“It was as if the city itself was preparing for some impending catastrophe. There had always been talks of ghost and darkness here, even in his boyhood, and now that darkness seems to be seeping from the stones and timbers as much as it was descending from heavens.”

“The more that's known about the world, the more people seem determined to search for what is lost or hidden. There are archaeologists, treasure hunters, and ghost hunters--the legions of the curious--searching for secrets and the places that hold them. They ignore the possibility that some secrets are best kept, some places better left untouched....”

“Don't you see? The catastrophe is me. My very existence is an affront to everything that is natural and good.”

“You know, I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you. You're like some old-fashioned knight." "Thank you, though it's been a while since I killed a dragon.”

“You're nearly eight hundred years old and here you are, sitting on our sofa, and you're a vampire who needs our help. Of course.”

“If I didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you right now." "If you didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you back.”

“It was instinct that drove him to hibernate, not choice, but he would have chosen it at that moment anyway because he saw that blood had nothing to offer him but more of this, standing in the shadows, watching other people live.”