Molly Ringle

“Did you call me here just to deliver this monologue? Did I need to be here?”

“Another lesson to file away about Scotland: insulting other people in a childish manner was the national pastime.”

“But the thought of New Zealand instantly sent her mind to Watson, the possibly-Australian, possibly-Kiwi, definitely paranormal young fellow with videos of dead guys on his phone.”

“That was how people got through life, he supposed: by acknowledging death and telling it, “Not today.”

“You will come to the woods and choose your mate.”

“It had to unleash some invisible magic, he thought; Hades and Persephone, joining together again within these black and holy stone walls, for the first time in millennia. As they indulged in enjoying one another, how could they not be reactivating some power within the Earth itself? Surely they were at least bringing autumn storm clouds rolling and thundering over the Mediterranean.But probably every boy felt that way when finally in bed caressing the girl he loved.”

“Hermes visited him in the Underworld a few days before the spring equinox festival, cajoling Hades to come to it.Hades wandered across the fields with him, Kerberos limping along at his side. “No one wants the god of death at their fertility festival.”“Sure they do. I’ve heard plenty of girls sighing over your tasty darkness.”“Tasty darkness. Really.”

“Niko popped a spare slice of bacon in his mouth, chewing it up contentedly. “I hate being a soul, being dead. You know what I hate most about it?”“No sex?” Sophie guessed.“That’s what I hate second most about it. No, what I hate most is—”“That you can’t lie,” Adrian cut in.Niko lifted his eyebrows at him, impressed. “You do know me. Exactly right.”“And no bacon,” Freya added.”

“Ah, mate. My soul loves yours. It does. But this lifetime, my body won’t get on board.”

“No, her I brought back because..." Niko lifted his chin toward the moon. "She's magical.""I get that, if by 'magical' you mean 'hot.'""I also mean magical.”

“I had an absurd desire to go down to her and make sure she was all right, and stay with her until dawn. I also had a fierce wish to bludgeon the two frat boys to death with a shovel.”

“She re-read his email four times, feeling offended and breathless, like he had casually grabbed her head and stuffed it into a pile of wet leaves.”

“Everyone knew you shouldn't go biting into fruit offered to you by magical creatures in the woods, even if you'd thought until just five minutes ago that such stories were, you know, only stories.”

“Did you look up 'incubus'?" Ren asked, in her ear. She heard a smile in his voice."Yes. Let's see, 'a lascivious spirit supposed to have sexual intercourse with women in their sleep,' if I remember right.""There. And you thought it wasn't possible. It's common enough they actually had to make up a word for it.""Well, if you've been doing that, then you must have been discreet, because I sure haven't noticed.""It's not my preferred method," he said. "I always wake them up first.”

“And I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone, or breaking down in tears. Some days the small victories are all you achieve.”

“Yes, he knew it was crazy to be this obsessed over an encounter that had taken up maybe sixty seconds of his life. (Or had it been an hour and sixty seconds?) But what an encounter. His fingers still felt the bones and flesh through her sweater, his tongue still tasted her mysterious bitter-greens mouth, her voice still haunted him with that whispered 'Help me.”