“Incredible,” I say breathlessly. “You’re … alive.”
The lizard curls deeper into my palm, his woolly eyes shut. It’ssleeping.In my hand. Madre de Luna! I bend closer, parting my lips in surprise. Every stitch remains the same. It’s an animal—but not. A woven thing that breathes air and moves like a reptile. I made it and now—Wait. As I turn toward the tapestry, I let out a little laugh. There’s a gaping lizard-shaped hole. An easy fix—I’ll simply add in a new pattern.
Nothing like this has ever happened. I mean, I’ve been weaving stars and constellations all my life. And yes, they glimmer and shine like the night sky. But they never … moved.
My knees quake. What if this is part of my Illustrian magic? Part of Luna’s gift? My moon thread breathes life into my creations. Did I do something differently? Then it hits me.
Color.
Beautiful, vibrant, messy, forbiddencolor.
Cielos! What else can I do? I ease the sleeping lizard onto my pillow. “I’ll be right back. I just need to finish the tapestry.”
My new pet doesn’t stir and I smile. I go back to work and fill in the hole. As I weave, concern presses against me. How am I going to send this message? Atoc won’t allow me to bestow yet another gift onto a merchant. I finish the tapestry and immediately start another, my fingers flying across the loom. I want to create more animals; I want to see if all my creatures can come to life. I’ll use up every last scrap of wool in my room if I have to.
The breeze ruffles the curtain from the open balcony. Luna’s light makes crisscross patterns on the floor. I take a deep breath and turn the wool into moon thread. The silver light from the thread makes me squint. I ease the wool over and under the warped threads. A frog takes shape. I choose the poisonous breed—the one that scares me the most. One touch is all it takes for the venom to do its lethal work. But this frog has my moon thread. It’s a friend.
The moment the frog has all four legs, it leaps off the tapestry. Laughing, I jump to my feet as frog and lizard circle each other warily. And suddenly they’re running around each other as if playing a game only they understand.
My fingers itch to create more and more. I’m breathless and happy and I forget the Llacsans, forget about the Estrella. It’s the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time.
Two hours later an anaconda curls around my feet, a sloth falls asleep on the foot of my bed, three little ants rest happily on my pillow, and a llama nibbles the corner of my bedspread. They all have the moon thread somewhere on their bodies, on ears and paws, a leg or a tail. The sloth and llama slowly stretch, the wool lengthening until they become regular-sized creatures. I’ve never seen this kind of moon magic before. What a gift from Luna. And they’re for me. Not for the condesa, and certainly not for Atoc.
Me.I love them.
Stretching, I glance down at my nearly empty basket. I have enough supply for one more message to Catalina. I want to ask her about the discontented Illustrians roaming the streets of La Ciudad. I want to know if she has a plan, or if she’s at least thinking about a solution.
But the question remains: How will I get the messages out of the keep? I throw a disgruntled look over to the tapestry I’d woven earlier and rub my brow in frustration. Part of me wishes I could transform into a bird and just fly out—
Madre de Luna.
I scoop up more wool, turn it into moon thread, and get to work. The head of a parrot appears beneath my fingers. On the body of the bird, I weave my message about the possible locations for the Estrella. Finally I add its claws and wings.
I want the bird to fly to the fortress and deliver my message. The parrot’s wings twitch. I gasp in delight, stumbling to my feet and knocking over the stool. “Come on,” I whisper. “Show me what you can do.”
The bird peels off the tapestry and hops to my arm.
“Can you fly?” I ask the parrot. It turns a baleful eye in my direction. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. This one has personality. “Can you understand me?”
The parrot flutters its wings as it grows to full size. Its claws dig into my skin. Spreading its wings, it soars away from me, and I whirl around on the stool, following the bird’s movement. It flies close to the balcony.
My heart races as I fling open the doors and drop to my knees. Moonlight covers me from head to foot. The bird nips lightly at my skin.
“Luna,” I say breathlessly, clenching my eyes. I need her help. Can she light a path to the castillo for the bird so it won’t get lost?
I wait for a sign. And wait some more.
Luna reveals herself to us all the time. In small ways, in big ways. She pushes the constellations into new positions to communicate with us. Her moonlight revives and heals, and she speaks to those devoted to her. Her magic blesses us with extraordinary gifts.
I open my eyes and look at the parrot, then motion toward the night sky. Urging it onward as I cling to the hope that it will fly to the Illustrian fortress.
“Don’t let me down, bird,” I say. “I’m counting on this getting to Catalina.”
It nibbles at my finger affectionately and soars out and away. I stand on the balcony as if transfixed. The bird glides high into the inky night.
It flies in the direction of home.
CAPÍTULO
