Sarah Rees Brennan - The Demons Surrender

The Demons Surrender

ALSO BY SARAH REES BRENNAN

The Demons Lexicon

The Demons Covenant

MARGARET K. MCELDERRY BOOKS

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people,

or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are

products of the authors imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales

or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by Sarah Rees Brennan

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

MARGARET K. MCELDERRY BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Book design by Mike Rosamilia

The text for this book is set in Dante MT.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brennan, Sarah Rees.

The demons surrender / Sarah Rees Brennan.1st ed.

p. cm.(The demons lexicon trilogy; bk. 3)

Summary: Sins world is turned upside down when she has to ally with a demon and his brother

to save her beloved Goblin Market from the evil magicians.

ISBN 978-1-4169-6383-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4424-2393-0 (eBook)

[1. DemonologyFiction. 2. MagicFiction. 3. BrothersFiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.B751645Dg 2010

[Fic]dc22

2010038480

Contents

This trilogy is all about family, and especially about siblings.

So it seems fitting to dedicate the last book in the series

to the sibling who reads my books.

This one is for Gen, my favorite sister.

Okay, my only sister. But if I had another one

my hypothetical other sister would be seriously out of luck.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Trilogy accomplished! Which means more thanks than I can adequately express go to:

Karen Wojtyla, who was absolutely right about the book needing one last go-round, as she is about so much; Emily Fabre; and Valerie Shea. Also to Nicole Russo and everyone at Simon & Schuster for tireless marketing efforts on behalf of Oh God, those demon books.

Kristin Nelson and everyone at NLA, for everything.

Venetia Gosling, Kathryn McKenna, and everyone at Simon & Schuster UK, plus Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier, for so much, including an awesome UK tour.

All my foreign publishers, who without exception dazzle me.

Holly Black, who stayed up all night in London to read the first draft of this book, made it so half the edits my editor suggested were already done, and is basically a Heroine of the Revolution. If you ever want a liver, Holly, Illget one somehow. Also, thank you for the most fun tour ever.

Cassandra Clare, who organized the secret writing location where half this book was written.

My amazing first readers: Saundra Mitchell, Justine Larbalestier, and Karen Healey.

My family and friends, who for some reason have not yet put me on an iceberg and pushed me out to sea, as I understand the Eskimos do to annoying writers.

And if youre reading this? Thank you.

The Demons Surrender

Summer Past

M AGIC WAS LIKE A SPECIAL GUEST IN S INS LIFE . I T APPEARED all too rarely, stayed for a brief interval, and she spent the rest of her time preparing for it to come again.

She had taken the day off school so she and her dancers could set up the lights. She and Chiara had spent an hour singing into Phylliss new music boxes, which echoed back their voices transformed into strange, sweet melodies. Then shed had to rush away and help Carl set up his display of knives with luck stones in the hilts.

The magic had been worth waiting for. The Market at Dover Beach was one of the most beautiful Markets shed seen this year.

The musicians were high on the white cliffs, streaked with shadows by the twilight, and the Market itself was being held on a platform a few steps up from the shingled beach. The sea lay sparkling and still in the curve of the bay, like water held in the hollow of a pale hand, and fainter than the light of the stars, Sin could see the nighttime lights of the French coast.

There were other Goblin Markets held in other countries. She wanted to dance at them all one day.

For now she was glad to be at this one.

Sin was watching Toby while Mama put the finishing touches on the fortune-telling stall. The lanterns swinging over their heads cast rainbow gleams over the surface of the crystal balls, in the depths of the jewels on Mamas hands. Sin rocked Toby and Mama sang a Goblin Market song to them both as she laid out the cards.

Hush little baby, dont say a word. If you have two marks never get a third. Hush little baby, dont you cry. Mama never falls and demons never lie. Hush little baby, dont say a thing. Mamas going to buy you a magic ring. And if your ring wont give you a wish, Well be all right, baby, just like this.

Sin smiled. Who are you planning to dance with tonight?

The best-looking man who asks me, Mama replied, and they both laughed.

Mama was in a good mood for the first time in a long time. She had been sick too long after Toby was born and Victor had left with no word since to Mama, the woman hed said he loved, or to Toby and Lydie, his children.

He wasnt Sins father, and they were better off without him, but money had been tight since he went. What tourists really paid for were answers from demons, and to get those you had to dance. Mama had been too sick to dance, and she never accepted help from anyone. Shed never even let Dad help after he left. They had barely been able to scrape by on what Sin made dancing.

But now Mama was finally ready to dance again, they would be all right. Just like this.

How about you? Mama asked.

Sin just smiled, which meant she was holding out for Nick Ryves. He hadnt been to the Market in a couple of months, so he was due back.

Nick and Sin werent exactly friends. It was hard to be friends with Nick.

He was the best dancer shed ever seen, though, and that made her like him. Sin respected talent, and it was hard to dislike anyone when you loved to watch them move. Besides, you learned a lot about people dancing with them. That was why Sin made sure to dance with every new dancer once.

Dont tell me its Nick Ryves. Mama wrinkled her nose. That boys creepy. Im saying this as someone personally acquainted with fifteen necromancers.

Sin shrugged. Hes better than his brother.

I dont see what you have against Alan, Mama said predictably. Hes very gifted.

Alan Ryves was the kind of boy all the parents and grandparents and busybodies of the Market thought everyone should be like: perfect, studious, ever so polite and ever so politely disdainful of the dancers. He got up Sins nose more than anyone she had ever met.

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