Stoneslayer Quotes

“Helen slowly became aware of an unnerving red light. She lifted her head and looked around. The glow bounced off the cold stone walls and intensified quickly. It filled her with thoughts of despair and hopelessness. She tried to shake them off.
You have what’s mine! Where is it? I want it!
Helen shuddered violently. She recalled the inner voice that urged
her to use the stone to keep Prince Harnak from dying. That voice was
comforting and encouraging. This voice was oppressive and angry and
beat on her relentlessly.
“No!” she muttered. “Go away. I have nothing for you or anyone
else, not even me.”
The red light flickered out. Only the numbing cold and her utter
isolation, cheerless companions, remained.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“The Lord Steward summoned Lord James to his study. Joining
them were Lord Nimrod, the Consort, and Judith, who stood beside
the Consort and stared out the window. A winter sunrise streaked the
sky with pink-and-gold light. Judith wrestled with her anguish. This is
probably Helen’s last sunrise, and she’s no doubt in some stinking hole and
cannot even see it.
Lord James paid little heed to anyone else. All he saw was Miriam’s
face, her green eyes harsh with accusation. All he heard were her pleas.
Do something, James. Save her. Don’t let her die.
Thinking he had everyone’s attention, Shinar got to the point. “It
seems you have a daughter, James.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Helen was lost and isolated, unable to participate with the rest of
the group. She was outside the circle with no sense of any connection
to a Creator, and no concept of what unconditional love might feel
like. If any type of God had indeed created her, then that Deity had
made a mistake too cruel to forgive.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“You must tell the true story of the Arkstone and the Toltecs — and the
Turanians. Through you and your tale those who are born into humankind
in later years will remember. You will stir their soul memories.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Helen dared to look up without being invited to do so. “I cannot
thank you enough for your kindness, Lady Consort.”
“Kindness had nothing to do with it. You have skills and training I
need just now, and I intend to use you shamelessly, and expose you to
greater danger.”
“Get in line, Lady Consort,” Helen replied. “Danger-filled usury
seems to be a holiday pastime in this city.”
The Consort stopped pretending to do her needlework. “I could
have you whipped for such insolence, girl.”
“Before or after you use me.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Good evening, Sergeant,” Helen said. “What’s that?”
He held the bag out to her. “A present for Lieutenant Angel. Something
to eat on your journey.”
She took it and put it back on the desk. “Wipe that damn grin off
your face, Sergeant. A smiling Toltec is a contradiction in terms.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Lord James did not know whether to feel proud of his daughter or
throttle her. He had managed to collar her quietly among the guests at the
Shinar manor, and they were alone together in the Lord Steward’s library.
He ordered her to a sofa in front of a ceiling-high bookcase.
Helen heard the same hard quality in his voice that she had perceived the first time they spoke together. She swallowed hard. He was not in a mood to be trifled with or flouted.
“You dress and behave modestly enough, Lieutenant,” he said. “But
your language earlier today was utterly appalling. You sounded like
a Lesser Shore whore, not a proper young woman, or a professional
healer. I simply won’t have it.”
“Two out of three is a start, Lord —”
He brought the back of his hand down across her face. She leapt
to her feet, not wounded so much as angry. “Is force your answer for
everything, Lord Protector?”
“Are sarcasm and insubordination yours, Lieutenant?”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Her body faded away so far, she almost lost her connection to it. Utter
blackness enveloped her, shutting off all warmth. All light. All love. All
support. All hope. She was pinned, alone, naked, and freezing before a
beast so terrifying she struggled to avert her gaze but could not.
Horns arose from the top of what had to be a head. Fangs protruded
obscenely from a frowning hole that must have been a mouth.
Unsheathed claws threatened instant evisceration. Horrifying eyes.
Two cesspits of black fury in which red flames churned like burning
blood. They bore down on Helen, intensifying the pressure on her to
the point of agony.
Inside her head a message played over and over. You are helpless.
Helen’s fragmented thoughts spun wildly. What to do? How to stop
this nightmare?
The wretched voice roared again, like nails clashing against slate.
“Give me the stone! Now!”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“The trial awaiting Helen was known among the Toltecs as a Kazil,
a special court convened to consider only those state crimes serious
enough to be punished by death. It consisted of a joint session of
the Kinshazen and the highest-ranking priests of the Temple of Kronos,
who were referred to as the Host of the Faithful.
A Kazil was always conducted at Kindred House, the building where
the members of the Kinshazen met. Its outer layer consisted of massive
blocks of polished pink granite, which had a decidedly dark cast to it.
Kindred House was closest to Lake Shambhala of all the structures in
the Nighthall government complex.
Those summoned before a Kazil and convicted of the charges were invariably put to death within three days of the proceeding. And in only a few, very rare, instances had anyone been found innocent on trial before a Kazil.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Blinking hard, she watched two Toltec nobles disembark from the aircraft and rush up the steps. One of them argued with the priest who had
proclaimed her death sentence. The taller of the two, wearing what she
dimly registered as the uniform of the Generals Council, demanded the
keys to her shackles.
Securing them, he walked behind the post. A curious mixture of anticipation and confusion filled Helen. Although she did not know him, a tenuous sense of hope stirred deep within her simply because he was there with her.
She turned her head from side to side, trying to watch him as he
worked to free her. “Who are you, my lord? Why are you here?”
“You sent me a lecture not long ago about your duty as a healer,
Lieutenant,” he replied, on one knee behind her to unlock the manacles
around her ankles. “I am your father.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal