“An old love of my uncle's. Her name was Nott.""Not what?""Nott. Just Nott."Mack waited as long as he could before asking, "Not what?""Nott. That was he name. Nott.""Is that a joke?" Mack asked. "Like one of those 'not' jokes? Like if I said, 'I like your dress...not.'""What's the matter with my dress?" Xiao asked, a little irritated.Leaning forward, Jarrah asked, "Not what?""Not a what, a who," Mack explained to Jarrah. "Nothing!" he answered Xiao's question."Okay, then," Jarrah said. "Not who?""Are we there yet?" Stefan asked."I think Nott was Shen Long's girlfriend," Mack yelled back to Jarrah. The wind was fierce and cold now that Shen Long was picking up speed."Then what's this about nothing?" Jarrah asked."It's not about nothing," Mack said. "It's about Nott."There was a moment or two of silence. Then Jarrah said, "You know, I could push you right off this dragon's back."Mack thought that over for a second or two then said, "I'd prefer you not. Heh.”

“You don't look so much like a great hero,' Jarrah said. 'I'm pretty sure I'm not,' Mack said wearily. 'My throat is hoarse from screaming in terror. I don't think heroes have that problem.”

“Eriskigal, or as some say it, Erishkigal, is Morgan le Fay, Kali, Persephone, and Hel.''She's Hel all right,' Jarrah muttered.”

“Why don’t you lift the end?” said Alf.“It’s me back, Alf,” complained Mack. “You know how it troubles me.”“No more than mine troubles me,” said Alf.“But I said it first,” said Mack.”

“I asked him what it was like to have a dad. He said he didn't think it mattered who you had as long as you had somebody good.”

“Does that mean," asked Mack, "that all roads will lead to you?" "Not at all," smiled Jesus..."Most roads don't lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”

“How long does it last?" Said the other customer, a man wearing a tan shirt with little straps that buttoned on top of the shoulders. He looked as if he were comparing all the pros and cons before shelling out $.99. You could see he thought he was pretty shrewd."It lasts for as long as you live," the manager said slowly. There was a second of silence while we all thought about that. The man in the tan shirt drew his head back, tucking his chin into his neck. His mind was working like a house on fire"What about other people?" He asked. "The wife? The kids?""They can use your membership as long as you're alive," the manager said, making the distinction clear."Then what?" The man asked, louder. He was the type who said things like "you get what you pay for" and "there's one born every minute" and was considering every angle. He didn't want to get taken for a ride by his own death."That's all," the manager said, waving his hands, palms down, like a football referee ruling an extra point no good. "Then they'd have to join for themselves or forfeit the privileges.""Well then, it makes sense," the man said, on top of the situation now, "for the youngest one to join. The one that's likely to live the longest.""I can't argue with that," said the manager.The man chewed his lip while he mentally reviewed his family. Who would go first. Who would survive the longest. He cast his eyes around to all the cassettes as if he'd see one that would answer his question. The woman had not gone away. She had brought along her signed agreement, the one that she paid $25 for."What is this accident waiver clause?" She asked the manager."Look," he said, now exhibiting his hands to show they were empty, nothing up his sleeve, "I live in the real world. I'm a small businessman, right? I have to protect my investment, don't I? What would happen if, and I'm not suggesting you'd do this, all right, but some people might, what would happen if you decided to watch one of my movies in the bathtub and a VCR you rented from me fell into the water?"The woman retreated a step. This thought had clearly not occurred to her before.”