Page 7

Chapter 7

Somewhere in Magea

“D ear goddess,” Moon whispered as she knelt in the straw, her hands pressed to her forehead and heart the way her gran had taught her. Her knees hurt where they rested on the rough ground, right on the bruises and scrapes she’d gotten from falling down earlier when the big people said to “Hurry up, useless child .”

“I know you’re real busy, and we’re not supposed to ask you for stuff unless it’s super important,” she prayed. “Momma always said we’re supposed to try to find a sol-solution by ourselves before we ask for he-help.” She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. She wasn’t a baby anymore, she was a big girl. Bigger than Sky, anyway, by at least three whole minutes. That made her the big sister. So she couldn’t act like a baby. “It’s only, we tried real hard by ourselves already,” she whispered into the rapidly cooling night. “And it only gets us yelled at and beat.”

There was still a little bit of faint light coming through the dusty old window in the shed, enough for her to make out shapes. She looked at her brother, who was curled up in the corner under the blanket the adults had given them, his thumb in his mouth, and his eyes squinched shut as he made sucky noises in his sleep. See, Sky still sucked his thumb like a baby. So she was the big sister. It was her job to take care of them now.

She knew Sky was still hungry, so she had saved half of her half of the bread for him for breakfast tomorrow. They didn’t get much because they were small, and because they had to earn their keep. And Moon and Sky couldn’t do the scary spell they had to do to earn their keep today, so they only got one blanket, and one piece of bread to share. Because they were bad. It must be. They were bad kids, but she hoped the goddess would help them anyway. Just this once.

“Please, goddess,” Moon whispered, her eyes tearing up again like a baby. “I’m scared, and I’m cold, and I’m hungry, and I want to go home.”

She didn’t know what the goddess would do about that, since they didn’t have a home anymore. The house was burned up. And mommy and daddy and gran with it. But gran said that the goddess could do a whole lot of things that seemed impossible. So she asked anyway. “I don’t wanna do the hard spells anymore. They hurt. And Sky is hungry and scared too. Can you please just send us home? Pretty please?”

She waited and waited, kneeling there on the hard ground until it was fully dark and she was sure she was frozen there and would never be able to get up ever again. Rain started falling outside, pattering on the tin roof of the wooden shed. Sky whimpered and snorted in his sleep. “Please,” she whispered.

Then she really did cry like a baby.

They were bad kids. And the goddess was punishing them.

“I’ll be good, I promise!” she whispered as the rain fell harder, clutching her hands together. There was magic in the air, in the elements around them, in the rain that was falling. Surely the goddess was listening? “I’ll never be mean to Sky, and I’ll eat all my yucky vegetables, and I’ll pick up all my toys and never make a mess. If we can’t go home, can you please just make the big people not be mean to us anymore? They were supposed to help us. They said they’d take care of us now we don’t have a mommy and daddy. They said we would help them do big, important things and protect the world from monsters . But the magic feels icky. I wanna go back to my old home. I… I… I…” she hiccupped, and a big ol’ bawl came out of her. “I want my mommy and daddy!”

She barely heard it when the goddess finally answered her. The voice was so soft, almost drowned out by the rain. But it came with a little flare of magic that made her feel the feeling you get when your mommy hugs you and calls you silly names. I’m here, it whispered. And Moon thought maybe the voice wasn’t talking out loud after all. Maybe it was in her head. Did that mean it wasn’t real? Or was that just how the goddess talked to everyone?

I’m real, little one. I’m here. You are not alone.

“I wanna go home now,” she whispered into the darkness. “Please. I don’t like it here.”

The voice was quiet for a while. Then it spoke, but she could only make out a few words here and there for some reason, like a wonky phone call.

Not now. A little longer. Until they’re near.

Moon was tired of being the big sister. She didn’t want to wait. It was hard to stop crying, but she made herself do it eventually, as the soft, pretty voice of the goddess ebbed and flowed in volume, whispering words in her mind that she didn’t quite understand, but that made her feel less alone anyway. She started to feel less like crying. Crawling over to Sky, she snuggled up under the covers with him and put her thumb in her mouth too—just for a little bit, because she wasn’t a baby. Her eyes fluttered closed.

Just before she finally fell asleep, she prayed one last prayer, her sleepy voice barely a whisper. “Dear goddess,” she said with every ounce of hope she had in her body, because gran said intention was important. “Please stay here with us. Please don’t leave us alone again.”

“ I will stay with you , ” the goddess whispered. And this time her voice was stronger. Moon heard it not just in her head, but in her ears, too, and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard in her whole life. “I promise I will not leave you, little ones.”