Bridge of Dreams (43 page)

That wasn’t surprising. “Do you know why?” she asked.

The music Michael heard in people’s hearts was the way he recognized when someone didn’t fit into a place anymore. Whatever he could tell her would add to her own sense of what was building around them since last night.

“The music doesn’t tell me the
why
, but Lee puts me in mind of a man who’s pulling both ends of a rope. No matter which side wins, he still loses.”

He studied her, but she doubted he saw much. There wasn’t much moonlight, and Sebastian and Lee had the lanterns.

“What’s on your mind, darling?” Michael finally asked.

“The Wish River and what it looks like in the places where heart wishes are in conflict.” Wild. Raging. Water smashing against itself and breaking anything that it could pound against the rocks. Early last night—before the appearance of Allone?—several heart wishes had been flowing in the same direction. This morning? Wild, raging water with fierce undercurrents.

Glorianna stopped as soon as they drew even with the Den’s cobblestone main street.

Heart wishes in conflict, smashing against each other. Ephemera’s currents of power swirling around her. Enough fury to
glut
the Dark currents
in the Den.

hurry hurry hurry

And a suspicion about the bloodlines of a Tryad who was no longer three.

“I need to check the border between the Den and Tryadnea, and I need
Sebastian to go with me,” she said. “Can you stay here with Lee and find out what he wanted to show me?”

“I can. But shouldn’t I go with you?”

She shook her head. “I need you with Lee, and I need the wizard with me.”

Michael stared at her. Then he whistled sharply. Sebastian turned and headed back to them. Lee walked on a few more steps before he stopped and, after a noticeable pause, turned back to join them.

His heart is more sensitive to the Dark currents than it used to be
, she thought.
More sensitive—and more responsive to the darkness in other hearts. Like mine is.

When she explained that she needed to check the border, Lee said testily, “Can’t it wait a few minutes? Can’t you even give me that much time?”

They looked at him, and even he seemed confused by the words.

“Glorianna,” Lee began.

“You need to get away from the Den,” she said with the quiet conviction he had never questioned. “You need to get back to Aurora
now.”

“Is someone whispering to you, Lee?” Sebastian asked.

Lee swayed. Michael grabbed his arm.

“Guardians and Guides,” Lee whispered.

“Nothing that invasive,” Glorianna said firmly. “But definitely something that doesn’t belong here.” She felt herself start to slide toward Belladonna’s darker state of mind. “Lee, please.”

She walked away from all of them. Had to.

Thorn trees with the succulent fruit of rotting bodies. Death rollers hiding in the only fresh water available. Trapspiders as big as dogs, waiting for the unwary. Vines that took root under the skin, spreading fast to anchor around bone so that they couldn’t be torn out. Growing out of the skin and spreading until they covered their prey—until their weight was too much to carry, and even a grown man finally buckled while the vines fed on him.

She would not bring those things to the Den. She
wouldn’t
. But there were times when she struggled from one minute to the next to make a choice that belonged to the Light.

Love, not sex, was the taboo between a Tryad and a one-faced man. If a Tryad could have an aspect that was a Bridge, there could be some among
them who were sired by a wizard—or even a Dark Guide. Someone who fed the Dark currents and had some of the wizards’ ability to persuade others into making a truth out of lies could drain hope from a people—especially if there was another explanation for her bitterness and anger.

Everything is in motion
, she thought.
But I—and Belladonna—can help Zhahar choose which darkness is her fate.

When Glorianna paid attention to her surroundings again, she was almost to the other end of the Den’s main street, and Sebastian was walking beside her.

“You want to tell me what we’re walking toward?” he asked when they stepped from the cobblestone street to the dirt lane that led to the Merry Makers’ landscape as well as Tryadnea.

“A possible confrontation with a wizard’s offspring.”

He swore. “Does this person have the lightning?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt it. I think at least one aspect of the Morragen Medusah a Zephyra Tryad would have died by now if their enemy could command wizards’ lightning.”

“Guardians and Guides,” he muttered.

“Come on,” she said. “We need to check that border.”

They broke into a run, slowing down when they reached the stone markers. Those stones were unchanged, and, Glorianna noted with relief, the large triangles of stone that marked the actual border were in place. But the border itself didn’t feel quite right.

Sebastian caught her arm and pulled her back before she stepped between the stone triangles.

“Let me cross over,” he said. “Just in case there’s trouble in Tryadnea.”

“I’m not sure the trouble
is
in Tryadnea,” she replied. “But I do know that border doesn’t feel right. If you cross over, you may not be able to get back.”

“I have a one-shot bridge that will take me back to the Den, so I’ll get back here one way or another.”

“All right.” She didn’t like watching him walk up to that border, didn’t like watching him cross over to Tryadnea.

Except Sebastian didn’t cross over. He
should
have disappeared from
sight,
should
have been standing in Tryadnea the moment he passed between the stones. But she could still see him, and that proved something wasn’t right.

Resonances. Tryadnea had
wanted
to belong to her, but now it was pulling away, resisting the connection. Why? Because the Den was a dark landscape? Or because the Den wasn’t dark enough? All right, the carnal carnival wasn’t the most convenient connection, but it was a connection to other parts of Ephemera. And what other people would be so accepting of a three-faced bitch who looked down at her brother and cousin?

The Tryad thought the Den wasn’t dark enough? She knew a place that would welcome the Tryad. That landscape was still within reach, was always within reach. It would be so easy to add Tryadnea to the landscapes in the Eater of the World’s domain. Bonelovers and trapspiders wouldn’t care how many faces the prey wore as long as the flesh was juicy. And the Eater would welcome the diversion of taking a few Tryad apart to learn how to become one and use their own shape to hunt them.

They didn’t want this little piece of her darkness? Then they could have…

Sebastian.

The cousin whose heart had saved her stood between the border stones, and even though he was little more than a dark shape, she knew he waited for her to decide if she was going to struggle back to the Light. He understood that struggle, which is why he didn’t take a sunrise for granted. And because he understood, she made the exhausting effort to be Glorianna instead of Belladonna.

She was about to tell him she was in control of herself when he pressed a finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet. He took a few steps away from the border, then moved off to his right. She followed him on her side. He moved cautiously, and she wondered what he sensed that she couldn’t.

Still moving cautiously, he retraced his steps and returned to her side of the border. Before she could ask any questions, he shook his head, took her arm, and walked halfway back to the lane that led to the Den.

“Why are you having so much trouble staying in balance?” he asked. “That’s the second time you slipped since we crossed over from Aurora. Do
you need to go back to the Island in the Mist—or stay away from the dark landscapes?”

She considered the question, then shook her head. “I’ll be all right. What happened when you crossed the border?”

Sebastian studied her as best he could in starlight. “I could hear some of the men talking. Couldn’t see them, couldn’t see a fire or their camp, but I could hear them.”

“How did they sound?”

“Excited. Impressed by the way you came to their land. Hopeful that this time the connection will hold and they can be a part of the world again. And a couple of them were scared about what Morragen would say when they told her a woman slipped past them and went to the Den.”

“A woman called Allone?”

Sebastian nodded. “She returned before dawn and seemed pleased about something. Maybe an incubus gave her a tumble.”

I doubt that would have pleased her. But destroying someone else’s life certainly would.

“Is this because of me and Morragen snapping at each other yesterday when we were waiting for you?”

“You’re not the dissonance that disrupted the border,” she said.

“But someone is?”

“Oh yes. Someone is.” She studied the stone triangles. “Conflicting heart wishes, not only between separate people but within Morragen Medusah a Zephyra.”
How much courage do you have? Will you sacrifice your daughter for your people?

Nothing she wanted to do about that border, since the Den was safer if Tryad couldn’t cross over, so she started walking back to the lane.

“What is your impression of our guests?” she asked.

“Which ones?” Sebastian countered. “Danyal is solid. He’s intrigued by the Den, but he could have just as easily ended up stumbling into Aurora, and the result would be the same—he’s looking to change, and you, Aunt Nadia, and Michael are the ones who can show him different possibilities. Probably you and Michael. I gather Danyal is more like you two than like Auntie.”

“I agree with that. Go on.”

“Kobrah has seen some dark places. She wouldn’t find the Den on her own, though. Too carnal for her.”

“She wouldn’t find Aurora on her own either,” Glorianna said. “The currents of Light are too strong to resonate with her as she is now. The fact that she’s working at the Asylum is a measure of where her heart is.”

“Didn’t get much of a feel for Morragen Medusah a Zephyra, except that I’d like all her visits to be short ones,” Sebastian said. “But her daughters?” He blew out a breath. “Zeela could settle into the Den without a second thought. She’s tough and physical—and probably knows more about men and sex than the other two combined. Sholeh reminds me of Lynnea when she first came to the Den—a little stunned, but determined to grab at a chance to have an adventure before someone takes away that chance.”

“She’s also physically more fragile than the other two,” Glorianna said. “Which makes me wonder if all the Tryad have one weaker sibling.”

“You think there’s truth in that story Yoshani and Michael patched together last night?”

“Something to think about. So we’re down to Zhahar.”

“Doesn’t fit in the Den.”

“Where else doesn’t she fit?” Glorianna asked softly. But that wasn’t a question either of them could answer. At least, not yet.

A demon cycle gave them a ride to the stationary bridge that led to Aurora. When they crossed over, they found Lee and Michael waiting for them outside Sebastian’s cottage.

Glorianna glanced at the rolled blanket at Michael’s feet but didn’t ask about it.

“Lee might have an access point to Vision,” Michael said, “but we weren’t sure where to set it up to test that possibility.”

“Vision will have to wait,” Glorianna said as she stepped in front of Lee. “What were you and Zhahar arguing about at Mother’s house?”

“It’s private,” he replied.

There was a snap of temper in his voice, but under that snap was hurt.

“It may be personal,” she countered, “but it’s no longer private. Lee, the border between the Den and Tryadnea has faded to the point where no one can cross over.”

He reached up and pulled off the dark glasses. “What are you talking about? That border was solid.”

“Yes, it
was
solid. Now it’s acting like the White Isle did when we first tried to approach. Sebastian could hear the men talking but couldn’t see them, couldn’t actually cross over.”

“But Tryadnea is your landscape,” Lee protested.

“I think there’s a power struggle going on in Tryadnea that we aren’t privy to, so maybe not everyone wants Tryadnea to be one of my landscapes,” Glorianna said. “Maybe there are some who want that land to remain barren. What I do know is that Zhahar is at the center of this.”

“Zhahar wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her homeland,” Lee said. “And she certainly wouldn’t want to strip her people of the first chance they’ve had in years of making a solid connection to another part of the world.”

“She’s the tool, Lee,” she said softly.

He swore quietly but with considerable heat. Then he removed the soft-brimmed hat and scrubbed one hand over his head. “Zhahar has decided that she doesn’t have feelings for me, isn’t going to have feelings for me, that it was all a moment’s madness between a Handler and an inmate, with the romantic notions all on my side.” He shrugged.

She didn’t need to see the hurt in his eyes; she felt it in his heart.

“Do you believe that?” Michael asked.

“Lee, what would happen if Tryadnea broke away from the Den and went adrift again?” Glorianna asked. “What would happen if you made a one-shot bridge that got Morragen back home and Zhahar didn’t go back?”

He shook his head. “I’d make a one-shot bridge for her too. I wouldn’t leave her stranded here, Glorianna. I’m churned up right now, but I’m not that selfish.”

“No,” she said with a smile. “You’re not. But if Zhahar didn’t go back?”

“She doesn’t like it here.”

“This isn’t the only place, Lee.”

“When you’re cut off from your own people, you can pick and choose the customs you want to keep.” Michael said. “Is that what you’re thinking?”

Glorianna nodded. “And you can get away from a kind of heart poison that lives inside too many of your people.” She looked at her brother. “The heart has no secrets, Bridge. Zhahar can lie to her mother. She can lie to you. She can even lie to herself. But she can’t lie to a Guide of the Heart, not when she’s standing in my landscapes. The romantic notions aren’t all on your side. I don’t know if that helps or hurts, but I can tell you that much.”
And Zhahar will have to tell you the rest—if she chooses.