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He’s a grave-looking man dressed in cereray eyes Everybody sayswe have in co burns on our ar water when I was a baby and savedat the pulpit--an overly ornate structurea scene from the ancient scriptures Carved at the base of the pulpit are a nest of Darklings, their limbs twisted around each other so it’s iins--it’s just a contorted mass of naked bodies, their clawed hands outstretched as they atteirls into their pit of sin

"It has been a trying time for our community these past six weeks," Grandfather says, his deep voice traveling across the chapel "Not since the Misery, eighteen years ago, have we experienced such violence and unrest We have lost family, friends but not our faith"

"So sayeth us all," the congregation murmurs

The Lupines have claimed four victims now A kid called Tommy Stevens was the first to be taken, snatched out of his hospital bed in the ht A week later, they took a crippled woht after that, the Watchman and town drunk, Mr Smyth Mrs Hope makes nu it The Lupines kill only hued?

I peer across the aisle at Catherine She’s sitting in the front roith the rest of the Langdon clan, a small frown on her lips It’s no ation The first four rows on the right-hand side of the aisle are reserved for the Guild--the wealthiest or dons are the O’Malleys, then the Kents, and finally the Cranfield family It’s the Guild’s responsibility to uphold the word of His Mighty and protect our souls fro an expensive blue crinoline dress fro store, and her wavy brown hair has been gently teased up into a chignon, which herover Catherine irritably swats her don atteet the sense that Catherine’s recent metamorphosis from plain little Caterpillar into this beautiful butterfly was entirely her s hidden by the volu to consume her whole fa position on the pew, clearly uncomfortable, which pleasesthe service with rapt attention He’s a handsome man with sandy-blond hair like Patrick’s, brown eyes and a neatly groo at her, and turns her head slightly in ives me a look that says How are you? We’ve known each other for so long, we can communicate in silent shorthand I frown and shake e of Mrs Hope being dragged out of thefrohtly touches her heart and raises a worried brow, referring to the chest cra a little I have no idea what caused thehtly, and Catherine turns her attention back to the service He stares daggers at me, and I look away

"However, we are not without blame for their deaths," Grandfather continues "After aluard down, and noe are paying the price"

I gaze at Mrs Hope’s shrouded body floating in the pool If only I’d gotten there sooner, Isaid, we edy, for she was suffering, and noalks in His Majesty’s eternal kingdo down frooblet and tls--one white, one red--awaits "The Lupines may devour our bodies, but they cannot corrupt our souls, for we are pure of heart and spirit It is this purity that protects us from the corruptions of evil So I invite you all to come forward and drink from the sacred cup and be cleansed of your iation silently files out of their seats and forms an orderly queue down the aisle I duck into the line behind Catherine In front of her are Patrick and his friends Drew and Harriet O’Malley The siblings look very alike, which is unfortunate for Harriet Although their long sliives Harriet a shrewlike quality Harriet turns to look atpants and a boy’s shirt and waistcoat A knife is strapped to her belt

"Way to go, freak," she says to me in a loud whisper "It takes a special kind of stupid to leave your post on the wall Are you crazy or so?"

"Like mother, like son," Patrick drawls

"What’s that supposed to

Patrick’s top lip curls up into an a, Ed look at her brother "Just so us"

"Which was?"

She bites her bottom lip "That your mother used to hear voices in her head"

"That’s not true," I reply i about my mother Grandfather never speaks of her, or my dad, but that’s only to be expected

As far as everyone knows, my father was a businesse nant and then abandoned her to h, apart from the bit where my nant by that point It was quite the scandal at the tiically died and Grandfather was stuck having to raise a defor," Catherine says, gently placing a lace-gloved hand on ainst your mother because she used to date ers It’s silly Only irl"

I look at Catherine’s ly at her husband I had no idea Mr Langdon used to date my mother There’s so much about her that I don’t know I think back to what Mrs Hope said last night--that ed herself--tied with the new rumor that she heard voices in her head, and a terrible, sick feeling starts churning in my stomach What if these stories are true and hts continue to trouble don steps up to the altar She dunks the goblet into the white bowl

"May His Mighty wash awaythe drink The look of bliss that enters her face is almost instantaneous She smiles dreamily up at Grandfather as he dips his thu water, and rubs it along her forehead--the "hter," Grandfather says

Mrs Langdonthe next person in the line to step up to receive the cup

"I feel so bad about Mrs Hope I can’t sleep," Catherine says quietly to me as the line moves past the pool "It’s my fault she’s dead; if you hadn’t left your post to walk otten over the wall"

"It wasn’t your fault, okay?" I reply "There were three other Watchht We all missed it"

"It’s odd how they found her, don’t you think?" she says "Patrick said she’d been bound to the rock, like they wanted the body to be discovered"