Belladonna
have jumped off the demon cycle, but they were passing between the stones before his brain could tell his body what to do.
Then ...
"Arrgh!"
Michael ducked his head and closed his eyes against the sudden daylight. When he could see again, he looked around — and swallowed hard.
They weren't in the same place anymore. Close enough by the feel of the land that, if he'd been walking a circuit back home, he might have considered the distance between the two places as a reasonable bit of travel. But nothing was reasonable in this part of the world, and it finally started to sink into his heart and brain that he was a lot farther from home than could be measured by something as simple as distance.
"Does that still lead to the Den?" Michael asked, tipping his head to indicate the straight lane.
Sebastian shook his head. "Follow the lane from this side and it will take you to the road that goes to the neighboring village, which can be reached without using a bridge. When the Landscaper initially altered the landscapes a few weeks ago, there was a border between Aurora and the Den. A bit unusual since one is a daylight landscape and the other is dark. But it turned out a border was a little too easy to cross, so a bridge was put in to keep the mothers in Aurora from worrying overmuch that their sons
— or, worse, their daughters — would be slipping over to the Den."
"But some still do."
"Some do."
"If that's a stationary bridge, why can't all of them go to the Den?"
Sebastian smiled. "Even with a stationary bridge, you have to resonate with the landscape in order to cross over."
He heard the message. "You're saying I resonate with the Den."
Sebastian tipped his head in acknowledgment. "Like I told you last night, no one comes to the Den by mistake. Shall we go?"
Michael didn't see the signal Sebastian gave the demon cycles, but as they neared a tidy cottage, the creatures swung to one side, keeping to the edge of the cleared property before heading into the woods. The cycles followed a footpath, the kind of shortcut that was made by friends and neighbors in order to reach each other's houses instead of taking the long way around. At a fork, they followed the part that curved to the right. When the path ended, Sebastian hesitated, then swung away from the house and grounds that must have been the usual destination in order to reach another path that ran through another patch of woods, The demon cycles finally stopped on the edge of a clearing with a pair of stones Michael was starting to recognize as a bridge.
"Whose house was that?" he asked.
Sebastian dismounted and walked toward the stones, leaving Michael little choice but to follow.
"My aunt's," Sebastian replied. "My cousin Lee has a cottage nearby."
Probably reached from the left-hand fork in the path. "And your cottage is the one near the bridge between Aurora and the Den." When Sebastian nodded, Michael felt a pang in his heart. Family living in the same village, their homes connected by well-used paths in the woods. Distant enough for privacy, close enough for comfort. And not together out of need or duty, but because they enjoyed each other's company. What would it be like to live that way instead of following a pattern of rootless wandering?
"That's a resonating bridge," Sebastian said, pointing to the space between the stones. "Keep your mind focused on why you want to reach Sanctuary, and you should get there."
Michael stopped adjusting the straps of the travel pack Sebastian had loaned him. "Should?"
"A resonating bridge can take you to any landscape that resonates with your heart."
"I suppose that's a comfort," Michael said, eyeing the stones.
"Is it? Do you know every facet of your heart, Magician?"
Michael shivered, suddenly comprehending the magnitude of what he was about to do and how many things could go wrong.
The Heart of the Bog stepped closer. "You are worthy of what you seek, Magician. Remember that." It tapped Michael's chest above his heart. "In here!"
The memory steadied him, even though he wasn't sure why it should. "All right. I'm ready."
"On you go, then."
Michael waited a beat. "You're not coming?"
Sebastian shook his head. "You have to find Sanctuary on your own. When you cross over, you'll see a large building nearby.
That's a guest house. Someone there will be able to help you take the next step."
Michael held out his hand. "Thank you for all you've done. And for the loan of the pack. I'll get it back to
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