Sebastian

Koltak from harming a man who was bound and defenseless.
    A man who believed he had been betrayed.
    You're making a mistake, Koltak ! the stranger had shouted as they rode back to Wizard City. The Eater of the World is out there! Belladonna's the only hope you have of saving Ephemera !
    The stranger's fate was in the hands of the wizards now. He couldn't help the man, wasn't even sure if he could help himself at this point. He had to get his wife and children out of the city before tomorrow's sunset, along with whatever household goods they could take with them in the big merchant wagon that had belonged to Aldys's father.
    But where were they supposed to go? And who could he ask about other landscapes whose answer he could trust?
    As if pulled by an invisible string, Dalton's head turned in the direction of the detention rooms.
    There was one person who might know.
    A quick glance around the courtyard. Addison was standing by the wrought-iron gate that led to the street. No sign of Guy or Henley. They must have gone back to the barracks.
    Dalton headed for that part of the courtyard, walking past the locked doors and shuttered windows of the detention rooms until he came to the last one. When he'd left the prisoner there, he'd noticed a fist-sized piece of window glass had been broken out of the farthest window. Maybe the last person who had been detained in that room had broken the glass in a futile effort to escape. Or maybe he'd been desperate to hear something besides the silence of his own heart. Whatever the reason, the opening was there, and Dalton thanked the Guides of the Heart for this chance to talk to the man.
    He leaned against the wall, close to that corner of the shuttered window. "Psst. Can you hear me?" He kept his voice low to avoid being overheard by anyone who might pass by. If another guard saw him, he could say he was keeping watch on the prisoner. But if a wizard noticed him, he had no doubt he'd be occupying another of those locked rooms and would never see his wife and children again.
    A shuffling sound. The thump of someone collapsing against the wall.
    "What do you want?" The voice sounded rough, exhausted.
    What did he want? To go back to that moment when the stranger had stumbled off the bridge. To have a chance to follow the gut feeling he'd had when he'd seen Koltak step off the bridge.
    "If I could do it over, I would have let you escape and go back to wherever you came from."
    "Why?"
    "When Koltak stepped off the bridge, everything felt wrong. He felt wrong. You didn't." And you didn't use the lightning to harm my men. You could have. Any wizard here would have . "What you said to Koltak about the Eater of the World. Is it true?"
    Silence. Then, "It's true."
    Not much time. Someone could come along at any moment. "I've been exiled from the city. I have to get my family to another landscape. Is there any place I can take them where they'll be safe?"
    "Why are you asking me?"
    "I don't think you would harm the innocent. Whatever wrong I did you by following orders, my family is innocent."
    A long silence. "Heart's hope lies within Belladonna. Her landscapes… the only safe places. Resonating bridge… might get you… to one of them. But if the wizards destroy her… no hope at all. For anyone."
    He had to go. He'd already lingered too long. But… "I'm sorry for the part I played in this."
    Another silence.
    As Dalton stepped away from the window, he heard, "Travel lightly."
    Addison was still waiting for him when he reached the gate.
    "Best not to linger here, Cap'n," Addison said. "This place has got a bad feel to it today. More than usual."
    "I'm not your captain," Dalton said as he opened the gate and walked out. "I've been exiled."
    "I'm sorry for the trouble of it, but I can't say I'm sorry you'll be going." Addison shook his head and sighed. "Maybe this is just the Guardians' way of telling you it's time to go."
    Maybe, Dalton thought. But deep down in his heart, he didn't think his exile had anything to do with the Light.

    Sebastian shuffled back to the wobbly table and chair, the only pieces of furniture in the room. No candle or oil lamp. The slats in the closed shutters let in a little daylight, but this room would hold a bleak darkness once the sun went down.
    Bracing his hands on the table, he lowered himself into the chair and waited until he felt fairly steady before reaching for the canteen of water—and wondered if the guard captain had provided the water as a