“He turns to point the knife at Dave. Smitty opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead his eyes widen in surprise because with a clap of thunder, I blow a hole in his chest.”

“i open my eyes and blow a straggle of hair out of my face. Not my hair, smitty's. his head is buried in the crook of my neck and he's out cold. he uses raspberry shampoo? what a big girl.”

“He brought the knife down. Helplessly, Nicholas watched it head for his chest, but before but before it got there, a hand flew out of nowhere to meet it. The knife passed through the hand like it was water, but the the hilt jammed into the palm, trapping it an inch before the knife point could pierce Nicholas's chest. Albert turned in confusion to see Simon standing there with the knife clear through his hand. He looked too amazed to feel the pain."Simon? But your useless," Albert said, shocked."I'm just as surprised as you are," Simon replied,”

“You love me,” I whisper.His eyes widen further and his mouth opens. He takes a huge breath as if winded. He looks tortured—vulnerable.“Yes,” he whispers. “I do.”

“But, you're just a girl!" Ben said, his eyes widening with suprise and indignation. The green eyes glanced downwards and before he could move, Ben felt a sharp point pricking at his throat."No, not just a girl..." the thief answered softly, "a girl with a knife!”

“He sat up, his chest moving, his mouth open as if he'd run the annual San Francisco Bay to Breakers race in record time instead of, as the event intended, having fun.”