Belladonna

Ephemera had answered a different meaning to that prayer because here, in this place, it could.
    Opportunities and choices. She would help Caitlin find her place in the world. In doing so, she would find the Guardians and Guides who could show her how to defeat the Eater of the World.
    All she needed was the courage to follow the path.
    "I'm grateful for the loan of the coat," Caitlin said.
    "Should have brought gloves," Glorianna replied, shoving her hands in her pockets. She felt off balance, so she said nothing more, just turned to watch Lee light the two lanterns he kept on the island.
    Caitlin rubbed her own hands briskly. "When the wind comes from the north, it does have a wicked bite."
    "That's the breath of the ice beast," Michael said, smiling. "He blows on the sea to create floes of ice so he can float down to the world of men and snatch a pretty maid to take back to his lair to be his wife."
    "Or to be his dinner if the maid doesn't prove to be an interesting companion," Caitlin added.
    Glorianna shivered. A year ago, their words would have done no harm. Now ... "Don't tell that story to strangers."
    Lee swore softly. He, at least, understood. But Michael shook his head and said, "It's just a story."
    "A year ago, it was just a story. Now there is something out there that can pluck the image of the ice beast out of a persons mind and make it real. Change a story into truth. That's what the Eater of the World does. It takes your fears and makes them real
    — until all that's left in the world are the things you fear."
    She watched Caitlin's and Michael's expressions change as the import of her words took root. Caitlin looked unnerved, but Michael ... For some reason, being reminded that stories could be more than stories had been a blow to his heart.
    "Shall we go?" she asked.
    "Here," Lee said, handing a lantern to Michael. "Is it usually dark?"
    "We got here ahead of the dawn," Michael replied, looking at the sky. "Sun's not up yet."
    "Ah."
    Lee had asked one question; Michael had answered another. This village was teetering on the edge of becoming a dark landscape, slipping over at times but always being pulled back toward the Light.
    "But the sun was up when we left Aurora," Caitlin protested.
    "We're in a different part of the world now," Belladonna said. She touched Caitlin's sleeve to get the girl's attention.
    "Currents of Light and Dark flow through this place, although the Dark currents are a little stronger. Maybe because of things that have happened here recently."
    "Like boys setting fire to a cottage?" Caitlin muttered.
    "Yes." Glorianna studied Caitlin. What had she been doing by the time she was eighteen? What had she known by that age that this girl didn't even begin to realize? "Can you feel their resonance? Can you feel the currents of Dark and Light?"
    "I don't know," Caitlin whispered. "I'm standing next to you, and I feel ... something ... but I don't know. I don't think I'm allowed to do this."
    The girl has been stumbling through her life because there wasn't anyone who could help her identify the sensations flowing around her. She could have done so much harm if someone else's heart hadn't struggled to keep the village as balanced as it is.
    "Take my hand." She offered her hand to Caitlin, "I'll show you the way my mother showed me."
    When you were learning to walk, Glorianna, you held my hand to keep your balance. Hold my hand again to learn another way of walking.
    Caitlin gasped and tried to pull away.
    "Don't be afraid of it," Glorianna said quietly, tightening her grip on Caitlin's hand. "That's the world you're feeling. Ephemera flows through the heart, manifests the heart. Your heart. A Landscaper is the bedrock, the sieve through which all other hearts flow. Who she is becomes the resonance of a place." Usually, she amended silently.
    "But I can't be good all the time. I can't!"
    "No, you can't. There are shadows in every garden, Caitlin Marie. There is darkness in every heart. Even the Places of Light have slim currents of Dark flowing through them. No heart is purely one thing or another." She felt a tremor of relief go through the girl at the same time that she thought, There is an answer it those words.
    Places of Light needed some Dark, and dark landscapes still needed a thread of Light. Why did the dark landscapes need the Light? That question had teased her when she had stood before the walls of Wizard City and unleashed Hearts Justice on the Dark Guides. It teased