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The boy held up a leather-bound book "This be the Word of the Lord! The Gospel of the Brethren!"

Someone threw a tomato It broke apart on the preacher’s face and slid down, staining his suit with pulp Everyone laughed The preacher wiped his face clean with a handkerchief without stopping his fiery serers at the toh cold

"Evie?" Will asked, for she’d fallen quiet

"Yes I’ons by a river It’s cold The preacher’s breath co…"

In herhis hands to heaven as he addressed his sation "You are the chosen, the faithful, the Brethren…"

"The angel of the Lord appeared to me in the heavens as a streak of fire and bid me to part ith the corruption of the old world and build a new Godly body of heaven in this country…" Evie echoed "The Blood of the Lamb runs in our veins, and in blood e vanquish our ene forth God’s true mission on earth"

The connection becaain She concentrated with all her h leaves, heard the huff-huff-huff of his breathing He lay upon the riverbank and watched lazy clouds overhead, and for a moment Evie felt his loneliness and doubt A deer ventured out of the trees, sniffing for food It raised its head, and the boy threw a rock, laughing as the deer startled and broke for the woods

"Evie, where are you?"

"Inside the church, I think," she answered slowly as the iain

The boy with the blue eyes had been stripped to the waist and strapped to a chair The faithful surrounded him He squirmed in the chair, his eyes on the preacher as he turned a brand in the coals of the stove There were twelve brands in all--a pentacle, and one for each of the eleven offerings

"Your fleshThe Lord will brook no weakness in his chosen," the preacher said He drew the red-hot brand from the fire and approached the boy, who screaod," Evie said She was not aware that tears streamed down her face

"Will, make her stop," Jericho cautioned