Philo wiped his hands on his apron and kept his eyes focused on the table. "You didn't tell him?"

"He just got here, didn't he?" Teaser snapped. "Hasn't even had time to swallow some ale and wash the taste of Wizard City out of his mouth."

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked again.

Someone at another table called to Philo. He hurried away.

Teaser picked up a penis-shaped roll, swirled it in the melted cheese, and took a bite. Chew, swallow, swirl the next piece of the roll.

Sebastian plucked a Phallic Delight from the basket and swirled it in the cheese. The first bite was a sharp reminder that he hadn't eaten anything while he'd been away from the Den. Since Teaser didn't seem anxious to tell him what had happened-or find out what had taken place in Wizard City-he gave his attention to the simple meal.

Then Teaser glanced toward the front of the courtyard and muttered, "Could have done without seeing her."

Glorianna? Sebastian looked in the same direction, his heart suddenly pounding. Then he looked away as quickly as Teaser had, hoping the succubus eyeing the other customers was too preoccupied with her own games to notice them.

"Can't say I'd feel sorry if that one disappeared," Teaser said, tearing off a piece of the Phallic Delight before dipping it in the cheese.

"You don't mean that," Sebastian said sharply.

Teaser flinched. "No, I don't. It's just... well... that one. You know the bitch will ooze over here and make snide comments about incubi eating cocks."

Sebastian huffed. "It's bread and cheese. We don't get a vote on what shape Philo chooses to make the rolls."

"Tell her that."

I'd rather not get that close. Since they usually weren't competing for the same prey, the incubi and succubi who lived in the Den tended to get along fairly well-and sometimes even played with one another for a night of mind-blowing sex. But that particular succubus... She didn't live in the Den, but she visited often enough, and every time he encountered her he felt... uneasy. She was sharper, darker, more predatory than the Den's residents, and there was a maliciousness to the way she played with her prey that made it clear to those who also played the game that she deliberately stripped all the fun out of sex and turned her prey's need into desperation and addiction. And she was just as malicious when she tried to lure an incubus into playing her particular game.

They sighed with relief when the succubus turned away from the courtyard.

Breaking the last roll in half, Sebastian scraped the remaining cheese out of the bowl. He handed one piece to Teaser and ate the other. Full, and yet still hungry for something food couldn't ease, he leaned back in his chair. "You ready to tell me what happened?"

Teaser lifted his mug, then set it down again without drinking. "The alley changed."

"What does that mean?"

"It's been altered," Teaser said, his voice sharpened by uneasiness. He paused, clearly struggling with some strong emotions. "We figured we should move the... remains. Couldn't just leave them there to attract other kinds of predators, could we? But the body was gone. In its place there are green plants growing in the middle of the alley right where the body had been."

Teaser stared at him. Sebastian looked away.

"Belladonna was here," he said reluctantly.

"So she did-"

"No. She wouldn't bring a killer into the Den. She had to be the one who altered things after we left the alley, but that's all she did. Although why she'd put plants in a dark alley is anyone's guess."

"Covering her tracks?"

Sebastian swore. "How many times do I have to say it, Teaser? I know her."

"You know the girl she was," Teaser replied. "Do you really know the Landscaper she's become?"

No. But he wouldn't admit that. Not to anyone. Because he had to believe Glorianna wasn't so different from the girl he'd known.

Teaser hesitated. "Maybe you should stay at the bordello tonight instead of going back to the cottage."

He almost snapped that an incubus couldn't afford to be afraid of the dark. Then it occurred to him that Teaser was afraid-afraid to be alone right now and afraid that anyone he invited to his room might give him more than he'd bargained for.

"I'm going back to the cottage," Sebastian said. "There's only one bed, but the couch is comfortable enough."

"You asking me to stay?"

Sebastian shrugged. He wasn't willing to play scaredy-boy, but he also wasn't going to insult his friend by indicating he knew which of them really needed company. Besides, Glorianna had said she would be back, and he wanted to be where she could find him easily.

"A couch," Teaser grumbled. "Course, you've also got koffee, so I guess that's an even trade. All right, I'll keep you company. You settle with Philo, and I'll see if I can snag another ride with a demon cycle."

Sebastian remained at the table, knowing Philo would come to clear the dishes.

"Well?" Philo said, keeping his voice low even though there was no one at the nearby tables. "What happened in Wizard City? Did you get an audience?"

"We'll get no help from the Justice Makers. They don't care what happens in the Den."

Philo sighed. "We're on our own then."

Belladonna will help. He didn't think anyone else in the Den would find that thought comforting, so he said, "Yes, we're on our own."

It stretched out beneath the place where the Dark Ones dwelled. In the land above It, dogs howled a warning, only to be hushed or ignored; flocks and herds of animals stirred, alert and edgy, their simple minds aware that a hunter had come among them. But the best prey ignored their instincts, believing themselves powerful and superior.

It unfurled a thousand mental tentacles, sending them into that twilight place between wakefulness and dreams-that place that revealed the heart's hopes and fears. The wakeful mind denied or caged so many desires. The dreaming mind cloaked fears in symbols. But here, in the twilight, the heart couldn't hide or be denied. Here, in the twilight, was the true feast upon which It fed.

She's acting strange. My business depends on her family's wealth. Has she discovered I have a mistress?

I put those coins in the money box. I did! But they'll think I'm a thief and will send me to a different landscape. Maybe even a dark landscape.

It fed, and fed on, the fears, glutting Itself as It hadn't been able to do since that long-ago time when It lost the battle to control the world.

Yes, It whispered through the tentacles. You are right to fear that. It will happen, has already happened.

Sated, It withdrew the mental tentacles. It had found the Dark Ones. But something tickled old memories, nudging them into a different pattern. So It turned away, intending to leave the city, pleased that It knew where to find the Dark Ones but they didn't know how to find It.

Then a mind, rising up into the twilight from uneasy sleep, caught Its attention. Seduced by the powerful emotions, It extended a tentacle, slipped into that mind.

Yes, It whispered eagerly. Yes, you have reason to fear, reason to hate. Yes.

But the mind was rising to wakefulness too fast. There was strength there... and power that would recognize an intrusion.

It left the city, looking like a rippling shadow as It moved under the landscape. The last mind It had touched puzzled It. So much fear, so much rage, so much loathing. But It didn't understand the word that was the source of all those delicious feelings.

Sebastian.

Feeling awkward, Sebastian dropped a blanket and pillow on one end of the couch.

Foolish to feel that way. Lee had bunked on the couch any number of times when he'd come to visit.

But Lee was human. Teaser was not.

"Need anything else?" he asked.

"Nope," Teaser replied, pulling off his boots.

"Sleep well." Sebastian walked to his bedroom doorway. Before he stepped into the other room, Teaser said quietly, "Pleasant dreams."

He turned to face the other incubus, who watched him with too much understanding.

"There's a... feel... about you when you've abstained from hunting for too many days," Teaser said. "I know you need to feed the hunger, but... Just be careful, all right?"

Not knowing what to say, Sebastian nodded, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door.

Was it apparent to everyone? Or was it that Teaser, being an incubus, could spot the signs of a craving that had taken on the sharp edge of need?

He undressed, tossing his clothes on to a chair to deal with them later. Then he slipped into bed, extinguished the oil lamp on the bedside table, and pulled the sheet up to his waist.

In the dark, he felt the steady beating of his heart as he unfurled the power that made the incubi what they were. He let his mind drift as he sought a female mind yearning for a dream lover. This time he wouldn't try to shape the scenario. She could set the stage for this interlude. And in the twilight of waking dreams, he would provide a face and voice to her imaginary lover, would provide the sensation of touch, would create the stimulation that would arouse her until she came.

And he would feed on that arousal, on that orgasm, until it eased the hunger inside him. It wouldn't hurt her. He never hunted to cause harm. But the feelings he stimulated in the female were as necessary to his well-being as food and water and air.

Please.

He narrowed his focus to that female thought that resonated with something inside him and tried to strengthen the link between their minds.

I didn't want him to feel that way. I didn't encourage him to want... lustful things...from me. I didn't!

Ssh, Sebastian whispered soothingly. It's all right.

Why can't someone love me?

I can. I will.

The Landscapes will send me to a had place. I just want- What? What do you want?

I want to he safe. I want to he loved. I want to be someplace where I'm not afraid all the time.

He hesitated. This wasn't a female yearning for pleasure. Daylight! Why had his power pulled him toward her when she wasn't going to do anything to ease his hunger?

Please.

Something warm and sweet flowed through the link between them. Something that lived inside her, waiting to bloom. Something elusive and so seductive it took his breath away.

Come to me, he demanded. Come to me.

I-.

The link between them snapped.

Sweating and frustrated, Sebastian furled his power.

What had just happened? And why? He had no sense of who she was or where she was. Nothing that would help him retrace his path and find her again.

And why would he want to find an obviously troubled female?

Something warm and sweet inside her and so, so seductive. Something that made him feel as if he'd just gotten the tiniest taste of something he'd been searching for-and craving-all his life.

Sitting up, he rubbed his hands over his face. He was past tired, but he wasn't going to fall sleep anytime soon.

Come to me, he thought, feeling his heart ache with wanting. Come to me. Because I don't know how to find you.

We have saved the world with stones and mortar. And we have made our own prison.

We cannot leave this place undefended. The Dark Guides, the ones who used the malevolent side of the human heart to create the Eater of the World, have disappeared in the shattered landscapes of Ephemera.

We cannot take the chance of them finding this place and releasing this evil. We cannot take the chance of anyone breaking that wall.

There are too few of us left. We came from lands all across Ephemera to fight the Eater of the World, but now that the world has become a confusion of shuffled, broken pieces, we can no longer find the places we called home. We have no hope of going back to our lives and the loved ones we left behind.

So we will stay and guard this place. We will protect the people by restraining Ephemera as much as we can. And we will nurture the hope of someday restoring our world by protecting Ephemera from the human heart.

-The Lost Archives

Chapter Five.

It swam beneath the sand, but only those with magic running in their veins would notice the rippling dark shadow that soured the land as It passed-and left behind a seductive lure to give in to the dark feelings the heart usually kept well hidden. All creatures responded to the Dark and the Light, but humans, with their agile minds, had always been the best prey-because It had been made to be their predator.

Which was what brought It back to the part of the bonelovers' landscape It had anchored to the place called the Den. Full of darkness, yes, but at the core there was Light that made It greedy to devour-and made It shiver. The Den was filled with the same powerful resonance that had given Ephemera the strength to resist reshaping more than a small anchor point in that other dark, demon landscape.

That would change. The incubi and succubi had become feeble creatures, contaminated by the human prey. But the purebloods that had been caged in Its landscapes were still powerful, still belonged to the Dark. They would be real hunters-and once they reached the Den, their presence would change the Den's resonance, would dim the Light.

As It rose to the surface, Its massive form shrank, shifted. A moment later a handsome, elegantly dressed man stood on the rust-colored sand.

A moment after that, Its scream of rage made even the bonelovers scurry away from feelings so dark and primal.