“They know they’ve won,” Carter guessed. “They’re making a show of it.”“Yes,” Amos said.“Well, let’s blow up the boats or something!” I said.Amos looked at me. “Is that your strategy, honestly?”

“Why are they so sad?” I asked.“Well, they’re dead,” Carter speculated.”

“Whenever I meet people for the first time, I get them to talk for ten minutes. Then I size them up from the exact opposite perspective of all they’ve told me. Do you think that’s crazy?“No,” I said, shaking my head, “I’d guess your method works quite well.”

“We can’t make a portal—”“We’ve got a flying boat,” Carter offered.”

“You saw me before I saw you. In the airport, that day in August, you had that look in your eyes, as though you wanted something from me, as though you’d wanted it for a long time. No one had ever looked at me like that before, with that kind of intensity. It unsettled me, surprised me, I guess. Those blue, blue eyes, icy blue, looking back at me as if I could warm them up. They’re pretty powerful, you know, those eyes, pretty beautiful, too.”

“Let me guess. The big one is due in on the north shore? (Dante)Yes. So let’s make this quick. I have a board, a wave, and a babe with my name on them and I would like to take advantage of all three. (Savitar)”