“When I said I absolve you, that wasn't meant as a suicide suggestion. For the moment, we're still bonded.""Only partially.""Great, then I can partially kick your ass.”

“I remember that look," she said. "It's the one you once gave Carlos right before you threatened to kick his ass.""I can still kick ass," he said with absolute steel. "I just wanted you to know that.”

“Reality can be only partially attacked by logic.”

“But when they were done, I wondered if there would be a next time. I felt good. I wasn’t dead, yet something was dead. Perhaps I’d managed my peculiar objective of partial suicide. I was lighter, airier than I’d been in years.”

“You'd better be careful, they are going to revoke your vampire license if you get any more romantic and mushy.""Don't worry," Burnett said, his eyes pinched as if serious. "I can still be a jackass, and kick ass, when it's called for.”

“The moment the door opened I knew an ass-kicking was inevitable. Whether I'd be giving it or receiving it was still a bit of a mystery.”