How’d you get to be so good at this?””I had a good teacher.””Better not have been Myrnin or I’ll have to kick his predatory ass.””I mean you, dummy.””Oh.

He’s not doing anything he shouldn’t be doing, right?” “Like what?””Like hitting on you.””Ew. No, of course not. He doesn’t see me that way.” Michael shook his head and went back to his coffee.”What? You...

Bad men skulking in the darkness have always been there, and always will.

I never meant it,” he was saying. “Never meant it to happen. Can’t stand it,seeing her suffer. Must do something, do something… What do I do? What can I do…?

You’re always caring about strays and outcasts among us, myself included. You really are a very odd girl, you know; so little sense of what is good for you.

You okay?””Fine.””Your heart’s beating really fast.””Gee, thanks. That’s very comforting that you can hear it.”He smiled, and it was the old Michael, the one she’d first met before all the vamp stuff.”Yeah, I know it...

She was almost at the top of the steps, and Shane was right behind her, when she heard Myrnin say, in a quiet voice that was like the old Myrnin, the one she actually liked,...

I’ve got yours.

Now could you please ask these idiots to stop pointing their bullets at me? It’s terribly wasteful.

People bond themselves into families and groups for protection, and strangers…strangers are always at risk.

They came out in a dim, damp basement – a generic sort of place, full of moulding boxes. ‘You take me to the nicest places,’ Claire said, and sneezed.

It’s dreadfully unfair to say things like that when this is likely the last time we will speak and we both know you don’t mean what you say. It’s pure selfishness that you want to...

I hardly think there’s any chance of that,” Amelie said. “I doubt you have the capacity.

Even bipolar vampires needed sleep from time to time, and he was well past his recommended safe dosage of stress.

He started to touch the mechanism under the keyboard, then pulled his hand back with a snap.”Ah,” he said. “Must deactivate the security….Turn around, please.””What?””Turn around, Claire. It’s a secure password!””You have GOT to be...

Hello! Your dear father is unfortunately very dead,” he called. “And you said my dispersal system would never work!

I hardly broke any laws at all. I should drive more often.

There 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...

My, if I didn’t loathe her so much, I’d admire her.

Little bit,” she said.

That’s very rude,” Myrnin said. “I haven’t brought my fangs our for some time. Not in mixed company, anyway.

I think I’d fall for you no matter what, Claire. You’re kind of awesome.

When things seem calmest, that is the time you should fear the most, it’s when you have the most to lose.

Just because he’s a spider doesn’t mean he deserves any less concern!

It’s not your enemies who are likeliest to hurt you. It is, always, those you trust.

Here, you are exceptional…There, who knows? They might not value you as much as we do.

Claire was struggling through last summer’s diary volume when Myrnin popped in through the portal, wearing a big floppy black hat and a kind of crazy/stylish pimp coat that covered him from neck to ankles,...

There were a few things scarier than a bipolar vampire off his meds, but to be honest, not that many.

For now,” Amelie said. “Take her home. And — ” “Say nothing — yes, yes, I heard you the first seven hundred times,” Myrnin said, much too sharply. “I’m ancient. I’m not deaf. ” Amelie’s...

Do you imagine that they’re going to issue me a citation…what was your name again?””Still Eve.””No, I’m sure it’s something else. That doesn’t seem right.

Do be careful. I can’t replace you as easily as all that.

Are the two of you quite done with your sweet nothings? Because I might vomit.

Goodness,’ Myrnin said quietly. ‘I don’t think I should be watching this. I don’t think I’m old enough.

Kind of is, actually.

In an insane world, sanity made very little sense. No one expected me to live, and therefore, I did. Always.

Dear girls, I can let anyone get hurt because in my world, my safety and well-being come first.

Welcome to Morganville.You’ll never want to leave.And even if you do…well, you can’t. Sorry about that.

You humans, always eating. I’ll make you soup. You can eat it while you keep working.” Myrnin set aside his book and walked into the back of the lab.”Don’t use the same beaker you used...

Vampires can hear us, anyway.

Yes,” he said. “I am sure. I double-checked everything after you went home yesterday. I even made a few improvements, just in case.” The first part of that reassured her. The second part… not so...

Best to flee now, before the pitchforks and torches and scientists come calling.

Must we argue word choice? Now?

Oh, 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...

Myrnin, who hadn’t said much, suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened, shocked, and for a panicked second wondered whether he’d suddenly decided to snack on her neck… but it was...

What about Myrnin?’Eve swallowed, almost choked, and Michael patted her kindly on the back. She beamed at him. ‘Myrnin? Oh yeah. He did a Batman and took off into the night. What is with that...

I think it’s interesting.

I felt I should repeat it for the other slipper, in case there should be any bad feelings between the two. One should never create tension between one’s footwear.

I had no name for that particular hue of orange, other than unfortunate.

See?” 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...

Here,” Myrnin said, his voice still gentle and low. “Amelie said you had to work. No one said you had to work alone.” He picked up the next part and slotted it in, took the...