"You can't look at someone and tell what they've been through. The scars that hurt the most are never visible on the surface.~Caillen, page 243."

"Where I am always thou art. Thy image lives within my heart."

"Don't cross me Scooby-Doo. I'm not an old man in a mask waiting to be thwarted by you meddling kids."

"Malphas surveyed the women's bodies with utter disgust and sorrowuntil he realized Tabitha was still alive. He knelt by her side and cradled her head tenderly. "Tabby... I'm so sorry"Grimacing she opened her eyes as she labored to breathe. She laughed bitterly, exposing a set of bleeding teeth. "there are some things that sorry doesn't fix, Caleb.""Shhh, don't speak. I can--""you failed us," She went limp in his arms. Her eyes went Dull.Wincing, Caleb held her close to his heart and stroked her bloody hair. "No, Tabby. I failed myself.""Most of all, I failed Nick."

"Dying's easy. It's living that's hard."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, his voice sharp and moody. "That I had a moment of weakness when I saw it?That for an instant I felt the pang of being homesick? Yeah, I did. There, you now know the Dark-Hunter who has no soul has a heart. Are you happy? ""I already knew you had a heart. "He stopped at a red light and looked at her. A fierce frown creased his brow as if he were trying to figure her out."Believe it or not," she continued, "it shows in everything you do."

"His mom always said that trust was something you earned. And it wasn't something you gave easy. Too often, it was a tool your enemies used to hurt you with. 'Give them nothing, baby. Not until you have no choice. The world is harsh and it is cold. People can be good and decent, but most of them are only out for themselves and they'll hurt anyone they can'."

"Without a word or hesitation, Pain took the mop from Nick. Suffering moved to pick up glass."Wow. Where have you two been all my life?"Pain quirked and eyebrow as he mopped the floor."Walking hand in hand with you. Haven't you noticed?"

"You need to calm down and remember that everyone grieves differently. Doesn't mean they don't care. You don't judge people in pain, and you damn sure don't lash out at them when they've lost what Syn has!"

"As I've always said to Talyn, tough times never last. But tough Andarions. I learned that from watching you as a boy. Your parents, grandparents, and Keris treated you like shit and yet you never once spoke against them. You'd just lift your chin and carry on. 'Barking dogs don't bother me,' you used to say. 'Sooner or later, they reach the end of their yard and hit a fence. I'll keep going past it, and won't hear them anymore."

"I wish I could just fling myself into bed with you, but I can't. I don't want to be used that way and I don't want to use you! Can't you understand that?"

"He didn't want the respect of people who weren't worth wiping his nose on-people who weren't worth the spatout gum attached to the bottom of his worn-out shoes. The only respect he wanted was from himself and the people who really mattered in his life. The people who really loved and cared about him."

"When you love someone, truly love them, you lay your heart open to them. You give them a part of yourself that you give to no one else, and you let them inside a part of you that only they can hurt-you literally hand them the razor with a map of where to cut deepest and most painfully on your heart and soul. And when they do strike, it's crippling-like having your heart carved out."

"Do you believe in eternal love, Vane?"He nodded. "When you live for hundreds of years, you see all kinds of things.""How does someone know the difference between that and infatuation?"He sat up between her legs, then pulled her into his lap to cuddle. "I don't think there is a difference. Ithink infatuation is like a garden. If tended and cared for, it grows into love. If neglected or abused itdies. The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it's like to live without it."

"We almost made it to thirty seconds without an insult. I think we set a new record."

"Human will is the strongest will ever created. There are those who are born to succeed and those who are determined to succeed. The former fall into it, and the latter pursue it at all costs. They won't be denied. Nothing daunts them."

"Guess we're going north," Dev said slowly."Everyone, follow Lassie.Timmy's in the well."

"Shamefully, all of us have wanted revenge on someone at some point for something. I've lived since before man and buffalo roamed this small planet. I have survived the beginning, bloom, and death of countless enemies, civilizations, and people. And the one truth I have learned most during all of these centuries is the old Japanese proverb. If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by."

"What kind of lifehave you lived, little one, that everything seems to be a question of fair and unfair? Life and death just are. Fair has nothing to do with it."

"You are the Energizer Bunny for badasses."

"If you want to know the Correct term for me, I'm a Dark-Hunter."Nick digested that word slowly. "Which means what? You hunt darkness?""Yes, Nick. That's exactly what I do. There's just not enough of it." Now, there was some sarcasm you could cut with a knife."

"Writers, Esther said simply. "For some reason, a lot of you reject what you hear and see in your heads. If you go too long ignoring it, it builds up and then you do all sorts of weird things. Mumble to yourself. Nightmares. Daydreams. Total anarchy and chaos. Before you know it, the writer is either sitting in a corner feverishly humming to his- or herself or on Prozac."

"People make their own reality. That was what Praxis had taught him years ago. A hundred people can witness the exact same event, and give two hundred and three different accountings of it."

"Where I come from, family's defined as those who don't screw you over a paycheck. Blood makes no difference. If you can trust them with your life and know that they'll be there come whatever hell rains down, then they're your family."

"Nick's eyes widened as a total state of befuddled huh possessed him. Was he in theTwilight Zone?"

"Mardi Gras, baby. Mardi Gras. Time when all manner of weird shit cuts loose and parties down."

"Sometimes stars do fall to earth. It was true. They did and then became commonplace like the rest of the dirt on the planet. His star was one of a kind.He would never allow her to be like any other. Never allow her to be common or sullied.No, her place was in the sky. With her family. With her stinking pet wolf. Never with him. "Have a nice life, princess."

"That wasn't love, that was stupidity."

"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."

"When someone is drowning and you try to save them, they're more likely to drown you before you pull them out."

"For those who want to believe, no proof is ever required. For those who refuse to believe, no proof is ever enough."

"But don't ever let yourself forget that the person you care about fills an emptiness no one else ever has and that while life with them can seriously suck at times, thosemoments when it doesn't are worth all the aggravation of falling into the toilet and getting soaked when you're half asleep."

"People with weaknesses get killed by the people who lack them. Notice I'm not dead."

"Lips and tongues lie. But actions never do. No matter what words are spoken, actions betray the truth of everyone's heart."

"Well", Fang said, mimicking a thick Southern drawl. "I must say its mighty nice of them Daimons to clean up after themselves when you kill them" He held his hands up to them. "Look Ma, no mess.""Does Fang have an off switch?" Talon asked Vane."

"People aren't just ants rushing around over a crust of bread. Every life, no matter how isolated, touches hundreds of others. It's up to us to decide if those micro connections are positive or negative. But whichever we decide, it does impact the ones we deal with. One word can give someone the strength they needed at that moment or it can shred them down to nothing. A single smile can turn a bad moment good. And one wrong outburst or word could be the tiny push that causes someone to slip over the edge into destruction."

"Betrayals that make your soul scream so loud you wonder why no one else hears it. In the end, we are all alone in that private hell. But life isn't about learning to forgive those who have hurt you or forgetting the past. It's about learning to forgive yourself for being human and making mistakes. Yes, people disappoint us all the time. But the harshest lessons come when we disappoint ourselves. When we put our trust and our hearts into the hands of the wrong person and they do us wrong. And while we may hate them for what they did, the one we hate most is ourself for allowing them into our private circle. How could I have been so stupid? How could I let them deceive me?"

"All right." He straightened up and seemed to be true to his promise to let it go. "I will be a man about this."That lasted until he saw the scratches on the hood from the mountain lion and the front fender, Where Abigail had dragged it off the driveway.Wailing, he went to it and sank to his knees. He sprawled over the hood and laid his head on the damaged fender. "I'm so sorry, Bets. I should of hidden the keys. Booted your tires. Something. I had know idea anyone would hurt you so, baby. I swear I'll never let anyone hurt you again. Ayyy, how could they do this to you? How? Oh the humanity!"

"Vane passed the mashed potatoes across Bride to Fury, who stared at them with a fierce frown. "Whatare these?" he asked."Potatoes," Vane told him."What did they do to them?""Just eat them, Fury," Vane said. "You'll like them, trust me."Patrick snorted. "Where are you from that you've never seen mashed potatoes before?""Mars," Fury said as he frowned at the way the potatoes clung to the spoon."

"We need to gather everyone we can.Damien scoffed. Uh, boss, hate to be a pall, but I think everyone we can gather is currently in this room.Sin paused to look at Simi, Xirena, Damien, Kat, Kish, and Xypher. It was a pitiful number of defenders. But it was all the world had. In that case, we need to seriously arm ourselves.Damien crossed himself. Hail Mary, full of grace-What are you doing? Kish asked. You're not Catholic.Yeah but I'm feeling really religious all of a sudden and it seemed like a good idea."

"Am I too late?" Caleb asked as he joined them. "Did he do something stupid?""Yeah. On both counts." Tristan stalked past Nick."

"He might fight under my badge, Bet'anya, but you're the only one he would die for."

"Judge no one until you know their circumstances. No matter how awful they seemed, sometimes there was a valid reason for their behaviour. Granted, some people were just mean and corrupt, but not always. Many people were just in pain, and by acting out, they were only trying to protect themselves from being hurt more."

"Tragedy and adversary are the stones we sharpen our swords against so we can fight new battles."

"Things are always given to us when we need them (Acheron)." "That's so not true," Wulf said. "Actually it is. You just have to decide if you're strong enough, brave enough, to seize it and make ityours (Acheron)."

"Kat laughed. 'Who wants to live forever?'Kish put his hand up. 'For the record, I do.'Sin scowled at him. 'Then why do you irritate me so often?'Suicidal tendencies are inherent in my species?"

"You don't tap on the Devil's shoulder unless you're willing to dance to his tune."

"You'd be surprised how many people in the modern age no longer fear zombies as much as teletubies."

"Trust the Simi. She ain't never wrong."

"He looked down at her. "Have you found that peace?"Yes, she had. But it was so corny and cliched that she couldn't bring herself to admit it."A wise man once told me that peace has to come from within. We have to learn to like ourselves before we can find our place in the world."