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It wasn’t that they didn’t take an interest in the world around them. On the contrary, they had a deep, personal and passionate involvement in it, but instead of asking, ‘Why are we here?’ they asked, ‘Is it going to rain before the harvest?’ A
the philosopher might have marvelled that such a four-square people could give the world so many successful magical practitioners, being quite unaware that only those with their feet on rock can build castles in the air.
There are dozens of ways to despatch them, quite apart from the stake through the heart, which also works on normal people so if you have any stakes left over you don’t have to waste them.
Between the light and the dark … well, sometimes that’s where you had to be.
I mean, it’s one thing saying you’ve got the best god, but sayin’ it’s the only real one is a bit of a cheek, in my opinion. I know where I can find at least two any day of the week.
The smug mask of virtue triumphant could be almost as horrible as the face of wickedness revealed.
She’d faced down others far more powerful than she was, if only she’d allowed them to believe it.
Any fool could be a witch with a runic knife, but it took skill to be one with an apple-corer.
It wasn’t that he’d lacked faith. But faith wasn’t enough. He’d wanted knowledge.
Agnes loathed him. Perdita merely hated him, which is the opposite pole to love and just as attractive.
‘You wouldn’t let a poor old lady go off to confront monsters on a wild night like this, would you?’ They watched him owlishly for a while just in case something interestingly nasty was going to happen to him. Then someone near the back said, ‘So why should we care what happens to monsters?’
‘Oh, we’re always all right. You remember that. We happen to other people.’
And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.’
When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth.
‘Oh, I reckon I believes in tea, sunrises, that sort of thing,’ said Granny. ‘I was referring to religion.’ ‘I know a few gods in these parts, if that’s what you mean.’
People were good at imagining hells, and some they occupied while they were alive.
Don’t chase faith, ’cos you’ll never catch it.’ She added, almost as an aside, ‘But, perhaps, you can live faithfully.’
‘And that’s what you call justice, is it?’ said the Count. ‘No, that’s what I call mercy,’ said Granny.
But Agnes thought about Escrow, and the queues, and the children playing while they waited, and how evil might come animal sharp in the night, or greyly by day on a list …
