How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Why did you come back? And remember, it doesn't count if you're not honest. And, Nik." He paused, his gaze boring into me. "I'll know if you're lying." (3.80)
Cole has this seriously intense dynamic with Nikki where he claims to know when she's lying to him. Is it because he fed on her emotions for a century? Or is he simply so old that he knows a lie when he hears one?
Quote #2
Cole obviously had secrets he was keeping from me, and I could only think of one reason he would do that—he had a weak point. Cole valued his power. I had to assume he would conceal anything that posed a threat to that power. (6.30)
When Nikki manages to un-cloud her thinking by not being in Cole's presence, she realizes that he's probably hiding stuff from her for a reason. Specifically, she thinks he's deceiving her about all kinds of things related to his power. And this notion is enough to motivate her to get up and do something about it.
Quote #3
It was Cole. No question. But he had somehow changed his appearance, down to his hair and his skin. (10.6)
What better way to lie than through your very appearance? Cole apparently has the power to do this, though how he manages it is a mystery to Nikki. But by changing his looks, Cole manages to get closer to Nikki and throw her off guard, which is probably just one more way for him to manipulate her.
Quote #4
I tried a smile, so he couldn't see how close he really was to the truth. "I'm not sad."
"And she's not afraid to lie." (10.100-101)
On the first night Cole and Nikki meet, he observes that she seems simultaneously happy and sad. Nikki claims that she's not sad, which is of course a lie (since her mom just died). But Cole catches the lie and calls her out on it. Why would Nikki lie to a stranger? Why would Cole call her on it? Their emotional dynamic is interesting from the start.
Quote #5
At that moment, I made a decision. Jack was grasping at the faint shadow of the life we'd had before, searching for a stronghold. I could see him doing it and I couldn't let him. I'd already hurt him enough. He said he'd moved on.
So I lied. The biggest lie ever. (11.38-39)
Nikki's not happy with her decision to lie to Jack about her memories of him, but she does it anyway. She justifies it to herself by saying that it's to keep from hurting Jack even more, since she's hurt him enough already. But the lie is damaging to both of them, and she eventually ends up telling him the truth.
Quote #6
"That phone call from Meredith…"
He looked away. "What about it?"
There it was. Evasiveness. I could see it. (14.121-123)
Before the Feed, Cole is giving Nikki misinformation and social cues that make her think he's concealing something from her. And he is… just not the thing that she thinks. The secret isn't Jack's infidelity at football camp (which is not the big scary thing Nikki's made it out to be in her mind), it's that Cole is an immortal who wants to create doubt in Nikki's mind so he can suck her dry.
Quote #7
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Because I wouldn't lie to you."
I didn't know if that was true, but if he kept his word, he'd be that much farther away from Tommy and my dad. (16.94-96)
Nikki keeps making bargains with Cole, and surprisingly, he seems to be keeping them. In this case, he asks her to come to the Christmas Dance, and he promises in exchange to leave her house and her family alone. Will he keep his word? He claims he will, and Nikki's willing to take that risk for a little bit of peace and quiet.
Quote #8
I'd go to Jack. Maybe I wouldn't tell him everything, but I'd tell him enough for him to understand what was going on. (17.161)
Wow, you guys. Even when Nikki decides to come clean to Jack and tell him about going to the Everneath as a Forfeit, she's still planning on holding back. It's almost as though she's allergic to honesty.
Quote #9
"I was… hurt you weren't honest with me. About your mark. Mad about the wasted time. I wasn't about to give up, but I needed to do it on my own. For a little while." (27.71)
Jack forgives Nikki for lying to him, and tells her that he needed some space afterward because her dishonesty hurt him. Well, duh. We could've seen that coming. It just goes to show that Jack is superbly patient and loyal, since he keeps coming back to defend Nikki even after she hurts him by lying to him.
Quote #10
Orpheus was strong. He took Eurydice's debt. He went to the Tunnels in her place. I knew without a doubt that's what Mary was telling me.
But Jack could never know that. (29.54-55)
Yet again, Nikki decides to conceal the truth from Jack. This time, it's because she knows that Jack (or whoever) has the option of taking her place in the Tunnels. And she's determined not to let that happen, even though past attempts at lying to Jack have gone poorly.