Quote 1

'We mix our blood.' And Gage stood unflinching as the knife drew over his flesh.
'Three into one, and one for the three.'
Cal held his arm out. Fox, then Gage pressed their scored wrists down to his. 'Brothers in spirit, in mind. Brothers in blood for all time.'

This passage occurs in Chapter 2 during the blood ritual that Cal, Fox, and Gage perform that sets off the Seven. The words that they speak during the ritual appear to have come to them spontaneously but the echo Dent’s words in the prologue, when he foretells of three descendants, “sons of sons. Three parts of one.” The boys do not know why they take the action they do, moved only by an instinct they don’t understand, to make themselves as one and to mark their 10th birthday at the Pagan Stone.

The quote invokes the power of three, which is central to the novel. Not only do the three boys join as one in their ritual, but they also assert that they are brothers in three ways: in mind, in blood, and in spirit. This foreshadows the power of the three together. It also foreshadows that their bond is more than just a friendship – through the ritual they become spiritually and ancestrally linked.

Quote 2

Even during the worst time, even during the Seven, he could come here and there would be fresh flowers artfully arranged, furniture free of dust and gleaming with polish, and intriguing little soaps in the dish in the downstairs powder room.

Even hell didn’t cause Frannie Hawkins to break stride.

This description is from Chapter 10 when Cal, Quinn, Fox, and Layla visit Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins’ home for dinner. The visit comes just after Cal and Quinn have visited the Pagan Stone together for the first time and shared their first kiss. It marks a moment when both evil and love are growing stronger.

In this passage, Cal relies on his mother’s constancy, even in the face of evil. He takes solace in the fact that, ever since his world was turned upside down on his tenth birthday, he has always been able to count on his mother to maintain a constant home. Like Quinn, Frannie finds it essential to maintain the duties of the everyday, even when facing a beast from hell. Again and again, the characters refuse to buckle, run, or give up. This tenacious belief in the power of life and the courageous ability to carry on are characteristics that many of the main characters share.

Quote 3

What makes you, Caleb Hawkins, is of the past, the now, and the yet to come.

Who are you? Are you Ann?

I am what came before you, and you are formed through love. Know that long, long before you came into the world, you were loved.

Love isn’t enough.

No, but it is the rock on which all else stands.

In Chapter 11, just before Valentine’s Day, a ghostlike woman appears to Cal. She delivers him a mysterious message, and he suspects she is Ann Hawkins. She encourages him to move forward, to continue the fight, but is unable to give him clear direction on what he must do next.

This passage invokes one of the central themes of the novel: the interconnectedness of the past, present, and future. The woman reminds Cal that his actions – and his very being – are part of his ancestors, his world in the present, and future generations. This calls to mind the power of Cal, Fox, and Gage working together, too, as Cal sees into the past, Fox into the present, and Gage into the future.

The passage also underscores the power of love. Though Cal is skeptical that love is strong enough to defeat evil, the woman, who seems to have a timeless insight into how to end this ancient battle, assures him that love is “the rock on which all else stands.” This invokes the Pagan Stone and Dent’s act of love, in which he sacrificed himself to protect Ann and her triplets from being harmed by the demon. This act made it possible for Cal to exist. This statement also foreshadows that love may be the force that is powerful enough to beat the demon.

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