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the last time she had tried to return to Mike. |
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With a determined set to her shoulders, she looked about. She selected a grassy place to sit near a small lake, one from which a long and curved white bone protruded from a seep of the black substance at its edge. Closing her eyes, she felt the magic shift and curl about her like smoke in a breeze. |
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She found it hard to breathe, whether from anticipation or the terrible odor wafting all about. Her heart pounded in her chest like distant Indian drums. |
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Squaring her shoulders, she removed the fossil rock from her bag. She hesitated for a moment. She would never see her family again. And if Mike was still angry with her? |
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Quickly she cast aside the thought, closing her eyes, letting the magic flow through her. ''Please," she whispered aloud. "Again my need is selfish, but I wish to go." |
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Her mind reached out for the magic, and she laughed as her skin began its familiar tingle. The fossil rock began to buck and burn, but she did not let go. |
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The world shifted, tossing her one way, then another, then spinning her with a crazy, reckless force. She tasted the black pitch as it pelted her. Her eyes opened, but about her was a void. She heard a growling in the sky above. Crying aloud, she was hurtled into unconsciousness. |
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Abby opened one eye, then closed it quickly again. The sun beat relentlessly, turning the in- |
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