Sebastian

decrepit," Nadia snapped. Since the demon cycles had brought them right to the edge of the woods behind Sebastian's cottage, it was no more than a few minutes' walk before she'd be home.
    She looked back at Sebastian. "The next time you come to visit, I hope Sparky poops in your hair."
    Jeb's chuckles didn't cover up Sebastians sputters. That made her feel better, so she hooked her arm through Jeb's, and the two of them followed the path that led home.
    *
    Sebastian stared at the dark path in the woods, his heart aching.
    "Do you want to check the cottage while we're here?" Teaser asked.
    He shook his head. "No one has been around." He was certain of that because he stopped at the cottage each day when he checked the bridges leading to the Den. "Let's get back."
    "Jeb said he'd think about my idea."
    "Where's he going to find an artist to paint erotic pictures to make into a puzzle?"
    "Well, he did say that might be a sticking point." Teaser paused, then asked, "Who's Sparky?"
    *
    On the way back to the Den, Sebastian thought about Nadia. Why would she have doubts about Glorianna now? Why would she consider telling the wizards where to find Belladonna? Unless, as he'd said, she had been poisoned by a mind strong enough to plant doubts and thoughts where none had been before. How was he supposed to tell Glorianna and Lee that something dangerous might have been locked in Nadia's landscapes when Glorianna had altered Ephemera to isolate those places and keep her mother safe?
    And how was he supposed to tell his cousins that their mother could no longer be trusted?
     
     
    Shadows in the garden.
    It is the hardest lesson for a Landscaper to learn. The gardens are not just access points put together in a pleasing manner. They also reveal the heart of the Landscaper, the signature resonance that will overlay the landscapes in her care. It is a reflection of who the Landscaper is, and her innermost self will be manifested into plants and stones and water for everyone to see.
    If the heart tries to lie, the garden will reveal that, too.
    But every student's first attempt tends to be a pretty lie. All the plants are the ones that symbolize kindness and generosity, patience and understanding. Love. Despite the student's best efforts, the garden struggles to survive because the dark feelings that are denied also resonate in that confined space and have no patch of ground to call their own. So they interfere, tangle up the currents of power, thrusting up where they don't belong. And the garden fails.
    It takes time to find the courage to display the parts of yourself that aren't bright and shining. But you have to see them, have to know they're inside you, because they will resonate in the landscapes you control. Because you, as a Landscaper, are the sieve through which all the human hearts in your landscapes touch Ephemera—and none of those hearts live completely in the Light.
    So every Landscaper has to learn, and acknowledge, the dark side of her own heart in order to keep our world balanced.
    Shadows in the garden.
    They are a part of all of us.

    — The Book of Lessons
     

 

     
     

Chapter Twenty

 

     
     

     
    "Perverse beast," Koltak grumbled when the horse suddenly stopped a few strides away from the large pond. "Nearly pulled my arm out of the socket to get to the water, and now you don't want to drink?"
    He didn't know much about horses, but the animal seemed uneasy about something, so he looked around. Just rolling green hills that looked the same as the ones he'd seen yesterday—and the day before that. What was happening in Wizard City? Was anyone concerned about the length of time he'd been away? Was he trapped in this landscape, doomed to wander in a place where he was nothing more than a bumbling traveler?
    The horse took a step forward, then stopped again.
    "Stay thirsty, then." Koltak removed the canteen from the saddle. Keeping a firm grip on the reins, he moved toward the water.
    Apparently reassured by his action, the horse moved with him. But it still hesitated at the edge of the pond before it finally lowered its head and began to drink.
    The dusky light had turned the water an opaque gray, but the pond looked clean enough. He would let the animal drink its fill, and then—
    The creature broke the surface of the water right beside the horse's head. Brownish gray. Bumpy. The open jaws, filled with serrated teeth, clamped onto the horses neck. A twist of its large body dragged the horse into