Magical Creatures Quotes

“All cats are slightly magical, don't you know? It's why they're so smug all the time.”
― Julie Leong, The Teller of Small Fortunes

“Shadow padded up to me and put his head on my knee, all forgiven, as it always is with dogs. If I frightened my cat as I had Shadow, she'd ignore me for days, or possibly put a curse on me, but then cats have self-respect.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

“Kato looks ill. “I… It… Me…” He stares at the massive snake. “Big.”
I squeeze his arm. “Don’t worry. You’ll speak in complete sentences again soon.”
― Amanda Bouchet, Breath of Fire

“I huff. Sort of. “Well, would Your Logicalness care to take me to breakfast and tell me about his plans?”
… “Would your Nakedness care to get dressed first?” he asks.”
― Amanda Bouchet, Breath of Fire

“He stalked back to the enormous moth, but it wouldn't return him to Elfhame until he went to a nearby general store, glamoured leaves into money to buy it an entire six-pack of lager, and then poured the booze into a frothing puddle on the ground for the creature to lap at.”
― Holly Black, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

“...sprites wearing acorn caps and wielding glaives the size of toothpicks battled above a sea of tiger lilies.”
― Holly Black, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

“Squeezing the Bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“A hob played a lute strung with another reveler's hair.”
― Holly Black, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

“I hadn't known what to expect as I entered the ring of white trees- tall and straight as pillars- but it was not the tall, thin veiled figure in dark tattered robes. Its hunched back facing me. I could count the hard knobs of its spine poking through the thin fabric. Spindly, scabby gray arms clawed at the snare with yellowed, cracked fingernails.
...
Then slowly, it turned to me, the dark veil draped over its bald head, blowing in a phantom breeze.

A face that looked like it had been crafted from dried, weatherworn bone, its skin either forgotten or discarded, a lipless mouth and too-long teeth held by blackened gums, slitted holes for nostrils, and eyes... eyes that were nothing more than swirling pits of milky white- the white of death, the white of sickness, the white of clean-picked corpses.

Peeking above the ragged neck of its dark robes was a body of veins and bones, as dried and solid and horrific as the texture of its face. It let go of the snare, and its too-long fingers clicked against each other as it studied me.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“Behind the abandoned house, two faerie horses chew on dandelions as they wait for their riders. Slight as deer, with a soft halo of light surrounding their bodies, they glide between the trees like ghosts.

Oak goes to the first. Her coat a soft grey, her mane braided into something that looks like netting, and which is hung with gold beads. Tooled leather saddlebags rest against her flanks. She nuzzles into his hand.”
― Holly Black, The Stolen Heir

“I bury Valerian near the stables, but outside the paddock, so that even the most carnivorous of Madoc's sharp-toothed horses are unlikely to dig him up and gnaw on his bones.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“Above hangs a chandelier made from thin sheets of mica. Tiny glowing faeries are trapped inside for the purpose of adding a warm glow to the room. Occasionally they fly, making shadows dance.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“Sometimes Jude longed for her bike, but there were none in Faerie. Instead, she had giant toads, and thin greenish ponies and wild-eyed horses slim as shadows.

And she had weapons.

And her parents' murderer, now her foster father.”
― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“The ragwort steeds are there in front of the apartment complex- starved-looking yellow ponies with lacy manes and emerald eyes, like sea horses on land, weeds come to snorting, snuffling life.”
― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“Behind him comes an ice coach pulled by faerie horses as crystalline as if they were conjured by frozen waves.”
― Holly Black, The Queen of Nothing

“The army of Elfhame assembles and readies itself to march. Whippet-thin faerie steeds, swampy water horses, reindeer with jutting antlers, and massive toads are all being saddled. Some will even be armoured.”
― Holly Black, The Queen of Nothing

“High Fae and various lesser-faeries I'd never encountered and didn't know the names of wandered the streets. It was the latter that I noticed more than the others; some long-limbed, hairless, and glowing as if an inner moon dwelled beneath their night-dark skin, some covered in opalescent scales that shifted colour with each graceful step of their clawed, webbed feet, some elegant, wild puzzles of horns and hooves and striped fur. Some were bundled in heavy overcoats, scarves, and mittens- others strode about in nothing but their scales and fur and talons and didn't seem to think twice about it. Neither did anyone else. All of them, however, were preoccupied with taking in the sights, some shopping, some splattered with clay and dust and- and paint.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Only a dozen or so of the Fae who had been gathered in the Court when she arrived waited on the green. Most held the reins of creatures so incredible that even Delphine, subsumed with sick fear about Emily, was momentarily transfixed. The Fae man with the golden eyes stood next to a salamander on legs like tree trunks, its ink-black body spotted with brilliant yellow. It opened its maw for a treat from the man, revealing a row of terrifying gilded teeth. A woman with dark blue eyes and a faint blue tinge to her complexion absently stroked the head of a white chicken whose comb bloomed with crystalline roses and whose dark red talons raked the earth. A dark-haired Fae woman with sinewy arms and strong shoulders bare had turned a black-and-white goat into a unicorn by twining its horns into a single ivory-hued spiral, as well as giving it a generous increase in size.
Emily clapped her hands in delight.
"Would you like to pet one, love?" the Fae woman asked, guiding her toward a bronze-furred creature that Delphine slowly appreciated had once been a squirrel, its size now outstripping a large dog. "That one cannot be ridden, but he is as good a scent hound as any earthbound canine."
"Where did they come from?" Delphine gaped.
She didn't expect a reply, but the man with the salamander laughed. "The same place you do. They wander in, rarely. When the door is opened, whether we mean it to be or not. Occasionally, they are bargained. But mostly they are just strays." She opened her mouth to ask how, and he cut her off with an abrupt wave of his hand. "We do not know how it works or why the doors open of their own accord any better than you, and we wish they would not."
"Why, when they become wonders like these?" She reached tentatively toward the squirrel, who butted her hand with his enormous velvet head.”
― Rowenna Miller, The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill

“I will prepare for war but death will not come for me. I will avenge all who have died, usurper. Beware the Princess of Ahilon.”
― Samantha Shaye, The Fall of Ahilon

“Shadow turned to me. He had shed his glamour and had grown to at least twice his normal size, his snout distended and his ribs poking through his fur. His eyes flickered like embers--- quite unnerving, but also helpful, in that context. He threw back his head and let loose a deathly howl.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

“But the good news is that you have a choice. You can choose to look closely. You can choose to see the magic in the world. You can choose to believe, and your life will be infinitely richer if you do.”
― Lauren Soloy, The Hidden World of Gnomes

“Alara stared at the wet, red, wrinkled mite, revolted, and wondering why on earth she had bothered to save the child. Fire and Rain! The creature wasn’t even finished yet! She should just leave it here to die with its mother; it would be better that way. She didn’t even know exactly what to do with it—she’d probably kill it by accident. What an awful little beast—Then the little creature opened its tiny mouth—and a thin, unhappy wail rose above the desert silence. That wail cut straight to Alara’s maternal heart, as sure as elf-shot, and as deadly … and she knew she couldn’t leave it here. Not after all this. It was only a baby.”
― Mercedes Lackey, The Elvenbane

“People sometimes look at me strangely for talking to my patients like they’re human. But whatever. They’re magical. They’re familiars. Clearly, they understand more than they let on.”
― Keshe Chow, Strange Familiars

“Calisa glanced at Steve, who was still sunbathing on his rock. He flicked out his tongue, unperturbed. A lick of flame unfurled from the tip of his tongue and then fizzled in the air. He then looked at her expectantly.
She stared at him. "Um... congratulations?"
Pleased, he closed his eyes and began to snore.
Did her lizard really just breathe fire?”
― Sarah Beth Durst, The Faraway Inn

“One spring day in particular, when flowers were just blooming and the breeze was calm, one of our hellblazers broke into the house and flew around hysterically, scorching the place. Roasted Chicken---named by a nine-year-old with witty humor, as all the chickens were named after chicken entrees--- wreaked havoc. The difference between a regular chicken and a hellblazer is the latter spits flames. And this mother-clucking flock had been rescued from an underground fighting ring--- they were feisty.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm

“I opened my father’s journals and tried to read the scribbling of a middle-aged man with no organization skills. Each creature had its own row with its name, age, species, and notes.
First on the list: Indo—easy. Indomitus: seventy, horned ash dragon, cannot fly nor breathe fire / trauma with poachers / scars. Considering he’d been here since before I was born, I knew he was fed in the woods near the water. He didn’t come out to be seen, but I wasn’t surprised. He never was social. I left it at that, leaving his food on a boulder.
Next on the list: goats. Finneas and Finnigan: six, dassin goats, Finneas’s eyes pecked out after abandoned / Finnigan is brother don’t separate. Side note: discovered they’re females; keeping the names. Their milk has healing properties, hence the creams we sell.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm

“Moving to the enclosure hosting a white wooden home, completed with a pink cushioned bed, I stood over the little gate but saw nothing. Knowing Phoebe and the deadly prickler she was, she’d stay unseen if she wanted. Her anxiety made sure of it. Phoebe: seven, deadly prickler porcupine, poisonous spikes removed by poacher / goes invisible when nervous.
Carefully pouring some whack-ass mixture of leaves and berries, I tilted the bucket. It took exactly four seconds for Phoebe to appear— three inches from my face, standing on her hind legs. Endless abyss of shadow-filled eyes poured into my very being.
Screaming, I sent a combination of vulgar words into the world as I fell on my ass. Berries rolled, I scurried, and my legs scattered under me. I dove out of the gate, breathing and noting that Phoebe had vanished again.
Everything went downhill after that.
Swallowing whatever mixture of raw emotions remained in my throat, I fixed the skirt of my dress, wiping my hands on its brown cotton fabric, and held my tongue. Keep going, Reece.
Butters, the bear, stood on the opposite side of the pasture. Butters: ten, pimbrough bear, only eats veggies and fruit / starved in cage as cub. Pimbrough bears are known for (1) skin that cannot be pierced, and (2) producing a fluid under their fur that has been known to provide the same shield-like properties if curated correctly.
They’re often hunted and caged, which was how Butters was found. His body had grown to fit the cage. With his bad bones, he couldn’t hunt and survive in the wild on his own.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm

“Hellblazers: Chicken Soup, Chicken Noodle, Roasted Chicken, Fried Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Sandwich, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Chicken and Waffles, approximately seven to ten years old, VERY SENSITIVE AND RUDE/ saved from illegal fighting pits. They were literal hell.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm

“Is that an aurora canine?"
Following where she looked, I'd be damned if there weren't an aurora canine. They weren't common pets, but nobody could deny that onyx-purple coat, the mane around the face with hidden voltage. Aurora canines are a bit like dogs, but extremely territorial and protective. Their fur conducts bolts of static shocks to use in defense if needed.
Named after the witch that accidentally created them, they actually belong to a family of four, each hiding a different magic within their mane: voltage, flames, ice, and shadows.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm

“According to my father’s journal and Laken, Phoebe had arrived two weeks before I did, which made sense for her anxiety levels. Unfortunately, her past had left her skin pretty raw and needing help to recover if we ever wanted her quills to grow back completely. She had a few here and there, but the vast majority remained injured.
The irony was not lost on me. This little porcupine princess with a pink bed had enough poison in her body to take down an army. Twenty could be killed with just one quill. Attacking the body’s muscles first, then the heart, it’d be a quick death.
All the more reason to keep her from the poachers.”
― Taylor Epperson, Second Time's a Charm