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into Kyna's voice, which came from under the blanket she had pulled over her head. |
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One look at the second monster and Cyrus knew he didn't have time to play around. The reptile was already up over the foot of the bed and was sniffing like a bloodhound at Kyna's blanket-covered feet. He dodged the first reptile's venom, released his hold, dropped to the floor and rolled to the bed. Behind him, the first snazard kept right on hissing like a broken radiator and blindly waving its arms in the air. |
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He sprang to his feet and wrapped one arm around contestant number two's snout and yanked like he was cranking a lawn mower. The snazard's neck snapped with a crack like lake ice breaking and it went limp. |
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Since Kyna was no longer in immediate danger, Cyrus figured he could afford to take a second, catch his breath and try to find a weak spot in the remaining creature. From three feet away, he saw an indentation about the size of his thumb at the top of the reptile's spine. He moved a step closer for a better look. The scales at the base of the skull didn't appear to be as thick and the ridge of protective bone looked more supple. |
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What the hell, Cyrus thought. |
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He slammed the heel of his hand right at the apex of the thing's spine and its head imploded like a soft-boiled egg. With the last creature's demise, Cyrus's anger drained away like the afterbirth of a nightmare. He felt empty. The killing rage was like the memory of a toothache that had happened to someone else. When he looked up, he discovered that he was standing in front of the mirror over the alcove washbasin and he was numbed by what he saw staring back at him. |
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"Russ? Can I come out now?" |
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Good God! he thought, Kyna is going to freak. |
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He had to keep her from seeing him, but he didn't know if he could form words. |
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It came out sounding like, "Ina a air," but she stayed put. |
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Great, he thought, on top of everything else, I sound like |
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