Paragon Bound
an excerpt

Lass stared up at the Lady of the Rockies, a ninety foot tall statue that bestowed concrete benediction on the city of Butte. Inside the statue, Feather was buying trinkets to send back to her family in Belfast. Unlike the spunky Irish native, Lass was content to gaze at the huge image of the Virgin Mary while wandering about in her own thoughts. She'd never known anything like this existed.

"Here," Feather pushed a string of beads into her hand. She looked down to see a maroon rosary tangled in her fingers. "I got this for you, now you get to take a piece of her with you always."

Lass tightened her hand into a fist around the rosary, feeling the edges of the crucifix cut into the palm of her hand as she made a silent promise never to leave this peaceful place.