Kelley Armstrong

Demon possession strains the boundaries of credulity, given the sheer number of times it seems to happen. One would really hope demons had better things to do with their time.

What gave it away? When she loaded me bound and gagged into the back of her truck? Or when she actually said. "I'm ready to kill you and throw your body inn the swamp?"Hey for a while there, it looked like you were going to talk your way out of it. I didn't want to interfere.

If I was crazy, would I know it? That's what being crazy was, wasn't it? You thought you were fine. Everyone else knew better.

Urban survival rule 22: Never annoy an armed man.

My fourteen-year-old sister Lara is a brat. Unfortunately, no one sees it but me. To everyone else, she__ adorable. She__ tiny and blonde and sweet and as helpless as a kitten. Chloe reminded me of Lara, at first. The difference, as I discovered, is that Chloe really is as sweet as she seems and she isn__ as helpless as she looks.

Why is it that every time a girl says a guy is bothering her, it's fluffed off with oh, he just likes you, as if that makes it okay?

I signed off with Ricky, and I was putting away my phone when TC slunk past, heading for his spot in the front window."Hey, cat," I said. "We're bringing home a friend for you. A doggie big enough to devour you in a single gulp. Is that okay?"He turned a baleful stare on me, as if he understood. I'm convinced TC isn't just a cat, no more than Lloergan is just a dog. Maybe someday, when I'm moments from perishing at the hands of an intruder, TC will save me in a sudden and awe-inspiring display of supernatural power. Or maybe he'll decide I haven't given him enough tuna that week and leave me to my fate. He's a cat, so I figure my chances are about fifty-fifty.

She looked at me again, and the sweet and shy Nicole disappeared. Her eyes b

Schizo. It didn't matter how many times Dr. Gill compared it to a disease or physical disability, it wasn't the same thing. It just wasn't. I had schizophrenia. If I saw two guys on the sidewalk, one in a wheelchair and one talking talking to himself, which would I rush to open a door for, and which would I cross the road to avoid?

Picture a place called the Karma Kafe and it'll save me the bother of describing it. There was nothing in it you wouldn't expect, from the Buddha flowerpots to the wallpaper decorated with symbols that probably said, "If you bought this just because it looked pretty, may Buddha piss in your coffee, you culturally ignorant moron.

I started rubbing my temples and she suggested I don't really get headaches. It just hurts me to think.

...ethics were in most cases a burden that could be reasonably ignored in pursuit of necessity.

I used to think that once we started going out, Derek would change. When I admitted that to Tori, she nearly laughed herself into an aneurysm and gave me a lecture on the stupidity of expecting to change a guy. Maybe I didn__ have her dating experience, but I knew you didn__ go out with someone because you thought you__ change him. That wasn__ what I__ meant. I liked Derek the way he was. I__ just hoped getting closer would mean landing on the sharp side of his tongue less often.

As a vampire, you must accept that every person you ever know will die, and you are the only constant in your life, the only person you can__nd should__ely on.

I make the choice because it is one I can live with.

Mom says crap like that comes from people who've accomplished so little in life that they feel the need to lift themselves above someone, anyone. So they pick skin color or religion or sexual orientation and say, "Well, I might not be much, but at least I'm not a..." I'd look at those guys, and see the truth of her words.

Tell me half a cup__ worth of story and we__l call it a night.

A hand touched my shoulder, shaking me. I was back on the bus. It was dark and warm and I just wanted to sleep, but Chloe kept shaking my sho