“Pia was blackmailed into committing a crime more suicidal than she could possibly have imagined, and she had no one to blame but herself.”

“Pia counted through the burp. “… two ten thousand, three ten thousand, four – oop, you win.” She stared at the little faerie in awe. “Where did you put all that air?”

“It sucked so bad she might as well put a gun to her head and pull the trigger. Except she didn’t own a gun because she didn’t like them. Besides, pulling the trigger on a gun was pretty final. She had issues with commitment and she was so freaking dead anyway, so why bother.”

“She should probably stop calling him "the Djinn." He did, after all, have a name. He was Khalil somebody. According to one of his companions, he was Khalil Somebody Important.Grace wasn't sure, but she thought his name might be Khalil Bane of Her Existence, but she didn't want to call him that to his ... well, his face, when he chose to wear a face ... because she didn't want to provoke him any more than she already had, and she was really, really just hoping he might get bored and go away now that all the excitement had died down.All the excitement was dying down now, wasn't it?”

“Pia, you’re a bitch. Thank you.”

“She had maybe 8 inches of space to work with. That was more than enough. She struck back with her elbow and hit Junior's midsection. Junior coughed out all his breath and crumpled to the ground. He had no air in his lungs with which to speak. His bulging gaze was astonished. It asked her, "What the fuck?So she answered his question. She showed him what the fuck. She kicked him in the chest, using her foot to leverage his body weight. The blow lifted him off the ground and slammed him back into the building. When his three friends rushed her, she showed them what the fuck too. Because Junior wasn't the only one who had a hellish temper.Claudia had a hellish temper too.”

“He spoke with a deep clarion power she imagined renegade angels might use, as they called one another to war with God.”