D
“Hush,” he snaps. “I'm pulling strings, and no matter what conspiracy theorists think, this isn't actually as simple as it sounds. I need to focus.” He is determined to ensure that if he does go to South America and violate the Accords, there will be no witnesses left to tattle on him. That means isolating a certain Mr Ramón Mercader from any and all of his allied miscreants.
Phil obviously isn't in the mood to be helpful, because he demands: “You've got strings that lead to a cartel in Bolivia?”
“Better believe it.”
“As in?”
Tony sighs and gives himself a break from the analysis. It's close to midnight, and his plans for today included a shower, a nightcap and, maybe, if he was lucky, a cuddle. He's got a right to be cranky. “About ninety-two percent of Bolivian gross domestic product is generated from ventures owned by the S.I. Care to guess if any of those have ties to cartels?”
“I don't need to guess.” Agent Agent chews on that for a while, giving Tony a chance to work. Once his head has crunched the numbers, he asks: “Do you own many countries?”
Fuck this. Tony cracks his knuckles and puts on a guileless expression, never mind that his friend can't see it. “Uhh... corporate secret, Phil? But, circa, more than I did a week ago?”
“You're taking over the world. Fuck.”
“Hey, I'm not switching sides!” Tony whines. He could, but it would feel like trashing everything he's worked for up until now, and he values his effort as worth more than that. “I'm not suddenly a supervillain just because I've stuck my fingers into a couple more pies-”
“Well, Miss Potts is going to be a ruthless but efficient dictator.” Okay, that sounds almost like amusement.
“She not-me'd out,” Tony grouses, implying that Pepper is fully informed about his plans. Which she is not. Because she would disagree and then try to make him stop, and he doesn't want to fight with her about that.
It's the fight that could break their friendship for real.
“Tony,” Phil says in that voice.
Tony sighs again. “Jay, do you think you could explain the strategy to Phil before he grasses on us to any shadowy intergovernmental organizations?”
“To stop a werewolf, get a witch/To stop a witch, get a sorcerer/To stop a sorcerer, get a vampire/To stop a vampire, get a dragon/To stop a dragon, get a demon/To stop a demon, get another demon.”
“Death doesn't scare me. Death will never scare me. The only thing that scares me is you.”
Johnnie was... pratty and annoying. Which made him strangely adorable. And for an observant man, continiously compared to Sherlock Holmes, he is strangely unobservant when it comes to himself and his. Stubborn, yet charming.
Grimm (I'm still LOL-ing at the name, despite the fact that I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED. :D) was no less stubborn and acting stupid. So they are actually perfect for each other.
I loved the Chris and Sable cameo, and the Phil and Zach ones.
“Ninety percent of most magic merely consists of knowing one extra fact.” ‘Just be yourself,' said Sweeper. ‘See it through. There'll come a timewhen you'll look back and see how it all made sense.'‘...You'll reach the shore. You must. Otherwise-‘‘-there's no shore,' said Sweeper.Who really knew what evil lurked in the heart of men?ME.Who knew what sane men were capable of?STILL ME, I'M AFRAID.There was the beast, all around him. And that's what it was. A beast.Useful, but still a beast. You could hold it on a chain, and make itdance, and juggle balls. It didn't think. It was dumb. What you were,what you were, was not the beast.***‘How dare you? How dare you! At this time! In this place! They did thejob they didn't have to do, and they died doing it, and you can't givethem anything. Do you understand? They fought for those who'd beenabandoned, they fought for one another, and they were betrayed. Men like them always are. What good would a statue be? It'd just inspire new fools to believe they're going to be heroes. They wouldn't want that. Just let them be. For ever.'
Still my favorite.
Моето пътуване из Колелото на Времето приключва тук. Може би ако бях хванала поредицата след като прочетох Властелина, щеше повече да ми хареса, но към днешна дата ми е твърде разширена. И честно да си каже, не ми пука особено какво ще се случва с когото и да било. Просто героите не ми действат емоционално по никакъв начин.
It's jarring how out of nowhere that last chapter came. Also, generally speaking, there is nothing in The Chose I would like to revisit.
I'm going to reread True, it's just necessary, what with the mess this was.
I'm curious wtf is happening to Throe, but it remains to be seen ifI'm curious enough to make myself go through another BDB book.
The Prince gazed up at the guard from under his feather.‘There are two Veretian cloth merchants named Charls,' said the guard.‘It's a common name in Vere,' said Young Charls.‘More common with every day,' said Lamen.The guard turned towards the Akielon voice, and Lamen smiled at him, an easy smile full of his good nature, his tousled curls, and the relaxed temperament of his southern Akielon birth. He had a dimple in his left cheek. Charls watched the guard unwinch a fraction.‘You do have nice eyes,' said Lamen.‘Did you miss me? I brought you something.' The Prince tossed a sweetmeat to Lamen, who caught it with a hint of amusement.‘You're not going to sit in my lap this time?' Lamen settled comfortably on the bench.The Prince said, ‘Charls will faint.'Lamen and the Prince were together at the tree edge. The rabbits were on the ground, except for the one that Lamen was holding by the leg, gingerly. The Prince was wiping his eyes, laughing.‘If we just knew which end to start with,' Lamen said.It was suddenly obvious that Lamen had no idea what to do. With a clear moment of insight, Charls saw that Lamen was not a cloth merchant's assistant. He was the prince's private companion, and had no real skills whatsoever.‘Tell me where you each hail from,' said Alexon.‘I was born in Varenne,' said Charls. ‘A rich trading province, with an excellent trade tariff system. I have always found the revenue management very good there.'‘Arles,' said the Prince. ‘The viper pit.'‘Ios.' Lamen stretched out, looking relaxed, his limbs warm in the firelight. ‘But I was brought to Arles, where we met.'‘I thought you were Patran,' said Guilliame.‘No, I was born in the capital.'‘My cousin told me,' said Alexon, proudly, ‘he met a man who had once been a famous gladiator from Isthima. He lasted only minutes in the arena with Damianos. But afterwards Damianos had him in his chambers for six hours.'‘You see? How could a man like that resist a beauty like the Prince?' Guilliame sat back triumphantly.‘Seven hours,' said Lamen, frowning slightly.‘To the alliance,' agreed Alexon, the words echoing back from those seated around the fire. To the alliance.Charls saw Lamen lift his cup and incline it towards the Prince, who echoed his gesture, the two of them smiling a little.‘Just think, Your Highness, if that rogue hadn't spilled your wine in the tavern, none of this would have happened,' said Charls.There was a brief pause in the sunlit room as they spoke the next morning, their effects half packed for travel.‘You don't drink wine,' said Lamen, a shoulder leaned against the wall.‘It was a special occasion,' said the Prince.‘Should I be glad you aren't cornering a trade empire?' said Lamen.‘We'll make another kind of empire,' said the Prince.‘If you ever find yourself in need of help or a trade, I hope you will come to me. I think you would make a fine merchant's assistant.'
It is a typical Megan Derr book and I enjoyed every page.
Loved the Sable cameo even if it was a pre Chris Sable. I'd love to read about Chris finding out and meeting Avalon. Also I very much would like to read about Sable and Chris meeting Devlin and Midnight. And Sable meeting Grim. All at different times so it's not cluttered with people, of course.You don't know how much I want to read this.
