"Goddess of the moon," I whispered as I forcefully shoved Lumen's head back against the pillow. "Watch over thy young and take them under your watchful eye. Keep them from all harm, from this day, until their last day. Maketh —"

"Daddddddy," came the slurred moan of protest. "More Tommy an Timmy."

If hopes and prayers were enough to mirror a ring of protection or banish all the evil from the world, graveyards would have been empty and even the greyest sky would seem blue. As it was, prayers accounted for shit. They were a fool's desperate bid of bargaining, a last resort when all else failed. It was like...