Chapter 194: The Moon

The whole of the east field was quiet and the whole of the it was the whole of the line and the whole of the it was the whole of the ground.

And then the moon was up over the ridge and the whole of the moon was full and the whole of the moon was white and the whole of the east field was lit.

I stood in the middle of it with Ilse in my arms and Elias beside me and the whole of the line around me.

And the whole of the it was quiet.

Elias put his hand on my face.

“Wren,” he said.

“Elias,” I said.

“The whole of the it is the moon,” he said. “The whole of the moon is up and the whole of the it is the whole of the ground and the whole of the ground is the whole of the line.”

I looked up at the moon.

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

And then he kissed me.

It was a quiet kiss and it was not the loading dock and it was not the barn loft and it was not the round room. It was a kiss in the east field with the moon up and the whole of the line around us and the whole of the it was the whole of the ground.

And the whole of the it was not the curse.

The whole of the it was not the new moon and the whole of the it was not the silver and the whole of the it was not the room and the whole of the it was not the lake.

The whole of the it was the whole of the moon and the whole of the line and the whole of the ground.

And the whole of the it was ours.

We went back to the mill in the morning and the whole of the line came with us and the whole of the pack and the whole of the territories and the whole of the east and the whole of the it was quiet.

And the whole of the mill was the whole of the keeper’s house with the door that closed and the window that opened and the chair by the window and the rug on the floor and the crib in the corner.

And in the crib there was a child.

Ilse was asleep and the whole of her was warm and the whole of her was red and the whole of her was the whole of the line.

I sat down in the chair by the window with her in my arms.

And Elias sat down on the floor in front of me.

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

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

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 mill was white.

And then the ground spoke.

It said: The whole of the it is the line. The whole of the line is the ground. The whole of the ground is the territories. 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 quiet and the whole of the it was the whole of the line.

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

And then the whole of the line went home.

We went up to the circle at dusk with the whole of the line and the whole of the pack and the whole of the territories and the whole of the east and the whole of the it was in the trees.

The trees were green. They had been green since the night the heart and the piece came together and the whole of them had not gone brown and the whole of them were green in January with the snow on the branches.

The circle was lit. The sixteen from the territory and the four from the vault and the four from the east and the heart and the piece and the whole of the stones were warm and the whole of the circle was white.

And in the middle of the circle there was the flat stone and the whole of the flat stone was warm.

I stood on the flat stone with Ilse in my arms and Elias beside me and the whole of the line around me.

And then Ada of the north came into the circle.

“Alpha,” she said. “The whole of the it is the whole of the moon.”

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

She put the lamp on the stone.

“The whole of the it is the whole of the line,” she said. “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 curse. The whole of the it is the whole of the moon.”

I stood in the circle.

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

And then the whole of the line came into the circle and the whole of the pack and the whole of the territories and the whole of the east and the whole of the them stood around the flat stone and the whole of the them put their hands on the stone.

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

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

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

I stood on the flat stone with Ilse in my arms and Elias beside me and the whole of the it was the whole of the ground.

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

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

And then the whole of the circle roared.

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

And then the whole of the circle was quiet.

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

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

And then the whole of the circle roared.