Belladonna

Chapter Eight

Hurry, hurry, hurry, Merrill thought as the ship closed the distance to Atwater’s harbor. But not fast enough, despite having full sails. Something followed them. She could feel Its presence, feel the lure of It every time she looked at the water.

Would they have time to get back to Lighthaven and do…What? Shaela kept asking that very question, but Merrill had no answer. If that was the Destroyer—the Well of All Evil from the ancient tales—moving through the water in pursuit of their ship, how could two plants or a prayer circle stop It?

“It still follows,” Shaela said when she joined Merrill at the bow. “It makes no attempt to catch up to us, but It follows.”

“It doesn’t need to catch us,” Merrill replied. “All It needs to do is surround the White Isle, and we’ll be trapped. Then It will consume the people living in the island’s villages, just as It did in the old stories, until Lighthaven and our Sisters are all that is left—tiny candles in the dark. Candles that, in their turn, will be snuffed out one by one.”

“Don’t talk that way,” Shaela said, her voice sharp. “You are the leader at Lighthaven. If you believe the White Isle is lost, our Sisters will believe it too. And then it will be lost. Our belief in the Light is the ship that brings the Light to all the people who live on the White Isle as well as our countrymen in Elandar. That’s why we live apart—to maintain the innocence needed to nurture that belief.”

“Your life wasn’t sheltered,” Merrill said.

“No, it wasn’t. Which is why I cling to my belief in the Light. It is my raft, made from the planks of a broken life.” Shaela rubbed her fingers against her forehead. “What will we do when we reach home, Merrill? There will be no time to sit and debate. We need to decide before we reach Atwater, since whatever we do must be done swiftly.”

“I know, I know.” But what could they do?

Merrill curled her hands around the railing, then closed her eyes and tried to picture a ceremony they could perform that would save the White Isle—and more importantly, Lighthaven—from the Destroyer.

And could picture nothing.

“We’re heading into harbor,” the captain called.

“This is what we’ll do,” Shaela said, shifting closer to Merrill. “We’ll form a prayer circle made up of seven Sisters. We’ll place the plants in the center of the circle. Four Sisters will chant the words that were heard in the dream. The other three will chant an affirmation as a refrain.”

Merrill stared at her friend. “But that’s—That’s sorcery. You’re talking about casting a spell, not participating in a prayer circle.”

“It’s all about belief, isn’t it?” Shaela demanded. “Sorcery or prayer. What difference does it make what we call it? If we stand in front of our Sisters and say seven is a number of the Light, not a tool of magic, who will doubt us? Who will doubt you, our leader? If you say it is so, it will be so.”

Suspicion too primitive to be shaped into words suddenly filled Merrill. She felt her body draw itself up, flinch away from the other woman. A broken life, Shaela had called the past that had brought her to the White Isle. A broken life—and not an innocent one.

“What were you before you came to the White Isle?” Merrill whispered.

“After all the years we’ve worked together and lived together…and now you ask me.” Shaela smiled bitterly. “What do you believe I was?”

A sorceress. She looked at the scarred face, the blind eye and wondered, for the first time, if the wounds might have been deserved.

Why am I thinking this? she wondered, feeling off balance and a little desperate. Why am I wondering about a friend when I need her emotional strength and purpose of will. Why…?

Then she knew. She didn’t need to look at the stern or the water beyond the ship. It was so easy to picture a black stain on the sea, moving with the tide, coming closer and closer to shore.

Somehow, the Destroyer had reached into her mind and heart and was planting doubts, dividing her from her Sisters.

“I think your plan will work,” Merrill said.

“And why would you think that?”

“Because the evil pursuing us doesn’t want me to believe in the plan—or in you.”

“Merrill?” Shaela’s voice was sharp with worry. “Have you been tainted by the evil out there?”

“Touched but not tainted,” Merrill replied, trying to smile. “I’ll be all right. And we’ll reach Lighthaven and perform the ceremony in time to stop the Destroyer from consuming the White Isle. I’ll leave the preparation to you. I think you understand best what we need to do. I will gather the other five Sisters.”

Shaela lightly touched Merrill’s arm. “Heart’s hope lies within belladonna. We don’t have to understand what it means. We just have to believe it will save us.”

Merrill nodded. Almost to the wharves now. Almost home.

But it’s foolish to be hasty, whispered a solicitous voice. Foolish to hurry through something so important.

Yes, it would be foolish to hurry. Especially when they weren’t even sure of how to do what needed to be done.

Best to think carefully. For the good of all. So important. And you…So responsible for whatever happens.

Leader. But not as good a leader as Brighid had been. Never as good.

No, not as good, the voice whispered sadly. There is too much darkness in you, too many…unnatural…desires.

Merrill sucked in a breath. Not true! Not true!

But something outside of herself wanted her to doubt her decisions enough to hesitate. And that meant any delay—even the time it would take to reach Lighthaven—would be enough to destroy all chance of them succeeding.

“We can’t wait,” Merrill said as the ship docked and the gangplank was moved into place. “We’re going to have to take whomever we can find to make up our circle. Sailors, shopgirls, anyone.”

“And what are we going to tell those people?” Shaela asked.

“We’ll tell them we found the magic that can save them from what is coming, but it won’t work without their help.”

Which was, Merrill thought as she walked down the gangplank, nothing less than the truth.

She maintained a calm facade as minutes ticked away while she and Shaela selected the spot for the circle and considered who among the people present at the wharves and warehouses would be suitable participants. But underneath was the now-incessant drumbeat of hurry, hurry, hurry.

The Eater of the World drifted through the water, letting the sea carry It toward the land ahead that blazed with currents of Light. There was no hurry. The Dark currents on the island were swelling rapidly and now tasted of fear—and the certainty that It could destroy the humans who lived on the island. Even the ones who guarded the Light.

So easy to slip into that one female mind and plant a seed of suspicion in her heart where trust originally had been sown. But that trust, carelessly given and just as carelessly tended, had shallow roots and was not strong enough to survive when attacked. That female wanted to save the Place of Light, wanted to believe the magic she had acquired from the…sorceress…would be able to defeat It.

But the female had become a battleground. Her heart cried out with the need to save the Light. Her mind didn’t truly believe the magic would save anything—or anyone. And because what her mind believed was just as strong as what her heart wanted, Ephemera would not answer.

It amused Itself for a little while, moving toward a ship or fishing boat, then savoring the fear when the humans realized the shadow in the water was no longer following the sea’s currents but moving toward them with purpose. Cries of warning filled the air as ships and fishing boats maneuvered to escape. Some fled toward the safety of the harbor; others turned away from the island.

Heart by heart, the humans fed the Dark currents, changing the feel of the island. And whatever heart was supposed to supply the bedrock…Murky bedrock. The heart who held the island in its keeping did not care about the people here enough to tend the landscape, so there would be little resistance when It began changing the island’s resonance to match Itself. Wasn’t that delightful? But…

The heart that held the island also held the village where It had first noticed the guardians of the Light—another place equally neglected that It would change into a hunting ground. But there was something else on the island, tangled up in the Dark and Light currents. Something more. Something that It couldn’t sense clearly, which made It uneasy.

No longer content to drift in the water, anticipating the feast, It moved toward the island with purpose.

“I’m flattered that you invited me to view your garden,” Yoshani said.

Satisfied that there was no dissonance in the part of the garden that represented her mother’s landscapes, Glorianna gave her companion a sly smile. “Would you still be flattered if I invited you to help me with the weeding?” She laughed at Yoshani’s startled expression. But when he said, “This would be permitted?” she felt a flutter of sadness, so she linked arms with him and moved on to the next part of the garden.

“I have brought you sorrow,” Yoshani said, seeing more than she wanted him to. “I am sorry.”

“It wasn’t you.”

“Something in my words made you sad.”

She stopped at the next bed but didn’t focus on it. Not yet. “This garden represents my landscapes and is my connection to them. Oh, they’re always connected to me here”—she tapped her chest to indicate her heart—“but this is a tangible…” She frowned as she tried to figure out how to explain. “Every landscape should have the Landscaper’s actual presence on a regular basis to remain balanced—and because standing on that ground is the best way to sense if a particular part of a landscape needs special attention. The gardens are an easy way for a Landscaper to step between here and there to reach the pieces of the world in her care. It’s an established path, an anchor that takes me to the same place in the landscape every time. Also, by working the soil, by planting and weeding, I can feel each landscape, so I know if any of them need immediate attention.”

“But you invited me to work in your garden,” Yoshani said. “Would that not interfere with your landscapes?”

Glorianna shook her head. “Your heart would not interfere with this garden.” Then her voice was barely a whisper as the sadness washed over her again. “That’s how the training begins. You work with an experienced Landscaper, weeding the beds in her garden, learning the names of the plants and what they symbolize and what they need to grow well. You learn how to combine things that are pleasing to the eye but also represent different aspects of a landscape. You learn the resonance of Ephemera’s currents of power—the Dark as well as the Light. You learn all these things on safe ground because someone else’s resonance maintains the balance.” She forced herself to smile. “But that could all be a ploy made up by the older Landscapers to get out of doing all the weeding by themselves.”

Yoshani looked around, then looked into her eyes. “Perhaps you need an apprentice.”

Something rippled through her when he said the words.

Something is changing, she thought, suddenly feeling a tug from the section of the garden she specifically wanted Yoshani to see—the beds that represented Sanctuary. No. Something has already changed.

“Glorianna?”

She didn’t answer him, just slipped her arm out of his and ran toward that other part of her garden, leaving him to hurry after her.

Was it luck and the restlessness of young women, Merrill wondered, or the Lady of Light’s guiding hand that had brought three of their Sisters into Atwater? The girls had come to town to run errands and do some shopping for the community and—giving in to an impulse—had come down to the wharves to ask for news about Merrill and Shaela just as their ship’s lines were being secured.

Only five of them in total instead of the seven Shaela had wanted, but five experienced in focusing their thoughts in order to connect with the Light were better than seven who would need to be coached.

Foolish to set up on the wharf in front of all the warehouses, Merrill thought as she and Shaela set the pots of heart’s hope and belladonna side by side. Surely they could get away from the waterfront and the smells of seawater and fish? Atwater had a lovely little park. That would be a much more pleasing setting for a prayer circle and would take hardly any time at all to get there. Was this sense of urgency something that came whispering from the Dark so that they would act prematurely and ruin the chance of this “magic” succeeding? If she chose wrong, their failure would be her fault. How—

Her mind ceased its frightened chatter when she looked into Shaela’s eyes—the one clouded and blind, while the other saw the world a bit too sharply.

Believe.

It was as if the word had been breathed on the air between them.

Shifting the pot of heart’s hope, Merrill said quietly, “You take up the chant from the dream. I will lead the refrain.”

Shaela shook her head. “As leader…”

“I can’t believe, Shaela. Not strongly enough. Now that it comes down to it, I can’t do what you can. But I can take up the refrain.” She hesitated, then added, “We won’t get a second chance.”

Shaela looked toward the sea. “I know.”

A crowd formed around them as sailors, merchants, and dockworkers were drawn toward their little gathering and word began to spread that the Sisters of Light were going to do a special circle of protection right there at the wharves.

“Ladies?” The captain of their ship, as well as several of his crew, eased through the crowd. “Is there something we can do to help?”

Before Merrill could refuse, Shaela spoke up. “Take up any part of the chant your heart can believe in without question. The more voices that are raised for this ceremony, the better our chances of having our prayers heard.”

They took their positions, Merrill and Shaela facing each other while the other three Sisters filled in the circle, the heart’s hope and belladonna at its center. Around them, the people formed another circle.

If this doesn’t work… Merrill closed her eyes for a moment, trying to banish doubt, then focused on Shaela.

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna,” Shaela said, raising her voice enough to be heard by the first few people around the circle.

“Guardian of Light, hear our prayer,” Merrill answered as the refrain.

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.” This time, two of their Sisters took up the chant with Shaela.

“Lady of Light, hear our prayer.” The other Sister’s voice joined Merrill’s.

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.”

“Guardian of Light, hear our prayer.”

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.” Male voices joined the chant, a little hesitant but there.

“Lady of Light, hear our prayer.” More voices.

Merrill felt the Light fill the circle, felt it spill over the crowd, felt it grow stronger with each voice that took up the chant. And for the first time since they had sensed the stain of evil that had followed them from Raven’s Hill, she truly believed they would succeed.

Looking at her friend, Merrill added her voice when Shaela said, “Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.”

It gathered speed as It moved toward the island.

Something had changed. The fear was fading, and It felt the world becoming fluid as Ephemera prepared to manifest the need that was now held in many hearts.

No! It had not found the other Places of Light, so it would not be deprived of this one.

It fed Its rage to the Dark currents in the sea. Then It became the sea—and rose up as a deadly wave that moved toward the island with the speed of a wild storm.

The calling was filled with a desperation that felt like a lash against her skin. The resonance of that landscape grated against her senses.

But she had to answer. Had to.

“Glorianna!”

A hand grabbing her arm, holding her back.

“Something calls to me, Yoshani,” she said, trying to pull free. “I am an ill-fitting piece being wedged into a place I don’t quite belong, but I’m all there is.” She stared at the bowl-shaped stone and the silver cuff bracelet beneath the water, feeling the need that rang in the hearts connected to those objects. Feeling a rhythm in the air.

“This is not a place you know, isn’t that true? If you go there, can you get back? Glorianna!”

Yoshani shook her, and that startled her enough to focus on him. And seeing the look in his eyes startled her enough to hesitate. When she had seen that expression in other men’s eyes, she had called it “warrior’s eyes.” She had never thought to see Yoshani’s dark eyes look that way.

“A summons that powerful may not come from the Light,” Yoshani said.

“I have to answer,” Glorianna said. “If I don’t, something precious will be lost. I know this, Yoshani. I can feel it.”

He nodded, but the wild look in his eyes didn’t fade. “You will not go alone.”

“But—”

“Both of us or neither. I will not compromise, Glorianna.”

There wasn’t time to argue. Snatching the bracelet out of the stone bowl, she tried to ignore the grating dissonance, that conflict of resonances.

Whatever wants me will also reject me.

She closed her hand around the bracelet, then said to Yoshani, “Don’t let go of my arm.” When she felt his grip tighten, she thought, There will be bruises tomorrow. But she didn’t tell him to ease his hold on her. She would rather have bruises than lose a friend while taking that step between here and there. Besides, she suspected that more than her arm would be bruised by the time she completed this journey. “When I tell you, take a step forward.”

She waited, waited, let the resonance build until the rhythm felt like a chant.

“Now,” Glorianna said, and felt Yoshani move with her as they took the step between here and there.

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.”

“Guardian of Light, hear our prayer.”

Most of the people ran, trying to escape the destruction that was coming, but some stayed. Maybe they realized they couldn’t get far enough away to save themselves. Maybe they believed their voices would still be able to tip the scale and save the White Isle.

Merrill glanced over her shoulder and shuddered as she saw the wall of black water coming toward them. Shaela, facing the sea and watching the wave come closer with every heartbeat, didn’t falter.

“Heart’s hope lies within belladonna.”

“Lady of Light, hear—”

The man and woman came out of nowhere, breaking into their circle. The woman stumbled against the pots, knocking over the belladonna before breaking through the other side of the circle. The sailors and dockworkers caught the two strangers and steadied them, but the damage was done. Whatever “magic” had been made by the chant and the circle had been destroyed.

“You!” Merrill said, giving in to the slash of anger that wanted to drive the dagger of failure into someone else’s heart.

But the black-haired woman just stared at the wall of water coming toward the island, then turned her icy green eyes on Merrill.

“What is this place?” she demanded.

“Guardians and Guides,” the man said as he looked at the black wave. “We can’t stay here, Glorianna.”

“We can’t leave yet,” the woman, Glorianna, replied. Those eyes fixed on Shaela. “What is this place?”

“The White Isle,” Shaela replied.

“An island? This is an island?”

Shaela nodded.

“Glorianna,” the man said.

The woman shook her head. As she held up her clenched hand, Merrill caught a glimpse of something silver.

“This is a Place of Light, Yoshani,” Glorianna said.

“And that is a killer wave that will drown this island and everyone on it.”

Glorianna shook her head again. “No, that is the Eater of the World. I recognize the resonance of It.”

Merrill gasped. How did this woman know? How could she speak with such certainty? Like the man, her speech declared her a foreigner, someone who came from a country far beyond Elandar. But there was something familiar about her, something…

It’s like being around Caitlin Marie. Only…more so.

A shiver went through Merrill as the woman stared at the sea, then turned and looked inland as if she could see beyond buildings and hills right to Lighthaven.

“This place is mine and not mine,” Glorianna said quietly, turning back to look at the sea. “Resonances are tangled up in a way I don’t understand, but that other resonance isn’t strong enough to keep me from holding on to this landscape—at least for a little while. I can try to save or I can try to destroy. If I try to destroy and fail, I will save nothing.” She stared at the black wall of water, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Ephemera, hear me.”

She was there! The True Enemy was there, on the island! It would smash her, drown her, destroy her! In this form, It was part of the sea. She could not cage It, could not stop It.

The black wave swelled even higher, moved even faster.

Glorianna watched the unnatural wave bearing down on the island. If there had been time, she would have considered each of her landscapes in turn to see if there were any borders that could be made that would connect this landscape to other pieces of the world. But there wasn’t time. Besides, something wasn’t right here. Despite being a Place of Light, that tangle of resonances warned her that something wasn’t right.

They’re going to be alone, she thought. For a while, they’re going to be alone.

Couldn’t be helped.

“Ephemera, hear me.”

She felt the world changing to manifest her heart and will. But the change wasn’t smooth, wasn’t complete. Even in the moment when Ephemera altered the landscapes and the black wave disappeared, she knew the change wasn’t complete—because this newly made landscape didn’t quite resonate with her. The place itself felt secure enough; the currents of power were flowing as they should, although the Dark currents felt too thin to properly balance the hearts on this island.

Nothing to do about that, either, until she found the other Landscaper who controlled this island. Besides, now she wanted to solve her own puzzle.

“You’re safe,” she said, approaching the two older women. “The Eater of the World can’t reach you.”

They said nothing, but the three younger women all made a sign with their fingers. Yoshani responded by saying something under his breath that she suspected was a very bad word learned in his youth. Which confirmed that the sign was meant as an insult.

She took a step closer. They all took a step back.

Whatever wants me will also reject me. She felt the truth of it as she looked at the women.

One of the older women straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin—the movements of a leader reminding lesser beings that she was a leader.

“Your kind are not welcome on the White Isle,” the woman said.

An echo from the woman rippled through the Dark currents inside Glorianna. Pain. But not pain received; this was hurt inflicted. And when she thought about the hurt inflicted and listened to that heart, her eyes were drawn to the two pots—the heart’s hope and the belladonna, which was knocked over, its dirt partially spilled out on the wharf.

“Where did you get those plants?” Glorianna asked.

“That is not your concern, sorceress,” the woman said. “Go back to whatever shadow place you came from.”

Ignoring the woman, Glorianna crouched beside the spilled pot that held belladonna. Something there. She righted the pot, then scooped up as much of the spilled soil as she could without filling her hands with splinters from the wharf. As she pressed the soil around the plant’s stem, her fingers touched a spot at the base of the stem that tingled, resonated, was so full of a wanting it made her ache.

“Yoshani,” she said as she brushed the soil away from the stem, “can you see anything?”

He crouched beside her. As she tilted the pot, she saw something glint in the sunlight.

“There,” Yoshani said, pointing to the exact spot on the stem. “It looks like a hair was wrapped around the plant.”

A need so great even a hair carries its resonance.

More than that, the resonance in the hair matched the resonance on the island that was tangled with her own.

Handing the pot to Yoshani, she stood and faced the two older women. This time she focused on the one with the cloudy eye. “Where did you get those plants?” No answer. “Tell me now, or I will give you back to the Eater, and the Light will vanish from your part of the world.”

They looked at her in horror. Then the leader said, “You have such darkness in you that you would condemn the innocent?”

“You will never understand the currents of power that flow through me.” She opened her hand, revealing the silver cuff bracelet—and saw shock and recognition in the leader’s eyes. “And you are not innocent. But you got what you asked for.” Before the woman could move, Glorianna grabbed her hand and slapped the silver bracelet into it.

The woman stared at the bracelet. “Where did you get this?”

“In the future, be more careful what you ask for.” She paused. “Heart’s hope carried the need to be protected, and you are. You are no longer connected to the world. You will not be found by the Eater of the World—or anyone else.”

The cloudy-eyed woman frowned. “But the dream said heart’s hope lies within belladonna.”

“It does,” Glorianna replied. “I am Belladonna.”

Ripples, murmurs. Ignoring the leader, she focused on the cloudy-eyed woman. “For the last time, where did the plants come from?”

“From a girl who lives in Raven’s Hill,” the cloudy-eyed woman replied. “She gave us the plants.”

“Where is Raven’s Hill?”

“On the eastern coast of Elandar.”

That told her nothing, but she would wait until she was back on her own island before trying to figure out where Elandar was in relation to any landscape she knew.

She picked up the pot of heart’s hope and handed it to the cloudy-eyed woman. “Tend this carefully. It’s the only anchor you have left to the world. If it’s destroyed, I don’t know if you’ll be able to touch the world again.”

“Touch the world?”

“This island is all you have now. What can be harvested from the land and the sea within this landscape’s boundaries is all your people can reach—at least until I find the other…sorceress…whose heart resonates with this place.”

Glorianna stepped back and took the pot of belladonna from Yoshani. “Hold on to my arm. We need to leave now.”

“Agreed,” he said, looking around at the men who had remained at the wharves.

She focused her heart and will on her garden, on the beds that represented Sanctuary. The feeling of strength and peace and home filled her. “Now,” she whispered.

Together they took the step between here and there—and stood in her garden, looking down at a bowl-shaped stone filled with water.

Glorianna set the pot of belladonna next to the stone. She wasn’t sure the island was really one of her landscapes, but she would keep it safe for a little while.

“What now, Glorianna Dark and Wise?” Yoshani asked, striding to keep up with her as she headed for the part of the garden that would take her to Aurora.

“I need to talk to my mother and Lee—maybe Sebastian, too—and see if any of them have heard of Elandar or know how to reach Raven’s Hill. If the Eater followed the ship, It may know how to find the girl. We have to find her first.”

“Forgive me if the question sounds cold, but why is this girl so important?”

Glorianna stopped in front of the statue of a sitting woman that she’d taken from her mother’s garden to act as an anchor for Nadia’s landscapes. She kept her eyes on the statue as she felt the question flow through her.

Something is changing. Has already changed.

“Because, Honorable Yoshani, I think this girl is like me. There may be someone else out there who is like me.”

It smashed water on water out of frustration at being cheated of Its prey. It raged at the True Enemy’s cunning.

It could see the Place of Light, but as It got closer to the island, the land began to fade, becoming less substantial until It reached some invisible marker in the sea. At that point, the island vanished altogether.

Something had drawn the True Enemy to this place. Something…or someone.

Turning, It followed the ships fleeing south. If It couldn’t have the Place of Light, It could—and would—have the sorceress who had helped deprive It of Its prey.

We’re safe, Merrill thought as she stared at the calm sea. The Destroyer is gone; the dark-hearted sorceress is gone.

“Merrill.”

The world can’t touch us anymore. Isn’t that what she said? We won’t be tainted by the world anymore. But the Dark feelings are still here. The Dark still smears the Light. I am the leader. I will cast out the Dark. I can. I will. Somehow, I will.

“Merrill.”

She looked at Shaela and smiled. “We’re safe. From everything.” She looked at the pot. “We should throw that into the sea. We can’t take it with us. It would contaminate Lighthaven.”

Shaela shook her head. “Hope is the Light’s seed. We must keep it with us and tend it. We will need it in the days ahead.”

Merrill looked at the pot of heart’s hope that had come from Caitlin Marie and shuddered.

I will cast out the Dark. I can. I will. Somehow, I will.