Sebastian

life."
    "And I wouldn't have told you even if you'd asked."
    " I think… I've been contaminated. Maybe by a Dark Guide. Maybe by the Eater of the World. That's why I'm here, Sebastian. I never doubted Glorianna's reason for shaping the Den. Until these dreams started."
    "What do you feel compelled to do, Aunt Nadia?" Sebastian asked, his voice stripped of all emotion.
    Nadia shivered. "Go to the wizards and tell them how to find her. Take them to Sanctuary—a place none of them have been able to reach on their own."
    "But you didn't." Now his voice was sharp, alarmed.
    "No, I didn't. Instead I came here. Glorianna can do things no one else can. She embraces the Dark and still walks in the Light. I needed to see this place… to reaffirm my faith in Belladonna."
    Sebastian took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Let me tell you about the dreams Lynnea's been having lately."
    She could feel the heat rise in her face. "Oh, no, Sebastian. I don't think that's—"

    "She's been rearranging furniture. Or I should say, she's been pointing and I've been rearranging furniture, hauling things I couldn't possibly lift in the real world. And it's a mix of furniture, some from our room at the bordello, some from the cottage. So I'm moving the bed and the couch and tables and chairs while Lynnea keeps saying, 'No, that's not the way it should be.' Each morning she wakes up and looks at the furniture with this gleam in her eyes, and I wake up with a sore back.
    "Last night I was rearranging windows. I'd grab the wooden frame and lift the whole thing out. There wouldn't be a hole in the wall where it had been, and every time I pressed it against the wall, a hole would open exactly the right size for the window.
    "But Lynnea kept saying it wasn't where it should be. Then she wanted me to put it against an inside wall.
    I argued that we wouldn't see anything but the person in the next room, but it was her dream and I was just the labor, so I did what I was told."
    Nadia tipped her head to the side. "And did you see into the next room?"
    "No," he replied softly. "I couldn't see anything. The window was full of sunlight. The room was washed in it. And when I looked back at Lynnea, it was Glorianna standing there. She smiled at me and said,
    'Yes. Now it's where it should be.'"
    He reached across the table, picked up her glass of wine, and drank half of it. "I don't know what it means, or even why I told you this now."
    "I know why you told me," Nadia replied softly. "You believe in Glorianna—and you trust Belladonna.
    I'm going to fight very hard to do the same."
    Sebastian pushed his chair back. "Come on. Teaser's had enough time to make Jeb blush right down to his toes, and I think it's best if you went home. And stayed home."
    Nadia shivered. "You think I'm a danger, don't you?"
    "I think you've been poisoned." He tapped his chest. "In here."
    He was right. She could (eel the resonance of his words and knew he was right.
    "Yes, we should be getting back." She squared her shoulders. "And the walk will do me good."
    Sebastian draped an arm over her shoulders. "That's too bad, because you're riding back on the demon cycles."
    "Demon… Oh, no, I…"
    Paying no attention to her protests and blustering, he rounded up Teaser and Jeb, gave her a moment to say good-bye to Lynnea, and had her riding behind him on something that was a combination of a thick bicycle with no wheels and a demon with lots of sharp teeth and wickedly curved claws.
    It wasn't too bad while they were on the Den's main street, but once they reached the dirt lane that led to the cottage…
    "You can let go now, Aunt Nadia."
    That was what he thought. She felt him patting her hands and trying to loosen the fists that had a death-hold on his shirt.
    "We're not moving anymore."

    "Then I'll just wait for my insides to catch up with us."
    Sebastian laughed. That wicked boy actually laughed. Which annoyed her so much she managed to let go of his shirt and get off the cycle.
    Jeb, she noticed, didn't seem the least bit shaken. She couldn't see him clearly, since there was only starlight, but he was rubbing his chin in that way he had when something had caught his interest.
    Teaser grinned at Jeb and cocked his head.
    "I'll think about it," Jeb said. He walked over to her and cupped her elbow in one of his big, strong hands. "Come along, darling. I'll make you a cup of tea when we get home and you can have a bit of a lie-down."
    "Don't talk to me like I'm old and