Julie Kagawa

“This is all quite fascinating," Grimalkin said, his voice slurring in my ears, "but instead of posing and scratching the ground like rutting peacocks, perhaps you should look to the girl.”

“Soulless. Banished. But never forgotten.”

“Quaint and picturesque, though I didn't voice my opinion out loud. Keirran and Annwyl were faeries, and Kenzie was a girl, so it was okay for them to notice such things. as a card-carrying guy club, I wasn't going to comment on the floral arrangements.”

“I swear there must be like some secret code. All mysterious ancient temples must have a minimum of at least seven thousand steps to the front door.”

“I do not know which is more annoying, the real Goodfellow or the reflection.""Well, considering they are one and the same," said a second, identical Grimalkin, materializing next to the first, "we should be thankful that they will be only one left when this is all over.""Agreed. Two Goodfellows would be more than anyone in this world could take.""I shudder to think of the implications.""You are so not helping, Grimalkin!" the real Puck called, ducking beneath a savage head strike. "And we're not here to have tea with our evil doppelgangers! Shouldn't you two be trying to kill each other?"The Grimalkins sniffed. "Please," they said at the same time.”

“Reaching back, I drew my blade, feeling it rasp free, gleamingas it came into the light. Looking up at the approaching rabids, Ismiled.”

“W-what do you want?" I asked, thankful that my voice only trembled a little bit.That Cat Didn't blink. "Human," he said, and if a cat could sound patronizing, this one nailed it, "think about the absurdity of the question. I am resting in my tree, minding my own business and wondering if I should hunt today, when you come flying in like a bean sidhe and scare off every bird for miles around. Then, you have the audacity to ask what I want." He sniffed and gave me a very catlike stare of disdain. "I am aware that mortals are rude and barbaric, but still.”

“There's no turning back now. The only choice is to move on.”

“Hmm. I suppose not everyone can have a cat's perfect night vision, but still..."Puck snorted. "Yeah, your perfect kitty vision does us no good if you don't warn us that something is coming once in a while. Poofing away doesn't count. This way, we can at least have a heads-up."The cat thumped his tail. "Additionally, you can paint a neon sign over our heads that says, 'Easy meal, follow the flashing lights.”

“Just…tell me I’m not crazy,” he whispered. “That this…isn’t as insane as I think it is”…“I don’t know … Maybe we’re both a little crazy.”“I can live with that.”

“A pretty handsome jerk, I might add, but a huge, colossal megajerk nonetheless." Kenzie gave me a quick glance to see how I was taking this. I shrugged. Not going to argue with that.And then a second later:She thought I was handsome?”

“Kenzie approached sheepishly, one half of the broken rattan in her hand. "Sorry," she said, holding up the ruined weapon with a helpless gesture. "It...uh...died a noble death. I can only hope it gave that thing a wicked tongue splinter.”

“Kenzie's head jerked up, her eyes brightening. "Irland?""Yay!" Razor crowed, bouncing up and down on Kierran shoulder. "Sheep!”

“Razor appeared on his shoulder with a buzzing laugh. "Stupid goblins," he crowed, bouncing up and down, making Kierran sigh. "Funny, stupid goblins think master is funny elf. Ha!" He buzzed once more and sat down, grinning like a psychotic piranha.”

“The Nevernever," she murmured, almost to herself, "I'm in the Nevernever. I'm in freaking faeryland.”

“Kenzie took two staggering steps backward, staring at the feeline as if in a daze. "O-kay," she breathed, shaking her head slightly. "A cat. A cat that talks. I'm going crazy." she glanced at me. " Or you slipped something into my drink at the tournament. One or the other.”

“we missed you at the wedding," he said."Yeah." puck shrugged. "I was in Kyoto at the time, visiting some old kitsune friends. We were travelling up to Hokaido to check out this old temple that was supposedly haunted. Turns out, a yuki-onna had taken up residence there and had scared off most of the locals. She wasn't terribly happy to see us. Can you believe it?" He grinned. "Course, we, uh, might've pissed her off when the temple caught fire-you know how kitsune are. She chased us all the way to the coast, throwing icicles, causing blizzards...the old hag even tried to bury us under an avalanche. We almost died." He sighed dreamily and looked at Ash. "You should've been there ice-boy.”

“I'm trying to keep your safe!" Puck exploded, whirling on me. His eyes feverish, and I shrank back. "This isn't a game, Meghan! The shit is about to hit the fan, and you're right in the middle of it without knowing enough to duck!”

“I plan to keep you, from every­one, for as long as I’m alive. That includes Puck, the false king, and any one else who would take you away.” One corner of his mouth quirked, as I struggled to catch my breath under his powerful scrutiny. “I guess I should’ve warned you that I have a slight possessive streak.”

“Things will get really screwed up, right?""Erm...maybe.""Maybe, like how?""Ever wanted to go sledding in the Mojave Desert?”

“As the sun sank lower in the sky and the shadows lengthened around us, I slowly came to realize that Ash wasn't coming back. He was truly gone.”

“How could I have been so blind as to want a soul? It was laughable now, to think that a soul could live inside me without being tainted by the centuries of blood and evil and death.The voices agreed, laughing at me, mocking my quest. I didn’t deserve a soul; I didn’t deserve happiness, or peace. Why should I get my happy ending, when I’d left a swath of horror and destruction behind me wherever I went?”

“Fu dogs,” Puck mused as we approached the doors, hopping over shattered pillars and crumbling archways. “You know, I met a Fu dog once in Beijing. Persistent bastard chased me all over the temple grounds. Seemed to think I was some kind of evil spirit.”“Imagine that,” Grimalkin muttered, and the Wolf snorted with laughter. Puck flicked a pebble at him.”

“The river will take us where we need to go. To the End of the World.”“Great,” Puck said, grinning and rubbing his hands. “Sounds easy enough. Let’s just hope we don’t fall off the edge.”

“Nothing is certain,” he murmured. “The future is constantly changing, and no one can predict what happens next. We have the power to change our destiny, because fate is not set in stone, and we are always free to make a choice.”

“Ten yeaars ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.No, he didn't leave. Leaving would imply suitcases and empty drawers, and late birthday cards with ten-dollar bills stuffed inside.Leaving would imply he was unhappy with Mom and me, or he found a new love elsewhere. None of that was true.”

“The more we're connected to our chosen someone, the more we can pick up what they're feeling. It's instinctive, like breathing.""You can't hold your breath?”

“My attention was riveted to Keirran.He shot me a pained, embarrassed wince. “Yeah. I was going to tell you…sooner or later. There just wasn’t a good time.” He paused, his voice going very soft. “I’m sorry... Uncle.”

“Huh, another queen,” Puck mused, an evil grin crossing his face. “Maybe we should drop in and introduce ourselves, ice-boy. Do the whole, hey, we were just in the neighborhood, and we were just wondering if you had any plans to take over the Nevernever. Have a fruit basket.”

“Care to join me, Goodfellow?”“Oh, ice-boy. A moonlight stroll with you? Do you even have to ask?”

“Tie rock to tail and throw kitty inlake. Watch kitty sink, ha!”

“‎I'm a...an otaku faery.”

“I studied him a moment before slipping my arms around his waist. “I guess you look human enough,” I said casually, and he raised an eyebrow. Arrogant faery. He knows exactly how gorgeous he is . "Come on,’ I said, tugging him toward the carriage. “We should hurry or we'll miss our reservation.”

“And sometimes, hope is the only thing that gets us through the day.”

“Tough guy, if brooding was a sport, you'd have gold medals with scowling faces lining the walls of your room.”

“This is our ride. Your one-way ticket to the Nevernever.”

“Everyone says the Summer Queen is stunning, beautiful, absolutely captivating. Yeah, I guess she is, but so is a volcanic eruption”

“I can’t stop it. I can’t stop Them from following me. If it was just me that the fey picked on, I’d be okay with that. But someone else always pays for my Sight. Someone else always gets hurt instead of me.” Tearing my gaze from hers, I looked out over the fields. “I’d rather be alone,” I muttered, “then to have to watch that again.”

“Before Kanin Turned me, death was something I faced every day. People died, often; it was just how the world worked. I thought that, after the deaths of my old gang and Stick’s betrayal, I wouldn’t worry about anyone else. And yet, here I was, a vampire, wishing I could have saved the very person who hated me most.”

“I love it when you talk my language, ice-boy.”

“You're staring at me again," Ash murmured without turning his head, though one corner of his lips quirked up. His silver eyes danced mischievously. "Is it the uniform? Perhaps I should remove it it it's distracting.""Behave, Ash." I wrinkled my nose at him, smiling.”

“How many Elysiums have you been to?""Three," I said immediately. "At least...this will be my third one.""And how many Elysiums do you think I've been to?""Um. More than three?""I do appreciate your gift for the understatement.”

“Sorry to wake you, but we have to be somewhere soon, remember?"Ash grunted and, to my surprise, shifted to his back and put the pillow over his head. "I don't suppose I could convince you to go without me," he groaned, his voice muffled beneath the fabric. "Tell Mab I've been eaten by a manticore or something?”

“But at least try to look a little more raider-ish, okay? We don't want to attract attention."Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me.”

“if you cannot find your way back to your original trod, purchase a way out by using the gift mentioned earlier in this guide. If you enter into this type of bargain, make sure to phrase things appropriately. "i'm lost and can't get home" is sure to lead to trouble. Try something different like" I'll pay two jars of honey to a fey who will take me to the mortal realm, alive and whole, with my mind and soul intact, neither physically or mentally harmed, to be placed on solid ground at an altitude and in an environment that can readily sustain human life, no farther than a mile from a human settlement, at a time not more than thirty minutes from now." even then , be careful”

“if you chance upon a big, gray cate, you probably owe him a favor. Even if you do not remember the favor,do it, anyway. In the long run, you will do it, but it will be far less painful if you do it up front.”

“I'll be around, princess. If you ever need me , just send a note. Or a gremlin. Or whatever." Stepping back, he raised a hand to Ash, who nodded solemnly."Catch ya later, ice-boy. Maybe next time I see you , you'll be changing diapers and reading beadtime stories."he snickered and shook his head. "Ah, who would've thought you'd be the one tied down with a family, prince ? How the mighty have fallen.”

“Well, that's just all kinds of creepy," Puck muttered at my side, giving the doll a look of alarm. "If you see any clowns, do me a favor and don't point them out, okay? i'd rather live without the nightmares."I was about to snap at him for putting the thought of killer clown dolls in my head...”

“Robin Goodfellow," I said, giving him a challenging smile, "don't tell me you're afraid."His green eyes flashed with a familiar defiance, and he stepped close taking my hand. "Not on your life princess," he returned, smirking. "Though don't think I don't know what you're doing. If we all end up as llamas, I'm going to spend the rest of my life following you around saying 'I told you so' in llama-ese.”

“So, what's the big emergency, princess? You and ice-boy look fine to me, and the Nevernever isn't crumbling around us. What's going on?""I'm pregnant, Puck," I said quietly, and watched his eyebrows shoot into his hair. Briefly,I explained what had happened at Elysium, the oracle's mysterious appearance and invitation, and Grimalkin's instruction to meet him at the Wishing Tree. By the time I was done, Puck was still staring at me openmouthed, struck mute for maybe the second time in his life, and I would've laughed if the situation wasn't so serious."Oh," he finally managed. "That's, uh... Wow. That's not something you hear every day. Not exactly what I was expecting, though the entire prophecy thing does get old after a while." He shook himself, seeming to regain his composure, and glanced at Ash. "So, it's the ever so popular Firstborn Child of Doom prophecy, huh, ice-boy? How very cliche. Why can't it be the third nephew twice removed who's fated to destroy the world?”