Chapter 192: The Final Sacrifice

The whole of the mill roared and the whole of the it was the whole of the it and the whole of the it was the whole of the line.

And then the ground spoke.

It did not speak out of the mill floor and it did not speak out of the stones and it did not speak out of the whole of the it. It spoke out of the sky and the whole of the sky was white and the whole of the moon was up and the whole of the moon was full and the whole of the it was the whole of the ground.

It said: The whole of the it is the line and the whole of the line is the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the it. And the whole of the it is not finished.

I stood in the mill.

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

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

I turned around.

It was Ada of the north and she was standing in the mill with the lamp in her hand and her face gray.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the keeper,” she said. “The whole of the ground holds the whole of the it 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. “And the whole of the ground is not going to hold the whole of the it for ever. The whole of the ground is going to give the whole of the it back at the next new moon and the whole of the it is going to go into the whole of the line.”

I stood in the mill.

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

“The whole of the it is the whole of the it,” Ada said. “And the whole of the it is going to be answered for at the next new moon.” She put her hand on my arm. “And the whole of the it is the whole of the keeper.”

I stood in the mill.

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

“The whole of the keeper is Elias,” Ada said. “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 going to be answered for by the whole of the keeper and the whole of the keeper is going to be the whole of the it.”

And then Elias stood up.

He was 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 the whole of the keeper.

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

“Elias,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the keeper,” he said again. “And the whole of the keeper is the whole of the it.” He put his hand on my face. “The whole of the ground is holding the whole of the it and the whole of the ground is going to give the whole of the it back at the next new moon and the whole of the it is going to go into the whole of the line.” He put his forehead against mine. “Unless the whole of the keeper takes the whole of the it.”

I stood in the mill.

“What?” I said.

“The whole of the keeper can take the whole of the it,” Elias said. “The whole of the keeper can take the whole of the it into the whole of the it and the whole of the line does not have to carry the whole of the it.” He put his hand on my face. “The whole of the keeper is the whole of the it and the whole of the it is the whole of the keeper.”

I stood in the mill.

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

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

I put my hand on his face.

“No,” I said.

“Wren.”

“No.” I put my hand on his chest. “I have been standing in squares and circles and chambers since the calf in the combine yard and I have been telling the whole of the it that the whole of the it is going to be all right. And the whole of the it has been the whole of the it because the whole of the it was you.” I put my hand on his face. “I am not going to let the whole of the it be the whole of the sacrifice.”

He put his hand over mine.

“The whole of the it is not the sacrifice,” he said. “The whole of the it is the choice. And the whole of the choice is mine.” He put his forehead against mine. “I have been the cursed wolf for seventeen years and the whole of the it has been the whole of the it and the whole of the it has been the whole of the line. And the whole of the it is not the whole of the it any more.” He put his hand on my stomach. “The whole of the it is the child and the whole of the child is the line and the whole of the line is going to be free.”

I stood in the mill.

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

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

And then he went out of the mill.

I went after him.

The whole of the line came with me and the whole of the pack and the whole of the territories and the whole of the east and the whole of the it came out of the mill and into the mill yard.

And the whole of the mill yard was white.

It was the ground. It came up out of the mill yard and out of the whole of the mill road and the whole of the mill yard 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 yard was dark.

And then the light came back and the whole of the mill yard was silent and Elias was standing in the middle of it with his hands at his sides and the whole of him was the whole of the keeper.

He put his hand out and the whole of the it was the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground came into him and the whole of the it was the whole of the sacrifice.

And then he was gone.

The whole of the mill yard was silent.

And then the whole of the mill yard went white.

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

And then the light came back and there was a light in the east field.

It was the same light that had come out of the stones on the night the mill burned and the same light that had come out of the trees in the east field and it was the whole of the ground and the whole of the line.

And in the middle of the light there was a wolf.

It was Elias.

He was on his knees in the east field and the whole of him was the whole of the it and the whole of him was alive.

“Elias,” I said.

I ran.

I ran across the mill yard and across the east field with the whole of the line behind me and the whole of the pack and the whole of the territories and I got to him and put my hands on his face.

“Elias,” I said.

He opened his eyes.

“Wren,” he said. “The whole of the it is not the sacrifice.”

“The whole of the it is not the sacrifice,” I said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the it.”

He put his hand on my face.

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

And then the whole of the east field roared.