01c. 1991 ADNo bacon for you.""Then no eggs for you. Either of you."Eve glowered at him. "Prisoner exchange?"They glared at each other, then swapped pans and started scooping.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
02c. 1991 ADI am sorry my decisions do not meet with your approval, but nevertheless, they are mine, and the consequences are also mine.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
03c. 1991 ADThe look in his eyes turned a little wild. "That's the only reason I'm letting you go. If I had any choice--""You do," she said "Wed can all sit here and let him die. Or you can let Eve go on her wild-ass rescue mission and get herself killed. Or you can let sweet, calm, reasonable Claire go do some talking."He shook his head. His long, elegant hands, which looked so at home wrapped around a guitar, closed into fists. "Guess that means there's no choice.""Not really," Claire agreed. "I was kind of lying about that choice thing.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
04c. 1991 ADYour personal dignity was always more important to you than mere emotion, wasn't it?Rachel Caine / quote ↗
05c. 1991 ADHer eyes felt swollen, and she knew she looked a mess, but sometimes...sometimes the emotions were just too big to hold.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
06c. 1991 ADSamuel," Amelie said, and her voice was low and quiet and warm. She bent closer to him. "Samuel. Come back to me."His eyes opened, and they were all pupil. Scary owl eyes. Claire bit her lip and thought again about running, but Hans and Gretchen were at her back and she knew she didn't have a chance, anyway.Sam blinked, and his pupils began to shrink slowly to a more normal size. His lips moved, but no sound came out."Breathe in," Amelie said, in that same quiet, warm tone. "I'm here, Samuel. I won't leave you." She stroked fingers gently over his forehead, and he blinked again and slowly focused oRachel Caine / quote ↗
07c. 1991 ADThey've all got stories, Jess thought. I need to know them. Best of all, he could know them. He could learn anything here. It felt like limitless possibilities.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
08c. 1991 ADYou're just Little Miss Optimist, aren't you? Do you come with accessories, like a glass half full and lemons to make into lemonade, too?Rachel Caine / quote ↗
09c. 1991 ADYeah. She'd manipulated the second most powerful vampire in town into taking her side against a psycho bitch-queen sorority girl. She'd talked rationally about putting people's brains into computers. This was a normal day. No wonder she was screwed up.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
10c. 1991 ADClaire, I-Look, my life is one long series of screw-ups and bad decisions, and I know that. I own that. But you...I just want you to be happy. And it cuts me when you're not.""I'm happy with you."She heard the smile in his voice this time. "So what do you really want? A storybook life in Vampireville, with your life on the line every day and a half?""I'm considering it," she said. And she was.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
11c. 1991 ADI can’t take the ring. It means—it means too much to you. It’s all you have left of them.”“That’s why it’s better if you have it,” he said, and held out the box, cupped in one hand.“Because you can make it a better memory. I can barely look at this thing without seeing the past. I don’t want to see the past anymore. I want to see the future.” He didn’t blink, and she felt the breath leave her body. “You’re the future, Claire.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
12c. 1991 ADWelcome to Morganville.You'll never want to leave.And even if you do...well, you can't. Sorry about that.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
13c. 1991 ADYou know what we call pedestrians in Morganville? Mobile bloodbanks.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
14c. 1991 ADOh, Claire," he said. "You think me a far better man than I am. That's kind, and flattering." "Are you saying that you -""Doughnuts!" Myrnin interrupted her and darted away, to zip back in seconds with an open box.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
15c. 1991 ADYou've turned into quite a bossy little thing," Myrnin said. "I think I might like it.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
16c. 1991 ADNobody's cut out for this town," Shane said. "Nobody sane anyway.""Says the kid who came back.""Yeah, kind of proves my point.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
17c. 1991 ADSee?" he said, with an unholy amount of glee. "I hardly broke any laws at all. I should drive more often.""No. Trust me, you shouldn't," Eve said. "Think of all the little old people and the children.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
18c. 1991 ADMyrnin said softly. "And how is it that you do not understand that HERE, in THIS place, this girl belongs to me, not to you?Rachel Caine / quote ↗
19c. 1991 ADHey!" Claire called after him, as she leaned her backpack against the wall."No onions!""Your loss!""I meant for YOU! Not if you want to get kissed tonight!""Damn, girl. Harsh.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
20c. 1991 ADYou're much shorter than my mom.""Brat," she said, surprised into a giggle."That's no way to talk to a vampire.""Bloodsucking brat.""Better" he said.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
21c. 1991 ADYou can't go around... licking things that come out of a water treatment plant. That's just... unsanitary.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
22c. 1991 ADDoes it give you deja voodoo how alike the houses are?""That's deja vu, and I hate you right now.""For narcing on you to your mom? Wait until you hear what I tell your dad."From the sly grin on his face, she knew what he was thinking."Don't you even think about it.""I could tell him about the time we-""Hell, no.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
23c. 1991 ADI'm so glad you're okay.""So, how do we celebrate my okayness? It's my day off. Let's go crazy. Glow-in-the-dark bowling?""No""I'll let you use the kiddie ball.""Shut up. I do NOT need the kiddie ball.""The way you bowl, I think you might."He grabbed her in an exaggerated formal dance pose and whirled her around, backpack and all, which didn't make her any more graceful. "Ballroom dancing?""Are you INSANE?""Hey, girls who tango are hot.""You think I'm not hot because I don't tango?"He dropped the act. Shane was a smart boy. "I think you are too hot for ballroom or bowling. So you tell me. What do you want to do? And don't say study.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
24c. 1991 ADHe was a nice guy, middle-aged, a little tired, like most doctors usually seemed to be, but he just nodded and said, "Let me take a look at him. Shane?""I'm not dropping my pants," Shane said. "I just thought I'd say that up front.Rachel Caine / quote ↗
