The Wonder Engine (Clocktaur War, #2)

by T. Kingfisher

Slate is a thief who specialized in stealing, forging, and planting paperwork.

First Line

At least with mules, one knows where one stands.”

“Damn. No one ever tells me I’ve got a tidy mind.” “It’s tidier than mine,” said Brenner. “Yes, but yours is full of spiders.” The assassin looked absurdly flattered by this.

“Prayer is for the one who prays. It would be a monstrous arrogance to think that my prayers might sway the heart of a god.”

“Do you ever miss?” asked Caliban. “All the time. I missed that last guy.” “You put a dagger in his eye.” “Yes, but I was aiming for the other eye.”

“Do they train you to be martyrs, or does it just come naturally?” “Most paladins do have some natural aptitude in that direction…”