03c. 1991 ADIn her experience, groups of friends like that just didn't open up to include underage, undersized geeks like her. They hadn't sounded mean, they just sounded — self-confident. Something she wasn't.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
04c. 1991 AD„We didn’t anticipate that the formula would trigger such a violent response. In the future, you’ll only receive the unprocessed raw materials.”“So it’s because I’m young.”“No,” he said. “It’s because you’re young and you refuse to acknowledge what you are. What it means. What it promises. You’re fighting your condition, and that makes it almost impossible for you to control yourself. You need to admit it to yourself, Michael. You’ll never be human again.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
05c. 1991 AD„Oliver paused for a few seconds, then leaned forward with his elbows braced on his knees, pale hands dangling. “When I was . . . transformed, I thought in the beginning that I could stay with those mortals I loved. It isn’t smart. You should understand this by now. We stay apart for a reason.”“You stay apart so you don’t feel guilty for doing what it is you do,” I shot back. “I’m not like you. I’ll never be like you. Best of all, I don’t have to be.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
06c. 1991 ADI'm going to have to give him shit for all this,' Shane said, as he wandered around. 'He lives alone and makes his bed? Who does that?''People who like things neat?''Its not natural.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
07c. 1991 ADIf Myrnin pokes his crazy head up before then, call me and try to keep him, you know, stable.''Is he UNstable?''I don't know, how can I tell? You're the crazy whisperer!'She had a point. Claire couldn't help but smile about that.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
09c. 1991 ADThere once was a kindly farmer who found a viper freezing on the ground in the snow. Please help me, the poor creature said, for I am too cold to live. The farmer took the viper and put it inside of his shirt, and the viper began to warm itself and come alive again. But upon coming alive, it bit the farmer most wretchedly, and as the farmer died, he asked the viper, but why? Why when I was so trusting of you?Because I am a viper, the snake replied. And one cannot expect kindness from evil.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
10c. 1991 ADAs Jess watched in numb horror, the man tore a page from the book and stuffed it into his mouth.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
11c. 1991 ADThis was like watching murder. Defilement. And it was something worse than either of those things. Even among his family, black trade as they were, books were holy things.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
13c. 1991 ADGirl, we need to get you on a study program, fast. You're not going to last a week around here if you can't keep up with the pop culture references. How about Lord of the Rings? Firefly? Doctor Horrible? No? Clearly we have a lot of work to do.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
14c. 1991 ADShane sat like a statue if a statue wore headphones and radiated angry coiled tension that made hair stand up on a person's arms. She felt like she was sitting next to an unexploded bomb, and given all of the physics she'd had, she understood what that meant. Talk about potential energy.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
16c. 1991 ADAre you all right?" The question surprised Jess, and it broke through his black shell enough to make him throw a look at his friend. "No." I didn't think you were. Everyone wants you to be. That must be worse, that they think you should be fine.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
17c. 1991 ADI don't matter here, Shane. I feel like I just don't matter. Stupid, right?""No," he said. He sounded so gentle it broke her heart. "It's how most people feel most of the time, Claire. You've grown up being special, and this is how most people live their lives...on their own, unnoticed. And they get used to that feeling. It's just new for you.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
18c. 1991 ADHey.” Shane’s hip nudged her chair, and he bent over, putting his mouth very close to her ear.“What are you doing?”“Thinking.”“Stop.”“Stop thinking?”“You’re doing way too much of it. It’ll make you go blind.”She laughed and turned her face toward his. “I think you’re thinking of something else.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
19c. 1991 ADThere are always a few, Claire, who like being told what to do instead of being required to think. And those are the ones you should fear. That goes equally for humans, I'm afraid. Critical thinking has become a sadly rare skill these days.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
20c. 1991 ADYou weren't picky about who got hurt. Still aren't. So don't preach at us like you're some kind of saint. You're just another sinner.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
21c. 1991 ADWell," he said, "I think we've found our way in. We just wait until they're duking it out, but trust me, these Humans First types don't have a lot of staying power or they'd have been at the gym with me before. I doubt Grandma Kent there is going to do a lot of damage." He pointed at a gray-haired, hunched lady in a shawl, carrying what looked liked a gardening tool. "It's like Plants Versus Zombies, and I'm not rooting for the zombies, weirdly enough.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
22c. 1991 ADSome people come to Morganville and collapse,” Michael said as he put the car in motion. “I’ve seen it a dozen times. But there are a few who come here and just—bloom. You’re one of those.” Claire didn’t feel especially bloomy. “So you’re saying I thrive on chaos.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
23c. 1991 ADOh, come on. A vamp marrying a human gets the fanged ones all upset, and Eve made herself look like the ultimate fang-anger to all the humans by putting a ring on one, so what did you expect exactly? Flowers and parades? This is Texas. We're still figuring out how to spell tolerance.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
24c. 1991 ADStop using him, and start protecting him. I know he thinks he doesn't need it, but sometimes he does. Sometimes we all do.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
