Chapter 184: The Final Choice

The whole of the mill was quiet and the whole of the it was on the floor and the whole of the line was in the mill.

And I sat on the floor with his head in my lap and my hand on his chest and the whole of the it was the whole of the line.

He was breathing.

And then Maeve came.

She came across the mill floor with her bag and her face gray and she put her hands on his chest and the whole of her was the whole of the it.

“The whole of the it is in his chest,” she said. “The whole of the it is silver and the whole of the it is not in the heart and the whole of the it is not in the lung.”

“Then the whole of the it is going to be all right,” I said.

Maeve was quiet.

“The whole of the it is going to be all right,” she said. “But the whole of the it is going to take the whole of the it.”

I looked at her.

“What is the whole of the it?” I said.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the ground,” Maeve said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the line and the whole of the line is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the it.” She put her hand on my arm. “The whole of the it is not the wound. The whole of the it is the whole of the it.”

I stood up.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the it,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the it,” Maeve said. “And the whole of the it is the whole of the choice.”

I stood in the mill.

And then the whole of the mill went white.

It was the ground. It came up out of the mill floor and out of the whole of the mill and the whole of the it was white.

And then the ground spoke.

It said: The whole of the it is the choice. The whole of the choice is the line. The whole of the line is the ground. The whole of the it is going to be answered for.

And then it went out.

The mill was dark.

And then the light came back and there was a wolf standing in the middle of the mill.

It was Ilse the grandmother and she had a cane and a shawl and she was standing in the middle of the mill with her hands at her sides.

“The whole of the it is not the choice,” she said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the line. And the whole of the line is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the it.” She put her hand on her chest. “And the whole of the it is going to be answered for by the whole of the it.”

I stood in the mill.

“The whole of the it is the choice,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the choice,” Ilse said. “And the whole of the choice is the whole of the it.”

I looked at Elias on the floor.

“What is the choice?” I said.

“The whole of the choice is the whole of the it,” Ilse said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the line and the whole of the line is the whole of the it.” She put her hand on my arm. “The whole of the choice is the whole of the it or the whole of the it.”

I stood in the mill.

“What does that mean?” I said.

“It means the whole of the it is the whole of the ground,” Ilse said. “And the whole of the ground is the whole of the it. And the whole of the it is the whole of the whole of the it.”

I stood in the mill.

And then Ada of the north came.

She came across the mill floor with the lamp in her hand and her face gray and she put her hand on my arm.

“Alpha,” she said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the it. The whole of the it is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the line and the whole of the line is the whole of the it.” She put her hand on my arm. “The whole of the choice is the whole of the it. The whole of the it is the whole of the ground or the whole of the it.”

I looked at her.

“What is the whole of the it?” I said.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the curse,” Ada said. “The whole of the curse is in the ground and the whole of the ground is holding it and the whole of it is going to be in the ground for as long as the ground holds it.” She put her hand on my arm. “And the whole of the ground is holding it because the whole of the it is the whole of the keeper. The whole of the keeper is the whole of the it and the whole of the keeper is the whole of the ground.”

I stood in the mill.

“The keeper,” I said.

“The keeper,” Ada said. “The whole of the keeper is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the keeper. And the whole of the keeper is the whole of the it.” She put her hand on my arm. “The whole of the it is the whole of the it. The whole of the it is the whole of the curse or the whole of the keeper.”

I stood in the mill.

“What are you saying?” I said.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the it,” Ada said. “The whole of the curse is in the ground and the whole of the ground is holding it and the whole of the ground is the whole of the keeper. And if the whole of the keeper dies, the whole of the ground is going to let go of the whole of the curse and the whole of the curse is going to go into the whole of the line.”

I stood in the mill.

“The whole of the it is the choice,” I said.

“The whole of the choice is the whole of the it,” Ada said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the curse or the whole of the keeper.”

I looked at Elias on the floor.

“Then the whole of the it is the keeper,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the keeper,” Ada said. “And the whole of the it is going to be the whole of the it for as long as the whole of the keeper lives.”

I stood in the mill.

“Then the whole of the it is the keeper,” I said. “And the whole of the keeper is going to live.”

And then the whole of the mill went white.

It was the ground. It came up out of the mill floor and out of the whole of the mill and the whole of the it was white.

And then the ground spoke.

It said: The whole of the it is the keeper. The whole of the keeper is the line. The whole of the line is the ground. The whole of the it is going to be answered for.

And then it went out.

The mill was dark.

And then the light came back and Elias was on his feet.

He was on his feet in the middle of the mill and the whole of him was gray and the whole of him was holding his chest and the whole of him was looking at me.

“Wren,” he said.

“Elias,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the keeper,” he said.

“The whole of the it is the keeper,” I said.

And then the whole of the mill roared.

And then the whole of the it was the whole of the it.

And then the whole of the mill went quiet.

And then Daniel said, “The whole of the it is not the keeper.”

He was on his knees on the mill floor and the whole of him was gray and the whole of him was looking at me.

“The whole of the it is not the keeper,” he said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the line and the whole of the line is the whole of the it.” He put his hand on his chest. “And the whole of the it is going to be answered for by the whole of the it.”

I stood in the mill.

“The whole of the it is the keeper,” I said. “And the whole of the keeper is going to live.”

And then the whole of the mill went white.

It was the ground. It came up out of the mill floor and out of the whole of the mill and the whole of the it was white.

And then the ground spoke.

It said: The whole of the it is the keeper. The whole of the keeper is the line. The whole of the line is the ground. The whole of the it is finished.

And then it went out.

The mill was dark.

And then the light came back and the whole of the mill was silent and the whole of the founders’ line was on the floor and Daniel was on his knees.

And I stood in the middle of the mill with Elias beside me and the whole of the line around me.

“The whole of the it is finished,” I said.

“The whole of the it is finished,” Elias said.

And then the whole of the mill roared.