Bridge of Dreams

Chapter 33

Zhahar sat in the dining room of Nadia’s house, cupping a mug of peppermint tea. The day was pleasantly warm—perfect autumnal weather—but she felt cold inside. So cold. As if she would never thaw.

::I’m scared,:: Sholeh said.

*So am I,* Zhahar replied.

=We’re all scared,= Zeela added.

::What’s going to happen? Why won’t anyone tell us?::

*No one is supposed to tell us about Heart’s Justice until Glorianna returns.* And why is that? Zhahar wondered. Lee had sounded urgent when he’d told her how to ask for it. Why hadn’t any of them noticed how he’d avoided telling her what it was or what it would do? Now no one would speak of it.

The dining room door opened. Zephyra slipped inside the room and sat across from her.

“Glorianna has returned,” Zephyra said quietly, urgently. “She’s talking to Nadia and will be here in another minute. Zhahar, ask to be released from this Heart’s Justice. Come back to Tryadnea with me.”

“To be merged because I dared to love someone who wasn’t Tryad?” Zhahar asked bitterly. “Glorianna said we couldn’t get back to Tryadnea now, and we wouldn’t go back even if I could. Zeela wasn’t the only one who wished the border would break and leave us here. We all wanted it. Even Sholeh.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door open a crack—just enough for someone on the other side to hear what was being said.

Let them listen.

“That’s the trap, isn’t it?” she said. “In order to keep Tryadnea sufficiently connected to another piece of Ephemera, the ones sent into the one-face lands have to make an effort to live there, build a life there, until we’re exposed for what we are and have to run to avoid being locked up or killed. ‘Make friends,’ we’re told, ‘but don’t let them get too close. Find work, because that hooks you in a little deeper to that place. Be a good citizen but never forget your true loyalty.’”

Zephyra looked devastated by her words, so Morragen came into view.

“Hundreds before you have made the same sacrifice for our people and our land,” Morragen said. “Including me and my sisters.”

The Morragen aspect had always intimidated her, just as the Medusah aspect had frightened her, but Zhahar was glad it was no longer Zephyra in view. It made it easier to hold on to a hard truth when she wasn’t speaking to the aspect whose heart was breaking right now.

“You tell the Tryads who do this work that it is important work, valuable work, vital work.”

“And it is.”

“But you never tell them that making a real connection to a one-face land will change them, damage them. Because they will make friends, or begin to care about the people they work with, or fall in love. Tryadnea will no longer have their complete loyalty—until they are revealed for what they are. Until they are betrayed so they have to come home.”

Betrayed. Yes, there was truth in that word.

“You will not speak of this,” Morragen warned, her voice turned to ice.

“The leader can’t be the betrayer. That would tear the Tryad apart. But someone else? Someone who is the living proof of what it costs to love outside our own kind? How many ears within the governing circle hear her whispers?”

“Zhahar, don’t.” Zephyra came back into view, tears spilling down her face. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Perhaps not,” Zhahar conceded. “Your mothers and Allone were rivals for the leadership of Tryadnea before she gave up her sisters in order to love a one-face man.”

“Who left her as soon as it was done,” Zephyra said. “She became a one-face and was no longer considered for the leadership. But she was always on the fringes of the governing circle, always pointing out the dangers of getting too close to anyone who wasn’t Tryad.”

::Tell her,:: Sholeh urged.

“When you get back to the capital city, you should go to the archives and check some of the family lines. There might be a reason Allone is as persuasive as she is.”

Medusah came into view, but before she could respond, Glorianna walked into the room. Or was it Belladonna?

Zhahar’s hands tightened around the mug. She couldn’t release it until Zeela loaned her the strength to let go.

“Now,” Glorianna said as she took a seat at the head of the table. “Heart’s Justice.”

Morragen came into view. “That isn’t necessary. The a Zhahar Tryad can return with us to Tryadnea.”

“I thought I’d made it clear that their returning to Tryadnea was no longer possible,” Belladonna said with an icy sweetness that made Zhahar shiver. “No. Zhahar and her sisters asked for Heart’s Justice, and that is what they will have.”

“As leader of the Tryad people, we must be the judge of that!” Morragen shouted.

“Not this time. Minor wrongdoing and disputes between people are settled through common justice, and the decisions are made by magistrates,” Belladonna said. “Until we learned the nature of the wizards and where they came from, acts of violence were punished through Wizards’ Justice, and the penalty was usually death by wizards’ lightning. But when someone’s actions require more than common justice but don’t deserve death, a Landscaper is called to perform Heart’s Justice.” She looked at Zhahar. “Heart’s Justice will forge a direct link between you and Ephemera, and you will be sent to the darkest landscape that resonates with your heart. It will be done tomorrow, at sunrise.” Now she looked at Morragen. “You will return to Tryadnea now.”

“No!” Zephyra pushed into view. “We’re going to stay and support our daughters!”

“You don’t want the same thing they do. All you’ll do now is confuse their hearts. Wait for me outside.”

“We are the leader of the Tryad,” Morragen Medusah a Zephyra said as they rose. “Who are you to speak to us that way?”

“I am the monster that Evil fears,” Belladonna replied softly. “I am the one who can take Tryadnea out of the world. Not just set it adrift. Take it out of the world. Or, worse, I can have Ephemera connect your land to the place that is feeding the Dark currents swelling in your homeland. You think you’re a demon, Tryad? You haven’t yet seen the worst demons that walk in our world.”

Zhahar sat perfectly still, too afraid to move and call attention to herself.

“We will wait for you outside,” Morragen finally said. She left the dining room, closing the door behind her.

“Now,” Glorianna said. “What I told you about Heart’s Justice is true. At least for a person of single aspect.” She reached over and closed a hand around Zhahar’s wrist. “Listen well, Sholeh Zeela a Zhahar. A link will be forged between you and Ephemera, and the world will send you to the darkest landscape you deserve. You may end up in a familiar place—even back in Tryadnea, despite not being able to reach it otherwise—or somewhere unlike anything you’ve seen, where you’ll spend the rest of your life hiding what you are. The heart has no secrets. Take this day to think about who you are and what you truly want.”

Glorianna pushed back her chair.

“What about Lee?” Zhahar asked, feeling her face heat. “Do you know where he is?”

Glorianna looked at her. “Lee is no longer a consideration. Where he is doesn’t matter. What you and your sisters want for yourselves is all that can matter now. Remember, Sholeh Zeela a Zhahar, Ephemera is going to send you to the darkest landscape that resonates with your heart.” She walked to the door, then looked back. “Let your heart travel lightly, because what you bring with you becomes part of the landscape.”

Zhahar sat at the table a long time. No one came in to check on her. No one disturbed her. She knew there were other people around, but she felt alone. So terribly alone.

::She used our full name,:: Sholeh said slowly. ::Twice.::

=So?= Zeela growled.

::So this Heart’s Justice will take us to the darkest landscape that resonates with the heart of Sholeh Zeela a Zhahar.::

Zhahar felt her heartbeat quicken. *Not the one who is three, not the individuals who might be split if considered separately, but the three who are one. She was telling us she can work it so the world considers all three of us together.*

=If we’re united, the darkest landscape that would match Sholeh will balance out the darkest one that would match me,= Zeela said, sounding hopeful.

*Someplace all three of us could survive,* Zhahar agreed. Put aside the rest, she thought as she took the mug out to the kitchen. Let your heart travel lightly.

Lee was gone; she was estranged from her mothers and from her people. All she and her sisters had were each other. She hoped that would be enough.

Glorianna walked out of the kitchen and stood near the door. Sebastian had taken Lynnea home to rest. Her mother was in the keets’ room, taking care of her birds, and Jeb was helping her. She didn’t know where Caitlin and Teaser were, but they wouldn’t have gone far. Neither would Yoshani. Not until they had witnessed the Heart’s Justice that would determine Zhahar’s fate.

That left Michael, who was sitting on a bench, playing a tune that was full of bitter weariness and a few turns of phrase that sounded hopeful.

It was the music he heard in the heart of Morragen Medusah a Zephyra.

She walked over to where Morragen stood, looking at the flowers blooming in Nadia’s garden. Looking but probably not seeing.

She would make no apology for eavesdropping. Zhahar had known she was at the dining room door and had most likely drawn some courage from having someone besides her mothers hear her words. But some things about the Tryad had fallen into place because of those words.

“Whose voice whispers through the Tryad’s dreams?” she asked when she stood beside Morragen. “Is it the voice of Guides who stand for the Light, or do you listen to the voices that were shaped in the Dark?”

“You speak in riddles,” Morragen said harshly.

“Do I? How many generations have your people drifted? How many of the strong were lost when they were exposed to people who were primed to see them as demons or monsters? Tryads have mated outside your race. You have a young man who is a Bridge—at least one of his aspects is. What other talents have been brought into your race?” When Morragen said nothing, Glorianna continued. “Who decides who leads? The a Zhahar Tryad is disgraced, so they won’t follow you when you step down as leader, the way you followed your mothers. Disgraced because one aspect wanted to love a one-face man, not just use him to bring in fresh blood to the race.”

“She may be disgraced, but she doesn’t have to go through with this Heart’s Justice of yours.”

“What kind of life do the disgraced have among your people?” Glorianna countered. “Why are your customs so harsh? I ask you again, Morragen Medusah a Zephyra. Whose voice whispers through the Tryad’s dreams?”

“What does Allone spreading rumors now accomplish? It would have been years before Zhahar would step up and take our place.”

“Adrift and bitter, the Dark currents in Tryadnea grow stronger,” Glorianna said. “A successful union between a Tryad and a man of single aspect might strengthen the bonds between your people and another, might nourish hope that could create other bonds. The Dark Guides and wizards did a similar thing to the Landscapers. Over the years, they persuaded the instructors at the school to view as dangerous the students who were stronger than usual or who had more connection to the Dark currents. And we were dangerous—to the wizards. So they destroyed those among us who were the Guides and destroyed the strongest among the Landscapers under the guise of protecting Ephemera. They whisper in the dark, Morragen, and I think they’ve been whispering in Tryadnea for a long time now.”

She waited while Medusah came into view.

“These wizards are people of single aspect,” Medusah said. “How…?”

“If one aspect of a Tryad can be a Bridge, one aspect can be a wizard,” Glorianna said, feeling the sudden wash of power in the currents of the world. “A betrayal and death long ago, like the one in the story about the sisters, could have tipped the resonance of Tryadnea enough to let the wizards in. Their females couldn’t wear human faces, but mating with another race that might have been spawned in the darker currents could give them offspring that could hide. Change the resonance of Tryadnea and set your land adrift. Become an essential part of what is needed to connect the land to another place, but keep the connection only if there are wizards influencing that place. Those wizards provide shelter in the other lands while they mate with Tryad, especially the Tryad who already have some of their bloodlines. And the power that shaped the Dark Guides and their progeny is reinforced in your people.”

“If any of that is true, then we have been betrayed over and over,” Medusah said. She swallowed hard. “What Zhahar said was true. Every Tryad who goes out to connect our land returns damaged in some way.” She frowned. “You think that’s why we were able to connect to Vision? Because the wizards were already there?”

“Yes, I think that’s why. But there were enough hearts that wanted something different. I think that’s why, even though you were anchored to Vision, Ephemera made me aware of you. The moment Tryadnea began resonating with me, it was no longer within the wizards’ ability to control the currents of Light and Dark. They can influence the currents by influencing people’s hearts, but they can’t easily set you adrift again.”

“So the enemy is among us, wearing the face of a friend.”

“The most dangerous enemies usually do,” Glorianna said softly. “That’s why I’m not going to establish other borders or boundaries between Tryadnea and my other landscapes. If there are wizards hiding among those who govern the Tryad, I can’t risk them reaching my pieces of the world—especially Sanctuary. I can’t risk them finding Caitlin when she’s tending her landscapes. We won’t even know a wizard is there until…” She clamped a hand over her nose and stepped back from the flower bed as a stinkweed poked out of the ground. “All right, we will know now that there is a plant that will warn us. Ephemera, get that out of my mother’s garden and shift the wind so the smell blows away from the house.”

Medusah stared at the flower bed. “Could that plant grow in Tryadnea?”

“At this point, I think it will grow anywhere.” Glorianna lowered her hand and sniffed. The plant hadn’t been there long enough to stink up the area too much. “If no one else understands the significance of it suddenly appearing, you’ll have your warning that a wizard is nearby.”

Medusah hesitated, then submerged as Zephyra came into view. “Is there nothing you can do for Zhahar and her sisters?”

“Their life, their journey, their choice.” Glorianna lightly touched Zephyra’s arm. “It may take them a while, but they’ll find the place their hearts recognize as home.”

“Then we will return to Tryadnea to consider all we have learned. And we’ll hope that someday we will have news of Sholeh Zeela a Zhahar.”

“Travel lightly, Morragen Medusah a Zephyra.”

“And you, Glorianna Belladonna.”

Glorianna wasn’t sure if the Tryad wanted to say more or just didn’t know how to leave after everything that had happened in the past couple of days. She did notice how Yoshani and Teaser were suddenly available to escort Zephyra back to the border between the Den and Tryadnea. And she noticed that her mother didn’t come out of the house until Zephyra was gone.

“What do you think?” Glorianna asked, linking her arm with Nadia’s.

“Are you asking a fellow Landscaper or your mother?”

“My mother.”

“She’s hurting for her children. As a leader, I think she recognizes that her people might be harboring a deadly enemy—and that must be a terrible and frightening realization. And as a woman, I think she’s hoping that, by being cut free of their people, Zhahar and her sisters will find the heart magic that has been eluding the Tryad for so many years.”

“If Zhahar does find it, the Tryad who were merged or forced to sacrifice siblings because of some archaic law will be bitter, maybe even destructive.” Especially if some part of them answered to the Dark.

“Yes. I don’t envy the a Zephyra Tryad.”

“Nor do I.” Glorianna hesitated, struggling to say the words. “Do you mind that I have two aspects?”

“Aspects.” Nadia smiled. “We have a way to describe it now, don’t we? No, I don’t mind, and even if I did…” She shrugged. “Your life, your journey, your choice.”

She felt the currents of Light become a little stronger, so she laughed and said, “How long are you going to wait before you give Lee one of the young keets as a housewarming present?”

“He doesn’t want a keet.”

“He didn’t want a keet. Now I think having one would be good for him.”

Nadia said nothing. Then, “The youngsters I have now will be leaving for their new homes in a few days, but Jeb is building a couple of cages that might suit Lee’s new residence.”

“So he should be settled in well enough by the time you’re looking for homes for the next brood?”

“Exactly.”

Laughing, the two women walked back to the house.