Martha Wells

“Join the Rienish navy. See unusual sights. Never sleep with the lights out again.”

“Octave staggered to his feet, his stick swinging back to point toward Nicholas. He felt a wave of heat and saw spellfire crackle along the length of polished wood, preparing itself for another explosive burst. Crack was moving toward Octave, but Madeline shouted, "Get back!"Nicholas ducked, as a shot exploded behind him. Octave fell backward on the carpet and the blue lightning flared once and vanished with a sharp crackle.Nicholas looked at Madeline. She stepped forward, holding a small double-action revolver carefully and frowning down at the corpse. He said, "I wondered what you were waiting for.""You were in my line of fire, dear," she said, preoccupied. "But look.”

“If you raise a daughter to be both independent and an excellent marksman, you have to accept the fact that your control over her actions is at an end.”

“I'm tired of entirely new things," Tremaine said. "I don't understand most of the old things yet.”

“Annoying people is something of a talent of mine. I gave it up for a while, but lately it's started to come back to me.”

“She was beginning to recognize it as the feeling of anger taken to such a level it was no longer possible to separate it from any other emotion or thought. In a way, it was a liberating sensation.”