" Don’t bargain with them, Jamie,’ said the old man again. ‘Don’t help them, don’t believe them, don’t let them live one moment beyond what it takes to destroy them safely. No matter what they tell you, about why it is so necessary that you help them do whatever it is they’re asking you to help them do. They are lying. "

― Barbara Hambly , Blood Maidens (James Asher, #3)