“It became known that I had a rather fertile imagination, when it came to private activities."She stared. "What sort of private activities?"This time he did smile, and it turned his face wicked. "Disrobe, and I'll be happy to demonstrate.”

“So, regarding that tidbit about your having a fertile imagination when it comes to private activities," she said, fighting off anxiety. "Was it another lie?""Depends on how you look at it. It's not exactly a lie, and if you come with me to the Weird, you'll find that rumors of my 'creativity' when it comes to bed games with the opposite sex do exist. I started them myself and managed them very carefully. The trick with rumors is to feed them once in a while, so they don't die.”

“And how did your day go?" I asked Ascanio. He turned to me, a dreamy look on his pretty face. "We killed things. There was blood. Fountains of blood. And then we had barbecue.”

“How is it different?"He rolled his head back, sable hair falling down on his shoulders. "With Rose I knew what to say. I could take a step back and talk to her. I remembered all the crap from the magaznies. It was easy.""And with me, it's hard?" Why? Because she was a swamp girl? And how did the magazines fit into it?William looked away from her. "I don't like it when you're away. If I don't see you, I can't settle down. If I see you talking with another man, I want to claw his throat out. And none of the things you're supposed to say fit."Oh, this had to be good. "What sort of things?"He sighed. "The lines. Like, 'You're my everything,' or 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“Across from me at the next row of supports Jim raised his hand and touched his fingers to his thumb a few times, imitating an opening and closing beak. Negotiate. He wanted me to engage a lunatic who had already turned four people into smoking meat. Okay. I could do that. “Alright, Jeremy!” I yelled into the night. “Give me the salamander and I won’t cut your head off!”Jim put his hand over his face and did some shaking. I thought he was laughing, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“Let’s talk.” I pinned Red to his chair with my stare. I did deranged quite well, when the occasion required.”

“Where you worried about me?""No, I'm ranting for fun, because I'm a disagreeable bitch!"He smiled."You're a moron!" I told him.He just looked at me. Happy golden lights danced in his eyes. I'd learned exactly what those sparks meant. Fury fled, replaced by alarm."Kiss me and I'll kill you," I warned."It might be worth it," he said softly.”