Quote 10
"Your child? Now he is your child, this Pollux?"
"Yes. He is a child. He is my family, my people."
So that is it. No more lies. My people. As naked an answer as he could wish. Well, Lucy is his people. (22.69-71)
Despite the fact that we have two very different people – Petrus and David – in a moment of conflict right here, note how they are similar with respect to the way they both want to look out for the interests of their family members. The circumstances might be different, but their instincts are the same.
Quote 11
A blow catches him on the crown of the head. He has time to think, If I am still conscious then I am all right, before his limbs turn to water and he crumples.
He is aware of being dragged across the kitchen floor. Then he blacks out. (11.71-72)
This assault of David is one of the few concrete instances in which we actually see what happens during the attack on Lucy's home. The immediacy and brutality with which it happens gives us a pretty clear picture of how awful the events were that we didn't see.
Quote 12
As he lies sprawled he is splashed from head to foot with liquid. His eyes burn, he tries to wipe them. He recognizes the smell: Methylated spirits. Struggling to get up, he is pushed back into the lavatory. The scrape of a match, and at once he is bathed in cool blue flame. (11.94)
This is a moment of personal horror, pure and simple. After being knocked out, worrying about what the heck is happening to Lucy, and watching the dogs get killed execution-style, it seems like things couldn't get worse. Then he gets doused with alcohol and lit on fire. Great.