I spent the rest of the day in someone else’s story. The rare moments that I put the book down, my own pain returned in burning stabs.

Here, have another one.

I sighed and put Slayer between the front seats. “Stay here. Guard the car.”Saiman shut the door. “Is the sword sentient?””No. But I like to pretend it is.

My ego doesn’t need soothing. I don’t want him soothing anything of mine, including you.

He’s got mad skills.

On the other hand it was bad manners to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if you’re getting it from an overweight cracker in a fringe shirt.

What will you do for a dollar?

“I better go,” Carter squeezed me once more and stood, grabbing his wallet from the coffee table. “I need to hit up the lottery if I want to get you out of this mess. Will...

Feelings change with time – or at least pain lessens with time; I know that from experience.

How was I supposed to know that you let two little bears hurt you, Goldilocks?””Ah, yes, that mouth. I missed it. All mine now.

We can do subtle,” I assured her.”It’s our middle name,” Andrea added.For some odd reason Rene didn’t look convinced.

When life backs you into a corner and offers you no escape, when your friends, your lover, and your family abandon you, when you’re at the end of your rope, panicked, alone, and losing your...

Two hours. More than enough time to kidnap a man. Or to slice his throat, bury him in the forest, and steal his magic project. How the hell did de Harven fit into it? Did...

Landon paced back and forth, his eyes a little wild. ‘’Well, he took it worse than I did,’’ Curran said. ‘’I don’t see what the big deal is.‘’‘’It’s a sword made out of your grandmothers...

Clearly God was in some kind of mood on my birthday.

Was it wrong that I kind of wanted to do her right there? Okay, Kate. Be professional about this. Also you have a girlfriend. A girlfriend who can juggle cars.

Because he has the best equipment in the City and he knows how to use it!

What do you mean fainted?Took a dive, kissed the pavement. Swooned like a southern belle after her first kiss. Had a dreadful case of the vapors.

Say ‘pop.'” “Pop?” “That was the sound of me pulling your head out of your ass.

The sound of my name in his voice stopped me in midturn. I don’t know how the hell he did it, but whenever he said my name, it cut through all other distractions and made...

The first magic wave kicked the world in the face.

You want to get married? I’ll marry you right now. Is the gnome a preacher, because I’ll do it.””That’s a hell of a proposal.””What did he say?” Astamur asked.”He wants me to marry him.”Astamur relayed...

I could not help staring back, for they made quite a contrast: Kate’s pale skin and elegant purple suit, Nadira’s dusky skin and exotic fiery sari.”Do we clash?” Nadira said dryly.”We certainly do,” said Kate....

Actually, don’t answer that. Of course you are. I wouldn’t be so totally into you if you weren’t.

We can get you a throne with snakes. I’ll stand next to you and roar at anybody who fails to grovel. Fear Kate Daniels. She is a mighty and terrible ruler. Grendel can anoint the...

I decided.

The Beast Lord walked out of the warehouse. The screen went dark.My knight in furry armor.Saiman opened his mouth. “This is why I didn’t. Personally, I think your smile is inappropriate.

I thought of telling him that if it wasn’t for Oklahoman cowboys and Mexican whores having a bit of fun, there would’ve been no Texans, but that would be counterproductive.

Andrea raised her eyebrows. “Look at you, all high-speed.””Yeah, you’d think I was a detective or something.”Andrea held her hand out. “You’ll jinx it.

That’s the thanks I get for trying to keep you alive, Your Highness.

You’re psychic.

I was whole in and of myself, but better than whole with him.

I said, I know why you’re afraid to fight with me.””And why is that?” If he flexed again, I’d have to implement emergency measures. Maybe I could kick some sand at him or something. Hard...

They had picked up Julie’s scent hit wolfsbane lost her and found her trail again at the crumbling Highway 23 except it was two hours old and mixed with horse scents. She was hitchhiking. Great....

Do you like my working persona?” Saiman asked softly. “An aesthetically pleasing combination of intelligence and elegance, wouldn’t you say?”Aren’t we pleased with ourselves. “Are you Chinese, Japanese, half-white? I can’t tell, your features are...

The decorator of Las Colimas must have been a great admirer of both early Aztec and late Taco Bell architectural styles.

I have to say, your technique is really different. Curran hammered at the spell until it broke. You just talk. Help me out here, what’s the strategy? Are you hoping the ward will get tired...

You two were in a cave together?’ said Miss Simpkins in horror.‘Yes,’ said Kate, ‘and it was very, very dark.

Can I try something?” I said. “If you dont’ like it, I’ll stop.

She crouched with her hand out. What the hell was she doing… “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.” Oh my God, she was retarded and I was going to kill Jim.

You know anything about investigative work?””Sure. Annoy the people involved until the guilt party tries to make you go away.

I paused with the pen in my hand. “He burst into flames?””He became engulfed in fire.””Was his buddy made out of orange rocks and at any point yell, ‘It’s clobbering time’?

Obviously I was missing the whole picture. Any minute now he would leap up, wrench the two-inch silver alloy bars apart despite the fact that silver was toxic to shapeshifters, and heroically kick Saiman’s ass....

People around me died, usually in horrible and bloody ways.

So this is what it’s about? This is your mature response to go off into the mountains rather than talking about it and have s’mores with a gnome and a mountain man.””Yep””What’s your plan for...

Nadira gave Kate a long hard look. “Mr. Slater has the ship. Mr. Cruse has the coordinates. I have the key. What exactly do you have?”For the first time Kate looked flustered.

Yeah, right, like Catherine Deneuve has her own hot-guy SWAT team trolling the neighborhood for celebrity stalkers with swords” – Kate (Die For Me)

I’ve read your summary.””And?””It’s not incompetent.”Be still, my heart, so I don’t faint from such faint phrase. “Did you expect it to be written in crayon?

Your date appears to be hysterical,” Rene told me.”You think I should slap some man into him?

It’s not a loup cage, you know,’ I told her. ‘It’s a holding cell. Or safe room. or secure room. I don’t think Jim ever settled on a term he could live with.”Aha. It’s a...