“For me the curse is a crutch, but the con is everything.”

“This, the language of deception, we both understand. We were born to it, along with the curses.”

“You set me up," I say. "One big con. You can't blame me because I turned out not to be gullible enough. You can't blame the mark. That's not how it works. Have some respect for the nature of the game.”

“Let her alone,' said the enkanto, 'or I will curse you blind, lame, and worse.'The old man laughed. 'I'm a curse breaker, fool.'The elf grabbed one of the Jim Beam bottles from the table and slammed it down, so that he was holding a jagged glass neck. The elf smiled a very thin smile. 'Then I won't bother with magic.”

“Nobody ever really sees me the way I am, underneath everything. But she did. She does.”

“Marks forget that whenever something's too good to be true, that's because it's a con.”

“She can’t help it. She loves the con. I tell myself I’m not like her, but I have to admit I love it too.”