Kristin Cast

“She's magnificent," Radius said, smiling proudly as he vaulted the steps and followed Aphrodite."I can think of a lot of m words that she could be. Magnificent isn't one of them," Stark grumbled."Mental and mean pop into my head," I said."Manure pops into mine," Stark said."Manure?""I think she's full of shot, but it's too many words and doesn't start with an m, so that's as close as I could get," he said.”

“Stark looked strong and healthy and totally gorgeous. I was distracting myself by wondering what exactly Scottish guys did, or didn't, wear under those kilts when he turned to face me.His smile lit up his eyes. "I can practically hear you thinking.”

“You know about Star Trek?" came out of Stark's mouth before his brain could stop it.Again, the warrior shrugged. "We do have satellite.”

“Stark though he heard Seoras mutter,"Arrogant feckr," at the same time Sgiach whispered, "Interesting.”

“His torn lips didn't stop Stark's cocky smile. "You're my queen, and anyone who says different can fuck off.”

“Beautiful, see the cloud, the cloud appear. Beautiful, see the rain, the rain draw near...”

“Damien,” Shaunee said. “Again you are getting on my damn—”—last nerve with your unending vocab bullshit,” Erin finished for her.”

“The problem, of course, was that turning into a monster was the brighter of my two choices. Choice Number 1: I turn into a vampyre, which equals a monster in just about any human’s mind. Choice Number 2: My body rejects the Change and I die. Forever. So the good news is that I wouldn’t have to take the geometry test tomorrow.”

“Do vampyres play chess? Were there vampyre dorks? How about Barbie-like vampyre cheerleaders? Did any vampyres play in the band? Were there vampyre Emos with their guy-wearing-girl’s-pants weirdness and those awful bangs that cover half their faces? Or were they all those freaky Goth kids who didn’t like to bathe much? Was I going to turn into a Goth kid? Or worse, an Emo? I didn’t particularly like wearing black, at least not exclusively, and I wasn’t feeling a sudden and unfortunate aversion to soap and water, nor did I have an obsessive desire to change my hairstyle and wear too much eyeliner.”

“And kissing him is like sucking on alcohol-soaked feet.”

“If I died, would it get me out of my geometry test tomorrow? One could only hope.”

“I’ll even let Heath help out,” he reallysounded like a pompous butt.You’ll let me help out?” Heath snapped. “Your mom will let mehelp out.”

“Hey, which one of them is supposed to be your boyfriend?” Starkasked me. Even in the terrible shape he was in, he caught my glancewith his. His voice was scratchy, and he sounded scarily weak, buthis eyes sparkled with humor.I am!” Heath and Erik said together.”

“You need to check out his body using your super Spidey Otherworld senses.”

“Like at the DMV when you've passed your driver's test and had a really bad picture taken and you're waiting for them to bring you your license?" Jack said."Exactly, only without the filth and peasants," Aphrodite said.”

“So, go talk to flowers about bulls and such," Aphrodite said. "I'll go talk to flowers," Stevie Rae said.”

“Also pay attention if a tree or whatnot says something about two bulls.”

“I see you have Sgiach placed in the middle," Thanatos said."Yeah, along with onion rings, Hostess Ding Dongs, and my name," Aphrodite said.”

“If I shot an arrow and thought about an ass, would it surprise you that I hit Erik?" Stark asked me in a pleasant, nonchalant voice."Wouldn't surprise me," Heath said.”

“Last time I saw you, I said that it hurt too much to love you. But I was wrong about that. The truth is it hurts too much not to love you”

“I'm gay. I know things.”

“I don’t want any of this. I just want to be what I was before you showed up here and all hell broke loose. I want to be popular and dating the hottest guy in school. Now I’m none of those things, and I’m a human who has scary visions and don’t know what to do about any of it.”

“When I did finally speak, I surprised myself by saying exactly what was on my mind.
“You must hate me.”She stared a long time at me.I did,” she said slowly, “But it’s mostly myself I hate.”Don’t,” I said.And why the hell shouldn’t I hate myself? Everybody else hates me.”

“A double-edged swordOne side destroysOne releasesI am your Gordian knotWill you release or destroy me?Follow truth and you shall:Find me on waterPurify me through fireTrapped by earth nevermoreAir will whisper to youWhat spirit already knows:That even shatteredanything is possibleIf you believeThen we shall both be free.”

“Really? Well, you'd definitely be interested in the fact that I just read To Kill A Mockingbird."I smiled and elbowed him. "Everyone's read that."I've read it five times."Nu-uh."Yep. I can even quote parts of it."That's bullpoopie."And then Stark, my big, bad, macho Warrior raised his voice, put on a little girl's Southern drawl, and said, "'Uncle Jack? What's a whore-lady?'"I do not think that's the most important quote from that book," I said, but laughed anyway.Okay, how about: 'Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me do nothin.!' That one's really my favorite."You got a twisted mind, James Stark.”

“She comes backThrough blood by bloodShe returnsCut deep nowLike meHumanity saves herWill she save me?”

“What once bound himWill make him fleePlace of power-joining of fiveNightSpiritBloodHumanityEarthJoined not to conquer,Instead to overcomeNight leads to SpiritBlood binds HumanityAnd Earth completes.”

“That don't look good," Kramisha said. "Not good at all." She paused and then her eyes went from me to Heath, whose attention was so focused on me I swear he didn't look like he would notice if a giant white elephant in a tutu danced around the room. "Ain't that the human kid who was down here before?”

“I moved quickly, putting myself between the two of them. "Stop it!" I shouted. "I have way too much to worry about right now to also have to pull you two off each other. Jeesh, talk about immature." Both guys kept glaring at each other over my head. "I said, stop it!" And I smacked their chests. That made them blink and shift their attention to me. Now it was my turn to do the glaring. "You know, you two are ridiculous with your puffing up and your testosterone and crap. I mean, I could summon the elements and kick both of your butts."Heath shuffled his feet and looked embarrassed. Then he grinned at me, like a cute little boy whose mommy had just yelled at him. "Sorry, Zo. I forget you have some major mojo going on.”

“They doneWrongLike ink from a busted penThrown away 'cause of someone elseUsed upBut he come backDressed in nightFine as a kingWith his queenThe wrongMade rightSo right.”

“Eyes watching alwaysShadows in shadows they waitA black feather fallsFirst accepted, lovedThen betrayed-spit in the faceVengeance sweet like dots.”

“Shadows in shadowsHe watches throughdreamsWings black as AfricaBody strong as stoneDone waitingThe ravens call.”

“We're so special, when you look in the dictionary under short bus, there's a group picture of us,'' Stevie Rae said, sounding weak but definately alive.”

“ Duchess was barking her head off as she raced after a snarling, hissing, yowling white ball of Maleficent. Aphrodite was chasing after the dog, screaming for her to ''Come! Stay. Be good, damnit!'' Damien was close behind her, flailing his arms and yelling ''Duchess! Come!'' All of a sudden the Twins' cat, the huge and very stuck-up Beelzebub joined in the chase, only he was tearing around after Duchess. ''Ohmygod! Beelzebub! Honey!'' Shaunee ran into my view, yelling at the top of her very healthy lungs. ''Beelzebub! Duchess! Stop!'' Erin wailed, right behind her twin. Darius suddenly burst out into the hallway, and I stepped back behind the curtains, not sure is my shrouding could be detected by him. Apparently he didn't notice me, or anything else, because he ran into the Council Room. I peeked through the drapes and could hear him telling Neferet that she was needed on the school grounds-that there was an 'altercation.' Then Neferet was hurrying out of the room and down the hall, following Darius into the dog-barking, cat-yowling, kid-screaming craziness. I noticed that through all of it I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jack. Talk about an excellent diversion!”

“Ancient one sleeping, waiting to riseWhen earth's power bleeds sacred redThe mark strikes true; Queen Tsi Sgili will deviseHe shall be washed from his entombing bedThrough the hand of the dead he is freeTerrible beauty, monstrous sightRuled again they shall beWomen shall kneel to his dark mightKalona's song sounds sweetAs we slaughter with cold heat ”

“ Darius didn't have any trouble finding the Street Cats building. It was a cozy-looking square brick building with big front windows crowded with cat stuff. I made a mental note to pick up a little something for Nala from their gift shop. My cat was grumpy enough without her thinking that I'd been cheating on her (translation: I would smell like a zillion other cats) and hadn't even brought her a present.”

“Ah crap!" I instantly shooed away darkness and whatnot, so that I was solid, visible me again. "Sorry, Stevie Rae. I forgot I'd gone all Bram Stoker.”

“That man is such a damn turd monkey." "Grandma!" I said. "Oh, Zoeybird, did I call your mother's husband a damn turd monkey out loud?" "Yes, Grandma, you did." She looked at me, her dark eyes sparkling. "Good.”

“Jack came whirling in like a little gay tornado with Duchess following him.”

“Let me guess. Stark's another guy, isn't he?”

“If you have good friends, no matter how life is sucking, they can make you laugh.”

“Sometimes the people closest to you betray you, and your home isn't a place you can be happy anymore.”

“We all have bad things inside us, and we all choose either to give in to those bad things or to fight them.”

“Pain was good. If I hurt, it meant I wasn't dead.”

“I still didn't look at him. I was afraid if I did that, I would turn around, run back to him, and hurl myself into his arms.”

“I don't need a guarantee if I have you.”

“Life isn't a book. There's no guarantee of a happy ending.”

“There's you. There's me. We love each other, and we have since we were kids, so we should be together. The end.”

“It's a little hard not to worry when my best friend keeps on dying.”

“Then, with an enormous rush of meadow-filled wind, the green candle went out, and my best friend died.”