The clouds swallowed most of the moonlight, turning their trek through the woods into a dark, ominous march. Jake gripped Lyra’s hand tightly, as if he feared she might slip away. Lyra tried to keep her composure, but her heart pounded fiercely with every step closer to the Moon Clearing.
Callan had shifted so Donovan could ride on his back. The underbrush was too dense and rough for a wheelchair. Donovan’s face was set in a hard, grim line, a smoldering fury that Lyra was not sure she had ever seen on her brother.
Russ followed behind them, Donovan’s wheelchair balanced across one shoulder so it would be ready when they reached the clearing. Donovan had insisted on it, determined to sit in his chair when they met the witches. He worried that if his strange silver power triggered, he mig
