Home > Work > The Kill Society (Sandman Slim, #9)
41 " I look at her bandaged hands. “You all right?” “Just a couple of blisters. Some asshole convinced me to run through a furnace.” “He sounds shady. As your lawyer, I advise you to avoid him in the future.” “It’s my fondest dream. "
― Richard Kadrey , The Kill Society (Sandman Slim, #9)
42 " I pull the cork and pour a glass full. Give it a sniff. There it is. The heady bouquet of gasoline and hot pepper. I sip it and shudder a little. It burns just right going down. "
43 " The Magistrate has been watching this whole thing with the quiet amusement of Mike Brady watching his squabbling TV kids. Only this Mike’s kids are killers and Dad’s got a messiah complex. "
44 " When you’re drowning in Hell, even a cement life jacket can look good. "
45 " The Magistrate and Empress stand arm in arm like the monster-movie American Gothic. "
46 " We’re in front of a run-down little motel, the kind you see along Route 66, but not the quaint kind you stay in. It’s more like the ones where you check in for an hour and come out with crabs or what in gentler times they called a “social malady. "
47 " Her wild hair hangs down like dead weeds and she’s wearing a dress that looks like she took it off a Disney princess, tossed it in a grain thresher, and got an ape to sew it back together. "
48 " Wherever we are, it isn’t like the Tenebrae. No desert monotony. No spiked mountains. It’s more like forest land after a nuke attack. Bare, mossy skeleton-like trees and tough tangles of gray and green weeds sprouting on low rolling hills. Pretty much everything but the weeds seems dead here. "
49 " Soon I see that I was right. A bright pinprick of light flares in the distance. It’s either Heaven or we’re about to get hit by the 3:10 to Yuma. "
50 " Look at my face. I didn’t get these scars in pillow fights.” That seems to convince her. Never doubt the power of ugly. "
51 " It’s a whole plot of flowers ranging from a few inches to a foot high. They have petals like roses, but in the center of each blossom is a bright white set of teeth. They snap and snarl at me when I get close enough to give them a once-over. The front teeth are sharp with big canine fangs at the edges. The big ones are like Rottweiler flowers, while the little ones bark and nip like Pomeranians with an attitude. There’s a good six feet of them between me and the tree. I look around for something to smash them with, but everything in here is as mean as these mutt posies. "
52 " I actually feel kind of bad for the little curs. It’s not their fault they’re a cannibal florist shop. "
53 " I’d really like to keep it for a while and play with it, but there’s a bunch of grumpy killers and angels and a soon-to-be-dead messiah waiting for me. "
54 " An angel wouldn’t know fun if it showed up in a blimp with dancing girls and a full bar. "
55 " The winners are the schemers and the ruthless who take what they want, not the suckers standing around hoping for an even break. "
56 " We nod and grunt grudging affirmatives. "
57 " The Magistrate hasn’t said a word this whole time. He just stands there like a mantis, all insect patience and killer instincts. "
58 " With a coterie of unpleasant residents doing mischief with travelers.” “What’s a coterie?” “A somewhat large group.” “How large?” “Some say an army,” said Ipos. “But a minor one.” “Why didn’t you say so? It sounds completely reasonable.” “Good.” “No, it doesn’t. I was being sarcastic.” Merihim frowned. "
59 " So now here I am, bouncing along in a truck with concrete shocks surrounded by a Hellion legion that smells like a fish-market Dumpster. I’m not usually the dragged-along-for-the-ride type. Usually, I’m the one doing the dragging, but I’m a little out of my depth here. Like Marianas Trench out of my depth. I fought in the arena long enough to know that sometimes the best strategy is to shut up, go along with the game, and make sure that someone is standing in front of me when the tentacles hit the fan. So far though, all my Cool Hand Luke plan has gotten me is a numb ass from sitting and a ringing in my ears from the engine noise. Worst of all, the unicorn is starting to smell good. "
60 " Start talking or we’re going to see if you can dog-paddle through fire. I wonder if fried Hellion tastes like spicy or original recipe? "