No one talked in their small wooden house. Moonlight spilled through the gaps in the shuttered windows, bathing the room in a silver hue.
The lantern on the table had burned low, its flame flickering weakly, casting long shadows that looked too much like reaching hands.
Luna sat on the edge of the bed. Her posture was rigid. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, squeezing the fabric of her nightdress as if holding herself together.
She stared at the floorboards, her purple-silver hair falling forward to obscure her face.
She tried to look annoyed, silently complaining about Judas for being late. But her foot gave away her real emotions.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her toe struck the wood involuntarily in a nervous rhythm. She forced it to stop, only for it to start again seconds later.
On the other side of the room, Nina was pacing.
The wolf-girl could not sit still. Her tail, usually held high and wagging, drooped low, dragging against the floor.
Her ears were flattened against her skull. She held Nubble tight against her chest, rubbing the spirit monster to calm it, while trying her best to do the same for herself.
Nubble didn't squeak. Even the creature seemed to sense the thick tension in the air, remaining perfectly still in her arms.
Ezra stood by the window.
She leaned against the rough log wall, her arms crossed, her face a mask of calm. To an outsider, she might have looked bored.
But her breathing was too controlled. Every few seconds, her eyes flickered toward the door, waiting for that person to come through.
The silence stretched until Nina spoke. "Where is he?"
She stopped pacing and looked at Luna with wide, watery eyes. "Husband said he would be quick. He said he just needed to check something. The moon is high now. Why is he not back?"
Luna stopped tapping her foot. She looked up, her jaw set tight.
"He is a fool. But he is strong. He probably got lost."
She huffed, turning her head away to hide the way her lips trembled.
"If he comes back injured," she whispered, her voice cracking, "I will make him sleep outside. I will lock the door and not let him in."
Her hands uncrossed, only to grip the bedsheets until her knuckles turned white.
"Why is he so reckless?"
Ezra did not speak. She didn't look at them.
Her hand drifted into the deep pocket of her trousers. Her fingers curled around cold, heavy metal.
The strange object sat there, alien and terrifying.
Judas's voice replayed in her mind, vivid and clear, drowning out the sound of Nina's sniffling.
She remembered the moment before he left. The way he had pulled her into the shadows, his face serious, his eyes dark with an intensity she rarely saw.
He had pressed the object into her hand.
"Ezra, listen to me."
His hand had closed over hers, trapping the cold metal against her palm.
"Use this only if someone forces their way into the house. Aim for the chest or the head, and pull the trigger."
She ran her thumb over the rough grip of the weapon.
Handgun.
That was what he called it.
It felt dead in her hand. It smelled of oil and something sharp she couldn't name.
"Do not come searching for me," he had ordered. "Even if I am not back for many hours. Even if you hear screaming. Stay inside. Protect them."
Ezra squeezed the weapon. The metal bit into her skin.
She had hesitated then. She hesitated now. How could a small metal block protect them better than her blade?
But he had looked at her with such absolute trust. He had given her this responsibility because he believed she was strong enough to bear it.
She would not fail him.
Time dragged on.
The oil in the lantern sputtered, threatening to die completely. The shadows grew longer, stretching across the floor like ink.
Luna stood up suddenly. The chair scraped loud and harsh against the wood, making Nina flinch.
"This is unbearable," Luna hissed. She began to pace, her long skirt swishing around her ankles. "It has been hours. Hours! He is strong, yes. He has that strange magic of summoning things from the air. But he is still just one man."
She stopped in front of the door, reaching for the handle before pulling her hand back as if burned.
"Did something happen to him?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Did the bandits find him? Or a monster?"
"Husband..." Nina whimpered. Tears finally spilled over, tracking through the fur on her cheeks. "I want husband back. I don't like this. The air feels bad."
Ezra pushed herself off the wall.
"Calm down," she said. Her voice was steady, but low. "Panic will not bring him back faster."
"How can you be calm?" Luna spun on her, eyes flashing with wet anger. "He is out there alone!"
"I am not calm," Ezra replied sharply. "I am prepared."
She checked the handgun in her pocket again, ensuring the safety was off, just as he had shown her.
Her fingers trembled slightly, a betrayal of her nerves, but she forced them still.
Creaaaak.
The sound came from outside.
The front gate.
It was a heavy, rusted sound, slicing through the tense atmosphere of the room.
The three women froze.
Nina's ears shot straight up, swiveling toward the noise. Luna's breath hitched in her throat, her hand flying to her mouth.
Ezra's spine straightened, her body dropping instinctively into a combat crouch.
Footsteps.
Heavy. Crunching on the gravel path leading to the door.
"Husband!" Nina shouted.
Relief exploded on her face. She didn't think. Her tail wagged furiously as she bolted toward the door.
"He is back!" Luna cried out, the anger vanishing, replaced by a smile. She rushed after Nina, her hands reaching for the latch.
"Wait!" Ezra shouted, but it was too late.
They were too fast, as their desperation to see him made them careless.
Nina threw the heavy bolt back. Luna yanked the door open, ready to scold the man they had been waiting for.
"You idiot, do you know how long—" Luna started.
The words died in her throat.
The door swung wide, revealing the night outside.
It was not Judas standing on the porch.
Three men stood there.