Lindsay Buroker > Quotes

“Trust me, I never underestimate my charm or any of my other magnificent attributes. They work great on women. Alas, men tend to see me as an unwelcome rival. You, he might listen to. You're good at talking people into things."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I'm perched in the rafters of a cannery, at risk from a man-slaying magical creature, and spending time with a drunk, a gangster, and an assassin at . . . what time is it?”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“Waiting for the right people isn't going to get us where we want; we need to go out and find..." She groped for the right word. A mission? A project? A job?

"Trouble?" Sicarius suggested.

"An endeavor that will help the city and prove to the emperor that we're undeserving of the bounties on our heads and we're invaluable resources to his regime."

"Trouble," Sicarius said.”
― Lindsay Buroker

“You can only fight one man at a time with a sword, but, with a pen, you can compose a lecture to bore legions of enemy troops to death.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Blood and Betrayal

“Here’s the plan: I’ll go in and palaver while you surround them.”

“Surround them,” he said. “By myself.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Sicarius,” Amaranthe said quietly.

He bent low, eyes toward her face.

With the men laughing and talking up front, and the lorry clacking and chugging as the stack billowed black smoke into the air, this was scarcely a romantic spot. But maybe it did not matter. His response would not likely be to wrap her in his arms and kiss her. Whatever response he gave — if he gave one at all — she anticipated it would sting.

“I…uhm…” Amaranthe forced herself to meet his gaze. “I love you.”

A long moment passed. She did not remember breathing.

Sicarius nodded infinitesimally. “I know.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Well, I’m freezing. Either one of us is going to have to check or we’ll have to start cuddling.”

Sicarius climbed the ladder.

“There’s something wrong with a man who chooses to face death over cuddling with a woman.”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“Sicarius had the personality of a particularly bland, pointy stick.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Deadly Games

“I didn’t faint, I passed out in a manly way,” Sespian muttered.”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“Why, Sicarius, is it possible you have a playful side beneath your razor-edged knives, severe black clothing and humourless glares?”
― Lindsay Buroker, Deadly Games

“My father used to say some families are made by shared blood and some families are made by spilled blood”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Just so I'm clear...you thought a brothel would be a suitable place to host a birthday party for a woman?”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Well?” she asked.

“Well, what?”

“You’re not going to answer?”

“You didn’t ask a question.”

“I did too.”

“A question is denoted by a higher pitched tone at the end of the sentence. Your voice never did that.”

Curse him, his eyes glinted with amusement. “Sicarius! This isn’t the time for you to practice being whimsical.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Then I guess Sicarius will have to follow you around all night, hovering over your shoulder while you eat. Breathing down your neck. Sharing your salad. Hogging your croutons.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Deadly Games

“Friendship is as selfish as any other relationship, perhaps more so because it masquerades as something noble. I am more comfortable with those who approach me with blades drawn.”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“Sicarius, as usual, regarded her with the blandness of a particularly featureless rock, then walked away.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Deadly Games

“Asking isn't what I had in mind,” Sicarius said.
“Yes, I can see that.” Amaranthe planted a hand on his chest, fingers splayed. “Why don’t you give Yara and me a few minutes alone to discuss this? I’ll brief you on whatever we decide to do before we do it. And you can loiter nearby in case anything goes wrong.”
His face didn't soften exactly—and he gave that hand a long look before meeting Amaranthe’s eyes— but the hostility he’d been oozing did seem to lessen. “Assassins don’t loiter,” he said.
The comment startled Evrial, and she wondered if she’d heard it correctly. The man hadn't uttered much that could be classified as humor, not with her around anyway. Maybe he was simply feeling indignant.But Amaranthe smiled. “What do you call it?”
“Standing. Purposefully.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Beneath the Surface

“Sespian opened his mouth, paused, closed it, then shook his head ruefully. "It's very easy to be drawn into what you're saying, and I catch myself wanting to nod and agree. Maybe I should take notes on your technique."
Amaranthe blushed and felt like she should stutter an apology, but she hadn't done anything to be embarrassed about, had she?
"It's her eyes", Sicarius said, startling her..
Yara glanced over her shoulder at him, apparently, surprised to hear him speak, but soon turned her attention back to the tracks. She seemed to be believe she should remain silent for the discussion.
Sespian scratched his jaw. "Yes, maybe so. They're like a doe's. Warm and earnest and..."
"Wholesome. Sicarius's eyes glinted, and Amaranthe scowled at him.”
― Lindsay Buroker

“You’re an awful conversationalist,” Amaranthe said. “How is it possible I prefer spending time with you?”

“Most people don’t want to talk to assassins.”

“I’m a unique individual.”

“Yes,” he said, deadpan.

“I’m never quite sure if you’re complimenting me…or not.”

His eyes glinted as they passed a streetlamp. “Good.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Consider ourselves fortunate."
Maldynado's jaw slackened. "How so?"
"Amaranthe's birthday is next week and, with our limited funds, I didn't think I'd be able to find her a gift."
"So, you're getting her...dead bodies?"
"Perfect, don't you think?" Books smiled.
"Most women like jewelry and flowers."
"Do you honestly believe she would prefer jewelry over a mystery to solve?"
Maldynado jiggled the key fob thoughtfully, then nodded toward the bodies. "Can we say one is from me?”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Oh, they’ll be punished.” Amaranthe smiled and pointed at the heretofore silent Sicarius.
“Pa here, he’s the farm dis-ci-pli-nar-i-an. He was a soldier and he knows how to lay into a man an’ make him wish he’d never thunk of running off. Ain’t that right, Pa?” She smiled up at Sicarius.
“Yes,” he said flatly. “Ma.”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“You never say what I wish you’d say, and you frequently say nothing at all when it’s clear you should say something, so it’s not entirely fantastical that you’d say a certain thing when you mean something else entirely.” He opened his mouth, shut it, and considered the ground briefly before responding. “I remember studying Fleet Admiral Starcrest’s Mathematical Probabilities Applied to Military Strategies as a young boy and finding that less confusing than what you just said.” Now it was her turn for a stunned pause before answering. “Sicarius?” She laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Was that a joke?” “A statement of fact.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Amaranthe decided not to explain that it hadn't been a guess, that Sicarius reserved his ultra icy glare for those who threatened him, those who spoke disrespectfully about his son, and those who dared invite Amaranthe to picnic dinners in the park.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Forged in Blood I

“We care about you.”

Books snorted. “You, I believe do. The others, less so.”

“Maldynado would be bored if he didn’t have you to trade insults with.”

“I see. And Sicarius?”

“Ah, he believes you’re progressing with your training.”

“And that’s equivalent to caring about me?” Books asked.

“Most people he ignores. Or kills.”

“True.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Sitting in the shadows, with a killer, in an empty building, gazing at the corpse of another killer. When had her life grown so strange?”
― Lindsay Buroker, The Emperor's Edge

“Sicarius, are you ready for a hike?”

She faced him only to find he had armed himself—more so than usual. In addition to his daggers and throwing knives, he held two rifles, two pistols, two cargo belts laden with ammo pouches, and a bag of his smoke grenades.

“Or a single-handed all-out assault on the forest?”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“Sicarius wore his usual guess-my-thoughts-if-you-can-mask, though she sensed he did not approve.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Deadly Games

“She decided to forgo her ambitions of creating a cohesive unit. An occasionally functional one with tendencies towards violence seemed more within reach.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Forged in Blood I

“I reckon if you care for someone and you can't have their love, you can either be a spiteful bastard about it or you can try your damnedest to make sure they're going to find some happiness in the world.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Encrypted

“I wouldn’t go for a swim without consulting you first. But, given your past history working for Hollowcrest and skulking around dark places, I wonder if you have any insight into these tunnels.”

“Skulking?”

“Yes, is that not what assassins call it?”

“We call it working.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents

“If trailing along with me is boring you,” she said, “you could go check on Books and Maldynado in the real estate office.”

He did not speak at first, and she thought he might be considering it, but then he said, “My presence unnerves Books.”

“Your presence unnerves everyone.”

Amaranthe grinned over her shoulder to soften the comment. “Not you,” Sicarius said.

“No, but I’m told my sanity is questionable.” She wriggled her eyebrows at him.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Dark Currents