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121 " The eyes were pools of gray, like rainwater puddled on weathered wood, and the pools were deep and cold, and from far down in them emanated a phosphorous glow. "
― Dean Koontz , Devoted
122 " prediluvian. "
123 " Intelligence gave rise to culture, culture to ethics. "
124 " Stories were as delicious as food. As important as food. Bella could not live without stories. Stories were the greatest blessing of intelligence. They were food for the soul. They were medicine. "
125 " he struck Megan as oleaginous, not trustworthy. These days, Americans seemed attracted to such politicians if they were exceptionally gifted at virtue signaling while they slandered their opponents. "
126 " A wyvern was a particularly ferocious two-legged dragon with a wicked barbed tail. "
127 " failure can be the father of success if one learns from the errors made. "
128 " They are not selfish or envious or arrogant. Join us for a tomorrow where the world is not deformed by the power mad, where every life matters, and where so much will be within our reach that once seemed forever beyond our grasp—even the stars. "
129 " But if you understood the cold indifference of nature, as dogs did, then you did not hope to live forever in this violent world. You tried instead to make the world better while you were here, and you put your hope in another, better world. "
130 " This kid had broken her heart a thousand times, but with his sweetness, he had also healed it a thousand times. "
131 " The blustering night pressed its featureless face against the windows, its voice groaning in the glass, seeking admission, and the attic creaked as though some intruding weighty presence coiled among the rafters in that high realm "
132 " In a voice astringent with contempt, Shacket said, “You say contaminated, I say coronated.” “Coronated? Crowned? Made king of what?” “Of all that will come to be. "
133 " Two species on this planet had been bonded for many thousands of years. Maybe more than a hundred thousand. Dogs and people. "
134 " The what was always revealed. The why of things, however, was more often shrouded in eternal mystery. "
135 " Those seven words were spoken with quiet confidence that either confirmed Shacket’s insanity or belied it. Carson was disturbed to find that he could not be sure which. “Whatever happened to you,” Carson said, “whatever you’ve been coronated with—are you communicable?” “So this is why you’re here. Ready to inflame the population with fear of a plague.” Shacket shook his head and looked again at the window. “You’re getting tiresome, Doctor.” “No bacteria, no viruses?” “When a king coughs, does he then infect those around him with royalty? "
136 " For Megan, solitude allowed contemplation and introspection, which led to acceptance of her loss, and peace came upon her sooner here than it might have elsewhere. "
137 " improvident. "
138 " When the wind subsided slightly, Shacket brought his radiant gaze back to his visitor. “I am becoming the king of beasts.” Here was the more obvious evidence of insanity that Carson had expected when he’d first entered the room. “King of what beasts?” “This is a world of beasts, Doctor. Human beings are just one of the many in the zoo. I’m becoming king of them all. "
139 " You could live a thousand lives through stories—and learn to shape your own life into a story of the best kind "
140 " That truth was essential for the flourishing of love. "