Free Belladonna by Anne Bishop Page B

continue."
    "Must be humiliating, to say things meant to be kept private."
    "But they don't keep it private. They've been saying the same things to people behind the other person's back. This gets it all out in the open, and beyond showing everyone else how petty the argument truly is, it's also highly entertaining."
    "Does it do any good?"
    "Sometimes I think it really does clear things up between people who care about each other but stumbled somewhere along the way."
    Glorianna cocked her head. "Like siblings?"
    Lee grinned. "From what I gathered, some of them start a ruckus just to go play in the mud."
    She laughed. "Too bad you didn't know about this custom when we were younger."
    He laughed with her, then he turned serious. "You're not like other Landscapers, Glorianna Belladonna. You never were.
    You're a heart-walker as well as a Landscaper. Never forget that."
    Tears stung her eyes, and she didn't resist when he put his arms around her in a comforting hug.
    "Do you ever wish that I had been like them?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
    "Sometimes," he replied quietly. "But only because of what it cost you to be different." He hesitated, then added, "I wouldn't change anything, Belladonna. I've worked with other Landscapers. Had to. And I'll tell you this, not as your brother but as a Bridge. There is no one else I would want leading this fight against the Eater of the World. There is no one else I would trust enough to follow."
    She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Not that she needed to see the truth; she could feel his heart.
    "Let's go meet with the others."
    With their hands linked, they stepped onto the island. Within moments, Lee had shifted them back to the part of Sanctuary where the island physically existed. A few minutes later, they entered the guest house and found the room Yoshani had reserved for this meeting.
    The Landscapers and Bridges in the room didn't look bedraggled, exactly, but there was a dazed expression in all their eyes.
    They had seen the end of their world as they knew it, and none of them were sure how to take the next step toward healing what had been savaged by the Eater of the World's attack on the Landscapers' and Bridges' schools.
    Had the Guides of the Heart looked the same way? Glorianna wondered. When the battle was over and they looked around. At their shattered world, had they, too, felt lost and uncertain?
    Yoshani smiled when he saw them, but she felt the sadness resonating from his heart, felt the Dark currents of power that flowed through the room, fed by the five Landscapers and three Bridges who sat waiting. She didn't know any of the Bridges, and she didn't know the Third Level Landscaper or the three who wore First Level badges. But the oldest Landscaper had been an Instructor at the school during her brief time there.
    "Hey-a," Yoshani said softly.
    One of the Bridges looked over and saw them. For a moment, his eyes remained blank. Then anger filled him as he leaped to his feet and pointed. "What are they doing here?"
    "They are the ones you have come to see," Yoshani said.
    "Not them," the oldest Landscaper said. "Not her."
    "There are things you need to know," Glorianna said, moving further into the room. "Things you can do to protect your Landscapes if you just —"
    "You did this!" the Third Level Landscaper screamed. "The wizards should have destroyed you when they had the chance!"
    "Glorianna didn't release the Eater of the World, and she didn't destroy the school!" Lee shouted. "She's never done anything to any of you! The Dark Guides poisoned your minds and hearts against her, but she's the only one who can help you now."
    "We don't need her help," the oldest Landscaper said, her whole body shaking with anger as she got to her feet. "She was declared rogue for a reason, and we've finally seen Belladonna's true face."
    "Do you really see it?" Glorianna asked. "Can you calm your own hearts for just a moment to really see me for who and what I