And in that moment this stranger was so like
Mary---the way he spoke, the way he knew him so well.....
"Stephen. Every man chooses his own time to stop running. And it's
only when you turn, that you find out what you have inside you. I
cannot lie, and say it will be easy, or that you will triumph simply
because your cause is just. The truth is that it's much harder to be a
good man than a bad one, to do what's right, than to be selfish and
afraid. I've fought the Devil, in my way, for thirty years, and come
to no reward. On the contrary, my life has been a constant struggle.
"And tonight," he went on, "I face the battle of my life. Nothing else
matters, in all the world. And so help me, Stephen, I'm terrified. I
speak of faith, and yet I do not feel it. Getting Mary safely away is
everything. Everything
. If I fail, or injure her in the attempt, my own life is less than
meaningless. My life must end....."
Then it was he who stiffened in defiance. "But God or no God, I will
have her out. With all my soul I swear it. She will be freed.
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