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And now here she was, just another pawn Evie wanted to cry From fear From exhaustion, yes But mostly from the cruel uselessness, the dareat sign appeared in heaven, the sky alight with fire, a woman clothed with the sun and croith the stars And her heart was a gift for the Beast, the heart of the world, which he would devour and become whole and walk upon the earth for a thousand years…’ "

The half-dollar rubbed against Evie’s hand and she thought of Jaht took shape No She couldn’t There had to be so They were co, Evie removed the pendant from around her neck and held it in front of her "Into this vessel, I b-bind your sp-spirit…" She shook so badly she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get the words out

The dead kept co All she could see were hollow eye sockets in shadowed, skeletal faces Dead white fingers reaching toward her Blackenedblack juice down mottled chins

"Into the fire, I commend your spirit," Evie said louder

Hands reached for her Dead fingers splayed over her toes and she kicked the, careful not to lose her balance and topple into the unholy throng The roo till the co howls of the Brethren were deafening They spoke in a thousand tongues But beneath the cacophony, she could hear a few e, she could sense their fear Their urgent, overlapping growls bounced around the room "Kill her, kill her, kill her You are the Beast, the Beast, the Beast, The Beast must rise…"

"That coin is no holy relic, Lady Sun," John Hobbes taunted

Evie gripped the half-dollar tightly, feeling the grooves against her palm, both comfort and punishment Her only physical tie to her brother

"It is to me," she croaked She shouted above the din "Into the darkness I cast you, Beast, nevermore to rise!"

The souls of the Brethren cried out Fire licked at the walls It was like so coain, they were engulfed in flames She shut her eyes and hoped The pendant shook violently in her hand The hissing was gone In its place carowls and barks, sounds she could not and did not want to identify She s souls of Brethren being dragged backward as they were sucked into the walls, which were engulfed in the flaotten stronger, thanks to the ten offerings Perhaps too strong to be contained And Evie was afraid that whatever she had wouldn’t be enough after all

"I’ll break you apart," he growled, lunging at her

Evie held the half-dollar high "Into this vessel…" she shouted, stronger this tih a series of contortions Evie could only iine must have been quite painful Black blood dribbled from the corners of his hty claws retracted