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the water.
Turmoil. Ambivalence. Need and denial. Powerful emotions that tugged at her
and also pushed her away.
This stone didn't come from a place of darkness but a Place of Light. She
could feel the Light's currents singing in the stone and the water. There was
some comfort in that, but it didn't explain why Ephemera had plunked down an
access point to an unknown landscape that was connected to who knew where.
Focus, Glorianna. This wasn't idly done.
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Someone had cried out with a heart wish strong enough to produce this response
from the world, but bringing this stone here to her was as far as Ephemera
could take that heart wish.
At another time, she would have used that access point to cross over to the
unknown landscape. Standing in that place would have given her a better feel
for what that part of Ephemera needed. Except ...
This Place of Light resonated with her and yet it didn't. It was tangled up
somehow, and the reason for that was outside her experience.
The currents of power that flowed through Ephemera circled around her,
anxious, eager.
Sighing, Glorianna rose. "All right. It can stay." For now. "Let's see if we
can get through the rest of the day without any more excitement, all right?"
The currents of power drifted away from her, making her think, again, of a
puppy who had already done the very thing she just told it not to do. Not a
good sign.
So she wasn't surprised when she saw Lee hurrying up to the garden's gate.
"This is supposed to be your rest day," she called as she hurried to meet him.
"I know. Yours too."
He looked pale and troubled and his suppressed anger was strong enough to
produce a shimmer in the island's Dark currents.
"What's wrong?" Glorianna asked. "Is everything all right at home?"
"It's fine. Home is fine." Lee raked a hand through his hair.
"Lee."
"A handful of Landscapers and three Bridges have found their way to Sanctuary.
They're ... distraught... and a bit too quick to start casting blame when "
She raised a hand, silencing him. Not a surprise
that the others would find a way to blame her for the
Eater of the World's escape and the destruction of the
Landscapers' School. No, not a surprise. But it still
hurt that any of them thought her capable of such a
heinous act.
"If their landscapes have been compromised ..."
"I know, Glorianna. I know!' Lee looked away. "We need to find out how they
got to Sanctuary: what bridges were created and where."
"We may have to shut them out of Sanctuary in order to protect the Places of
Light."
"I know that, too. But Yoshani thinks it's best to let them rest for a day,
let their emotions settle a bit. Then he thinks you should talk to them."
Yoshani was a holy man who came from a Place of Light in a distant landscape.
She had stumbled into that landscape when she was fifteen, had used the access
point Ephemera had created and crossed over to that distant place. That choice
had saved her from the Dark Guides and prevented them from walling her up
inside her garden at the school. After she brought the Places of Light
together and formed Sanctuary, Yoshani began dividing his time between his own
community of Light and the part of Sanctuary that was more accessible to
visitors. People felt easy around him, so he had become an informal listener
and counselor to the weary hearts that reached Sanctuary.
He was one of the few people she trusted without reservation. But...
"They don't want to talk to me."
Lee looked at her, his temper shining in his green eyes. "They don't have a
choice, Belladonna. The leaders of the Places of Light were very clear about
that. All the leaders."
You're not without friends, Glorianna thought. And you're not without family.
Those are blessings you need to hold in your heart and remember.
"Are you going back to the guest house in Sanctuary?" Glorianna asked.
"I'd rather not."
She figured as much and would welcome his company, but she was worried about
the depth of his anger and bitterness. So the best thing for both of them was
to fall back on a simple ploy that had never failed her: treat him like the
younger brother he was. "Did you bring something to eat? The last time you
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were here, you cleaned out the pantry and didn't bother to tell me."
He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I brought
something to eat. And I did not clean out the pantry, just that last bit of
cake Mother had made which was stale by the way since you'd left it so long,
so that doesn't count."
"Does too."
"Does not."
"Does too."
"Does " Lee glared at her.
"Do either of us have to cook this food you brought?"
"We'll have to heat it up and slice the bread and cheese. Even I can manage
that, Glorianna."
Satisfied that he was now focused on being an annoyed sibling, she smiled
sweetly. "In that case, you can stay. Want to make yourself useful and help me
weed?"
"Not a chance." He gave her the look that always made her want to smack him.
"It's my rest day. Remember?"
CHAPTER SEVEN
Caitlin dug her pitchfork into the compost heap that was tucked away in one
corner of her secret garden. Pull out the weeds that choke the flowers and
form a messy tangle around the bushes, let them simmer in a corner where sun,
water, and air turned them into a rotting stew, and gradually they become a
rich loam that fed the same flowers and bushes they had tried to usurp.
If only her own life could be that simple. If only the rotting stew of her
emotions could be changed into rich loam.
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