Cassandra Clare

“She had loved him for such a long time, she thought. How was it that she did now know him at all?”

“She is fine. She hates us both but it really didn't sound like anything else was wrong”

“Sometimes," said Will, "they're even supposed to blow up.”

“I think I may be in love with you, Sophie," said Will. "Marriage could be in the cards.”

“Far below ran the silver ribbon of the East River, braceleted by shining bridges, flecked by boats as small as flyspecks, splitting the shining banks of light that were Manhattan and Brooklyn on either side.”

“He cocked his head to the side. "Did he die well?""He died screaming." Charlotte's bluntness startled Tessa."What a beautiful thing to hear.”

“'Twas on an evening fair I went to take the air,I heard a maid making her moan;Said, 'Saw ye my father? Or saw ye my mother? Or saw ye my brother John?Or saw ye the lad I that I love best,And his name it is Sweet William?”

“Not Magnus himself, who was more of a cross between a panther and a demented elf.”

“This is about Tessa. I knew it was." Will flushed, a wash of color across the pallor of this face. "Not just her.""But you love her."Will stared at him. "Of course I do," he said finally. "I had come to think i would never love anyone, but I love her.”

“Will,” she whispered against his mouth. She wanted him closer to her so badly, it was like an ache, a painful hot ache that spread from her stomach to speed her heart and knot her hands in his hair and set her skin burning. “Will, you need not be so careful. I will not break.”

“As the carriage whipped forward, they passed the alley she had spent so many days staring at—it was there, and then gone as they careened around a corner, nearly knocking over a costermonger pushing a donkey cart piled high with new potatoes. Tessa screamed.Will reached past her and yanked the curtain shut. "It's better if you don't look," he told her pleasantly."He's going to kill someone. Or get us killed.""No, he won't. Thomas is an excellent driver."Tessa glared at him. "Clearly the word excellent means something else on this side of the Atlantic.”

“It is the mundanes who look at me and see something they do not understand—a boy who is not quite white and not quite foreign either.""Just as I am not human, and not demon either," Tessa said softly.His eyes softened. "You are human," he said. "Never think you are not. I have seen you with your brother; I know how you care for him. If you can feel hope, guilt, sorrow, love—then you are human.”

“Charlotte slammed the paper down onto her desk with an exclamation of rage. “Aloysius Starkweather is the most stubborn, hypocritical, obstinate, degenerate—” She broke off, clearly fighting for control of her temper. Tessa had never seen Charlotte’s mouth so firmly set into a hard line. “Would you like a thesaurus?” Will inquired. “You seem to be running out of words.”

“Patriotic?” Will looked smug. “I’ll tell you what’s patriotic,” he said. “In honor of my birthplace, I’ve the dragon of Wales tattooed on my—”

“Well, it seems a bit silly, looking there,” said Will. “It’s not like Mortmain’s going to lodge a complaint against the Shadow-hunters through official channels. ‘Very upset Shadowhunters refused to all die when I wanted them to. Demand recompense. Please mail cheque to A. Mortmain, 18 Kensington Road—”

“If I might make a suggestion,” said Will. “About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you’d like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a bit to the left—”

“Demon pox, oh, demon pox, Just how is it acquired? One must go down to the bad part of town Until one is very tired.Demon pox, oh, demon pox I had it all along— No, not the pox, you foolish blocks, I mean this very song— For I was right, and you were wrong!”

“Oh, leave it,” said Jem, kicking Will, not without affection, lightly on the ankle. “She’s annexed my plan!” “Will,” Tessa said firmly. “Do you care more about the plan being enacted or about getting credit for it?” Will pointed a finger at her. “That,” he said. “The second one.”

“So you’re suggesting we take the train up to York, meet a ninety-year-old man, leap on him, and yank out his hair? I’m sure the Clave will beecstatic.”“They’ll just say you’re mad,” said Jessamine. “They already think it, so what’s the difference, really?”

“Look well on this, my son," said the green-skinned man, "for one day I shall rule a clockwork kingdom of such beings, and you shall be its prince.”

“It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them.”

“If you do not help me," Tessa said to Jem, "I swear, I will change into you, and I will lift him myself. And then everyone here will see what you look like in a dress." She fixed him with a look. "Do you understand?”

“You haven't broken his heart yet, have you?""No," Tessa said. Just torn my own in two. "I haven't broken his heart at all.”

“It's too late," she said."Don't say that." His voice was half a whisper. "I love you, Tessa. I love you.”

“Her name rang in Will's mind like the chime of a bell; he wondered if any other name on earth had such an inescapable resonance to it. She couldn't have been named something awful, could she, like Mildred. He couldn't imagine lying awake at night, staring up at the ceiling while invisible voices whispered 'Mildred' in his ears. But Tessa--”

“It would hardly benefit me to hold anything back unnecessarily, when I know what I'm asking. For you to find a needle in--God, not even a haystack. A needle in a tower full of other needles.”

“You speak of sacrifice, but it is not my sacrifice I offer. It is yours I ask of you," he went on. "I can offer you my life, but it is a short life; I can offer you my heart, though I have no idea how many more beats it shall sustain. But I love you enough to hope that you wil not care that I am being selfish in trying to make the rest of my life - whatever length - happy, by spending it with you. I want to be married to you, Tessa. I want it more than I have ever wanted anything else in my life." He looked up at her through the veil of silvery hair that fell over his eyes. "That is," he said shyly, "if you love me, too.”

“We live and breathe words.”

“You had to know a person well to make them laugh like that.”

“But you hate poetry!Yes, but you make me want to write it.”

“Beautiful girls should know how to defend themselves against the advances of gentlemen.”

“Unrequited love is a ridiculous state, and it makes those in it behave ridiculously.”

“One does silly things when one is twelve.”

“Keeping demons from this world is your mandate, a mandate from heaven. And a mandate from heaven isn't something you can just ignore.”

“Demon pox, oh demon poxJust how is it acquired?One must go down to the bad part of townUntil one is very tired.Demon pox, oh demon pox, I had it all along—Not the pox, you foolish blocks,I mean this very song—For I was right, and you were wrong!""Will!" Charlotte shouted over the noise, "Have you LOST YOUR MIND? CEASE THAT INFERNAL RACKET! Jem—" Jem, rising to his feet, clapped his hands over Will's mouth. "Do you promise to be quiet?" he hissed into his friend's ear.Will nodded, blue eyes blazing. Tessa was staring at him in amazement; they all were. She had seen Will many things—amused, bitter, condescending, angry, pitying—but never giddy before.Jem let him go. "All right, then."Will slid to the floor, his back against the armchair, and threw up his arms. "A demon pox on all your houses!" he announced, and yawned."Oh, God, weeks of pox jokes," said Jem. "We're in for it now.”

“He bent to put his cheek against hers. His breath against her ear made her shudder with each deliberately spoken word. "I have wanted to do this," he said, "every moment of every hour of every day that I have been with you since the day I met you.”

“Will seemed about to lunge off toward the whisperers to administer rough justice, but Jem had a firm grip on the back of his parabatai’s coat. Being Jem, Tessa reflected, must be a great deal like being the owner of a thoroughbred dog that liked to bite your guests. You had to have a hand on his collar constantly.”

“My heart tells me this is the best and greatest feeling I have ever had. But my mind knows the difference between wanting what you can’t have and wanting what you shouldn’t want. And I shouldn’t want you.”

“Mortality, behold, and fear,What a change of flesh is here!Think how many royal bonesSleep within this heap of stones,”

“Lord, you're Irish," said Will. "Can you make things that don't have potatoes in them? We had an Irish cook once when I was a boy. Potato pie, potato custard, potatoes with potato sauce...”

“Being Jem, Tessa reflected, must be a great deal like being the owner of a thouroughbred dog that liked to bite your guests. You had to have a hand on his collar constantly.”

“Glory? The Angel sounded faintly curious, as if the word were strange to him. Glory belongs to God alone.”

“Jem put the full force of himself into each smile, so that he seemed to be smiling with his eyes, his heart, his whole being.”

“The only way you would have failed," she said, "is if you had.”

“We'll be together there," said Valentine. "As we should be." That sounds terrific,thought Clary.Just you, your comatose wife, your shell-shocked son, and your daughterwho hates your guts. Not to mention that your two kids may be in love with each other. Yeah, that sounds likea perfect family reunion.”

“And second, keep in mind that you are a weapon. In theory, when you're done with training, you should be able to kick a hole in a wall or knock out a moose with a single punch.""I would never hit a moose," said Clary. "They're endangered.”

“Staring at him theway she might stare at a beloved place shewas not sure she would ever see again, tryingto commit the details to memory, to paintthem on the backs of her eyelids that shemight see it when she shut her eyes to sleep.”

“Lips. There was something strangely, delicatelyindelicate about the word, like a kissitself.”

“He waved a hand at the ropes. “Do you often sleep tied to the bed?”

“Tessa looked at him in disbelief. "what's my name?" "don't you know it?”