“What are they arguing about?”
“She wants to close the doors into the caverns.”
“She’s not going back in there.”
“I know. I told her that. They’re not going to let her. You should lie down.”
“I don’t have to go to the door,” Abbi said. “I can just stand right here and do it, but you need to step back or you might get burned.”
The werewolves looked doubtful, but finally, Danube nodded. “All right, little bunny, just don’t get any closer to the cave.”
She grinned, and the hulking panther moved to stand closer to her. “Hado. Do you have it?”
The panther huffed and opened his mouth, dropping something into her waiting hand.
“Oh, good!” she chirped. “I thought we lost it.” She scrubbed fingers over the panther’s ears, then held the object to the sky.
“Box?” I asked.
Lu, with her better eyesight said, “Pestle and mortar.”
“Huh.”
Abbi drew the little stick and bowl toward her face and whispered to it, while grinding the pestle against the bottom of the bowl, as if pulverizing her words.
Moonlight, white as softened snow filled the container, then grew and grew until the dark, moonless night brightened.
Abbi said one more musical word, then the light in the mortar flew across the street, through the bushes and trees, to the hill and cavern beyond.
Even with my poor eyesight, I could make out the silver moonlight forming into ropes, vines, crawling over the cavern’s entrance. It glowed bright enough that I had to turn my eyes away and blink until I could see again.
The night was dark, more so than before.
“There,” Abbi said. “That will hold.”
“How long?” Elmer asked.
“As long as I want it to.” Abbi slumped back against the panther, half burying her face in his fur. “A long time,” she said, “for what they did to him.”
His purr was loud, as he allowed her to hug him, then he butted her with his head, and she reluctantly released him.
“How can we help you, Moon Rabbit?” Summer asked. “Would you come home with us now?”
“Or with us,” Cove offered.
“I’ll decide later,” Abbi said. “We should all go back to Ricky’s house now. She has food and warm water for baths.”
“I do,” Ricky said, sounding more tired than I’d ever heard her. “And medicines, for those who need them.”
It didn’t take long to get everyone who wasn’t in wolf form loaded into the vehicles. Lu stayed with me in the back of Silver, and so did Lorde.
Pamela offered to drive, and Lu agreed, which surprised me.
“What?” Lu asked, as she handed Pamela the keys.
“You love this truck.”
“I love you more.”
