“You have got to be kidding. Where'd they find it?""I like to think it was Santa finally coming through on years of passionate but ignored childhood letters.”

“Stop it!" Chas shrieked, stomping her foot. "I will not have my boyfriend fighting if it's not over me! Stop it!""Let's say it's over you!" Tom grunted as he and Coalhouse wrestled with one another. "If he thinks he's gonna finally get a girl, he might grow balls enough to beat me!”

“You act like they're especially unholy or something.Are you trying to tell me that in the final showdown between evil and good, the weapons of choice will be guns and..cats?”

“So, despite the fact that my survival instinct was hollering like a drunk town crier, I started to accept that if I wanted to find out more about my father, I would have to go out and hobnob with the zombies.”

“Marked.” My face was on fire, my limbs shaking. “All of you. I will take all of you out with my own bare hands!”There was laughter building in Bram’s voice as he responded. “As cute as I’m sure that would be, your attempt…if we thought the people who might try to trace that chip could make you absolutely, one hundred percent safe, I would carry you to them and hand you over myself.”I gingerly rested my fingertips against my forehead, breathing deeply, trying to calm myself down.“There are some very bad men out to get you, Miss Dearly.”“You have got to be kidding me.”“By the way, you have quite the vocabulary, for a princess.” He still sounded amused.This statement was random enough to get my attention. “Princess?” I asked, confused.“You know, a princess. A New Victorian girl.”My lips parted to fire off another question before it clicked. “You’re a Punk.”“Born and bred.”“Fantastic.”

“I love you, Nora. I will think you beautiful when I have no eyes left to see. I will remember your voice when my ears go. You can’t hold on to me forever, but I will hold on to you until I am nothing but dirt.”

“C'mon," I said, choosing to ignore his statement of the bloody obvious.”