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ful of his fur. He turned his head and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look. |
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"Do you know what you're doing?" she asked. |
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Taking two quick steps, Cyrus launched himself high into the air. As he sailed over the first row of snakes, two of the larger reptiles raised their heads and tried to sink their fangs into his exposed belly. But without being coiled, the serpents lacked the necessary thrust and flopped helplessly back to the rock. |
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Cyrus landed, and as he prepared to spring again, he felt a sharp sting in his right shoulder, followed by a burning sensation that spread all the way up his neck. Ignoring the pain, he made like a great hairy frog and vaulted to the edge of the shelf in a series of gigantic leaps. At the drop-off he paused and looked back. |
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"Jesus!" Kyna gasped. "Where did they go?" |
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The plateau was emptynot a serpent in sight. |
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But Cyrus wasn't about to take any chances. With Kyna's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, he went straight down the side of the canyonhopping from pinnacle to peak, skipping like light over the massive boulders and dodging the cactus spines until, in a matter of seconds, they reached the safety of the ravine floor. He followed the path of winding water, splashing through the cold shallows one moment and running easily over water-polished stones the next, and in less time than it had taken them to cross the parking lot at the beginning of their trek, Cyrus reached the trailhead and stopped. Through the trees he could smell the stink of human beings milling around the parking lot. |
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Kyna released her grip on his neck and slid to the ground. |
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She gingerly touched away the drops of blood around a pair of puncture wounds in his shoulder. |
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He sniffed the wound. The poison smelled bad, but the puncture marks were already closing. He shook his shaggy |
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