EXCERPT Some say there was a time when the dead were still. In those days, when anything died it was soon forgotten, and no one knew—or cared—what became of it. No one had heard of Ixidod at that time, and whatever she did—if anything at all—was of no concern to anybody. No one had heard of Centipede either, who lived under a rock, in secret. All this changed one day, or so it is said.…