That’s what you taught me - we don’t have to accept destiny or Des Tiny. We can create our own future, all of us. We have the power to rule our lives - we just have to make the choice to use it.

You didn't want to die. Most mortals don't, even if they find themselves in as desolate and soul-destroying a spot as you. Almost all of those who take their own lives wish at the last moment that they hadn't. They see at the end how much they've given up, how precious life is, even when it's treated them like dirt and crushed their dreams. Many think they've passed beyond hope, but they never really have, not until they pass beyond life itself. Alas, that knowledge comes too late for most would-be-suicides and they die with regret. Very few are offered the chance that you have been handed.

Life is a challenge" he once told me, "and only those who rise to the challenge truly know what it means to live.

If this were a made-up story, it would begin at night, with a storm blowing and owls hooting and rattling noises under the bed.

Maybe you're going insane." "Maybe," agreed Kernel. "I was joking." "I wasn't.

I always knew there was power in the earth, but it must be much stronger than I imagined to resist such a relentless foe, day after day, night after night, year after year.

Quick! Head for the ground floor! We have to get out! We will die if we stay! The vampires are here!" "Haven't you got a hug for me, Larten, old buddy?