Bound (Book of the Ancestor, #2.5)

by Mark Lawrence

With sufficient gravitas even the wildest of lies can be made to sound plausible.

Mathematics filled her with a dread that a handful of flung throwing stars slicing toward her never could. She’d never understood why the equations needed her to solve them. Wouldn’t they be happier left in peace on the pages of dusty books?

“Sister Pot.” Apple took her hands then released them and turned to make introductions. “Pot, meet Kettle.”

In fact a slow acting poison is essential when your target is a member of the upper echelons of the aristocracy and has their food checked by tasters well before consumption.

“Sister Apple teaches you to lie. She teaches you how to sell that lie. Flattery, kindness, and fair words will often do the job. Sister Rule teaches you truths about this world of ours and Sister Pan teaches truths about worlds beyond. Sister Wheel, on the other hand, teaches you truths about yourself, and those are the hardest to learn of them all. If they are to be learned by the heart rather than by the head they cannot be sugared like a lie. If they are to form the foundation of a faith they must be discovered not delivered. Sister Wheel makes you discover revelation. Whether that is her intention or not is of no matter.”

But the fact is that few people are able to see value in the words of someone they truly dislike. Have your own opinions spoken back to you by someone you despise and you will likely begin to find fault.

It seemed to Nona a terrible crime to lie with one’s body, to hide murder within an act of affection. The quick violence of a fight was something she understood very well, but this slow falsehood, this spider web of deception using all the tools of love and lust … it hurt her heart and left her feeling sad.

“It is important, when killing a novice, to ensure you bring a force of sufficient size.”