“If anyone stops us, as long as we mumble something pretentious about the glory of death, we should be fine.”

“I was wondering how you were going to punish me for not confiding in you. Punishment, actually, is something I've thought about for a long time. What form of punishment would be enough for what I did? Imprisonment? Death? Something else? Something scarier? I could only think of so many horrible tortures before they stopped having meaning. But you' you've come up with a punishment I never considered. You're going to sulk me to death.”

“The problem with living so long is that we get used to it. We watch the mortals age and wither and die around us, watch the world change and decay...but no matter the hardship or the pain or the sorrow we suffer, we choose to continue living. Out of sheer habit, I think.”

“Aurora sagged. "Why is it," she asked, "that every time I'm with you two we end up stealing something big?""We always return it," Donegan said, a little defensively. "Maybe not always in one piece or necessarily to the right person but return it we do, and so it is not stealing, it is merely borrowing."Gracious looked at him. "It's a little bit stealing.""Anyone who leaves a private jet just lying around deserves to have it stolen.""It wasn't lying around," said Gracious. "It was locked up tight. It took us an hour to dismantle the security system and get inside."Donegan looked at him. "You're not helping.”

“I should go in alone," Valkyrie said, speaking loudly to be heard. "If we both go in, it'll look to official.""So I'll just stay out here?" Skulduggery asked. "But what'll I do? There's no one to talk to. It's boring.""You're standing on the roof of a train," Valkyrie pointed out. "If you find this boring, you really need your head examined. Just wait here. I'll do what has to be done and I'll be find out."Fine," he said, sounding grumpy. "Don't be long.”

“Do you think we’ll be waiting long?” Valkyrie asked,keeping her voice low.“The last time we were in this building, we accused theGrand Mage of being a traitor,” Skulduggery said. “Yes, I thinkwe’ll be waiting long.”

“You're bored, aren't you.''I need constant distraction. Shall we go?''Uh, aren't you supposed to delegate responsibility or something? If you're not here, who's in charge?'Skulduggery looked around and pointed to a sorcerer at the far side of the cemetery. 'He is.''Who is he?''Don't know. He looks like leadership material, though, doesn't he?''Does he?''He's wearing a hat.''And that means he's a leader?''Leaders wear hats. It's to keep the rain off while we make important decisions. He'll do fine.''Shouldn't you tell him that he's in charge?' 'And spoil the surprise?”