Jaye Wells

“I laughed uneasily. “Jeez, you guys make it sound like I was on the brink of death or something. I just fainted.” (Sabina)”

“Wow,” I said, brilliant as always.He chuckled. “Understatement of the millennium."(Sabina/Adam)”

“His eyes burned with intensity. I wondered briefly if someonehe knew was being held in that cold room that smelled like death. Someone he loved?”

“Hey, controlling a zombie horde is hard work. I'd punch a nun for a cheeseburger right about now.”

“He curled his claw into a fist. "I'd like to shove a stake up that bastard's ass."Adam's lip curled. "Remind me not to piss you off."The demon raised his brow. "Trust that shit, mancy.”

“He scrambled to grab a hose and pointed it at us. A pathetic stream of water trickled out.What are you going to do? Giguhl said. Moisten us?”

“Why is it forked?”

“I think you need to go find that boy and tell him how you feel about him. Then you need to ride him like a tilt-o-whirl.”

“..Though I have to say nothing beats Type O mixed with a little cannabis." A muscle worked in David's jaw. "You're stoned?""Not Really," I said. "Though I do have a strange craving for pizza. Extra garlic.”

“My eyes shifted to the charred, smoking remains of the Caste vampire who'd taken the right bullet. And fate whispered in my ear, "Who's the bitch now?”

“But fate-that fickle bitch-made a liar out of me. Again.”

“If wishes solved problems, the world would be a very different place.”

“I laughed. "Yeah, right. If anyone gives you trouble, he'll hump their leg like a berserker." "Hey! I haven't humped anyone in months." The demon pursed his lips".”

“When the world stilled again, ominous silence reigned. Scratch that, not silence exactly. The van’s radiator hissed, and someone was groaning. Oh, right. That was me.”

“And if i had to listen to one more minute of my demon's increasingly pathetic and creepy attempts to get a piece of rebound faery ass, i was going to cut a bitch.”

“My mouth fell open. I wasn‘t used to receiving practical advice from Giguhl. But the weird thing? He was totally right. ―When‘d you become so insightful?He smiled wickedly. ―Lady, I piss insight.”

“My eyes bulged out of my head as I saw what rested between his hips. “Good Lord!” I said without thinking. A forked penis will do that to a girl. He glanced down at the appendage and smiled knowingly. “Once you go demon you never go back.”

“By now, I should have learned that luck, if she was a lady, was a mean-spirited bitch with a grudge against me.”

“What are you doing here?” a deep voice demanded. My heart burst into a rapid staccato as I swung around, ready to defend myself. Only instead of a guard or employee, Giguhl sat a few feet away laughing at me. “Dammit, you scared the crap out of me.”He laughed, a spooky noise coming from an even spookier-looking cat. “You should have seen your face.”

“Sabina." Vinca said interrupting my maudlin thoughts."Hmmm..."She rolled her eyes. "I said, don't you think Adam looks nice tonight."I shook myself. "I guess so," I said with a shrug."Oh, stop," he said. "You're going to make me blush.”

“Sure. What's the worst that could happen." Twenty minutes later, we had our answer. "I can't frecking believe this."I cringed. "I'm so sorry.""I'm bald!" Giguhl continued. "I look like a freak.""It's not that bad," I said. But it was. Oh, my lord was it bad. I'd never seen an uglier cat in my entire life.”

“What up, peeps?"I looked at my hairless cat for a moment. "What up, peeps? You've been watching MTV again, haven't you?""Word.”

“Just be sure you brush your teeth tonight. Morning breath is a fresh sea breeze compared to the hellitosis of blood breath.”

“That's right, bitch. Goldie Schwartz. And I'm not a fucking midget. I prefer the term 'fun sized'.”

“What she means is, I might look like a pussy but I'm really a badass demon.”

“Bookstores are temples and stories are my prayers.”

“Spare me the self-righteous indignation. I highly doubt your motives are selfless.”

“He ran a finger down my cheek. "Time is a commodity right now, Red. Wait too long and it might be too late."I swallowed hard. Went still as my stomach clenched with dread. Hadn't Maisie said almost those exact same words to me in New York when she'd encouraged me to admit my feelings to Ada? "I know."He leaned forward and placed another soft kiss on my lips. When he pulled away, he held my gaze. "Soon, Sabina.”

“He paused, letting the tension mount. His solemn gaze met mine. "How long are you going to make me wait?"I considered making a joke. Blowing the whole thing off like nothing had happened. But I cared about Adam too much to dismiss his genuine interest with careless sarcasm. "I don't know."He stared at me for a few moments. Behind his eyes I could see the wheels turning. Weighing the options and eventualities. Finally, he breathed out through his nose, like expelling bad energy. "Well, I guess that's better than 'never'.”

“Before I joined them, I cracked my neck from side to side. Breathing in a martyred sigh, I reminded my temper to behave itself. If I'd learned one thing, it was that killing people who annoyed me generally created more problems than it solved.I mentally patted myself on the back. See? Totally growing.”

“Of course cher . A proper southern woman never allows a simple misunderstanding get in the way of hospitality.”

“Fuck fate and David's fatalism. I was going to make destiny my bitch.”

“I frowned. This from a man who just watched a midget riding a gimp?”

“We passed by a few workers, who did double takes as we ran past. I supposed that the image of a hairless cat in a sweater being followed by a stressed-looking chick in stiletto boots could have been funny. I was too anxious to get the hell out of there to see any humor in it.”

“Got it. Look for a room with a sign with a big arrow that says, ‘Kidnapped Mancies Here,’ ” he said.”

“Wait,” he said, pulling me to a stop when I tried to march off toward my destiny. “Is there something you want to tell me?” I looked at him, trying to think of anything I’d done recently that I needed to admit to. When nothing came to mind other than the usual, I shook my head. “Not really. Why?” He reached out and touched my leather jacket. “Is that a bullet hole?” Freaking great.”

“Is that all you bought?” His eyes shot to the left. “Um.” I clenched my teeth. “What else?” “A Super Mega Juicer,” he said quickly. “But, Sabina, seriously that juicer is a miracle machine.” “I’m a vampire, Giguhl. The only liquids I drink are blood and alcohol. I don’t do juice.”

“I walked to the door where Clovis waited. When I looked up, he was staring at Adam. A quick glance backward confirmed Adam was returning his stare. Freaking males, I thought, they couldn’t be more obvious about their territorial dispute if they’d both peed on me.”

“I cringed at her entirely accurate summary of the kiss. "Look, it‘s not a big deal. I think it was curiosity more than anything.""Curiosity? Like you were wondering what his tonsils tasted like?”

“Believe it or not, there are plenty of ways to satisfy your need for blood without harming anyone."I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that?”