Belladonna (11 page)

"What were you before you came to the White Isle?" Merrill whispered.

"After all the years we've worked together and lived together ... and now you ask me." Shaela smiled bitterly. "What do you believe I was?"

A sorceress.
She looked at the scarred face, the blind eye and wondered, for the first time, if the wounds might have been deserved.

Why am I thinking this?
she wondered, feeling off balance and a little desperate.
Why am I wondering about a friend when I
need her emotional strength and purpose of will. Why... ?

Then she knew. She didn't need to look at the stern or the water beyond the ship. It was so easy to picture a black stain on the sea, moving with the tide, coming closer and closer to shore.

Somehow, the Destroyer had reached into her mind and heart and was planting doubts, dividing her from her Sisters.

"I think your plan will work," Merrill said.

"And why would you think that?"

"Because the evil pursuing us doesn't want me to believe in the plan — or in you."

"Merrill?" Shaela's voice was sharp with worry. "Have you been tainted by the evil out there?"

"Touched but not tainted," Merrill replied, trying to smile. "I'll be all right. And we'll reach Lighthaven and perform the ceremony in time to stop the Destroyer from consuming the White Isle. I'll leave the preparation to you. I think you understand best what we need to do. I will gather the other five Sisters."

Shaela lightly touched Merrill's arm. "Heart's hope lies within belladonna. We don't have to understand what it means. We just have to believe it will save us."

Merrill nodded. Almost to the wharves now. Almost home.

But it's foolish to be hasty,
whispered a solicitous voice.
Foolish to hurry through something so important.

Yes, it would be foolish to hurry. Especially when they weren't even sure of
how
to do what needed to be done.

Best to think carefully. For the good of all. So important. And you ... So responsible for whatever happens.

Leader. But not as good a leader as Brighid had been. Never as good.

No
,
not as good,
the voice whispered sadly.
There is too much darkness in you, too many ... unnatural ... desires.

Merrill sucked in a breath. Not true!
Not true!

But something outside of herself wanted her to doubt her decisions enough to hesitate. And that meant any delay — even the time it would take to reach Lighthaven — would be enough to destroy all chance of them succeeding.

"We can't wait," Merrill said as the ship docked and the gangplank was moved into place. "We're going to have to take whoever we can find to make up our circle. Sailors, shopgirls, anyone."

"And what are we going to tell those people?" Shaela asked.

"We'll tell them we found the magic that can save them from what is coming, but it won't work without their help."

Which was, Merrill thought as she walked down the gangplank, nothing less than the truth.

She maintained a calm facade as minutes ticked away while she and Shaela selected the spot for the circle and considered who among the people present at the wharves and warehouses would be suitable participants. But underneath was the now-incessant drumbeat of
hurry, hurry, hurry.

The Eater of the World drifted through the water, letting the sea carry It toward the land ahead that blazed with currents of Light.

There was no hurry. The Dark currents on the island were swelling rapidly and now tasted of fear — and the certainty that It could destroy the humans who lived on the island. Even the ones who guarded the Light.

So easy to slip into that one female mind and plant a seed of suspicion in her heart where trust originally had been sown. But that trust, carelessly given and just as carelessly tended, had shallow roots and was not strong enough to survive when attacked.

That female wanted to save the Place of Light, wanted to believe the magic she had acquired from the ... sorceress ... would be able to defeat It.

But the female had become a battleground. Her heart cried out with the need to save the Light. Her mind didn't truly believe the magic would save anything — or anyone. And because what her mind believed was just as strong as what her heart wanted, Ephemera would not answer.

It amused Itself for a little while, moving toward a ship or fishing boat, then savoring the fear when the humans realized the shadow in the water was no longer following the sea's currents but moving toward them with purpose. Cries of warning filled the air as ships and fishing boats maneuvered to escape. Some fled toward the safety of the harbor; others turned away from the island.

Heart by heart, the humans fed the Dark currents, changing the feel of the island. And whatever heart was supposed to supply the bedrock ... Murky bedrock. The heart who held the island in its keeping did not care about the people here enough to tend the landscape, so there would be little resistance when It began changing the island's resonance to match Itself. Wasn't that delightful?

But...

The heart that held the island also held the village where It had first noticed the guardians of the Light — another place equally neglected that It would change into a hunting ground. But there was something else on the island, tangled up in the Dark and Light currents. Something more. Something that It couldn't sense dearly, which made It uneasy.

No longer content to drift in the water, anticipating the feast, It moved toward the island with purpose.

*

"I'm flattered that you invited me to view your garden," Yoshani said.

Satisfied that there was no dissonance in the part of the garden that represented her mother's landscapes, Glorianna gave her companion a sly smile. "Would you still be flattered if I invited you to help me with the weeding?" She laughed at Yoshani's startled expression. But when he said, "This would be permitted?" she felt a flutter of sadness, so she linked arms with him and moved on to the next part of the garden.

"I have brought you sorrow," Yoshani said, seeing more than she wanted him to. "I am sorry."

"It wasn't you."

"Something in my words made you sad."

She stopped at the next bed but didn't focus on it. Not yet. "This garden represents my landscapes and is my connection to them. Oh, they're always connected to me here" — she tapped her chest to indicate her heart — "but this is a tangible ..." She frowned as she tried to figure out how to explain. "Every landscape should have the Landscaper's actual presence on a regular basis to remain balanced — and because standing on that ground is the best way to sense if a particular part of a landscape needs special attention. The gardens are an easy way for a Landscaper to step between here and there to reach the pieces of the world in her care. It's an established path, an anchor that takes me to the same place in the landscape every time. Also, by working the soil, by planting and weeding, I can feel each landscape, so I know if any of them need immediate attention."

"But you invited me to work in your garden," Yoshani said. "Would that not interfere with your landscapes?"

Glorianna shook her head. "Your heart would not interfere with this garden." Then her voice was barely a whisper as the sadness washed over her again. "That's how the training begins. You work with an experienced Landscaper, weeding the beds in her garden, learning the names of the plants and what they symbolize and what they need to grow well. You learn how to combine things that are pleasing to the eye but also represent different aspects of a landscape. You learn the resonance of Ephemera's currents of power — the Dark as well as the Light. You learn all these things on safe ground because someone else's resonance maintains the balance." She forced herself to smile. "But that could all be a ploy made up by the older Landscapers to get out of doing all the weeding by themselves."

Yoshani looked around, then looked into her eyes. "Perhaps you need an apprentice."

Something rippled through her when he said the words.

Something is changing,
she thought, suddenly feeling a tug from the section of the garden she specifically wanted Yoshani to see — the beds that represented Sanctuary.
No. Something has already changed.

"Glorianna?"

She didn't answer him, just slipped her arm out of his and ran toward that other part of her garden, leaving him to hurry after her.

*

Was it luck and the restlessness of young women, Merrill wondered, or the Lady of Light's guiding hand that had brought three of their Sisters into Atwater? The girls had come to town to run errands and do some shopping For the community and — giving in to an impulse — had come down to the wharves to ask for news about Merrill and Shaela just as their ship's lines were being secured.

Only five of them in total instead of the seven Shaela had wanted, but five experienced in focusing their thoughts in order to connect with the Light were better than seven who would need to be coached.

Foolish to set up on the wharf in front of all the warehouses, Merrill thought as she and Shaela set the pots of heart's hope and belladonna side by side. Surely they could get away from the waterfront and the smells of seawater and fish? Atwater had a lovely little park. That would be a much more pleasing setting for a prayer circle and would take hardly any time at all to get there.

Was this sense of urgency something that came whispering from the Dark so that they would act prematurely and ruin the chance of this "magic" succeeding? If she chose wrong, their failure would be her fault. How —

Her mind ceased its frightened chatter when she looked into Shaela's eyes — the one clouded and blind, while the other saw the world a bit too sharply.

Believe.

It was as if the word had been breathed on the air between them.

Shifting the pot of heart's hope, Merrill said quietly, "You take up the chant from the dream. I will lead the refrain."

Shaela shook her head. "As leader ..."

"I can't believe, Shaela, Not strongly enough. Now that it comes down to it, I can't do what you can. But I can take up the refrain." She hesitated, then added, "We won't get a second chance."

Shaela looked toward the sea. "I know."

A crowd formed around them as sailors, merchants, and dockworkers were drawn toward their little gathering and word began to spread that the Sisters of Light were going to do a special circle of protection right there at the wharves.

"Ladies?" The captain of their ship, as well as several of his crew, eased through the crowd. "Is there something we can do to help?"

Before Merrill could refuse, Shaela spoke up. "Take up any part of the chant your heart can believe in without question. The more voices that are raised for this ceremony, the better our chances of having our prayers heard."

They took their positions, Merrill and Shaela facing each other while the other three Sisters filled in the circle, the heart's hope and belladonna at its center. Around them, the people formed another circle.

If this doesn't work ...
Merrill closed her eyes for a moment, trying to banish doubt, then focused on Shaela.

"Heart's hope lies within belladonna," Shaela said, raising her voice enough to be heard by the first few people around the circle.

"Guardian of Light, hear our prayer," Merrill answered as the refrain.

"Heart's hope lies within belladonna." This time, two of their Sisters took up the chant with Shaela.

"Lady of Light, hear our prayer." The other Sister's voice joined Merrill's.

"Heart's hope lies within belladonna.''

"Guardian of Light, hear our prayer."

"Heart's hope lies within belladonna." Male voices joined the chant, a little hesitant but there.

"Lady of Light, hear our prayer." More voices.

Merrill felt the Light fill the circle, felt it spill over the crowd, felt it grow stronger with each voice that took up the chant. And for the first time since they had sensed the stain of evil that had followed them from Raven's Hill, she truly believed they would succeed.

Looking at her friend, Merrill added her voice when Shaela said, "Heart's hope lies within belladonna."

It gathered speed as It moved toward the island.

Something had changed. The fear was fading, and It felt the world becoming fluid as Ephemera prepared to manifest the need that was now held in many hearts.

No!
It had not found the other Places of Light, so it would
not
be deprived of this one.

It fed Its rage to the Dark currents in the sea. Then It became the sea — and rose up as a deadly wave that moved toward the island with the speed of a wild storm.

*

The calling was filled with a desperation that felt like a lash against her skin. The resonance of that landscape grated against her senses.

But she had to answer.
Had to.

"Glorianna!"

A hand grabbing her arm, holding her back. "Something calls to me, Yoshani," she said, trying to pull free. "I am an ill-fitting piece being wedged into a place I don't quite belong, but I'm all there is." She stared at the bowl-shaped stone and the silver cuff bracelet beneath the water, feeling the need that rang in the hearts connected to those objects. Feeling a rhythm in the air.