Ben Reeder > Ben's Quotes

“The worthy always refuse power when first offered.”
― Ben Reeder

“It would have to be like he said, Miss Murathy,” Collins replied. “Cuz if he got those scrapes while he was running from the police, we'd have to charge him with resisting arrest. Your son is too smart to do something like that.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Trevor, you are not to let my son leave your sight unless he's where I can see him. If he's not trying to find what he's supposed to be looking for, he should be doing whatever other lessons you have for him, or something else that builds character and isn't fun. Do you understand me?” “Of course, Mar- I mean, Miss Murathy. Chance will be very productive this weekend, I can assure you.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“I looked down at the car. It barely came up to my elbow, and it looked like it was a couple of feet longer than the Falcon. Which was kind of funny to me, since it only had two seats. “Then you probably can’t wait to meet whoever drove it, can you?” I said. Lucas’ head snapped up at that, and his face broke out into a grin. “Think they’ll let me drive it?” He was practically bouncing as he came around the car. “Doubt it,” I said. “But I’m sure they’ll let you drool on the keys or something like that.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Most people seem to think being a wizard is all about casting spells and being cryptic, but, really, most of it is really boring. A big chunk of it is research. Reading old books, cross-referencing them against other books, and then double-checking all of that against other sources. Then, for the big finish, writing down your own conclusions in your own journal, detailing what you did and how you did it so that someone else can repeat the process with your notes in a hundred years. Yeah, I was in for a glamorous life. That's why mages get invited to all of the good parties. The thing is, it worked.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“she laid her hands against my chest and pressed most of the rest of her curves against me. “I didn’t get the opportunity to introduce myself the first time we met. I’m Chastity.” “Suuuure, you are,” Wanda snarked from beside me. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, little girl,” Chastity said. “The offer for that . . . ride . . . is still on the table,” she turned back to me. “Again, I have to decline . . . for now. One, because I don’t like owing vampires squat,”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“You lied to me, and you encouraged Chance to continue to lie to me. Enraged doesn't even begin to describe my feelings right now. For now, it's best if you didn't talk to me. In fact, moving out of the country for a few years might not be a bad idea.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Not all of the sources I found agreed. A Greek scholar said that only a holy warrior could use it, but one of the early Phoenicians talked about it like anyone could use it. It had popped up in the hands of heroes of most religions, from the early Greeks to the Mesopotamians, even before the Hebrews told the story of Samson. All the sources I could find in Dr. C's library did agree on one thing. No matter what name you used for the Divine, the Maxilla was the concentrated wrath of God, straight up Old Testament-style ass-kicking in a box. It had brought down kingdoms, allowed warriors to kill dozens of men in battle on their own, and slain some of the scariest-sounding monsters I'd ever read about. It had only fallen into the hands of agents of Hell twice. Both times, it had been found somehow, and heads had literally rolled. But while it was lost to Hell, the world had really, really sucked. The first time had been before the rise of Lemuria, and the second time had kicked off the fall of Rome. No pressure.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“the concentrated wrath of God, straight up Old Testament-style ass-kicking in a box.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Not seeing the similarities here, Etienne. I’ve got a pulse, you don’t. That’s a hard one to get past.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“I'd been pretty screwed up. Not the usual teenage angsty version, either. I was verging on the homicidal maniac brand of dark and twisty, with an unhealthy dose of low self-esteem for good measure. Okay, I was still pretty neurotic, but now I was just moody and hard to get along with. I could pass for a normal teenager most days.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“It was kind of disturbed, but I've only ever seen normal from a distance anyway.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“No one knows how you get with girls,” she shot back. “It’s like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Lots of stories, but no hard evidence.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“The guy was lying next to the neighbor's house with his limbs pointing in painful-looking directions. I was pretty sure arms and legs weren't supposed to bend in that many places. And I was also pretty sure I'd have a hard time explaining the vaguely person-shaped crater in the neighbor's second-story siding. Maybe no one would notice. Like, if the police sent over a blind cop with the IQ of an eggplant.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Blood ran freely from his nose as I closed the freezer and kicked him square in the privates. I had yet to meet a living being that didn't double over when I hit them there.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Which particular tome of knowledge do you require?” “The Medici Codex,” I said. He stared at me, and I was half afraid he was going to arch his back and hiss at me or make the sign of the cross.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“The sun was still bright, the sky still blue, and the morning was still too damn perfect. How was I supposed to be all moody and angst-ridden in this kind of weather? I felt a good brood coming on, and I needed gray clouds and rain to set the scene. Sunday evidently hadn’t gotten the memo, because it kept up the brood-killing ray of sunshine bit. Not even a cloud dared show itself against the azure sky as we drove along.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“I kicked his butt, Dee,” I said. Me, cocky? Nah!”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“After learning hundreds of hexes, curses, and spells, all of them having variables that had variables of their own, math was simple. Once you solved for x, it didn’t change if the month was different or if the stars weren’t aligned right.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“I’m never going to use it. ~ Every kid ever about math.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“You lie!” Polter exclaimed. “Speak out of turn again, Andrew, and I will have you removed from these proceedings,” Draeden said. The edge of his voice was so sharp I was sure thousands of air molecules went screaming to their death just being too close his mouth.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“We kill him.” “Yeah, I got that part. But how?” “Violence.” “I’m good with that.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Okay,” he said after a moment. “So, maybe you're not evil. But you still use black magic. That's a fact.” He crossed his arms and gave me a defiant look. “It's more of a plaid magick, really,” I told him. “Kind of a tartan, really, if you're going to be giving it a color,” Lucas grinned. “Now you're being childish.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“With all due respect to you, sir, you can all go piss up a rope,” Steve said. That brought a lot of gasps and exclamations. He forged ahead as if they hadn’t said a word. “You people are the best the Conclave has to offer? I’d rather eat broken glass than listen to you.” “Those are some harsh words, young man,” Moon said. “You mind explaining yourself?” “All this week, I’ve seen Chance bust his ass to do what you people are supposed to be doing!” Steve said, his finger pointing at the Council. “He’s been looking for a girl who was kidnapped by a vampire, trying to keep his own family safe from the guy who took her, and looking for this sword. While he’s trying to do all that, he’s under this Ordeal, trying to prove himself to you so you don’t kill him! And tonight? When it came down to saving his own ass or helping someone else, he chose to save his friend and twelve other kids: kids you should have been looking for, instead of sitting on your lazy butts judging my friend. If you ask me, he shouldn’t have had to choose between kissing your collective ass to save his own life and doing the right thing. He did the right thing even when you might have killed him for it, and frankly, I’ll follow his example over yours any day of the week.” In the silence that followed his rant, I looked at him with a new respect. “I believe,” Moon said after a few moments, “that we’ve been rebuked, Master Draeden.” “Justly so,” Draeden said”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Young vamps had a hard time blending in with people because they forgot the basics. They would spend a long time not breathing, or they’d smile with their mouths open. But older vamps, while they could remember the basics better with years of practice, had a whole different level of creep factor when they weren’t putting on the act. They had a way of just going still that made it hard to forget that you were in the room with a walking corpse. Dead people just don’t fidget or move randomly.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“Let your host believe that you fear him in his own house.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“You should hurry home, child. There’s a storm coming,” he said quietly. No, that wasn’t ominous or anything.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“The traditional version is that you don’t presume on your host’s stable. The cold-hearted, practical version? You don’t leave your horse where your host can steal it.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“So, I’m saying yes whether I want to or not,” I said, my voice just edging to a growl. He’d played me like a chump by pressing all the buttons I couldn’t help but react to. “Glad to hear it. You’ll begin during the fall semester, to make your transition a little smoother. The Academy will also want to assess your skill level before you start, so expect a visit. Now that we’ve taken care of that bit of business, I’ve ordered filet mignon. After the night you’ve had, I’m sure nothing less than a steak will do.” He gestured for the waiter,”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords

“The man came over to me and looked at my pentacle with open disdain. “Remove that obnoxious bauble from my sight,” Thraxus demanded. “My house, my rules. You don’t like it, you can go.” “When did you gain faith?” he asked. I shrugged.”
― Ben Reeder, Page of Swords