Belladonna

the stone of anger, but the stone of strength. All the tangled currents were no longer tangled. Her resonance formed the bedrock for Lighthaven, but what lay beyond the boundaries of this landscape ... "I thought shattering the world had been difficult, but it wasn't," she said as strong hands settled on her shoulders. "The difficult part is keeping the pieces in harmony enough to stay together."
    For a moment she thought it was Lee standing behind her. Then she realized the shape of the hands wasn't quite right. And the warmth of those hands, the way they touched her … No, they weren't her brother's hands.
    "Darling, I'm hearing the words, but they have no meaning," Michael said as he drew her away from the wall and back to him.
    "And if you're going to be scaring me on a regular basis, I'm telling you right now I want kisses. The kind that make a man's head swim and will kick his heart back out of his stomach."
    "Isn't there a saying about the connection between men's hearts and stomachs?" Foolish to be flirting, but she felt oddly light and happy, as if she'd taken in that first breath of spring after a hard winter.
    "I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about," Michael said, laughter in his voice.
    Then Lee said in a strained voice, "For is a good way to describe it," and the breath of spring vanished as she escaped from Michael and looked back towards the place where she had tripped.
    Dark currents flowed through Lighthaven again, but they were slender threads that resonated with her. That fog, however…
    She brushed her fingers over Michael's arm. "Go with Lee. See if you can find out the source of that fog."
    He gave her a questioning look, then nodded. Good. Since they both knew he didn't have the training to figure out the reason for the fog, he was assuming she just didn't want her brother going alone to investigate. Which was true.
    The other part of the truth was she wanted the men out of hearing range before she let her anger flow.
    She waited until Lee and Michael were halfway between the gate and the fog before she turned to look at the women. Shock and fear on Merrill's face. Fear and confusion on Caitlin's. Confusion … and an awakening … in Brighid's eyes. And a recognition: I know you.
    Merrill first.
    "Open the gate," Glorianna said coldly. "You got what you wanted. More than you wanted. Now you have to live in the landscape your heart helped shape."
    "I don't …" Merrill stammered.
    "Open the gate."
    Pebbles popped out of the ground all around the gate.
    "Sorceress," Merrill whispered.
    "Landscaper," Glorianna replied.
    This time, the stones that popped out of the ground in response to her anger were fist-sized and had sharp edges.
    Shaela stepped up to the gate and nudged Merrill to one side. Her hands shook as she unlocked the gate, but she pulled it all the way open.
    Satisfied with that step, Glorianna glanced towards the spot where Lee and Michael were standing, thankfully still visible.
    Since the men didn't need her, she turned her attention — and her temper — on Caitlin Marie.
    "Did you learn nothing in the past few days?" she asked, making her voice as sharp and as hard as stone. "You have seen what happens to the world when you become careless. You have seen, Caitlin Marie. You no longer have the excuse of ignorance for what you do or the harm you cause."
    The girl took a step back, shocked by the deliberately aimed emotional blow.
    "I didn't do anything," Caitlin said, now looking sick and scared.
    "You're a Landscaper," Glorianna snapped. "You can't lie with words when your heart knows the truth. Feel the difference.
    This place has changed." For the better, she added silently, but she still had one more of them to deal with before she acknowledged that.
    "It wasn't just me," Caitlin cried. "It wasn't. Why aren't you yelling at her?" She flung out an arm to point dramatically at Merrill. "She started it by saying I don't belong here. She —"
    "— is right."
    Silence. Shock and pain. And in that silence, when the hearts of those women had no defenses, Glorianna, as Landscaper and Guide, heard all their secrets. Especially the ones they had kept hidden from themselves.
    Now she could gentle her own heart. Because now she understood the tangles between herself and Caitlin.
    "You don't belong here, Caitlin Marie," Glorianna said quietly. "You never did. If you had come when you had first learned of Lighthaven, if you had been welcomed when the dream of it was still