“Six flights up I smelled it. Faint at first and then gradually stronger - the eye-watering stench of fermented sugar. I felt like I was walking into a distillery, and that clued me in as to who we were visiting. [...] I'm still waiting for some brave soul to start marketing Gremlin Piss Schnapps.”

“Too bad you need both hands for crawling," I said. "We could use some sunshine in here.""Next time, I'll be sure to ask the sprites for a flashlight.""And a bottle of water. I think I've swallowed enough dust to shit a brick later.”

“I told myself that was why, that I wasn’t bringing you back because it hurt too much to lose you. That a lifetime without free will wasn’t worth three moredays with you. That wasn’t good enough. I had to do it for the right reasons, you know. For them, not for us.”

“If you ever come home with fleas, I'm dumping you.”

“Girlfriend? Presume much?""Probably, yes." He turned his head, breath tickling my cheek. "I told you yesterday, Evy, you have healing to do, and I'll be here for you. Whatever it takes.”

“You're alive." Wyatt's voice had never sounded so...small. "You were dead, but Christ, Evy, you're alive.”

“Come on,” he said, and then dragged me toward the house.I stopped when we got to the porch. “What is that smell?”Ryan sniffed his shirt and with a smile said, “Armani. You like it?”“Not you,” I said. “It smells like someone is frying up dog vomit in your house.” This took Ryan by surprise. I guess it was pretty random. “You’rereally sick sometimes, Baker,” Ryan said. “You know that?”