Sebastian

wasn't like Harland to dismiss the other possibility of danger. And they all knew there was another possibility. Every wizard who had walked around the Landscapers' School had felt that core of evil hidden by all the currents of Light that flowed through the school. Every person who lived in Ephemera's shattered landscapes knew the story about how the Guardians of Light and Guides of the Heart had found a way to cage the Eater of the World and the creatures It had shaped. The magic had been powerful, had been meant to last forever. The Guardians and Guides had disappeared in the making of that cage. Not destroyed, but no longer able to walk in the world. People believed they still existed, still listened to the heart's deepest wishes and worked through the currents of power to make those wishes real.
    But it was the Landscapers who controlled Ephemera now, keeping the landscapes stable despite the flood of emotions that poured out of human hearts. And somewhere in the maze of gardens and buildings at the school were walls even older than the tower.
    Why had Harland refused to consider the possibility?
    This possibility must have a name , his mind whispered. You're not afraid to speak the name, are you ?
    No, he wasn't afraid, and he wasn't afraid to look at a truth Harland didn't want to consider. There was only one reason for keeping watch all these years: to see the warning in time to defend themselves if the Eater of the World returned.
    Koltak turned away from the window, then rummaged through his desk for a headache powder. It wasn't surprising he felt a little strange after a sleepless night and the events of this morning.
    Cursing softly when he realized he had nothing in his room and would have to go down to the dispensary, he sank into his desk chair, still rubbing his forehead.
    Harland had been thrown off balance this morning. That was understandable. Given a little time to think, he would realize the necessity of going to the school and discussing the hidden garden with the Landscapers.
    After all, if something had happened to break the magic that had caged the Eater and Its landscapes, everyone's survival was at stake.

    It flowed into the woods north of the city, where Its presence would be lost among other shadows.
    It had learned much over the years from the human prey that had stumbled into Its landscapes—
    especially from the humans who were, themselves, predators. It had learned to take the shape of Its favorite before It had destroyed the sanity of the middle-aged, elegant gentleman who had enjoyed killing women so viciously.
    It had learned. And now It understood that the spawn of the Dark Ones had known about the hated stone wall. They had known where the garden was hidden. They had found a way to send prey into Its landscapes, but they had never tried to free It. Caged, It had been a useful tool.
    But It was not a tool to be used by the Dark Ones' spawn. It was the Eater of the World. When It returned to the city, they would want to be Its friends.
    But before It left this landscape to deal with the enemies at the school, It would show the Dark Ones'
    spawn why they wanted to be Its friends.
    *
    With Teaser beside him, Sebastian strode down the Den's main street feeling itchy, angry, ready to hunt.
    He was dressed for it, primed for it—the bad boy on the strut. As he studied the street, he realized how shabby everything had gotten in the past few years. The windows on the shops and taverns were grimy, the alleys smelled of piss, and the colored lights that had made him think of a carnival when he'd first come to the Den were dulled by layers of dirt. Like an old whore still trying to dress up to prove she was desirable.
    But this was his home; this was his life; this was all he had and would ever have. This.
    He wanted to smash things, break things, wound and rage, because somehow, after thirty years of living, this was all he deserved.
    More than anything, he wanted to hurt someone.
    That was when he saw the young woman creeping out of an alley, every movement shrieking of fear.
    And the small something inside him that had been struggling to survive since he'd come back from Wizard City suddenly yearned for her, craved her with enough strength to knock the ugly feelings churning in him off balance for a moment. Then everything inside him focused on her. Just her.
    Teaser tipped his head and studied her. "Huh. Look at that. A country mouse fresh off the farm."
    More like a rabbit who has