Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Deanna Raybourn

Quote by Deanna Raybourn

“The man whirled, his hands still gripping the animal's skin, his face perfectly illuminated by the fire. He was half in shadow, and the shadow revealed him slowly. His left eye was covered by a black leather patch, and thin white scar raked his brow and the cheekbone below. The carried on, down the length of his neck, into the thick black beard, twisting under his collarbone and around his torso. They marred only the skin, I noted, for the muscles beneath were whole and strong, and the entire impression was one of great vitality and energy, strength unbridled. He looked nothing so much as a fallen god working at a trade. "Hephaestus at the forge," I murmured, recalling my mythology....”

Quote by Deanna Raybourn

Work

A Curious Beginning

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn

Deanna Raybourn is an Australian author of historical novels, known for her works that blend suspense and romance set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in England. Born on June 17, 1968, Raybourn graduated from the Australian National University. more

You May Also Like

“Ahhh." Anubis narrows his eyes at me. “I’ve given you inspiration. Now you’re thinking about bringing the lightbulb to ancient Egypt. It would be a hit––all those dark tombs.” You. I was thinking about you. His eyebrows rise. “Huh? Me?” Fluorine uranium carbon potassium. I said that out loud. "I mean," I stutter, "I was thinking about…unimolecular reactions.”

“I could have killed you,” I snarl. “You think you can become a god. You always meddle and change and create. No, that is not the way. What is shall always be. What is known shall always stand.” “Then you’ve never been in a laboratory!”

“He stares blankly, then leaves the room like a ghost—never truly here. I gaze at the doorway. I do not know if he means for me to follow him. It’s a choice then. And I realize that this is no choice at all, but rather a sentence. By love or by evil, somehow I am bound to Tutankhamen. It’s not a choice any more if I will follow him, but a question of what I will do when I catch him.”

“From beneath the folds of his robes, he reveals a small steel dagger. “You have tempted fate so many times already and still yield to it. Time for history to rewrite itself. Time for Tutankhamen to have a new ending.” Aten holds the hilt out to me. I stare at the dagger. The hilt is bronze, carved with sun discs that glow when they catch the sun. “What do you want me to do with that?” Aten smiles a white, gaping grin. “Kill Tutankhamen and carve out his heart.”

“If I wasn't discovering something, if I wasn't studying, well then, what was I doing? I know I wouldn’t be happy unless I made a difference. So what was the happiness of a moment worth against the happiness of my life?" I let out a breathy laugh and squeeze his hand. "I guess it doesn't matter now.” I stare out over camp, but a glassy sadness blurs my vision. “Have you ever wanted something so much that everything else in the world seemed so small?" He tilts his head toward me, narrowing his eyes. "I'm beginning to.”