“I took a deep breath, inhaling the musty scent of unbrushed velvet and candle wax. So the room was blood red, dark, and scary. I was here to get yelled at and maybe fired by a hooker in a sari, not sacrificed to Satan on a stone altar. p.250”

“So, there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil Librarians.”

“I took a deep breath, held that scent in my lungs for long seconds as I tried to inhale the normalcy that made up his very essence. The normalcy I craved like a junkie with an open, aching vein.”

“I don't like musty smells. I much prefer less definitive fragrances, like the scent of maybe.”

“We're going to open this bookcase and remove the grimoire."Now I wasn't surprised so much as shocked. "No way," I shot back. "This thing is enchanted to hell and back-maybe literally."Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he was having to physically restrain himself from yelling.”

“I can't take not knowing what the next day will bring- the uncertainty is sawing me in two. The room is dark. A flickering candle burns on the window ledge a few feet away. I take a deep breath, which is to say, as deep a breath as I can take."Are you okay?" Sarah asks.I wrap my arms around her. "I miss you," I say."You miss me? But I'm right here.""That's the worst way to miss somebody. When they' re right beside you and you miss them anyway.”