“The dentist swiveled on his heels and disappeared, leaving me there to massage my jaw back into feeling after its brief, masochistic marriage to the top of my wooden desk.”

“I set my hand on top of his and guide it to my chest, so its right over my heart. "Feel my heartbeat. Can you feel it?""Yes.""Feel how steady it is?""It's fast.”

“In my despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel. Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways...”

“I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as contrasted with the woodenly familiar ideas which clutter my desk when my job is to tell the truth.”

“I stepped back, pivoted on a heel, and swivelled my hip for a side kick. It probably seemed, to a casual observer, that I was warming up, taking a few well-aimed kicks at an inanimate object.But in my mind, THWACK, I was kicking, THWACK, a certain Master vampire, THWACK, in the face.”

“I feel his intense gaze skimming my face and force myself to look him in the eye. This time, when he leans closer, I know what he wants. He traces my jaw with his fingertips, then moves lower to my chin. My eyelids flutter closed when he tips my face up.Oh my God. Sam Donavon is going to kiss me. The forest holds its breath.I hold my breath.Our lips brush, light as eyelashes. His fingers trail back into my hair, tilting my head. Hot cinnamon dances across my mouth. I’m drowning.And then my name, roared at the top of familiar lungs, cracks the silent night.”