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The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity

“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold,” Astrid repeated

The center, maybe But surely, even here in the FAYZ, God listened and watched over His children

“Please let Sam be okay,” she whispered to the candle

She n of the cross on her chest and knelt before the kitchen counter as if it were an altar

“Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil”

In the old days when she had said this prayer, the devil was a creature with horns and a tail Now in her mind the devil had the same face as Caine And when the prayer went on to speak of “the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls,” the picture in her mind’s eye was of a dead-eyed boy with a snake for an arm

TWENTY-SIX

17 HOURS, 49 MINUTES

“WHAT IS IT you want, Caine?” Sary, frustrated Defeated

Caine bowed his head He savored the ained some measure of control over himself And now he had beaten Sam

“Four days,” he said, just loudly enough for those in the roo it took me to defeat Sam Temple” Caine locked eyes with Drake “Four days,” Caine sneered “What did you accomplish in the three months I was sick?”