The woman, now looking almost human except for some lingering hair, looked exactly like Astra
in every detail. She stood in a daze, staring at her hands stained with dragon's blood. Then she
spat out the dragon's blood and vomited on the corpse.
Astra, the Astra who'd come with Fred and Exotica, stared at her mutely, her jaw dropped open. "It seems we were wrong," said Lord Fred. "That's no werewolf. That must be a shapeshifter." "Fred?" said the woman who had taken the form of Astra, her voice weak and hesitant. "Did you escape Vincent? Did you--you--" Then she saw her other self and screamed. She fell to the earth, staring off into nothing. Fred tensed and put his hand on his sword hilt. "What does this creature mean? I've never heard of a Vincent..." "What is that?" said Astra. Her hands were shaking. "If it's a shapeshifter, what would it have to gain from taking my form? And how does it recognize Fred?" "I don't think that's a shapeshifter," said Exotica. "She's obviously not in control of her actions. She's afraid and confused." "That proves nothing," said Fred. "I've heard that these caves have powerful magic, magic that warps time and space. I've heard tales of travelers who enter the caves and leave to find that centuries have passed, or who come from the cave mouth and say that they come from the future. I have even heard of travelers in the caves encountering their... counterparts from other worlds, worlds like ours but not like ours. I do not understand it fully myself but that may be the case." "It sounds like nonsense to me," said Lord Fred. But looking at the other Astra, whose fear and confusion seemed very genuine, he wondered whether it was true.
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10/11/2010 5:33:56 PM
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