“And as always, it is surprisingly small, as the voice of the conscience is said to be.”

“...kids marked by the special thinness that one has only once, the transparent thinness of early maturity, when, without knowing it, you are immortal. And completely permeable. When you can walk indifferently down the street with a lover because you have become that lover. Two small people without dislike of suspicion.”

“...which recall(s) a moment in time when raw excess made them a casual aristocracy, apart from the rest of the world.”

“Silas?" I glanced from Ren to the mad-haired scholar. "He was your company?" "Still jealous?" Ren winked at me. "I was not jealous," I said. "Really?" Ren said. "So that harpy-ish tone was your normal speaking voice?”

“I'm simply acting according to my current circumstance." Logan blew a smoke ring, scenting the air with tobacco and cloves. "I thought prisoners were always granted a cigarette before their execution. And since you all keep threatening to kill me, I believe I should always have this small luxury afforded to me as long as my life is a risk. Don't you?”

“I growled and then slapped him."Hey!" His hand pressed to his cheek."You always say that when I slap you," I said."I think it's a problem that you know what I say when you slap me," he said. "That's not the kind of intimacy I'm looking for.”

“My story is the story of forgotten people and the voice of the voiceless.”