Charlie N. Holmberg Quotes & Sayings

crust. It's strange, this story of mine. A tale that starts somewhere in chapter twenty and ends who knows where. — Charlie N. Holmberg

It was those dolls...so strange and disarming. Matrona had never seen their like before. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Thane leaned his chin into his palm, much the same way he had at his titling ceremony when he became a magician, looking every bit the part of bored. — Charlie N. Holmberg

No, you're not," he said, sounding much surer than she — Charlie N. Holmberg

These books you're reading . . . I question your taste, Miss Twill."

She straightened the collar of his maroon coat. "I'll read what I please, Mr. Thane."

"I have a suggestion," he said with a wry smile, stepping away and glancing back at the sunset, which had already grown ruddier. "I have a dissertation on eighteenth-century Folding basics on interlibrary loan. It's wonderfully dry and has all its nouns capitalized. I think you'll enjoy it."

Ceony frowned. "You want me to study primitive Folding techniques?"

"Only subprimitive," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. "It never hurts to go back to basics, even if you think you know them."

"I do know them."

"Are you sure?"

Ceony paused. "Is this a hint for my test? — Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony made her way down the hall, peeking briefly into her room. The bed had been remade, and she smiled. Emery's odd knack for tidiness had him folding and tucking blanket corners as though crafting a spell, and while he had demonstrated to Ceony how to properly make a bed, she'd never taken the time to mimic the art. She often kept the door to her room closed just so Emery wouldn't be tempted to rearrange her things, but with her out of the house, there was nothing to stop him.
He must be bored.
She passed her room and stuck her head into the library, but the paper magician wasn't there. The table and telegraph had both been moved to the right of the window, however. Terribly bored, then. — Charlie N. Holmberg

raspy breaths. She pressed an ear to his chest, — Charlie N. Holmberg

She tied a robe around herself even though she had no intention of leaving her room - one could never be too careful about avoiding Peeping Toms in a new place. — Charlie N. Holmberg

she exclaimed with all the anxiety of a worried mother, the sternness of an academy principal, and the relief of a farmer feeling spring's first rain on his skin. Her — Charlie N. Holmberg

It stretched forever until it met a gray-blue sky lined with pale cerise, a sky perpetually caught in the moments before sunrise. — Charlie N. Holmberg

How many men can honestly say a woman has walked their heart?" he asked. "But I can. And if you'll have me, I'd like you to stay there." Tears welled in Ceony's eyes. She didn't blink them away. Emery reached into his pocket and pulled from it a loop of white and violet paper about the width of his fist, made of dozens of tiny, crisscrossing links. Not a spell, just something crafted to be beautiful. From it hung a gold ring that glimmered rose in the sunlight. A diamond carved in the shape of a raindrop sat at its center, flanked on either side by a small emerald. The paper magician slipped the ring off the paper loop and turned it in his hands. Dropping to one knee, he said, "Ceony Maya Twill, will you marry me?" THE — Charlie N. Holmberg

From her pocket she pulled a tiny snowflake, the one she had stowed there after her first day as a Folder. She rubbed her thumb over its tiny, delicate cuts, grateful she hadn't yet washed this particular skirt. The snowflake still felt frosty, just like real snow. Snow he had made for her. All of it had been for her in one way or another, hadn't it?
In the glow of the candlelight she said, "I have to do it. I have to save him."
For she knew no one else would. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Excellent!" Mg. Thane clapped her on the shoulder and strode out of the library. "I'll be on my way. Try not to burn anything down. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Then forgive yourself!" she shouted, pushing herself back up. She pressed her palm against the wall for support. "Everyone has a dark side! But it's their choice whether or not they cultivate it. Don't you understand? Lira's exploited hers, but not you. Not you, Emery Thane. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Once a secret spread to too many minds and mouths, anyone could learn it - including — Charlie N. Holmberg

Sometimes, darling, you don't have to say it out loud. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Faith is a very personal thing, really. Just because you don't meet with a group of people once a week who believe everything exactly the way you do doesn't mean you don't believe in something. — Charlie N. Holmberg

But how will I know if he's acting strange?" Ceony asked. "He's strange already." Mg. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She stared up into the beauty of his green eyes, and for a moment she saw everything there, all the pieces of his heart that she remembered so vividly, all the smiles and unspoken words she had earned since meeting him three months earlier. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Everyone is afraid of something, right?" The — Charlie N. Holmberg

I think life would be much . . . simpler . . . if a man could believe in one solid thing," he answered, still not looking at her. "Bits and pieces here and there do no good for a man's soul. Thinking all of it is right or all of it is wrong does no good, either. Just as a magician cannot work all materials. He must choose one. But how does he know? How do these people believe in this faith, but not the others? Yet they are happy." Ceony — Charlie N. Holmberg

Perhaps she really wasn't as astute as she should be. She wondered if there was a spell for that. — Charlie N. Holmberg

He opened his mouth to respond, closed it. Pushed fingers back through his short hair, then actually laughed. "I suppose we're both horrible people. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Hi, Ceony," he said. He then stiffened like a soldier and added, "Magician Thane, it's a pleasure to meet you finally."

Bennet took a few long strides and offered his hand to the paper magician, who stood taller in height by several inches. Emery shook the apprentice's hand with an amused twinkle in his eye. Bennet continued. "I've heard a great many things about you."

"And you still shook my hand?" Emery asked. "Your mother raised you well. — Charlie N. Holmberg

He finally had something worth going home to. — Charlie N. Holmberg

There is plenty of homework to do! — Charlie N. Holmberg

Before she went to bed, she loaded her Tatham percussion-lock pistol and added its weight to her bounty of spells. One didn't always need magic to win a fight. — Charlie N. Holmberg

I feel capable of achieving anything, for nothing worldly can possibly hold me back from my ambitions now. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Do you have a large family? You seem like someone who suffered through a great deal of sisters."
"I've suffered through a great many people, but none of them sisters. I'm an only child."
That explains a few things, Ceony thought. — Charlie N. Holmberg

I'd say, Ceony," he said after swallowing, "had I not been present for the lessons, I'd think you'd found a way to enchant pasta." Ceony smiled. "You like it?" He nodded, scooping up another bite. "It tastes just as good as it smells. That's a sign of a well-rounded person. I should congratulate you." "On my person or my pasta?" - The Paper Magician — Charlie N. Holmberg

Would you humor me for a moment?"
"I believe I've been humoring you since you walked through my front door," he replied.
She smiled. "Just for a moment. — Charlie N. Holmberg

The heart pumped softly in her hands, it's PUM-Pom-poom rattling gently against her skin.
A means of living. The greatest spell she had ever crafted.
She said nothing. Even Mg. Aviosky didn't offer an explanation, which made Ceony wonder how far word of Emery's near demise had reached.
Mg. Bailey stared at the beating heart in Ceony's grasp.
And smiled. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She didn't need a paper dog reminding her what a fool brain she had inside her skull. — Charlie N. Holmberg

It's easiest to disguise what you're doing when you're shuffling or dealing," Emery explained, "or when your opponent is distracted by something that's cooking in the kitchen."
Ceony opened her mouth to protest, but instead closed it and shot him a disapproving look. He had won the game last Tuesday when Ceony had cinnamon rolls in the oven. She had been worried they would burn. Perhaps that's why Emery never kept the money she lost, regardless of the amount. The cheater. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She found Emery and Mg. Aviosky talking to two disgruntled police officers. Or rather, Mg. Aviosky stood by silently while Emery yelled at them. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony shook her head. "No. Except I lost your glider. That's how I got to the barn."
"Hmm," he replied, nodding. "I hope you closed the roof."
She hadn't. — Charlie N. Holmberg

A double-edged sword was more useful than no weapon at all. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Mad Olia had a lot to say, and most of it was nonsensical, if it could be understood at all. Like bad poetry spoken underwater. — Charlie N. Holmberg

You are mad," she whispered, walking toward the glider. It had a thin coat of dust on the top, and two handholds near the nose. No seat to sit in, no belt to strap in.
Surely Mg. Thane hadn't flown in this. No one could fly! It must have been a prototype. Surely a man couldn't find groceries a bothersome chore if he could retrieve them in this! — Charlie N. Holmberg

Where were you?" she asked before he turned the knob. He paused, and she clarified: "I came to the cottage last week to find you, to tell you about Reading, but you weren't there. Where were you?"
He glanced back at her. "You'll have to be more specific."
"Tuesday," she said. "I searched for a hint . . . waited, but you never came. I left the note on your windowsill."
A small smile touched his lips - almost a sheepish smile, of all things. Ceony had never before seen such an expression on his face. "Just out for a stroll. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She felt certain she could make the trip in a quarter hour on Emery's paper glider, but he insisted that the world wasn't ready for such eccentricity. — Charlie N. Holmberg

but with their enemies either dead, jailed, or in a perpetual state of being frozen, danger had decided to leave them alone. — Charlie N. Holmberg

To her amazement, snow began to fall. Paper snowflakes cascaded through the air, some as small as Ceony's thumbnail, some as large as her hand. Hundreds of them poured down as the paper ceiling gave way, all somehow timed just right so that they fell like real snow. Ceony stood from her chair, laughing, and held out her hand to catch one. To her astonishment it felt cold, but didn't melt against her palm. Only tingled.
"When did you do this?" she asked, her breath fogging in the library's air as more snowflakes fell like crisp confetti from the ceiling. "This would take . . . ages to make."
"Not ages," Mg. Thane said. "You'll get quicker as you learn." He still sat on the floor, completely unfazed by the magic around him. But of course he would be - it was his creation. "Magician Aviosky mentioned you hadn't exactly jumped at the news of your assignment, and I can't blame you. But casting through paper has its own whimsy. — Charlie N. Holmberg

I have a distinct feeling I've missed something rather spectacular," he said. His voice was a little rough, and he cleared it before adding, "That, and I'm incredibly hungry."
"Oh!" Ceony said, pushing past Fennel to the bread box. "I can make you something. Sit down. Do you like cucumbers? But of course you do . . . They're your cucumbers."
He quirked an eyebrow, but his eyes still grinned, and the sentiment even reflected in the tilt of his lips. "I believe I'm well enough to make my own sandwich, Ceony. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Perhaps," Mg. Katter cut in, "she's finally gotten smart. In and out, job done."
Mg. Hughes said, "No. Not her." He paused. "She knows Emery is critical to the syndicate, they all do. He's personally invested in it. That, and she's always kept a . . . keen . . . interest in him. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Put it down," Ceony said. Clearing her throat, she repeated, "Put it down or I'll shoot you, I swear I will. I'm taking this heart back with me."
Lira's face turned to a scowl so gradually Ceony hardly saw it change. "I'm not letting some ginger tart take what's rightfully mine. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how much I like your name. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She searched for a possible escape route should she need one and spied the paper skeleton immediately behind her and shrieked for the second time. Who needed ghosts to haunt a house when one could form his own demons out of paper? — Charlie N. Holmberg

to describe. It still felt like paper, of course - a medium — Charlie N. Holmberg

six-story apartment building wedged between a — Charlie N. Holmberg

Focus on your target," Emery's voice spoke in her memory as he had during his quick lesson in the new spell. "Feel it in your mind like your story illusions. If you do, the stars will hit their mark." Reaching — Charlie N. Holmberg

Prit?" she asked. "The boy you bullied in school?"

Emery scratched the back of his head. "'Bullied' sounds so juvenile . . ."

"But it's him, isn't it?" Ceony pushed. "Pritwin Bailey? He became a Folder after all?"

Emery nodded. "We graduated from Praff together, actually. But yes, he's the same."

Ceony relaxed somewhat. "So you two are on good terms, then?"

The paper magician barked a laugh. "Oh, heavens no. We haven't spoken to each other since Praff, save for this telegram. He quite loathes me, actually."

Ceony's eyes bugged. "And you're sending me to test with him?"

Emery smiled. "Of course, in a few days. What better way to prove you had no bias than to place your career aspirations in the hands of Pritwin Bailey?"

Ceony stared at him a long moment. "I've been shot to hell, haven't I?"

"Language, love. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Emery nodded. "But I'm afraid you're now a week behind in your studies." "You told me I was two months ahead!" Ceony frowned. "A week behind," he repeated, as though not hearing her. And perhaps he didn't. Emery Thane had a talent for selective hearing, she'd learned. "I've determined it's best for you to study the roots of Folding. — Charlie N. Holmberg

A young woman in distress, and they hadn't even slowed? Curse the French! — Charlie N. Holmberg

He wore normal clothes, but his dark skin contrasted with the rest of the bystanders. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Remember that you are much different now than you were an hour ago, Ceony. Before you merely read about magic; now you have it. Denying it won't make you return to ordinary. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony looked back up to see Lira grab Mg. Thane's collar and rip it down clear to his sternum, exposing his chest. "I'm finally leaving, dearie," she whispered, "and I'm taking you with me."
She plunged her right hand into his chest. Ceony stifled a cry. A golden ring of dust sparkled about Lira's wrist as Mg. Thane screamed between clenched teeth. Lira pulled her red-stained hand back out, clasping a still-beating heart between her bloodied fingers. — Charlie N. Holmberg

You didn't 'instruct' me to stay," Ceony countered. "Just to leave the dining room. Which I did."
Mg. Aviosky rubbed the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "This feels very much like detention again, Ceony. — Charlie N. Holmberg

For if rice and tuna was his for-guests meal, Ceony couldn't imagine what the man ate when he dined alone. Perhaps Mg. Aviosky had assigned her here merely to ensure England's oddest paper magician got some decent nutrition and didn't wither away, leaving the country with only eleven paper magicians instead of twelve. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Less than a week had passed since Ceony had heard this, — Charlie N. Holmberg

months of study to learn how to form the bones and joints so — Charlie N. Holmberg

where she had dissected that poor frog. The homework assignment she had turned in on the eleventh of February surfaced in her mind as fresh as if she had completed it yesterday. "Four chambers," she whispered. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Reaching into her pack again, Ceony pulled out a simple bookmark, long and pointed at one end. She handed it to Zina.
Her sister crooked an eyebrow. "Uh, what is this?"
"A bookmark," Ceony explained. "Just tell it the title of the book you're reading and leave it on the nightstand. It will keep track of what page you're on by itself." She pointed to the center of the bookmark, where she'd overlaid a small square of paper. "The page number will appear here, in my handwriting. It should work for your sketchbooks, too."
Zina snorted. "Weird. Thanks. — Charlie N. Holmberg

tall buildings and clustered streets of the city had her trapped like a mouse in a maze, without even the possible reward of cheese. — Charlie N. Holmberg

He swept a hand back through his dark hair, and in that moment Ceony saw a flicker in his eyes and a thinning of his lips. He was worried.
"Is everything . . . all right?" she asked, hesitating at the threshold of the library, unsure of her bounds.
"Hm?" he asked, his countenance smoothing between ticks of the library clock. "Quite fine. Do take care, Ceony." He walked down the hallway as far as the lavatory, where he turned around and added, "And keep the doors locked. — Charlie N. Holmberg

But you can't die!" Ceony cried, and Mg. Thane didn't so much as flinch at the volume, or at the tear that struck him on the bridge of his nose. He didn't seem aware of her at all. "You have too much to teach me! And you're too nice to die! — Charlie N. Holmberg

I am made of feathers, of bubble soap, of wind and dandelion seeds. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Never trust what your eyes see at a magician's home, Miss Twill. You know that. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Mg. Thane held his fork loosely in his hand. "I'll not starve you, if that's your worry. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Delilah cancelled the spell, snapped the mirror shut, and held it out to her. "A late birthday gift for you. Sorry I didn't wrap it, but I thought the trick would be fun."
Ceony's lips parted as she looked at the mirror. "Oh, Delilah, it's so pretty. You didn't have to - "
"Take it, take it," she laughed, shaking the compact at her.
Ceony took it with a smile and traced the Celtic ornament with her fingers as she slipped it into her purse. "Thank you."
"My birthday is in December," Delilah said matter-of-factly. "Don't forget. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She thought her ears would light with fire, her cheeks burn to ash, but the moment passed, as even the worst moments do. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She imagined Mg. Thane's hands over her own, guiding her Folds, and squinted in the candlelight to ensure all her edges aligned and all her creases were straight. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Staggering to her feet, Ceony stomped her shoe down on the hand twice before it stopped moving. She stomped it twice more for insurance. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She brought the box back into the dining room and showed it to Emery. "Which ones go here?"
Amusement touched his eyes - that seemed to be their preferred emotion - and he took the pen and paper from her, finishing the last three symbols himself as he chewed. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Why hello!" she said, and the dog jumped and pressed its front paws against her knees, then actually licked her with a dry, paper tongue. Ceony laughed and scratched behind its ears. It panted with excitement. "Wherever did you come from?"
The door squeaked again, announcing Mg. Thane's arrival. He looked a little tired, but no worse for wear, and still wore that long indigo coat. "This one won't give me hives," he said with a smile that beamed in his eyes. "It's not the same, but I thought it would do, for now."
Wide-eyed, Ceony slowly stood, the paper dog yapping in its whispery voice and nudging her ankles with its muzzle. "You made this?" she asked, feeling her ribs knit over her lungs. "This . . . this is what you were doing last night?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Were you up? I apologize - I'm not used to having others in the house again. — Charlie N. Holmberg

I can wait two years, she thought, turning the rose in her hand. I can wait two years for him, longer if need be. If he would ever love me, I'd wait my entire life. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Fold it like an animation. I'm sure you remember the rules."
Ceony nodded, but as Mg. Thane finished the last Folds, she saw up his loose coat sleeve to a bandage coiled thickly around his right forearm.
Something inside of her twanged, like a fiddle string had been stretched down her torso, fastened between throat and navel. With a soft voice, she asked, "What happened to your arm?"
Mg. Thane's fingers stilled. He glanced up at her, then to his arm. He pulled the sleeve down to the palm of his hand. "Just a bump," he said. "I often forget how much focus walking requires. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She had the feeling of reading a story with all its even pages torn out. — Charlie N. Holmberg

I'm sorry. I'm a little on edge."
"No need to remind me," Mg. Aviosky quipped just as a real person emerged from that second right, some sort of ledger in his hands.
"There are guests at the door," the man said, closing the ledger. The ensuing burst of air rustled his wavy black hair. In words pitched at a light baritone, he added, "And I would have thought the knock gave it away. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She didn't know where the factory was, but she didn't need to - the city unfolded itself before her just as every other vision had, directing her toward Emery Thane, for she ran through the secrets of his heart. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony gaped in surprise. There, wagging its little paper tail, stood a paper dog. — Charlie N. Holmberg

You are the kind of women who makes me believe in God...I don't know how else it could be possible to find you. — Charlie N. Holmberg

But a man doesn't have to have dark magic to do dark things. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She had fit him into a one-dimensional mold during their first meeting, and had done so with ease. Langston, too. How many others had she judged and set aside like that, thinking them no more than a one-sided piece of paper? — Charlie N. Holmberg

Oh, how often I had played the part of the fool, but I learned from it every time. This new pain would ultimately help me grow stronger; I knew that. But it ached so terribly, and I felt so very, very cold. In — Charlie N. Holmberg

Beside Thane - who watched the setting sun with such peace, with such light in his eyes - the "woman" seemed imaginary.
Because she is, Ceony realized, a second breeze tickling her skirt and blowing loose flower petals across her vision. These are the things Thane - Emery - hopes for.
She studied him, his peace and his contentment, the eyes that seemed to radiate life. She studied the shadowy woman beside him from head to foot. He wants to fall in love again. — Charlie N. Holmberg

She swallowed hard, feeling like a stroke of paint on a canvas far too large for her to comprehend. — Charlie N. Holmberg

On count two, she shouted, "I deserve a stipend after this!" The words echoed offbeat with the pulsing walls. — Charlie N. Holmberg

in the crook of her elbow as she went. Above her, over an apartment building and a tavern, she saw the expanse of a large square building with a flat roof and a single cylinder chimney. It was a tan-brick warehouse with dark broken windows. An abandoned bird's — Charlie N. Holmberg

Half?" Ceony asked. "How do you have half of an apprentice? — Charlie N. Holmberg

I've eaten meat only once, and when I learned of it, I emptied my stomach into the latrine. Behind — Charlie N. Holmberg

I always saw novels as an outlet for which the mind can escape this world, not be tethered to it." "I — Charlie N. Holmberg

I suppose after you see so much, the extraordinary starts to become more ordinary. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Pft . . . pft . . . , the heart pattered. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Folding his arms, Mg. Thane leaned against the table and asked, "What is the story written on?"
"What sort of question is that?"
"The kind you should answer."
Ceony's eyes narrowed. His tone carried an air of chastisement, but his expression seemed lax enough. "It's obviously written on paper."
Mg. Thane snapped his fingers. "There we are! And paper is your domain now. So make it mean something. And calm down," he said, almost as an afterthought. — Charlie N. Holmberg

As far as magic went, she knew it was paper or nothing, and she'd rather be a Folder than a failure. She — Charlie N. Holmberg

A few dead leaves fell down on top of her, carrying the scent of dew and the sound of birdsong. Taking — Charlie N. Holmberg

Fennel, giving up on Ceony's side of the bed, scampered over to Emery's feet and began tugging at his pant leg.

"Emery," Ceony said, pausing her breakfast, "what was that telegram about yesterday?"

"Hm?" he asked, shaking Fennel free. For a moment, Ceony imagined equipping the paper dog with more substantial teeth - plastic, or perhaps steel. The latter would likely weigh his head down. And what did Ceony need a dog with steel teeth for? — Charlie N. Holmberg

His laughter made me laugh, his thoughts made me think, and his silence made me listen to each intake of his breath. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Loud footfalls like sarcastic applause sounded in the hallway. Hard shoes with heels. Ceony stepped forward, but Mg. Thane held out his arm, stopping her. All the mirth had vanished from his face. He looked altered - not cheery nor distracted, but stony. Taller, and his coat seemed to bristle about him like a wild cat's fur. — Charlie N. Holmberg