Rachel Vincent

“That's because your new tracker couldn't find his own dick in the dark.”

“Not that I don't appreciate the rescue," Holt said. "But I'm forced to ask, in the interest of self-preservation ... exactly how well armed are you right now?”

“You think he left a big flashing arrow pointing to a filing cabinet labeled 'Evidence Here!'? He's a Stray, Ethan, not Wile E. Coyote!”

“I want you, Kaylee, like I’ve never wanted anything. Ever. I want the fire. I want the heat, and the light, and I want the burn.”

“Congratulations. Your official super-nerd badge is in the mail.”

“...don’t judge your future based on others’ mistakes.”

“How long can you keep me invisible?""As long as were in physical contact."My throat felt dry. "Holding hands?" That's how we'd done it last time."Unless you had something else in mind?”

“You know, most girls sleep with a teddy bear or an extra pillow. But I gotta say, that's kinda hot...”

“He shrugged, looking right into my eyes. "Right now, this is all I feel." He held our intertwined hands up for me to see and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't break the hold his gaze had on me, like he could see more than anyone else saw. Things I couldn't see myself.”

“You think I need to be rescued?""I think it doesn't hurt to let someone else do the rescuing every now and then, when your own armor starts to get banged up.”

“You just say the word, and I'll make the rest of the world go away. I'll take you someplace safe, where no one else can reach us.”

“He went down like a cheerleader after prom.”

“Just FYI, in your case, I think it’s okay to fear the reaper.”

“I recognize no other kind of ass.”

“If I weren’t already dead, I’d be alive with joy,”

“From adult diapers to bedpans? Move over, Elvis, I’m the afterlife of the party!”

“Because the alternative sucks!”

“Uh, yeah, I do. The scythe was a little tricky at first, but—much like golf—turns out it’s all in the swing.”

“This would be so much easier if they actually issued black hoods,”

“So,would you say I’m closer to a zombie or a vampire? I gotta know—are my parts going to rot and fall off, or am I forever frozen in youthful perfection?”

“Sorry, but the whole walking corpse epiphany kind of threw me off my game.”

“I hate to questionyour dedication to the recruiting process, but it soundsmore like you ran up against a deadline and grabbedthe first sucker with the balls to call you out.”

“Come near me and I'll rip your wings off and beat you with them.”

“But I'd take a slashed throat over a broken neck any day. At least that way I'd get to bleed all over his shoes. One final fuck-you before I died.”

“And anyway, considering that her mother dies and her boyfriend's spending a small fortune to get high off someone else's bad breath, I'd say Sophie's next in line for therapy.”

“I don't even like regular plants. Except for corsages and long-stemmed roses...and those only hurt when they don't show up.”

“I'd just stepped out of the kiddie pool and into the deep end, with no floaties. And drowning was not an option.”

“Can I see it?" He blinked, still scowling, "See what?" "Your scar." His expression darkened like a sudden eclipse and I let my gaze grow cold. "You want to hear me scream? Give it your best shot. But until then, every time you take off your shirt, you may as well be handing out my business card. I shoved my blade deep inside you and loved every single inch of it. When I can't sleep at night, the memory of you screaming like a little bitch is my lullaby. And everybody knows exactly what that scar means- that you got your ass handed to you by a little girl. Again.”

“I don't hate it. It does no good to hate something you can't change.”

“The queen was my favorite chess piece. Unlike the women I knew in real life, she was powerful. Her job was to defend her husband at all costs, because while he was weak and practically defenseless—only allowed to move one square at a time—she was the strongest player on the board, hindered by no restrictions at all.”

“She's fifteen!"Nash shrugged. "That's just a number. It doesn't say anything about her.""It says something pretty damn funny about your IQ!" I said, and he opened his mouth to retort, but I spoke over him. "Fifteen is too young to drive, too young to get a legal job, too young to sign a lease, and obviously too young to pick a boyfriend with half a brain.”

“Nash Hudson. Holy crap. I almost looked down to see if ice had anchored my feet to the floor, since hell had surely frozen over. Somehow I’d stepped off the dance floor and into some weird warp zone where irises swam with color and Nash Hudson smiled at me, and me alone.”

“So what did you do?" I repeated."I hit Sophie on the back of the head with a universal remote. This thing was huge. It's like a cell phone from the '90s.""You were supposed to get rid of Avari without hurting the host!""Yeah, I didn't get that memo. Maybe next time you should be a little more specific when you boss me around while I'm saving your ass. Though, frankly, this whiny little shrew is lucky she only has one bump, 'cause she's had this coming for a while."-Kaylee and Tod”

“Have you and Nash both lost your minds? This is really a very simple concept--one that you taught me! Hellion equals evil. Period!"-Kaylee to Tod”

“Damn it, Tod!" He glared in the reaper's general direction. "Do not sneak up on me in my own house--I don't care how dead you are! Show yourself or get out."Harmony and I shared a small smile, but my father didn't notice.The reaper shrugged and grinned at me, then blinked out of the chair and onto the carpet at my father's back, now fully corporeal. "Fine," he said, inches from my dad's ear, and my father nearly jumped out of his shirt. "Your house, your rules."My dad spun around, his flush deepening until I thought his face would explode. "I changed my mind. Get out!”

“Survival strategy. If you’re not careful, this place will eat you alive, and Kaylee’s like bait for the beasts.”

“He was beyond gorgeous. But Eastlake High was full of pretty people who acted like total freaks. I blame the local water supply. Which was why I drank bottled water.”

“Leave the door open," my dad said, the second most common warning in his arsenal. Right behind, "Nash, go home.”

“I’m confiscating your hair dryer—you’ve fried your brain.”

“I gotta know—are my parts going to rot and fall off, or am I forever frozen in youthful perfection?”

“Because you don't belong with him! I tried to tell you that, but you wouldn't listen, and I thought if you understood that he'd be better off without you, you'd break up with him for his own good. So I...exaggerated how easy it'd be for him to get over you, with Sabine there to step in. But I underestimated how incredibly stubborn you are""I prefer to think of it as dedication..." I mumbled.”

“Kaylee do you know why you are here?" "Yeah. Because the doors are locked.”

“Relief washed over me like that first air-conditioned breeze on a hot summer day.”

“Great. I'm psychotic and sparkly.”

“She watched me with a creepy sort of detached curiosity, as if I were a bug crawling across the sidewalk in front of her. I wondered briefly if she was the ant stomper type.”

“I couldn't see who swam in the darkness, who wore shadows like a second skin.”

“There were a million What Ifs that could have stopped the whole thing. A million things I wished I'd done differently. But in the end, I was left with what actually happened. With my mistakes and his.”

“I should have said something. ... But my mouth wouldn't open, and the longer I stood there in silence, the better I can to understand the problem. It wasn't that I had nothing to say to him. It was that I had too much to say.”

“Have either of you seen your mother ” “Yeah ” Ethan said and my heart actually skipped a beat. But I should have known Ethan was joking. “Slim lady. Blue eyes and a gray pageboy ” he continued his eyes glistening in appreciation of his own humor. “Answers to the name ‘Mom'.”

“How does Parker’s body compare with yours ” Great. A pop quiz I thought recognizing his transition into lecture mode. “How does Parker’s body compare with mine Hmm.” I gave Parker a quick theatrical once-over and he smiled clearly catching on to my line of thought. “Nice legs and killer biceps. But I have better boobs. No question.”