“The knife he held was obsidian, sharp enough to cut a dream.”

“Clan custom and law held that it was the public declaration of intent and then living together that made a handfasting; the ceremonies simply bore witness to it and asked blessings and luck of the Powers on the new family. He knew Christians thought that the ceremony was the marriage, though.”

“He smiled, looking into the flames. "He used to sleep on the foot of my bed, bad breath and gas and all, and I even took him hunting.""It's odd to take a dog hunting?""Max? Yeah, sort of like taking along a brass band. He saved a lot of deer from death.”

“Now let's move on to the subject of how a real man treats his wife. A real man doesn't slap even a ten-dollar hooker around, if he's got any self respect, much less hurt his own woman. Much less ten times over the mother of his kids. A real man busts his ass to feed his family, fights for them if he has to, dies for them if he has to. And he treats his wife with respect every day of his life, treats her like a queen - the queen of the home she makes for their children.”

“. . . you should always kick a man when he's down. It's much easier then.”

“Likes to fight, does he?" Sandra said thoughtfully."Oh, yeah. He says there are only two reasons to fight." "Which are?""Joy and death."Her mother's brows went up. "Joy in death?""No, no... For joy, to stretch yourself with a friend; or death, to kill as quickly as you can. Nothing in between.”

“God is no respecter of either persons or names - Dieu or Gott or Kyrie or Adonai or Wakantanka. He is the Great Spirit whose pity we ask.”