...

"Just before you fell asleep, you said you were going to kill His Lordship."

"Did I? I must have been very tired."

"To think it?" said Savn. "Or to say it?"

Savn waited, but Vlad made no answer to this. Savn said, "why do you hate him so much, anyway?"

Vlad's widened nostrils flared. When he spoke, his voice was almost normal. "He's a necromancer. He works with souls. When he needs one, he takes it, and does what he will; he believes it's his inalienable right to do just that with a being he thinks lesser than himself. When he has no need of a soul, he does it anyway just because he can. Do you understand what I'm saying? Does that mean anything to you? Would you like it if your life was snuffed out one day, with no warning, and for no crime, just because someone found it convenient to do so? What sort of person does that, Savn?"

Then he fell back, and he seemed to fall asleep at once.

- Athrya, Steven Brust.