Kacy Rudh

“If there was one thing a former sniper could do well, it was wait. Patiently. Quietly. Without a sound. Barely a movement. Just him, a quiet mind and his breath.”
― J. Rose Black, Losing My Breath

“Wigmore turned towards the window. A column of armoured vehicles was making its way down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace. As he watched, he cursed himself for not remaining at the hotel. He looked at Merlin. ‘Very well. Go ahead with your bloody questions.”
― Mark Ellis, Death of an Officer

“Straightway [Juno] sought the filthy slimy shack
Where Envy dwelt deep in a dreary dale,
A gruesome sunless hovel, filled with frost,
Heart-numbing frost, its stagnant air unstirred
By any breeze, for ever lacking warmth
Of cheerful fire, for ever wrapped in gloom.
...
The door flew wide and there
She saw foul Envy eating viper's flesh,
Fit food for spite, and turned her eyes away.
...
[Envy's] cheeks are sallow, her whole body shrunk,
Her eyes askew and squinting; black decay
Befouls her teeth, her bosom's green with bile,
And venom coats her tongue. She never smiles
Save when she relishes the sight of woe;
Sleep never soothes her, night by night awake
With worry, as she sees against her will
Successes won and sickens at the sight.
She wounds, is wounded, she herself her own
torture,”
― Ovid

“Buying loyalty can be as effective as fear when one’s rival is poorer than oneself.”
― K. Ritz, Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master