“I feel a little like Wendy Darling. Peering out my window, hoping to be swept off by magic.”

“Ocean gusts slunk between the trees, who whispered to one another about The Great White Father being home; how everything was back to how it should be.”

“When your demon was yourself, there really was no way to fight or get rid of it.”

“Who wanted to be smiled at by the girl that trailed shadows like pets, conjured snakes and waited for Death, her bridegroom, to steal her from these walls?”

“Tell me… tell me you’re mine.”

“Delicate. Ha. There was nothing delicate about her.”

“He’s reading a book called Great Warlocks of the 18th Century, and to get this ball rolling before Dean Devlin shows up and rains on our private parade, I snort and ask, “Good book?”I forget I’m pretending to be sitting behind my two-thousand-ninety-eight-page Highlights of Modern Chemistry book, so he snorts back. “Better than yours.”

“I’m waiting with baited breath to hear that silver tongue of yours.”

“Fantasy novels reveal “emergency escape routes” from reality. Romance novels dish out a banquet of Eye Candy. Otherworldly passion erupts when the two collide in an epic novel of unforgettable characters and dire circumstances.”

“He took the pen and book from her and faltered.“Just write anything – anything trivial that won’t matter if it comes to pass.”“Erm…” God, he was useless at this.Elena’s hair turned blue.“Hey!”“What?”“I don’t want blue hair! What the hell did you write that for?”“It seemed trivial.”“Blue hair – blue? That’s trivial? What if I can’t undo it?”Karl stared at her blankly. His throat went dry. He felt like a total dickhead, but writing really wasn’t his strong point, so he went for humour instead and flashed her a grin.“I was going to write that all your clothes fall off, but figured you may have a problem with that. This was the second thing that came to mind.”(Karl and Elena)”

“It doesn’t matter what’s wrong with him. We’re not going to act like he doesn’t exist. Not anymore.”

“Time is tick, tick, ticking away. How many souls will I capture today? Will they be a challenge or will they be given? Only time will tell as the clock keeps tick, tick, ticking. Your god has arrived with enough hatred for y’all, with enough evil for the big and small, so come one, come all. I will shred your souls and place them in my satchel, call you a settler and make you my peddler. Come one, come all, come stand behind your god. I will lead you into the darkness of Earth’s end. Come one, come all, my wilted flowers, come claim your title, speak out and cheer it. Come one, come all, let’s have a ball, my wilted flowers . . . Sweet, Unconquerable Spirits.”

“Were you born with all your organs intact?” he responds.I can’t see his face, so I have no way of knowing where he’s going with this question.“Yes …” I say cautiously.“Good,” he responds, “then I expect you to use the one beneath your skull.”Damn. That insult burned a little.”

“If we became a pal to what scared us the most, we could find a simple way to ease all that bothered us, we would find peace, peace that we could live with.”

“Because I love you. Don’t you get it? Not because Cassandra is a part of you and Coroebus is a part of me. I love you because you are Nadira. The strange beautiful Nadira. The Nadira that has such hatred for me it kills to see the anger in your eyes whenever you even glance at me. I love Nadira. Not Cassandra. I love you.”