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coal-black and icy-wet wolf nose. |
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"Wouldn't you like to change back?" she purred. |
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He didn't think so. After the freedom of being a wolf, changing back into a man was like crawling into a mummy suit. His own skin isolated him from the natural world, dulling his senses and giving his life as much zest as a shuffleboard tournament. |
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Kyna cupped her breasts and rubbed the tips against his nose. |
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All at once he remembered there was something to be said for being human. |
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The thin man with the goatee sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair in the corner of the room while his master slept fitfully on the bed. The Dark Man's eyes were open, his body twitching as he communed silently with the grisly gods that renewed his powers. |
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The goateed man's job was to maintain the charms of protection and to wake his master at the first sign of a breach. This should have taken all of his concentration, but he was as nervous as a cat and his mind kept wandering. The Dark Man was so confident about the upcoming confrontation with the woman and her friend. Yet how could that be? the goateed man mused. This Trigg was no longer a man, but a creature with powers that seemed to grow exponentially with the rising of each moon. The goateed man had no experience with such creatures, yet even as the Dark Man decried Trigg as an opponent, the goateed man suspected that his master was worried too. |
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What was such a creature capable of? True, the goateed man allowed, his master had experience and great powers. Plus, the Dark Man would be able to select the time and place of the confrontation. Still, with such a creature . . . |
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The goateed man got up from the chair as quietly as possible and tiptoed over to the dresser. He unzipped his master's travel kit and removed a small velvet pouch. Inside the pouch was a multifaceted crystal about the size of an ostrich's egg. Cra- |
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