“It's not about who's got powers, morons. It's about who's not afraid. And who's going to do what has to be done.”

“An old love of my uncle's. Her name was Nott.""Not what?""Nott. Just Nott."Mack waited as long as he could before asking, "Not what?""Nott. That was he name. Nott.""Is that a joke?" Mack asked. "Like one of those 'not' jokes? Like if I said, 'I like your dress...not.'""What's the matter with my dress?" Xiao asked, a little irritated.Leaning forward, Jarrah asked, "Not what?""Not a what, a who," Mack explained to Jarrah. "Nothing!" he answered Xiao's question."Okay, then," Jarrah said. "Not who?""Are we there yet?" Stefan asked."I think Nott was Shen Long's girlfriend," Mack yelled back to Jarrah. The wind was fierce and cold now that Shen Long was picking up speed."Then what's this about nothing?" Jarrah asked."It's not about nothing," Mack said. "It's about Nott."There was a moment or two of silence. Then Jarrah said, "You know, I could push you right off this dragon's back."Mack thought that over for a second or two then said, "I'd prefer you not. Heh.”

“There's a lot youdon't know, Sam. There's a lot I don't tell you. I know who I am. I know what I do, and what I am to this place.I know what I am to you, and how much you depend on me.You may be the symbol, and you may be the one everyone turns to when something goes bad, and you're the big badass, but I'm the guy doing the day-in, day-out work of running things. So I don't make this about me.”

“Why are we doing this?" Caine asked him. "You know damned well why we're doing this. Because it's a fight. It may be THE fight. I may be the final fight. And what else are we good at, you and me? What are we going to do if we ever get out there anyway?”

“You'll never have complete control, Caine. This world is changing all the time. Animals. People. Who knows what's next? We didn't' make this world, we're just the poor fools who are living in it.”

“It's a good thing to read a lot. It's a good thing to write a lot. The best thing to do is to live a lot. Fall in love. Fall out of love. Make a fool of yourself. Watch other people make fools of themselves. Believe something stupid and then realize you've been tricked. Feel embarrassed. Be brave and bold. Then be cowardly and pathetic. Give a damn about the world outside yourself. Have some very dark nights. It's all good. You'll use all of it.”

“The problem with people who have power is that they start thinking more about what it takes to keep that power than they do about what's right or wrong or just plain a bad idea.”