Belladonna by Anne Bishop

landscapes in her care. She had to find the dissonance and weed out the source before it contaminated everything.
    Despite her vigilance, had the Eater of the World found an anchor point in one of her landscapes that connected with this garden? Had It burrowed in somewhere like a dark, malevolent weed, waiting until she got close enough before unleashing one of its nightmarish creatures in hope of destroying her?
    Then she felt Ephemera stirring, trying to align itself to the emotions and wishes churning inside her. The world trusted her as it had trusted few others since the time of the first Landscapers, who had been known as Guides of the Heart. It would manifest her emotions, thinking that was what she wanted — even if that meant creating an access point through which the Eater of the World could enter.
    She had to regain control of herself. She had to think instead of feel. She had to think for both of them, because that was her purpose; that was why the world had shaped her kind in the first place.
    Closing her eyes, she focused on the dissonance, and as the first shock that anything could have invaded her garden wore off, she caught the faintest hint of anxiety — rather like a puppy who had caught a small creature and brought it home but wasn't receiving the expected praise.
    Ephemera had done this? Why?
    She opened her eyes and strode to that unsettling spot. The placement of the thing, tucked in an empty piece of the garden that connected with Sanctuary, sent a new jolt of uneasiness rushing through her, but she crouched down to study this unasked-for
    "gift."
    This particular spot had been filled with nothing but clover to protect the rich soil. Now, in the center of that clover, was a stone shaped like a natural basin shallow enough to provide birds with a place to drink and bathe. In the basin, just beneath the water, was a silver cuff bracelet with an intricate design of knots that flowed one to the next.
    She reached out, resting her hand on the stone so her fingertips dipped into the water.
    Turmoil. Ambivalence. Need and denial. Powerful emotions that tugged at her and also pushed her away.
    This stone didn't come from a place of darkness but a Place of Light. She could feel the Light's currents singing in the stone and the water. There was some comfort in that, but it didn't explain why Ephemera had plunked down an access point to an unknown landscape that was connected to who knew where.
    Focus, Glorianna. This wasn't idly done.
    Someone had cried out with a heart wish strong enough to produce this response from the world, but bringing this stone here to her was as far as Ephemera could take that heart wish.
    At another time, she would have used that access point to cross over to the unknown landscape. Standing in that place would have given her a better feel for what that part of Ephemera needed. Except ...
    This Place of Light resonated with her and yet it didn't. It was tangled up somehow, and the reason for that was outside her experience.
    The currents of power that flowed through Ephemera circled around her, anxious, eager.
    Sighing, Glorianna rose. "All right. It can stay." For now. "Let's see if we can get through the rest of the day without any more excitement, all right?"
    The currents of power drifted away from her, making her think, again, of a puppy who had already done the very thing she just told it not to do. Not a good sign.
    So she wasn't surprised when she saw Lee hurrying up to the garden's gate.
    "This is supposed to be your rest day," she called as she hurried to meet him.
    "I know. Yours too."
    He looked pale and troubled — and his suppressed anger was strong enough to produce a shimmer in the island's Dark currents.
    "What's wrong?" Glorianna asked. "Is everything all right at home?"
    "It's fine. Home is fine." Lee raked a hand through his hair.
    "Lee."
    "A handful of Landscapers and three Bridges have found their way to Sanctuary. They're ... distraught... and a bit too quick to