Never go easy on allies if you ahve to take them down. Especially allies. You’re already fighting the urge not to hurt them. Counteract that and hit them with everything you’ve got.
His cheek twitched. With Jeremy, this was the equivalent of an emotional outburst.
Once, when I’d needed to meet Daniel to deliver a warning from Jeremy, I’d worn two-inch heels and had quite enjoyed the sensation of talking down to Daniel, until he told me how sexy I looked. Since then he’d never seen me in anything but my oldest, grubbiest sneakers.
You think I led him on? For what? Kicks? I don’t have enough exictement in my life, so maybe I’ll tease a nice guy, get his hopes up, then laugh and skip away?
Derek lunged. He hit me in the shoulder and knocked me to the floor, landing on top of me. His body jerked, like he’d been hit with the spell, and I let out a yelp, struggling to get up, but he held me down, whispering “I’m okay, it’s okay” until the words penetrated.
Sometimes humans hit on a moment of profundity more complete than their dim minds could comprehend, and they took that nugget of truth and dumped it in the refuse for the bards and the poets to find, and mangle into yodeling paeans of love.
Just show him that I didn’t need his apology, I guess. Show him that I was okay. Better than okay. I was happy, in spite of everything he’d done to me, and no, I didn’t forgive him. God help me, I would not forgive him.
Bigger room, darling. Like I said, we need a bigger room.
I don’t care if I get one at all. Just as long as I keep getting anniversaries.
The upshot of her tirade was that I was the devil’s spawn and should be locked up in a tower before I unleashed hordes of the living dead to slaughter them all in their sleep. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by much.
So consider your options, make your choice and call me home.
Clearly it was time to consider rescheduling that optometrist appointment I’d missed last fall.
No. Harsh truth was better than comfortable lies. It had to be.
Release the demon under promise that I’d be repaid handsomely, my enemies destroyed? Hmm, where had I seen this before? Oh, right. Every demon horror movie ever made. And the horror part started right after the releasing part.
I had to take responsibility, even if it meant saying no to an authority figure, because I was the authority on me.
At school, our classroom had a small rodent zoo consisting of two rabbits, three hamsters, a litter of baby gerbils and a guinea pig. At first, I’d thought the teacher was raising snack food, which impressed me, being the first sign of intelligence she’d shown. Soon, though, I’d figured out the animals’ true purpose and left them alone, though I would never understand the appeal of petting and coddling perfectly good food.
No”, Tori said, ” I kidnapped her and forced her to escape with me. I’ve been using her as a human shield against those guys with guns, and I was just about to strangle her and leave her body here to throw them off my trail. But then you showed up and foiled my evil plans. Lucky for you, though. You get to rescue chloe again and win her undying grattitude.
Before we left town, Antonio pulled into a strip mall and went in to get subs and salads, leaving Clay and me half naked and bleeding in the car, and Cain unconscious in the trunk. No wonder I was anxious to get back to Toronto. Spend too much time around these guys and you become a little too nonchalent about blood-soaked clothes and bodies in the trunk.
Gabriel Walsh comes from a long line of hustlers. He’s just the first one to go to law school and get a license for it.
Yes, you’re sleeping in my apartment,” I said. “On my sofa. It was an exciting night, but not that exciting. I’d really hope you’d remember if it had been.