Katie

“Sparkling…? I bent close, frowning. It was only then that I saw the beautiful golden necklace curled on the papers, with the sapphire glinting at its heart. Lockwood had taken it out of the old crushed box that his mother had kept it in. Even in the dusk, the gem was glorious, undying and undimmed. It was as if all the light and love it had gathered in the past was shining out on me. I stood gazing at it for a long time. Slowly, carefully, I picked up the necklace and hung it around my neck. Then I put on my jacket and ran for the stairs.”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Empty Grave

“The door closed; almost imperceptably, the lift began to rise.
'Going up,' the skull said. 'Next floor: cutlery, condiments and underpants.”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Empty Grave

“Let's have the baddish one first,' George said. 'I prefer my misery to come at me in stages, so I can acclimatize on the way.”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Empty Grave

“Who says I’m dying? Did you see the amount of sheer effort it took me to escape the land of the dead? I’m not going back in now!”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Empty Grave