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

"I 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."

"It's an illusion, control," Naomi said. "You ought to understand that by now, young Claire. We are never in control of our destinies, even the strongest of us. All we can hope to do is not be too badly damaged by events."

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

"Here's a tip...If you leave a girl crying you're probably not doing your Don Juan routine right, asshole."

"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 is. Sorry. Just stay behind me if there's trouble.""You sound like Shane.""Well, he did say he'd kill me if I got you hurt. I'm just looking after my own neck.""Liar."

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

"Myrnin turned away to pick up his Ben Franklin spectacles, balanced them on his nose, and looked over them to say, "Don't do drugs. I feel I ought to say that."

"In this whole screwed-up town, you're the only thing that's always been right to me," he whispered. "I love you, Claire." She saw something that might have been just a flash of panic go across his expression, but then he steadied again. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do. I love you."

"Well, Naomi said cheerfully, "what's the worst that can happen? They were silent, considering that, because there were just so many possibilities. But in the end, it was a better idea than Facebook."

"What's her name? Claire, what's her name?"

"I know you want me to feel some sympathy for them, but that's not who I am. I care only about those I know, and even then, not all that deeply. Strangers get nothing from me."

"I need to be a vampire," she said. "and I want one of them to make it happen. Michael will do fine. I don't care who turns me. The important thing is that if I change, I'll be a princess."I was wrong. She was really crazy."

"Run first,' Shane said. 'Mourn later.'It was the perfect motto for Morganville."

"Shane stood up when he saw her, which made her heart turn cartwheels, and he pulled out her chair. Eve and Michael shared an amused look."So cute," Eve said. When Shane glared, she smiled. "No, really. It is. Dude, chill."

"What time is it?""Three a.m. Michael's making a snack. You want anything?""Um...no. Thanks." She slid off the couch and then stood there like an idiot, unwilling to leave because he was still smiling and...she liked it. "Who won?""Which game?""Oh. I guess I was asleep for a while.""Don't worry. We didn't let the zombies get you." This time, his smile was positively wicked. Claire felt it like a hot blanket all over her skin."

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

"Amelie seemed to focus on her again. For a few seconds she regarded her, frowning, and then smiled just a little. "So I recall," she said. "Not all wars are waged with bullets and swords, indeed. Some are wars of wills and ideas. It's good we both remember that." The smile faded. "But not all ideas win the war, and not all wills are strong enough. Darkness can descend so easily."

"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 much. "What kind of improvements?" "Oh, nothing, really. Mostly just streamlining. You really did very well; I certainly don't want you to think that I am one of those people who has to be in control all the- Oh, well, I suppose that's actually true- I do have to be in control all the time. But only because I am in charge, of course."

"A rap at the back door made her jump, and she peered through the window for a long time before she eased open the door a crack. She left the security chain on. 'What do you want, Richard?'Richard Morrell's police cruiser was parked in the drive. He hadn't flashed any lights or howled any sirens, so she supposed it wasn't an emergency, exactly. But she knew him well enough to know he didn't pay social visits, at least not to the Glass House.'Good question,' Richard said. 'I guess I want a nice girl who can cook, likes action movies, and looks good in short skirts. But I'll settle for you taking the chain off the door and letting me in."

"We're just paper on a shelf, in the end."

"Oliver laughed - actually laughed."I like this new Claire," he said. "You should work her this hard all the time, Myrnin. She's interesting when she's forthright."Claire, possessed by the spirit of Eve, shot him the finger. Which made him laugh again, shake his head, and walk up the steps."

"Now we're in the middle of a three-sided vampire war. Which would be an awesome video game, but I'm really not interested in playing for real. I like my reset buttons."

"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."

"God is forgiving or we would not still be walking this world. But to be moral is not to need his divine forgiveness, I think."

"Want to play baseball?' she asked. Shane's eyes opened, and he stopped stroking her hair. "What?' "First base,' she said. "You're already there.' "I'm not running the bases.' "Well, you could at least steal second.' "Jeez, Claire. I used to distract myself with sports stats at times like these, but now you've gone and ruined it."

"You're dead," I repeated. "So why are you in my dream?"He raised the bill of his olive drab ball cap with one finger. " Good question. Morbid, isn't it?""What?""Dreaming about dead peolpe. Creepy. You ever see a therapist about that?""I'm not -" Even in dreams, I couldn't win an argument. Even when he was dead."

"No 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."

"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 for poisons!" Claire yelled after him. He waved a pale hand. "I mean it!"

"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 with an open box."

"Well, I can throw a mean comeback, so there's that. I will crush them on wit."

"Losing one pint of blood's an accident. Losing two is carelessness."

"Her eyes felt swollen, and she knew she looked a mess, but sometimes...sometimes the emotions were just too big to hold."

"Follow my finger." He moved it around, tracking my eye movements. "Any blurred vision?""Well I think I'm hallucinating, because I see a big talking pile of crap." - Joanne Baldwin."

"One thing you learn early growing up a girl--people always talk, whatever you do,' Glain said. 'What bliss it must be to be male."

"Jealous?""Maybe.""No reason. I like my ladies with a pulse."

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

"It's been happening since I was in kindergarten. Not them all the time, but other kids, you know. Every day. It never stops, and it never goes away, thanks to the Internet--it just keeps happening every minute, every day. And I just want it to stop. I think about how to do it, you know. How to kill them. All kinds of elaborate things, like trapping them in pits and burying them alive, or covering them with concrete."

"You're kidding," Shane said. "Do you think I want to visit Crazy McTeeth in his lair of insanity?""No," Claire said, "but I'm pretty sure you won't like it if I go alone when I just kind of promised to be with you. So...?""Right. I've been missing Nutty McFang anyway.""Stop making up names for him.""What about Count Crackula?""Just stop."

"Fire is always ready to burn the hand it warms."

"That's kind of a leap, but the Russian judge gave you a nine point five for style, so okay."

"He hung up on her. She'd just been hung up on by a disembodied brain in a jar. Fantastic."

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

"In real life, you don't get a reset, and you don't get extra lives, and I got the crap pounded out of me."

"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 the children."

"She needs you for more than just protection. It's how it works. You want the strong girl, you understand that she's with you because she wants to be. Not because she has to be. You know that, right?"

"They'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."

"What's your name?' she asked, and surprised herself. But for some reason, she wanted to know.Dean's brother-he hadn't been just some nameless Bad Guy Number Four. This vampire wasn't, either. He had a name, a history, maybe even people who cared what happened to him.'My name is none of your business,' he said, and continued to stare out the window, even though there was nothing but blurry brick out there.'Can I call you None for short?"

"He dunked his tea bag and watched the results critically. "I really must get a new supplier. This tea is pathetic. America just doesn't understand tea at all."

"Nothing here is like fighting vampires,' I said. 'It's more like fighting smoke. I think I liked it when I had an actual enemy to face.''Oh, don't worry, you have some. We just haven't seen them yet,' Jesse said. 'But we will. And wham we do...' She showed fang, just a flash; anybody who happened to catch a glimpse would have doubted their sanity, especially since the teeth disappeared in a flash. 'When we do, we'll settle this Morganville style."