Serafina And The Twisted Staff Quotes
"If death by tooth and claw came leaping at her out of the darkness, she’d fight. Or she’d run. She’d do something."
"There it is, she thought, feeling the thumpty-thumpty of his heartbeat in her bare hand. There’s the fight."
"She didn’t kill the wild things she hunted, didn’t need to, but they didn’t know that, darn it! She was terror! She was death!"
"Just move slowly away at first, not too fast – that’s the way of it. And keep your eyes and ears open next time, even if you got a beetle to chew on, you hear? There are far meaner things in these woods than me."
"The midnight air was chilled and quiet and perfectly still, like God was holding his breath."
"She was a twelve-year-old girl, but she had never lived what anyone other than herself would call a normal life."
"She wasn’t a normal, everyday child. She wasn’t an any day child. She was a creature of the night."
"She was neither forest nor house, neither night nor day."
"Seeing the house, a gentle warmth filled her heart. She was glad to be coming home."
"She was relieved to see him safe and out for what looked like an early-morning walk. This was surely a good sign that all was well at Biltmore."
"Seeing her friend safe and sound, Serafina smiled and felt her muscles relaxing."
"Serafina could no longer tell if Braeden was simply being polite or if he actually wanted to be this girl’s friend, but as they rode out into the trees she felt a strange queasiness in her stomach that she’d never felt before."
"‘It’s all right, Sera – you’re safe here,’ her pa said as he took her into his thick arms and huge chest and held her."
"You’re ’bout as civilised as a weasel, girl. I shoulda been schoolin’ ya more about the folk upstairs and how they go ’bout things, ’cause it hain’t like us."
"She tried to think through everything she had seen the night before, wondering if she’d missed any clues."
"I don’t know. After he got out of the carriage, he sent the carriage on towards Biltmore. I think I saw the horses in the stables. And I saw a strange man with Mr Vanderbilt this morning. Did anyone unusual arrive at the house last night?"
"I’m sure you’ve heard the stories same as me, an old man with a walking stick wandering the shadows of the forest, driftin’ in and out of the mist, leading folk off the road and getting them lost in the swamps."
"Quit yer snifflin’ and get your wits about ya, girl."
"The sight of the exploding porcelain took Serafina’s breath away."
"It took every ounce of her courage to remain standing there in her shame."
"Serafina had never seen Mrs Vanderbilt act so cold and businesslike."
"The palm trees, for example, were particularly untrustworthy."
"As Serafina followed the matron through the Entrance Hall, she wiped her teary eyes and tried to think about what her pa would tell her at this moment."
"She had spent her whole life prowling in this house, ducking and darting, and never once had she ever knocked over or broken anything."
"You may step through the door," the matron said. "They are expecting you."
"I’m the Chief Rat Catcher. I track down vermin."
"She felt like she was tied up in a poke sack and was just about to get chucked into the river."
"It was like there were little flaws in her memory."
"‘It appears to be a clasp from an article of clothing,’ she said, trying to keep her voice as flat and undisturbed as possible."
"‘I believe a powerful force must have surprised him and killed him,’ she said. ‘Everyone in the mountains knows that the forest is filled with many dangers.’"
"‘It’s those nasty wolfhounds I’m worried about,’ she said. ‘They were truly vicious beasts.’"
"You’re like some kind of wild creature! You don’t belong here!"
"Something’s going to happen! It won’t just be a dog next time."
"Filled with shame and anguish, tears streaming down her face, she leapt to her feet."
"She had bitten a footman and snarled at everyone. Blood all over her hands, she had snapped and hissed like a trapped animal."
"She didn’t belong in the forest or at Biltmore. She didn’t belong anywhere."
"A waterfall that fell, and fell, and fell, down one rock after another."
"Families were supposed to stick together no matter what."
"It felt like she was flying through soft, thickened, ice-cold air."
"Part of growing up, part of living, was choosing which paths to follow."
"Sometimes it seemed to her as if the whole world was made of light."
"Twelve years ago, the conjurer killed your father."
"Stay bold!" your father used to say when the others lost heart. It has been the mantra of the catamounts ever since. "Stay bold!"
"Somehow, we must figure out a way to fight," she said fiercely. "I will not turn my back on the people of Biltmore."
"I'm sorry, Waysa," Serafina said, shaking her head. "I have to go back."
"But I do need them," she said. "And, more than that, they need me."
"When something bad happens, Sera, no matter how foul and painful it is, ya don't go runnin' off," he told her. "Ya come home, girl. Ya come to me and we talk about it, whatever it is. That's what kin are for. You got it?"
"I guess, when you're away, the rats will play," her pa said. "Them darn varmints chewed the insulation clean off, then bit right through the copper core. Never seen anything like it."
"Friendship is more powerful than the strongest wire."
"But I was the one who trained them," he said, lowering his head. "I never thought one of my horses would ever do something like that."
"We all have our faults," Serafina said. "And you're altogether too well dressed," Serafina said. "We all have our faults."
"I know that you and I are very different," Serafina said, "but I am not your enemy."
"Y’all better go on upstairs and get changed for dinner. When you go to bed tonight, stay safe. Lock your doors. Tomorrow, get that information we talked about. And keep your eyes peeled for new clues."
"I couldn’t sleep when you were gone, and I’m sure not going to sleep now that you’re back."
"My pa grills chicken on the cookstove in the workshop."
"I’m none too eager to run away again – believe me."
"For the first time in my life, I felt like I didn’t just belong, but like I was the glue that held the world together."
"I learned long ago that whether it’s a delicate tea rose or a three-foot oak, planting and growing requires an immeasurable amount of patience."
"Envision what you want to be, then you’ll find a way to get there."
"It’s not the horse I’m worried about! You should’ve stayed with the others."
"None of us have ever seen anything like that."
"Let's meet on the back loggia in half an hour."
"It wasn’t until Serafina heard the terrible clatter of the four stallions’ hooves in Biltmore’s courtyard that she began to understand."
"The only way she was going to defeat Rowena was to get the staff."
"She knew if the bear got hold of her, it’d be the end of her."
"But she couldn’t save him. She couldn’t even save herself!"
"Rowena could control many things, but she could not control him."
"She could only become what she could envision."
"She had been trying to envision her mother in her mind all this time, but she realised now that it wasn’t her mother she had to see."
"But whatever she decided to do with it, it was gone."
"She looked at Braeden. He smiled and lay down on the ground with her and the other catamounts."
"It was through the darkness of the blackest night that she had come to love the brightness of the rising sun."
"‘I believe in everything,’ Serafina said very seriously, remembering all that she had seen."
"‘Merry Christmas to you as well, Serafina,’ Braeden said. ‘I’m glad we’re finally home.’"