The Bejeweled Bottle Quotes

“I want to love her forever, and take her on grand adventures until the end of time. Even if loving her is the grandest adventure of all.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“I SUPPOSE YOU’D LIKE ME TO CONJURE A PORTAL, THEN? SEND YOU BACK TO THE FUTURE? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE, WHILE I’M AT IT? PERHAPS SEVENTY-TWO VIRGINS AND A HOT TOWEL?”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“MORTALS. WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF LOVE? OF ETERNITY? YOUR ENTIRE LIVES ARE FLEETING--MERE SECONDS TO A GOD. AND YET . . . AND YET YOUR LOVE CAN BE THE TRUEST OF ALL.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“I wish the gods weren't sleeping. I wish they were watching us. Right now.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“What strange bravery,' he mused, looking down into her eyes, 'that you would sacrifice everything to save a dead man. How very . . . Egyptian of you.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“She had no idea how Sef couldn’t see it. The demon was right there, not ten feet away. Nikki had seen its likeness in her dreams, but the Ammut painted on mudbrick and stone was nothing like the behemoth that stood before her in the flesh.

It had a great, lashing tail that swept between the walls like a whip, staining them with a black ichor that hissed as it burned through the wood. Its whole body dripped with this filth. Its thick, tangled mane was matted with it. With every step it took, it spattered gobs of the stuff onto the ground, leaving imprints of its massive, mismatched feet in its wake–part hippopotamus, part lion.

Ammut flexed its claws as it took another sniff of the air, inhaling through its obscene, crocodilian snout. Its nostrils were half decayed; parts of them had come loose and flapped whenever the creature breathed. Then it let out a hoarse, staccato series of barks that made the mark in Nikki’s skull thrum wildly.

She knew it was calling to her, beckoning her to seal her fate. She almost wanted to answer, to go to it and allow its rotten, toothy jaws to clamp around her soul.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Are you sure these are gonna work?'

Sef leaned in to answer, 'Do you want the truth, or a lie?'

'Lie to me.'

'Then I am one hundred percent sure these amulets will work,' Sef told her with a smile and a nod in the direction of Mr. Ismay, who sat at the end of the table on Molly's right with his arms folded and a sour look on his face. 'They will thwart any attempts Apophys may make on your life and also fill our stateroom with soft, fluffy kittens. We will win the day and return to Sanctum Harbor on the back of a rainbow.'

'While riding unicorns?'

'While riding unicorns.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“I've defeated high priests and kings. And I'm not going to lose to a machine.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“You ate Wikipedia?!”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Time slowed. Nikki could feel every throb of her pulse, every crackle of her nerves as Sef swept away reality with the crush of his lips. His tongue was a flame darting against her own, his breath a billowing gust of incense that filled her nostrils and scorched her lungs. He was spice and cedar, whiskey and warm pumpkin pie. He was the dunes of Egypt and the rising sun, the breeze off the Nile, and the jackals prowling beneath the moon.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“I'll voodoo your face.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Careful, Rasputin, or I'll knock you on your ass again.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“I'm fascinated by darkness,' he whispered, so close now that she could smell the fragrance of his breath. There was a black note to it, a scent like coffee or chocolate, and a bite of something heavier coming from his skin--balsamic and pepper. 'Enthralled by the obscene. The macabre. Even the occult, should the mood arise. But I've never found another who might accompany me on these ghastly journeys. Not everyone is worthy of dipping their toes into the void like we are. Fewer still would survive.'

He wet his lips with a dart of his tongue. 'What say you, princess? I'll show you mine if you show me yours . . .”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“You look . . . spellbinding,' he breathed, his smile so wide it damn near touched his ears. 'Breathtaking. Divine. Avoir le coeur qui bat la chamade.' French, sweet as honey, dripped off his tongue, yet he shook his head as if he'd fallen short. 'There simply aren't enough words in any language to describe what a vision you are, my dear.'

Nikki smiled. She'd worried for days whether or not Louis was Apophys, or at least one of his servants. But in his presence, she felt only genuine emotion--his excitement and tenderness. It would have been easier the other way around. Knowing these were his true feelings broke her heart.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“You aren't there anymore, Nikki. You're here.' He paused, then added, 'With me.'

'No, I'm not,' she said, lifting her head and wiping her face. 'I'm always there, with her at that lake. I'm always on the dock where I watched my baby sister die.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“A woman as intelligent, strong, resourceful, quick-witted, and beautiful as you are deserves an equal,' he said at last. 'Someone who appreciates all those things and isn't only searching for a new, exotic trophy to hang from his arm. Someone who complements the extraordinary life you already live, and who will be present in it.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Wigs were a big thing there?'

'Oh, yes. Lice were a constant concern.'

Nikki made a face. 'Incest and lice. Man, Egypt sounds like a blast.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Tears welled in Nikki's eyes--tears of anger, wonder, and awe. Anger because although she had the ability to change the Titanic's fate, she could not use it. Wonder because if what Sef said was true, everything she thought she knew about the world--its very code--amounted to nothing at all. And awe at the sensation of magic--real magic!--slipping between her fingers, licking her flesh, and for just a moment, infusing her with the kind of power few others would ever know.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“The closer they got to the water, the more anxious Nikki felt. She could see it swelling before them, hear it churning far below. And yet the Titanic cut through the waves as though the ocean's fury meant nothing at all. No wonder she sank. The sheer arrogance . . .”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“It was a surreal experience, allowing a dark god to walk her to her door.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“And where the devil did you find this one?' Louis asked. 'Was the Valley of the Kings having a rummage sale?'

Stead regarded him. 'You've heard of Daressy?'

'The French Egyptologist?'

'Yes, that's the one. He uncovered the ruins of an enormous palace complex back in eighteen eighty-eight--a site he called Malkata. One of his workers . . . ' Stead made a vague gesture. ' . . . liberated the artifact from what he thought was a temple devoted to Isis, one of the chief goddesses of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. When a friend of mine traveled to Egypt some time later, he became aware of this find and brought it back home with him to England, where he offered it to me as a gift.'

'Ah,' Louis said. 'So it was a rummage sale.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“And where the devil did you find this one?' Louis asked. 'Was the Valley of the Kings having a rummage sale?'

Stead regarded him. 'You've heard of Daressy?'

'The French Egyptologist?'

'Yes, that's the one. He uncovered the ruins of an enormous palace complex back in eighteen eighty-eight--a site he called Malkata. One of his workers . . . ' Stead made a vague gesture. ' . . . liberated the artifact from what he thought was a temple devoted to Isis, one of the chief goddesses of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. When a friend of mine traveled to Egypt some time later, he became awar eof this find and brought it back home with him to England, where he offered it to me as a gift.'

'Ah,' Louis said. 'So it was a rummage sale.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Sef closed his eyes. 'I hate blood magic,' he said.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“You are truly the embodiment of a god, my queen,' Sef breathed, 'but even that is beyond your power. Akhenaten--'

Meskhenetys scowled. 'Was a heretic. A false idol. I am neither, and I shall have my way.' She set her jaw in defiance. 'My husband has many wives. Why should I play by different rules?”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“He quirked a brow. 'You're worried about America?'

'No.' She waved her hand and almost spilled her drink. 'I'm worried about icebergs.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Jesus, what the hell is a plover?”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Excuse me,' Louis called above the whining strings. The waiter turned. 'I think the princess is ready for you to take her order.' The way her title left his lips dripped with emphasis and a touch of anger. His eyes glinted with a look that said, I know what you're doing. I'm on to you.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“Louis chuckled and brought his glass of champagne to his lips. 'Vous devriez appredre a se detendre, docteur.'

'I'm sorry,' Nikki said. 'I don't understand . . . '

Dr. Adderby glowered. 'He says I should lighten up.'

Louis beamed. 'Oui.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“He's our on-board alienist,' Louis said, leaning in and lowering his voice. 'A German one.'

Dr. Adderby bristled. 'We aren't called alienists anymore.'

'Psychologist, then,' Louis said with a shrug. 'On his way to America to teach the Yankees how to combat female hysteria.' He waggled his fingers suggestively.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle

“What's my name again?' she muttered as they closed the distance.

'Nefersekhmet,' he answered. 'Princess Nefersekhmet. Of Nubia.'

She snorted. 'Jesus. How the hell do you expect me to remember all that? I don't even know what it means!'

'Sekhmet is the name of an Egyptian goddess,' Sef explained, lowering his voice to a whisper. 'Her purview was wrath and war.She was known as the Mistress of Dread. The Lady of Slaughter. She Who Mauls. Given your temper, I thought it was fitting.'

Nikki sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. 'What about the other part?'

'Nefer?' he asked. 'Well, that one's simple. It means beautiful.' He offered her his arm. 'And you are.”
― Lana Hart, The Bejeweled Bottle