“Will you wait for me on the platform then?’Suki looked at Rollo and cast her eyes upward. ‘I suppose so.’Retra smiled at her. ‘Don’t you mean, “I guess so”?”

“Kero and Rollo stood over it, slick with blood, both holding knives.‘Kero, you came? Why?’ asked Naif.‘Maybe I just needed someone to show me how to be brave enough,’ he replied with a hint of a dangerous grin.”

“Something from out in the dark brushed her throat, dampfingers smearing her with warm wetness. She started, raising a hand against it, but touched nothing.A teasing whisper in her ear – no, more a thought. Come to me …She glanced around to see if anyone else had heard, but those near her gazed eagerly ahead. Except the Riper; he watched her.”

“Naif felt his tentacle caress her again, This time, though, he was holding something as well. It was rough hessian and the smell from it was putrid, like something dead a few days. She tried to push him away but his tentacle ws strong and persistent, not withdrawing until he'd wiped the cloth over her.”

“Rules? Ixion is supposed to be free of rules, yet it seems as strict as Grave in its own way and more...more dangerous.”

“People are sometimes really different from what you first think. You have to give them a chance.”

“Can you really change anything, Joel?”