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The ghouls had gone completely silent, their eyes like dozens of tiny shiny moons all focused on houl chi," a third voice chimed in

"Kill her Kill her"

They see on

"Who is waiting?" I asked

"Shut up!" the leading ghoul snarled

I leaned forward and gave the leader ghoulthe countryside and growing fat froave you a chance to leave Now it’s too late Pay attention to this moment Look at the stars Breathe in the cold air This is your last night These are the last breaths you will take I will kill every one of you"

The leader ghoul snarled, dropping all pretense "You and what aric toabout werelions You don’t need an arhoul twisted his face "You’re not a werelion, meat"

"I’houl spun around

Two gold eyes stared at him from the darkness The enormous lionlike beast opened his mouth and roared Until I met him, I had never heard an actual lion roar It sounded like thunder Deafening, ravenous heart-dropping thunder that severed soic and control of your body deep inside your brain It was a blast of sound so powerful, I had seen hundreds of shapeshifters cringe when they heard it A wolf howl heard in the ht raised the hair on the back of your neck, but a lion’s roar punched through all of your training and reason straight to the secret place hidden deep inside that screahouls stopped, motionless

I opened my mouth and spat a poord "Osanda" Kneel

Poords cae, so ancient that they coic Few people knew about them and even fewer could use them, because to learn a poord, you had to own it You made it yours or it killed you I knew a handful of poords, fareven one ca For e, one he spoke fluidly and without repercussions They didn’t hurt hiic ripped out of ony The backlash bit atmust’ve blunted its teeth, because it didn’t hurt nearly as houls Their knees and elbows crunched in unison and they crashed to the asphalt It would buy er, I would’ve broken their bones

I swung h cartilage and thick hide like butter Before its dead body fell to the ground, I thrust houl and felt Sarrat’s tip pierce the tight ball of its heart

The lion’s body roiled, snapping upright Bones thrust upward; powerful muscle spiraled up the new skeleton A blink and a new htmarish mix of man and lion, seven and a half feet tall, with steel-hard houl leaped at hirabbed the creature by its throat and shook it, as if he were snapping a wet towel A sickening snap echoed through the night and the ghoul went lihoul into two separate pieces and sliced the fourth one’s throat

The ghouls woke up They swarhoul with a precise swipe Intestines rained onto the road The bitter stench of ghoul blood ed onizing scalding-hot lines across my back You want to play? Fine I needed a workout anyway

My saber beca flesh and hissing as the ghoul blood that bathed it boiled fro teeth Another fiery gash stungfree and stohmy muscles flexible and pliant The world turned crystal clear Tied, but I was faster They raked at me with their claws, but my blade found theht, every drop of blood flying past et on its edge