Courtney Allison Moulton

“I hate... I hate when you die. It destroys me. I know i have no right to be so upset, because I'm not the one losing my life, but it breaks me apart inside. I'm not very good with words, and i dont know how to explain to you how i feel. I get lonely when you aren't with me. I miss you. And every time you die, a little piece of me dies with you.”

“What about you?You stay by my side day and night and take the hardest hits of them all.Why,Will?Why have you stayed with me all these centuries?You watch me die again and again,yet you never leave. You keep trying to save me, even though you know I'm doomed. All because some angel told you to?Come on.No more secrets,you said.Tell me.”

“But he was there.Day and night he was there for me,risking his very existence to protect me from a war that claimed my life over and over again.He never faltered,never wavered,never feared for his own safety.He was beaten,stabbed,abused, and tortured again and again,yet he still stuck by me,ignoring the possibility that he would die for me one day. It wasn't right. I didn't deserve everything he sacrificed for me.I wasn't worth so high a price.”

“Other Guardians have died fulfilling their duty to you longbefore I came along,” he said, touching my cheek, my hair. “Iwill die for you one day.”“Don’t say that,” I begged. “Will, I love you.You’re the only one who understands what I go through everyday, the only one I can share this world with. You’re my bestfriend, and I can’t take it if you’re going to shut me out likethis.”

“I thrashed against him, but I couldn’t free my arms. Ipounded my knee into his groin. His eyes bulged and heroared in pain, releasing me. It was good to know that whenswords failed, simple girl tactics always worked—even onmonsters.”

“I looked down at the reaper's blood on my hands, and I felt very sad.”

“I scowled and stabbed begrudginly at the stack before scooping up a bite with my fork, but it toppled over and plopped into my lap. I groaned and banged my head on the counter.Mom frowned, 'You have to be smarter than the pancakes, Ellie.”

“Ell?" Kate asked. "You okay?""Yeah, I thought I saw a spider." I shook my fist at Will and scowled. "A big, really ugly one. Sorry.”

“That’s the point of believing in something. There’s so much doubt and tribulation during your journey that you’ve got to hang on to something, or else you’ll fall.”

“Mom turned but did a double take. "Where did you get that necklace from?"I touched the pendant. "A friend.""A boy?"Yikes. "He's a friend who's a boy."Her mouth twitched in amusement and her gaze left the necklace. "First roses, and now a necklace? Are you sure Landon isn't you boyfriend?""This wasn't from him, Mom.""So you have two boyfriends?""No, Mom!" I almost shouted. "Neither of them is my boyfriend. Trust me. They're just boys who are friends. No connecting of words going on... or connecting of anything else, for that matter."She stared at me. "Hmm." Then she left my room. She was so weird sometimes.”

“I am Ragnuk, and I am going to eat you now.”

“Ivar grabbed hold of my shoulders, swung me into a strung-up fishing net, and then smashed me into a set of shelves. Clutter rained down on me, and I fought my way to the surface, clawing free of the net. Ivar's fingers curled around my shirt and lifted me until I was eye level with her."I'm going to enjoy killing you," she sneered. "And when you come back, I'll enjoy killing you again. If the Enshi doesn't eat your soul, I'll gladly eat your heart."Instead of replying, I stabbed her in the gut with a Khopesh. Her eyes bulged and she dropped me. I pulled the flaming sword out and slashed, but she caught my wrist before my blade could catch her skin, and she hissed, pulling her lips back viciously."Wrong move." Her flesh healed shut with only an ugly marbled scar left behind. She lashed her black power at me, striking me across the chest like a whip, and I staggered back. I shook off the blow and saw her lunge for me through the smoky remains of her attack. My own power detonated in a deafening explosion of white and collided with her. It blew her through the cabin, and she crashed through the wall and flew back out on the other side of the deck in a storm of fiberglass and steel.”

“I'm a soldier in war, and the only difference between our war and the ones between humans is that this fight has been going on since time began and it's not likely to be over any time soon." - Will”

“You... don't have the spine!" he hissed with morbid, sadistic amusement.Unfortunately for him, it was mercy that I lacked, not a spine. I raised my swords high overhead. He stopped laughing when I had finished hacking off his head.”

“I darted away from Geir and jmped through the gaping hole in the wall Will's body had made. The settling dust choked me, but I made it through and ran to Will. He was struggling to his feet, leaning heavily on his sword as the point dug into the cold ground. When I reached him, I dropped my swords and wrapped my arms around his chest."I've got you," I said, helping him lift his torso the rest of the way up. I heard a sickening snap in his chest as he groaned, and I knew something was broken. He buried his face into my shoulder and growled in pain.”

“Life is going to test you in ways it never has before. Don't let your future change the good person that you are or make forget who you are.”

“Will, I'm in love with you. You're the only one who understands what I go through every day, the only one I can share this world with.”

“And everytime you die, a little piece of me dies with you.”

“His eyes were the brightest, most unnatural blue I had ever seen, a toxic cerulean.”

“I knew he was your boyfriend. Ellie Marie, I can't believe you lied to me, you hooker!”

“I don't want to die and come back and not remember your face, Will. I don't want to spend another lifetime not knowing who you are!”

“As I listened and watched, I knew he was as perfectly aware of me as I was of him, though he kept his infallible rhythm. I knew he could sense every inch of my skin from across the floor, as I could his, feeling every thread of the powerful centuries-old bond we shared. In that moment my lips grew numb and something spun deliciously warm in my chest. In that precise moment I knew I was undeniably in love with him.”

“I'll wait for you forever.”

“Love is a beautiful but terrible thing," he said. "You have to be careful with it. It can destroy you.”

“Shots, shots, shots!”

“Then of course," he said. "I'll follow you anywhere.”

“It was good to know that when swords failed, simple girl tactics always worked - even on monsters.”

“I didn't need him to say anything. I just needed him to stand there and hold me.”

“I guess it's true that love makes you blind.""No," my mom said. "It doesn't make you blind. You're very, very aware of everything about the one you truly love, whether you know it from what your eyes tell you or your heart. So no, love doesn't make you blind. It paralyzes you until you can't breathe or run away from it.”

“I know you don't have access to that memory yet, but I don't think it's something I can just tell you. It means too much to me, I guess.”

“I wondered, for a moment, if he was cuddly. Probably not.”

“I knew I had to live. I had to be there when you came back. You died alone, but I wouldn't let you come back alone.”

“I am so sick of you pulling this Batman shit on me!”

“As I swung a third time, he grabbed my wrist. "That's enough hitting," he growled. "You don't exactly hit like a girl, you know.”

“His fingers traced the curve of my shoulder softly, as his gaze fell. I gasped sharply. If he tried to kiss me, I'd slap the crap out of him. Bond or no bond.”

“He smiled. "we go inside.""I'm going to get tetanus in there." I grumbled."Don't go rolling in piles of dirt and rusty nails and you'll be fine.""You're an ass.”

“I have a ninja sitting shotgun. Of course, I'm tense.”

“The chair... it slipped.”

“And I am your guardian, your bodyguard, sworn to protect and defend you. And you are making my job excruciatingly difficult.”

“The next morning, my head and every muscle in my body hurt as if I'd run a marathon through six feet of snow in stilettos.”

“Another growl came, and then very heavy footsteps - like T-rex-shaking-the-water-cup-jurassic-park-style heavy foot steps.”

“No, I haven't heard that, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the proverbial insight, my stalker friend.”

“I like being outside at night. It's relaxing.”

“I'd have given anything to turn back the last ten years of my life - and that wasn't something someone my age should have to feel.”

“I tried not to laugh. Landon had been my friend since the sixth grade, but he was a boy, and boys made no sense to me...”

“Um, hi," I said, drawling in my uneasiness. "Do you... need the trash can?" I felt like an idiot as soon as I said it.”

“Why don't you study for me, too, so I don't have to?”

“My eyes rolled over to my best friend, Kate Green, who was doodling intricate flowers all over her notes and looked like she was thoroughly entertaining herself.”

“Are you coming with us?"He looked down at me, his eyes a cool mint green. He seemed to have calmed down since Cadan left. "If you wish.""I would feel better if you were close," I whispered. "Cadan freaked me out.""Then of course," he said. "I'll follow you anywhere.”

“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life."I exhaled after holding my breath for what felt like forever. "That's pretty heavy, Will." His expression was impassioned, and the backs of his fingers brushed the side of my neck."It is a burden I am glad to carry.”