SOLOMON SNOW

"'There was an explosion as if the devil himself was coming to kill us. When I came round, one eye was gone. I was lucky; four men were not, and the surgeon said it was a miracle I wasn't with them.'
   It was an old lie that he had told often enough to sound wholly convincing. He added, 'There was no glory in my war. Now I cannot read for more than a few moments without suffering the worst headaches. You cannot imagine the pain.'
   Balthazar smiled ruefully. 'Trust me, I have suffered my share. Yet you keep a bookshop, a man who cannot read.'
   'It is all I know.' The words sounded pitiful to Solomon, so he added, 'I am good at trade, prices, the dealing. I know what books will sell, even if I cannot enjoy them myself...
   'My prices are fair, and I have a certain amount of knowledge that customers find helpful. I'd like to return there, once all this... business is over.'"

QUOTES

"I don't know what you have dragged me into, but I think I would rather go back to my shop. Secret societies? Women who kill poor serving girls? Chases across rooftops? It might be your life, apparently, but it's not mine."

"I thought I had seen my last fighting. But now I think I might have been hiding from life all these years since. I learned how to kill, and it seems my body has not forgotten. I will stay on this course with you, wherever it may lead."

For more information on the other main characters, click on these links:
Count Balthazar  |  Elizabeta  |  Lord Stone