“He smiles then, and even though it is well past midnight, its as if the sun has just come out.”

“Every time he glances at me I feel it just as surely as if he has reached out and run his finger along my soul. It is all I can do not to smile at the sheer wonder of it.”

“And just as love has two sides, so too does Death. While Ismae will serve as His mercy, I will not, for that is not how He fashioned me.Every death I have witnessed, every horror I have endured, has forged me to be who I am -- Death's justice.”

“God's Teeth,' he says. 'I was only trying to wake you. You were crying out in your sleep.''I was not,' I say, then look from his neck to my knife.'When I tried to wake you, you stabbed me.' He sounds sore put out. and I cannot blame him.”

“Truly, we are the gods' own children, forged in the fire of our tortured pasts, but also blessed with unimaginable gifts.”

“A kiss for luck, demoiselle?"It is a magnificent, lusty kiss and I feel nothing but deep regret that it may be his last. Just before he pulls away, he whispers in my ear. "Duval said to give you that should I get a chance. It is from him.”

“So.... You are well equipped for our service.''Which is?''We kill people.”