Belladonna

She's been tending a garden with no knowledge or understanding about her connection to the places held within those walls.
    And Michael looks after his landscapes by wandering from place to place, making a circuit in order to tend to each of them before going back home for a few days to rest in a place that resonates with another's heart. Which is not so different from the Landscapers who traveled through their landscapes and then returned to the school to rest." She sipped her koffee. "They may have borders in this Elandar, but they have no boundaries, no bridges. Their piece of the world didn't shatter. Maybe if I can understand how the landscapes work in their part of the world, I can find a way to make this part of the world whole again."
    "Do you really want to do that?" Nadia asked.
    Glorianna stared out the window rather than look at her mother.
    "The Eater of the World is out there, Glorianna. It has touched Elandar three times that we know of. Four if you include that haunted stretch of sea that Michael passed through. Instead of putting the world back together, maybe you should be thinking of breaking more of it."
    She rubbed her forehead, trying to deny the headache starting to brew behind her eyes. "Lee is the only Bridge working with us. He can't take on the burden of doing more."
    "Then what are you going to do?"
    Glorianna glanced out the window. It looked like the men were getting something done now. "I think Sebastian is right.
    Caitlin and Michael need some time together, and the rest of us need a few hours to set aside the weight of the world. Tonight we'll go to the Den and eat at Philo's, listen to music, and ..." Remember what romance feels like?
    When she had first seen Moonlight Lover, she'd wondered if the fantasy lover was an incubus — someone Sebastian knew and had used as a model for the painting. Then Michael had showed up on her island — someone who was, and wasn't, like her.
    Considering the assessing way he had looked at her and that slip of jealousy he'd shown when he'd thought Sebastian was a lover, the odds were good that he would be interested in a night's romp in bed. But did she really want that from him, with him?
    In some ways, she wanted that very much. But her heart needed more. With Ephemera so dependent right now on the choices she made, she had to be careful.
    "We're going to eat at Philo's, listen to music, and...?"Nadia asked.
    "And tomorrow Caitlin and I will pay a visit to the White Isle," Glorianna said, tucking the idea of romance away, along with her heart.
    L ong ago, beyond my memory and yours, spirits who were the voice of the world walked among us. And they knew things no ordinary human could know. Like the secret to using the Door of Locks.
    Now the Door of Locks was hidden in a garden that lived in the heart of a magic hill, and that hill was the country home of the spirits who resided in this part of the land. When a person had a powerful need for something that was just beyond his grasp, he would set his feet on the road and follow his heart — and if the spirits decided he was worthy, he would find that garden.
    And when he reached the garden, which was protected by high walls and a barred gate, a spirit would appear and ask, "What do you seek?"
    Now a foolish man might say he was seeking gold or jewels or some other kind of treasure. He might be allowed to enter the garden after giving such an answer — but he might not. Because the correct answer to the question — and this is most important to remember — the correct answer is "I seek the hope that lives within my heart." Give the spirit that answer, and the garden's gate will always open.
    And then, once you're inside ... It's a lovely place, as beautiful as a dream, and you're allowed to wander and look and sit for as long as you please. When you're ready, the spirit takes you to the Door of Locks.
    There are one hundred identical locks on the door, and while you're standing there, trying to fathom it all, the spirit reaches into your heart and takes out a key, and says, "Every lock leads to a different place that lives within you. Some are dark places, some are light places, some are full of struggle and sorrow while others will shower your days with joy. Choose a lock. The key will fit any one of them. Choose where your heart needs to go. Choose."
    And that is what you must do — choose. Now some people are hasty, ignoring the spirit's warning about the nature of the locks and thinking that