Sherrilyn Kenyon

“See, I know this game. You flatter me, make me laugh and feel good about myself. Then the next thing I know you’re walking out the door with your pockets stuffed with my money, telling the world what an asshole I am. Let’s just skip straight to the end where you get out of my house and tell everyone I’m a dick. Yeah, that works for me. (Aiden)”

“I marvel at the fact you’ve lived to your age and no one’s taken those rose-colored glasses and shoved them up your ass. (Aiden)”

“People will knife you in the back for a stinking crumb and then go on with their lives as if you’re nothing but a worthless roach. (Aiden)”

“Just in my experience, all people do is take. None of them give a damn about helping someone else. (Aiden)And sometimes people can surprise you. (Leta)Yeah. You’re right. I’m constantly amazed by the unprovoked treachery they’re capable of. (Aiden)”

“Why did you leave? (Aiden)I took care of the person harassing him. Threat gone. Job eliminated. Anything else you want to know? Dental records, fingerprints? Retinal scan? (Leta)Urine sample would work. (Aiden)What cup you want me to use? (Leta)Does anything faze you? (Aiden)I fight people for a living. Do you honestly think peeing in a cup is going to frighten me? (Leta)”

“You lied about knowing me. You could lie about anything. People lie all the time, usually for no reason whatsoever. (Aiden)But I’m not lying about being hungry. Could you toss me a piece of bread before the interrogation continues? Or do I have to beat your butt for a spoonful of peanut butter? (Leta)”

“Well, then, if I admit I know who you are and really couldn’t care less will that assuage your damaged manhood enough that we can get past this and move on to something that ends with your giving me a sandwich? (Leta)”

“How are you in the profession of protecting people without knowing who I am? I’ve been told I have one of the most recognizable faces in the world. (Aiden)Wow…just out of curiosity, when you go to bed at night, do you find yourself ousted off the mattress by that ego? (Leta)”

“I’m currently between assignments and was looking for a change. I heard there was work in Nashville and it seemed like a good place to start over. So here I am stuck in the freezing cold with a…serial killer. Has the making for a great horror movie, huh? (Leta)”

“I’m a professional bodyguard. (Leta)Yeah, right. (Aiden)Nope. All true. I know seventy-two ways to kill a man and sixty-nine of them look like an accident. (Leta)”

“What about when they’re hibernating? (Leta)The coyotes get them. (Aiden)Well, then, I guess you need to go ahead and shoot me and get it over with. The coyotes are probably starving in this weather. (Leta)”

“What’s the gun for? (Leta)I would lie and say it’s for bears or snakes, but mostly I use it for trespassers. (Aiden)Wow, Dexter, I’m impressed. Since we’re not in Miami and you haven’t a boat to hide the hacked-up bodies at sea, where are you keeping them? (Leta)”

“What good was owning the world when he’d have no choice except to defend himself against every person in it? Personally, he’d rather be a beggar with one true friend than a prince surrounded by two-faced assassins.’ (Aiden)”

“He started not to answer it, but it was his agent, Mori, and if he didn’t answer Mori would worry him like a neurotic puppy with a urinary tract infection needing to go piss in the snow.’ (Aiden)”

“I don’t want your lying kindness. Sure, you’ll smile and be so sweet to me that I’ll trust you, but the minute I don’t give you everything you want the instant you demand it, you’ll turn on me and try to crush me. You’re just like everyone else in the world. No one matters but you. (Aiden)”

“It’s not the pain that’s inflicted on us by others that destroys us. It’s the pain we let inside our hearts that does that. Don’t let the human’s anger become yours. It can drive you mad if you do. (M'Adoc)”

“Yeah, it never fails to amaze me how a single lie can undo an entire lifetime of good. (Aiden)”

“The way to overcome the angry man is with gentleness, the evil man goodness, the miser with generosity, and the liar with truth. (Indian proverb)It sounds good, doesn’t it? If only people and life were that effing easy. Trust me, it takes more than a friendly biscuit to tame a hungry lion. And it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then it’s war. (Savitar)”

“Seal the door behind us. (Acheron)Um, not to be argumentative or anything, but didn’t we have to fight to get that opened? (Kish)Well, if you want to leave it open and let all the demons in – (Female Dolophonos)Close it, please. (Kish)I somehow thought you’d agree. (Female Dolophonos)”

“Looks like the safest spot here for a human who doesn’t want to get eaten. (Kish)”

“Oh, poo, we can’t let the heifer-goddess die. Akri will die too if he can’t eat from her. C’mon, Xirena, you gots to help the Simi protect the bitch-goddess. (Simi)”

“Please tell me the cave just had a little indigestion. (Kat)”

“How long till our powers are back? (Kat)A few hours according to last time. (Sin)Sweet, and we have how long till the bitches awake? (Kat)Less than two. (Sin)Can you say screwed, boys and girls? Yes, I thought you could. (Kat)”

“Are we all ready? (Deimos)(Letting out a blood-chilling war cry, he and the rest of the Dolophoni ran through the caverns.)I hate their dramatics…and their decibel level. (M'Adoc)”

“All right, kids. We’re going to a party where they don’t like us very much. Everyone know what they’re doing? (Sin)Not a clue, but I think certain death and dismemberment is in my forecast, followed by a light rain of guys and flayed skin. (Kish)”

“Oh, I never kid about Artemis. I promised her I’d sit here and do nothing, so here I am doing nothing. Much like a really tall, bored guard dog. Personally, I’d rather be throwing myself onto an electric fence- be about the same, I think. (Acheron)”

“In that case, we need to seriously arm ourselves. (Sin)Hail Mary, full of grace – (Kish)What are you doing? You’re not Catholic. (Damien)Yeah, but I’m feeling really religious all of a sudden and it seemed like a good idea. (Kish)”

“Fine, you fun-vampire. I’ll take my scroll over here and play by myself. (Kat)Fun-vampire? What is that? (Sin)That would be you sucking all the fun out of life. (Kat)You have the most interesting terms for things. (Sin)Yes, but notice mine are creative, unlike the so stellarly named Rod of Time. (Kat)”

“Get your butt over there and start reading before I beat you with my Rod of Time. (Sin)I can think of much better things to do with your rod than beat me, baby. (Kat)Aww, gawd, we’ve degenerated into really bad punage. I yield. Save me before my IQ points are damaged. (Sin)”

“We’re looking for anything to do with the Rod of Time. (Sin)Rod of Time, Forsaken Moon, Tablet of Destiny…you Sumerians really liked your hokey terms, huh? (Kat)They didn’t exactly ask my opinion before they named them. (Sin)Good, ‘cause my estimation of your intellect would be seriously scarred if they had. (Kat)”

“What happened to you? (Sin)Was mistaken for a punching bag again. But what the hell, I’m used to it. (Xypher)”

“There are thousands of them to fight. Even going after the Dimme in there is suicide. (Sin)Who wants to live forever? (Kat)For the record, I do. (Kish)Then why do you irritate me so often? (Sin)Suicidal tendencies are inherent in my species? (Kish)”

“No, but it’s what I need to know the answer to. (Sin)Yes, Sin. I missed you. I’ve mourned for you. I’ve hated you. I’ve wanted to sic Simi on you with barbecue sauce and I’ve done nothing but think about how much I just want to hold you…and yes, I’ve missed every part of you, from that annoying little sound you make when you’re irritated to the way you hold me when we sleep. Now are you happy? (Kat)I’m delirious. (Sin)”

“You look pretty unscarred. (Sin)Boy, you better be glad you’re stunning when you’re naked or I’d skin you for that. I’ve been through hell this week because of you. Do you think I wanted to come crawling back here only to have you tell me to get lost again? I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I do have my pride, and you’ve kicked it for the last time. (Kat)You missed me? (Sin)”

“I’m just trying to imagine you in flannel pink sock monkey pajamas. I’m sure you look stunning in pink. (Damien)Actually, with his skin tone he probably does look really good in it. I would definitely say he’s an autumn. (Kish)That’s summer, you dweeb. (Damien)I find it fascinating that you two women know that color palettes for clothes have a name. The fact you corrected him really scares me. (Sin)”

“It’s been a full week since she left and all you’ve done is sulk like a dying cow. (Kish)”

“I could do without your sarcasm. (Kat)And I could do without your bleeding heart. (Xypher)Just remember, my bleeding heart is what gained you a shot at freedom. (Kat)Queenie, it was a bleeding heart that put me in that position to begin with. The person I was trying to protect when I was taken didn’t return the favor. The bitch was only using me. So take my advice: whatever compassion you have, kill it off. You’ll thank me for it later. (Xypher)”

“Are we going to debate philosophy or should I just kiss and make up with the demon now? Let it get a good shot at your throat so it can rip it out? (Xypher)Put him down mercifully. (Kat)Yes, Queenie. I’ll make sure and use a cushioned blade. (Xypher)”

“What are you? Weak? Don’t tell me you want me to spare this pathetic animal when it wouldn’t show you any such mercy. Believe me, it’s better to take the head off a cobra before the cobra strikes you. (Xypher)A cobra can’t help what it is. Why should you punish it because it’s doing what the gods created it to do? (Kat)”

“Sure. My ego's had enough time to recover a modicum of dignity. Let's make sure we crush it again before I mistake myself for a god. -Acheron”

“We almost made it to thirty seconds without an insult. I think we set a new record.”

“You are incredibly wise. (Kat)Only when it comes to other people. It’s easy to see how to fix their lives. It’s much harder to see the cracks in your own house. (Acheron)”

“Don’t be stupid, Katra. Never speak in anger and never try to force your will onto someone else. You’ll never find peace in that. (Acheron)”

“Here’s an example. When I first met Nick Gautier it was fated that he was to get married at age thirty and have a dozen kids. As our friendship grew, I lost the ability to see how his future would play out. Then in one moment of anger, I changed his destiny by telling him he should kill himself. I didn’t mean it, but as a god of fate, such proclamations when made by me are law. Fate realigned the circumstances around him that would lead him to make a decision to take his own life. The woman he was to marry ended up dead in her store. His mother’s life was taken by a Daimon and Nick shot himself at her feet. My free will would have been to not lash out at him. Instead I did. His free will would have been to seek revenge as a human against a Daimon and not kill himself. But because of who I am, my proclamation that he kill himself outweighed his will and he didn’t really have any choice. I took his free will and I cost him everyone who was close to him. (Acheron)”

“But if fate won’t be denied...if it’s set, how could there be infinite possibilities? (Kat)Only certain aspects are fated. The outcome isn’t. It was fated that Sin would loose his godhood. The means and what followed were determined by free will. Free will is that one scary variable that sets so much into motion that no one, not even I, have control over. (Acheron)”

“But his pantheon would have survived. (Kat)Would it? Fate is never that simple. It doesn’t go in a straight line, and the more you try to circumvent it, the worse you make it on yourself. Fate will not be denied. Sin would have lost his powers by another means, at another time and place. And whoever took them then might have killed him. Had he died, the world would have ended a long time ago or the gallu would have run free and taken over. There are infinite possibilities. (Acheron)”

“Yeah, but you’re a god of fate. Can’t you change that? (Kat)You’re thinking like a child, Katra. Things that appear simple very seldom are. It’s like the mechanic who goes to fix the carburetor and in doing so accidentally puts a hole in the radiator and causes even more damage. Every person on this planet is connected. Sometimes those lines are easy to see, and others are more complex. You change one insignificant thing and you change the very core of humanity. (Acheron)”

“Why do you tolerate it? (Kat)The same reason Sin hasn’t resigned himself to death. There are six billion people on earth who need someone to protect them from things that are scarier than the tax man or a knife-wielding stranger. Things that a gun won’t stop. As long as their lives hang in the balance, what’s a little humiliation for me? (Acheron)”

“So what do you do? Really? (Kat)Nothing. Really. It’s boring as hell. Artemis won’t allow me to bring anything here with me. No guitar. No Cartoon Network. Occasionally, I sneak a book in just to watch her wig out when she finds it. (Acheron)”

“What do you do when Mom leaves you alone like this? (Kat)I write romance novels. (Acheron)”