Sherrilyn Kenyon

“Gods, how I’ve missed you. (Stryker)I hate you with every beat of my heart. (Zephyra)”

“You always obey him? (Medea)If I didn’t want to live, I’d stop taking human souls and expire. It would be a lot less painful than crossing Stryker. (Devyn)”

“What is he? Your personal lie detector? (Stryker)Something like that. (Zephyra)Why don’t you tell him the truth? I’m your pet dog you keep chained up so he won’t piss on your floor. (Jared)”

“You should always give your opponent a fighting chance. Let the best fighter win, and if it’s not you, then die with dignity. (Stryker)”

“You really don’t care for torture, do you? (Medea)No, I don’t. It’s one thing to strike out in anger, another to cause agony for the hell of it. I’m a soldier, not a coward. (Stryker)”

“How do you know that? (Stryker)I know everything. I feel every heartbeat in the universe. Hear every scream for mercy and feel every tear of pain. (Jared)”

“Your father abandoned us. (Zephyra)I know. You’ve told me that enough that it’s permanently seared into my brain. Still, he’s a part of me and I’d like to have closure. (Medea)You really need to stop watching Oprah. (Zephyra)”

“Trust me, baby, you weren’t that good. I was just a better actress than you were actor. (Zephyra to Stryker)Ew! No offense, Mum, I don’t want to know who you’ve slept with. Kill the sexual bantering and him before I go deaf from it. (Medea)”

“What are you doing here? (Stryker)(She answered his question with a stroke of her dagger that narrowly missed his throat.) I thought we’d catch up on old times. Maybe play Parcheesi. (Stryker)”

“What have you done? (Apollymi)Mulling mostly coupled with a shot or two of reminiscing and a drop of regretting a few past decisions. Some might even call it moping, but I’d kill anyone so stupid as to suggest that of me. (Stryker)”

“We’re not that strong anymore. (Hades)Oops, guess I screwed up. Inability to see the consequences of our thoughtless acts must run in the family. So much for my father being a god of prophecy, huh? (Stryker)”

“Have you any idea of what you’ve unleashed? (Hades)Cruelty, pestilence, wrath, violence, ultimate suffering…what other gifts did the gods bestow on him?”

“Sometimes we don’t realize how destructive our creations are until it’s too late. And sometimes those creations we make turn on us and seek only to kill us even though we loved and succored them. (Apollo)”

“You owe me this. You made me get rid of my assassin and now I have no control over those creatures that—"That you created," he added, interrupting her angry tirade. "Don't forget the important part here. The Dark-Hunters wouldn't exist at all had someone, and for the sake of your missing intellect let me clarify that, you, not stolen powers from me that could bring back the dead. I didn't need the Dark-Hunters to help me fight against the Daimons and protect the humans. I was doing fine on my own. But you wouldn't have it. You created them and made me responsible for their lives. It's a responsibility that I take most seriously, so excuse me for banning you from killing them because you have reverse PMS."She scowled. "Reverse PMS?"Yeah, unlike a normal woman, you're cranky twenty-eight days out of the month.”

“How could one sentence uttered in anger cause so much damage? But then words were the most powerful thing in the universe. Cuts and bruises always healed, but words spoken in anger were most often permanent. They didn’t damage the body, they destroyed the spirit. (Acheron)”

“You’re barely one step up from the Australopithecines, aren’t you? (Acheron)Hey, be respectful when you say that, snot nose. Haven’t you seen the commercials? Us cavemen are very sensitive people. (Savitar)”

“You would give John Travolta a run for his money. (Tory)Yeah, and I’m sorry about my clothes. I tried, but I just couldn’t bring myself to wear that. Hell, I couldn’t do the disco look even when it was popular. I swear I’m allergic to polyester. Thank God for the punk movement. Otherwise I’d have been naked for a decade. (Acheron)”

“There will never be another Dark-Hunter who goes free. Your happiness comes at the expense of their freedom because there’s no one else I want to barter with. No one else to pay the fee you set up centuries ago. Knowing that, I hope you sleep well at night. (Artemis)(Artemis leaves.)But what about the Dark-Hunters? (Acheron)The one thing I’ve learned most out of all this is that it’s not over until all the cards are played. She laid down her ace, thinking we can’t beat it. But there are fifty-one other cards in the deck and the game isn’t over yet. We’ll figure something out. Her little fit fight now just shows that she’s played her best hand. That was all she’s capable of doing to hurt you, which is exactly why she did it. Don’t let her ruin your day, baby, and don’t let her take from us what we have. We’ve gotten this far together. What’s another bitter goddess to us? Like my papou always says, over, under, around, or through. There’s always a way and we’ll find it. (Tory)”

“I wish I had better news for everyone and you can all read my report on our findings in my upcoming paper, as well as on my Web site once I get it finished. In the end, though, my quest for Atlantis did teach me something. In all our pasts lie our futures. By our own hands and decisions we will be damned and we will be saved. Whatever you do, put forth your best effort even if all you’re doing is chasing a never-ending rainbow. You might never reach the end of it, but along the way you’ll meet people who will mean the world to you and make memories that will keep you warm on even the coldest nights. (Tory)”

“What else can I do to piss you off? (Acheron)You can leave me. (Tory)I would never do that, Tory. No one can live without their heart and that’s what you are to me. (Acheron)”

“...You're omniscient, right?""For the most part, yes.""Then you have to tell me this ‘cause I have to know. What's at the end of everything?"He shrugged. "That's easy enough.""Then tell me.""The letter G.”

“A monster. I despise my true form. (Acheron)I can’t imagine why. Other than killing me, you were actually cute in a very Papa Smurf kind of way. (Tory)Papa Smurf? I don’t look like Papa Smurf. (Acheron)No, baby, you don’t at all. You look like sex on a stick. Now is your ego all better? (Tory)”

“She didn’t hurt you? (Acheron)Nope. I’m all hunky-dory. (Tory)”

“You’re not done with me entirely, human. I’m the mother of his daughter. (Artemis)You’re right. You are Katra’s mother, poor her. But you’re wrong about one thing. (Tory)And that is? (Artemis)I’m no longer human. I’m the Atlantie Kedemonia Theony – the guardian of the Atlantean gods. And right now there’s only one of them walking about and to save him from one more bad memory created by you, I’d bathe in your entrails, bitch. As for Kat, she’s a big girl – I know, I used to live with her. She’ll survive the death of her mother. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with the subject. (Tory)”

“You’re human. No one cares if you sleep with a whore. (Artemis)(Tory did something she’d never in her life done before. She slapped another person.) You ever insult Acheron again and so help me, I’ll do to you what you allowed your brother to do to him. I’ll cut your tongue out for it. Acheron is the man I love and no one, ever, takes issue with him without having issues with me. (Tory)”

“I love him. (Artemis)How can you say that? You don’t even understand what love means. Love isn’t being ashamed to be seen with the one you care about. It isn’t about punishment or hurt. Love is what gives you the strength you need to face anything no matter how brutal or frightening. It’s what allowed Ash to be beaten rather than tell his father about you. It’s what allowed him to be gutted on the floor at your feet rather than publicly shame you. And you spat on him for that love and tore him apart. For a goddess, you’re pathetic. (Tory)”

“Her new powers surging, she went to have a long overdue Come-to-Jesus talk with the goddess. (Tory)”

“And as I recall, you told me to shut up. (Acheron)I’m an asshole. I admit it. I’ve been going to weekly Assholes Anonymous meetings, but it takes a long time to undo a few thousand years of habit. And to think you have even more years to undo than me. (Zarek)”

“You know, it’s amazing to me the wounds we carry for eternity. But what has fascinated me most these last few years is how the right person can heal them. I remember a wise man once said to me that everyone deserves to be loved. Even you. (Zarek)”

“Hey, T-Rex? Remind me next time I want to get smartass with you that it’s a really stupid move on my part? (Talon)Oh, no, you don’t, you wuss. You told me the next time you saw Ash you were going to ask him if he’d seen the movie 10,000 BC and if it’d made him homesick. (Wulf)”

“I still don’t see why we were fighting when you could have just kicked their asses without us. (Fury)Because I believe in giving everyone a fighting chance…until they piss me off. Bringing in reinforcements was Stryker’s mistake. (Acheron)And be glad it wasn’t yours. I know I’m thrilled it wasn’t mine. Acheron. When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight. (Fury)”

“It doesn’t feel like the end of the world. (Davyn)No, it doesn’t…(Stryker)How does the song go, ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine? (Apollymi)”

“I’m going to make the wildly unfounded assumption that Satara’s dead by your hand and not Tory’s. Now, stay with me on this, Cajun. My father slit my throat and murdered my wife because he thought I’d betrayed him by getting married. Before that, he loved me more than his life and I was his last surviving child. His second in command. Now what do you think he’s going to do to you once he sees her body? I can assure you, it won’t be a fun-filled trip to Chuck E. Cheese. (Urian)”

“You worthless sonofabitch. You should never have been anything more than a cum stain! (Stryker)”

“You dare to stand with my enemy? (Stryker)Against you, Father, I’d stand with Mickey Mouse. (Urian)”

“I’m here to clean your house and I won’t be merciful while doing it. Fuck with me and you’ll be nothing more than your mama’s bad memory. (Styxx as Acheron)”

“I know you all have families who love you so if you want to leave–. (Acheron)We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t want to. You and Val fought to save my sister when no one else would have bothered. I haven’t forgotten it. (Vane)And I haven’t forgotten what the Dark-Hunters did for me and Maggie. (Wren)Yeah, we’re family. Psychotic, bizarre and a hodgepodge of personalities that should probably never be blended, but here we are. Now let’s go kick some ass. (Fury)”

“I live to tear demons apart. Bring the bastards on. (Sin)Agreed…bring on the rain. The one thing I learned from Astrid is that life isn’t about finding shelter in a storm. It’s about learning to dance in the rain. I don’t care what I kill as long as I get bloody while doing it. (Zarek)”

“You know, my whole life I’ve taken pride in the fact that I’m Greek. But I have to say that after you and Artemis, I’m seriously beginning to hate some of my heritage. Is it congenital or is there something else that has made you such a bitch? (Tory)”

“You woke up on the wrong side of the oak tree, didn’t you? (Acheron)”

“Which is why you deal with demons. (Acheron)Who are even more pathetic than humans when you think about it. Personally, I’d rather play video games. Wouldn’t it be great if we could suck the souls of the people we hated into the box, shoot them down and then dance on their entrails? (Jaden)”

“Humans aren’t a protected class. (Acheron)Really? (Jaden)Yeah. Savitar shares your ‘all humans are vermin’ mind set. (Savitar)”

“You have to remember that what we’re dealing with here are Sumerian gallu demons. The next to the lowest form of demon on the demon food chain. They’re simple demons really. Lowly. You know…morons. (Jaden)”

“Can you get it? (Jaden)If I swear myself to eternal slavery to Artemis. Yes. (Acheron)I’d rather trade places with Prometheus and have my innards ripped out every day. (Jaden)So would I. (Acheron)”

“I want you to always hold your head up and follow your dreams wherever they take you. Don’t you ever listen to the people out to hurt you or make you cry. Listen to your heart and be better than them. No one gets ahead by hurting others. The only real peace anyone will ever have is the one that comes from within. Live your life on your own terms and make it a happy life. Always. That’s what’s important, Torimou. (Theo)”

“No one can ever make you feel inferior without your permission, Tory. Don’t give it to them. Realize that it’s their own insecurities that make them attack you and others. They’re so unhappy with themselves that the only way they can feel better is by making everyone as unhappy as they are. Don’t let those people steal your day, baby. You hold your head high and know that you have the one thing they can never take away from you. (Theo)What's that, Papa? (Tory)My love. Your mother’s love and the love of your family and true friends. Your own self-respect and sense of purpose. Look at me, Torimou, people laugh at me all the time and say that I’m chasing rainbows. They told George Lucas that he was a fool for making Star Wars – they used to even call it Lucas’s Folly. Did he listen? No. And if he’d listened to them you wouldn’t have had your favorite movie made and think of how many people would never have heard the phrase 'May the Force be With You.' (Theo)”

“You’re selfish and you’re cold, and I’m tired of getting frostbite when I touch you. (Acheron)”

“Don’t worry, we’re not letting her out of our sight…and after the Nick incident, we’re not letting her out from behind this bar. (Aimee)Yeah, Prisoners R Us. (Tory)”

“No offense, but I’m getting stir-crazy. Can we please go downstairs and hang in the bar or do anything that keeps me from sitting here bored out of my mind while the three of you watch me grow eyebrow hair? I mean really, I am fine. I’m not going to spontaneously combust or do anything else freaky. Promise. (Tory)”

“All that matters to me is the man in front of me right now. (Tory)I’m not a man, Soteria. (Acheron)I know. But if you think your godhood excuses you from putting the toilet seat down, think again. (Tory)”