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They support the warning we heard."
    "That the Destroyer of Light, the Well of All Evil, has returned? You've been wearing yourself out because a voice — a man's voice — came to you in a dream."
    "A warning," Merrill insisted. "And a riddle." She wrapped her arms around herself, adding quietly "And we aren't the only ones who heard the warning."
    "Can Brighid be trusted?" Shaela asked just as quietly.
    "She was a Sister. Is still a Sister, even though she hasn't lived with us since —" Sorrow welled up in her, as sharp as it had been sixteen years ago when she'd helped Brighid pack a trunk and leave Lighthaven in response to a young boy's desperate plea for help.
    "Since her sister, Maureen, sick in mind and heart, walked into the sea," Shaela said.
    "Yes."
    Brighid had walked in the Light, a shining beacon. But Maureen had been a bit wild, even as a girl. Instead of settling down with her man once she'd become a wife and mother, she got stranger, more twisted — until something inside her finally broke so much that she chose the sea's cradle over her own children, leaving Brighid with the task of raising two children who had in them some Dark blood that gave them unnatural abilities to make things happen.
    "Heart's hope lies within belladonna," Merrill said. "That's what the voice said."
    "Belladonna is a poison," Shaela replied. "What hope can be found in something rooted in the Dark?"
    "I don't know, but I can think of only one way to find out."
    Shaela remained silent for a long time. Then she lightly touched Merrill's shoulder. "Writing to Brighid was one thing. But if you go to Raven's Hill, you'll open old hurts and leave fresh wounds."
    "I know." The thought of it made her ache. "But if this danger is real, there is no one else I trust enough to ask for this kind of help."
    "When are you leaving?"
    "There's a ship leaving Atwater tomorrow morning. The captain has agreed to take me to Raven's Hill."
    "You haven't the skills to deal with the outside world."
    "Two men from the village are coming with me as escorts. They're worldly enough, I think."

    Shaela sighed. "I'd better take care of the packing for the both of us. It's not a long journey by sea, but you still won't consider half of what you'll need."
    An odd blend of alarm and relief flooded through Merrill. "You don't have to leave the White Isle."
    Shaela spoke slowly, as if picking each word with care. "It's best if I make this journey with you. Yes, I think it's best."
    Merrill stared at her friend. "You believe the warning, don't you?"
    Shaela hesitated. "No, I didn't. I didn't — until you said you were leaving. Then I imagined you traveling by sea, and a sense of foreboding came over me. The Light within you will be a beacon in the dark. If you leave, you must succeed — and you must return or everything will be lost. I can't shake the feeling that something will stop you from returning unless I'm with you."
    "Something's coming," Merrill whispered.
    "Yes."
    "Something that can destroy the White Isle."
    "Yes."
    She squared her shoulders. "Then let's make this journey — and hope the answer to this riddle is what we need to save the Light."

Chapter Six
    M errill watched the shoreline as the sailors worked to bring the ship within the shelter of Darling's Cove. An odd name for such a practical-minded village of people, but it was said that the man who first settled there adored his beautiful wife. Fearful that water demons would become enamored with her and try to lure her too far into the water whenever she walked along the beach, he never called her by name when they were near the sea, only darling. Always darling.
    But it was his darling who, it was said, had an unusual connection to the land and had created the secret place Merrill hoped would have what they needed.
    "It's not too late," Shaela said, coming to stand beside Merrill. "We can still turn back, find another way to do this."
    "We can't turn back," Merrill replied. "And it is too late