Silver Creek crimes against children are so easy to get away with.

He was so solid that he didn't budge an inch, whereas Bat did not fare so well: she bounced backward on impact, lost her footing and went down like a sack of potatoes. She stayed down too, blinking owlishly up at Artaax's familiar features. For a solid five seconds, her brain blanked entirely. After that, a series of inarticulate phrases drifted through her head, all to the tune of, What the fuck?

When Artaax issued a brusque command and began to walk away, Bat stared stupidly after him, still motionless on the ground.