Anne Bishop - Sebastian

“What killed the horse?” Sebastian demanded.

“Death rollers. There were death rollers in the pond.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. Blew it out slowly. “Doesn’t look like they’re going to find any water where they are now. Come on. If this was the same pond, we’re not that far from the bridge. I couldn’t have walked more than a couple of hours before I met the waterhorse.” He paused, then added softly, “I wonder what happened to it.”

For the good of Ephemera, Koltak chanted silently. To save Ephemera.

They headed north. One hill looked like another, as far as Koltak was concerned, just as one stand of trees looked much the same as all the others, but Sebastian slowed at each stand of trees, circling each one to study it from every direction.

“It’s this one,” Sebastian said. “After crossing the bridge and walking for a while, I turned south at a stand of trees. I think it’s this one.”

Koltak bit his tongue to keep from saying something imprudent. He couldn’t risk saying anything that would jar Sebastian’s focused thought of reaching the bridge.

They turned west, and in less time than Koltak would have thought possible, they reached a narrow creek.

But not a bridge. No sign of the wood planks.

The demon cycles drifted north, following the creek.

“I see the planks!” Koltak said, his heart pounding with excitement. Almost there. Almost done. If Dalton didn’t fail him…

Suddenly the cycles swung away from the creek, snarling viciously. They circled back, ending up north of the planks, facing the way they’d come.

“Something was here,” Sebastian said quietly. “Something bad.” He looked at the two demons, who finally stopped snarling. “But I don’t think it’s there anymore.” He looked east—the direction that would take him back to the Den.

No, Koltak thought. No. Not now. To save Ephemera. For the good of Ephemera.

Sebastian leaned forward and whispered in the demon’s ear—and kept whispering until the demon bobbed its head in agreement. Then he swung off the cycle and adjusted his pack.

Koltak hurried to do the same. Uneasiness rippled through him when the demon cycles didn’t go away, just moved off a couple of man-lengths from the bridge.

“They’ll stay a little while, in case we need them,” Sebastian said. “If there’s something bad on the other side of the bridge, we need to get away from it fast.”

It scraped at his pride, but he made his voice sound weary and weak. “Would you mind crossing first, Sebastian? If there is trouble, you’re younger and…more fit…to get back across the bridge.”

Hesitation. Wariness.

For the good of Ephemera. To save Ephemera.

Sebastian moved toward the bridge, testing the ground with each step, keeping his eyes on the spot the demon cycles didn’t like. One foot on the wooden planks. Both feet. One step toward the other side of the bridge. Another step.

Koltak hurried to the bridge, stepped on the planks. Sebastian was at the other end of the bridge. One more step and he’d cross over.

He didn’t take that step. Just stood there.

Koltak rushed across the bridge and gave Sebastian a hard shove, sending the younger man stumbling off the bridge.

“Seize him!” Koltak shouted as he took the last step to bring him back to the landscape where all his ambitions would finally bear fruit.

His heart filled with glee as he watched Sebastian trying to fight off two guards. A knee to the groin had one guard rolling away, retching. The other guard seemed more capable but wasn’t trying to do more than restrain Sebastian.

“You lying bastard!” Sebastian shouted, almost shaking off the guard before Dalton and another guard could reach the bridge.

In the light of the flickering torches that were planted on either side of the bridge, Koltak saw the intent in Sebastian’s eyes, but couldn’t move fast enough to prevent being struck.

Lightning lashed out from Sebastian’s hand. It would have been a killing strike if the guard hadn’t hit Sebastian in the head, ruining his aim.

Koltak felt the power rip through his left foot as Sebastian fell to the ground, stunned by the blow.

“Truss him up before he can do any more damage,” Dalton snapped.

One of the guards untied a rope hanging from his belt while the other stripped off Sebastian’s pack. Koltak waited until Sebastian’s hands were tied behind his back and his feet bound before taking a limping step toward his son.

The pain was hideous, and he suspected he’d lost the toes on that foot. But he took another limping step forward, raised his hand…

…and Dalton stepped in front of him.

“No,” Dalton said. “You can’t strike down a defenseless man.”

“He’ll be less trouble without his legs,” Koltak snarled.

He saw the shock in Dalton’s eyes and knew he’d made an error. This guard captain wasn’t suitable for serving the power in Wizard City. But that was something Harland would rectify. For now, he needed Dalton and his men.

“You’re right,” Koltak said. “I wasn’t thinking. A reaction to the pain.”

Dalton nodded, but it was clear the man wasn’t convinced.

“Tell me why,” Sebastian gasped.

Dalton hesitated, then stepped aside.

Koltak stared at his son. The blood smearing Sebastian’s hair and face gave him some satisfaction, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

“I’m no use to you,” Sebastian said. “Why go through all the trouble to bring me here?”

“But you are of use to us,” Koltak said. “You’re going to deliver the enemy into our hands. There was no way for us to reach Nadia or Lee, so you’re the only one she’d come here to save.”

“No.” Sebastian groaned. “No.”

“Yes.” Koltak smiled. “So you see? I didn’t lie. By bringing Belladonna here, where we can destroy her, you will save Ephemera.”

Ido not know how things are done in other places in the world, but here in the landscapes there are three kinds of justice: common justice, Wizards’ Justice, and Heart’s Justice.

Common justice is performed by law enforcers and the magistrates who hold court to settle minor wrongdoing and disputes that arise wherever people gather to live.

Whenever violence has been done, a wizard is summoned to decide the penalty. Sometimes it is Wizards’ Justice—the lightning they can summon that, while inflicting agony, is a quick death.

But sometimes the penalty requires something less, and more, than death, and the wizard will send word that a Landscaper is needed for Heart’s Justice.

Nothing produces more fear—and more hope—than Heart’s Justice. The Landscaper forges a direct link between Ephemera and the accused, and that person is sent to the darkest landscape that resonates in his heart. It is an inescapable punishment, because no matter what landscape the person ends up in, he must live with the knowledge that this reflects who he is, and whatever hardships he endures in that place have come from his own heart.

But there is also the hope that a person will learn from his past and change enough so that, one day, he’ll be able to cross over to another, gentler landscape.

Most of the time, though, the person disappears into some desolate part of the world and is never seen again.

—The Magistrate’s Book of Justice

Lynnea closed the door, then leaned her forehead against it, not quite ready to face the empty room. She’d spent plenty of hours alone here, but it felt different this time—because Sebastian wasn’t just out and about somewhere in the Den. He was going to another landscape—the wizards’ landscape—traveling with a man who made her uneasy, even though she’d gotten only glimpses of him. There had been something about the wizard that made her glad the bull demons had wanted a second helping of omelets and had lingered at the table while the man had talked to Sebastian.