I have found it is surprisingly difficult to remain sad when a cat is doing its level best to sandpaper one's cheeks.

You come to us well tempered, my child, and it is not in my nature to be sorry for it. It is a well tempered blade that is the strongest.

Hate cannot be fought with hate. Evil cannot be conquered by darkness. Only love has the power to conquer them both.

And so it is with us; we serve as handmaidens to Death. When we are guided by His will, killing is a sacrament.

I am sorry,' he whispers. 'I am sorry I treated you so ill. I thought only to protect Duval.' 'It was not I who was poisoning him,' I say. 'No, but you had stolen his heart and I was afraid you would rip it from his chest when you left.

Good intentions are only lies the weak tell themselves.

This is what I want to be. An instrument of mercy, not vengeance.