna. It helps her to hear both sides of herself while she works to fit the pieces back together.”
Michael didn’t explain what that meant, and Danyal didn’t ask. The story Lee had told him was explanation enough. “And the second song?”
Michael gave him an odd smile. “That’s the music I hear in your heart.”
Chapter 21
“Any sign of the Apothecary?” Lee asked.
“Nothing has changed since you asked me a minute ago,” Zeela replied. “Nothing is going to change a minute from now either. Thought I’d save us both the annoyance of you asking again.”
“No need to get snippy about it.”
“You think this is snippy? I can show you—”
