Sebastian

disapproval and hunger on his face.
    His own appetite gone, Sebastian drank wine and watched his father devour the meal. While Koltak mopped up the last of the stew with a piece of bread, he drained his glass, pushed his own untouched meal aside, and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.
    "What do you want?" he asked.
    Koltak belched. Then he sighed. "Your report of violent deaths was just the first of many. If the council had listened—"
    "If you had listened!"
    Anger flashed in Koltak's eyes before he fixed his gaze on the table. "Yes, all right. If I had listened. It's worse than you realize, Sebastian. The Landscapers' School was attacked."
    "I know." Remembering what he'd seen soured the wine in his belly. "I had… business… at the school, but it was too late. I didn't see anyone alive. Barely got out of there myself."
    "Then you saw. You know ."
    "That the Eater of the World has escaped and is loose in the landscapes? Yes, I know."
    The shock he saw in Koltak's face couldn't have been an act.
    "No," Koltak said. "Not the Eater of the World. Even—" He stopped, made an effort to regain control.
    "The Wizards' Council is aware that some of the dark landscapes that were taken out of the world have been… appearing… in other landscapes, that a Dark force is manipulating the landscapes to allow these places access to the rest of the world again. It has to be stopped, has to be destroyed. You can see that, can't you?"
    "I can see that," Sebastian said.
    "Then you must come with me to Wizard City and talk to the council."
    "No." He shook his head. "I'll tell you everything I can about the deaths here in the Den. I'll tell you everything I saw at the Landscapes' School. But I won't go to Wizard City. I won't." His voice sharpened when Koltak began to protest. "There's no reason for me to go and every reason to stay. I gave my word I'd protect the Den."
    "Then protect it!" Koltak pressed the heels of his hands against his temples, as if trying to squeeze out the right words. "Don't you realize what's going to happen to Ephemera without the Landscapers?"
    "The landscapes will be vulnerable. The Eater will be able to alter—"
    "You fool! It's worse than that." Koltak clenched his hands and banged them on the table. "Without the Landscapers, there is nothing that stands between Ephemera and the human heart. The dark landscapes will only add to the madness. Picture it, Sebastian. A baby cries and the family's well changes to salt water—undrinkable. Two girls, who consider themselves rivals, run into each other in front of a sweetshop and argue—and boulders suddenly push up through the street, stranding wagons and carriages that can't get through, possibly even hurting people. Ephemera manifests feelings . It always has. The Landscapers are the only ones able to restrain the manifestations."
    Sebastian sat back, stunned. Was that what Glorianna had meant when she'd said he was an anchor?
    That his feelings for the Den, his affection for the place, kept it in balance? But not just his feelings. Her feelings, too. Glorianna Belladonna resonated through the Den.
    But something wasn't quite right about what Koltak was saying. If the Den had a person as its anchor, wouldn't other places have anchors as well? After all, the Landscapers' signature resonances might set the "flavor" of their particular landscapes, but they couldn't be everywhere all the time.
    And why did his head suddenly feel stuffy, as if something were pushing at him from inside his skull?
    Could wishing for a head cold actually produce one? If that was the case, he was going to think healthy thoughts from now on.
    "You think you're safe here," Koltak said. "And maybe you are for a while. But if the rest of Ephemera becomes unstable, how long will this place last? The turmoil will break through—and will pull everyone down with it."
    "How…" Sebastian poured more wine and gulped it down, trying to clear his throat, hoping to clear his head. "How am I supposed to help you stop that?"
    "We're trying to find any of the Landscapers who are still out there, trying to get word to them to avoid going back to the school. We knew something had happened at the school, something bad, but we couldn't find out what it was. Every wizard who had gone to investigate didn't come back. We're fighting blind, Sebastian. Some of the bridges have been broken, leaving us with no access to a number of landscapes. Leaving us with no way to reach or help the people