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    Chupacabra's Song
    Chupacabra's Song
    Chupacabra's Song
    Ebook23 pages22 minutes

    Chupacabra's Song

    By Jim Hines

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    About this ebook

    In the Magic ex Libris series, Nicola Pallas is one of the most powerful magic-users in the world, able to overpower her enemies with little more than a whistle. She's also known for raising chupacabras in her barn.

    This 5000-word short story introduces Nicola as a young girl, new to magic and unfamiliar with her potential. A woman brings a strange creature to Nicola's father, the local veterinarian. That injured animal--Nicola's first encounter with a chupacabra--leads her into a larger world of magical poachers, supernatural creatures, and danger.

    It also offers the possibility of a life-changing friendship. Assuming Nicola survives.

    The story is set approximately twenty years before the events of Libriomancer.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJim Hines
    Release dateDec 23, 2015
    ISBN9781311586896
    Chupacabra's Song

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      Book preview

      Chupacabra's Song - Jim Hines

      Chupacabra’s Song

      by Jim C. Hines

      Copyright © 2014

      Originally published in Kaleidoscope, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios.

      This short story is part of the Magic ex Libris series, and takes place approximately 20 years before the events of Libriomancer.

      Chupacabra’s Song

      Nicola Pallas ripped three paper towels from the roll and wiped down the stainless steel table of exam room two. The fat, gray-chinned Rottweiler who had come in to get his remaining teeth cleaned had left an impressive mess.

      In her father’s words, the dog was a butt-wagger. When he was happy, his whole body showed it. When he was afraid, he showed that, too. The poor thing had probably begun peeing the moment his paws touched the cold table.

      Nicola didn’t blame him. Her father ran one of the busiest veterinary offices in southern Illinois, which created a constant flow of people and animals through the waiting room, all barking and yowling and hissing at the strange smells and sounds. Nicola avoided the main office as much as possible, preferring the relative calm of the small animal room in back.

      Sopping up the warm urine didn’t bother her, but if she didn’t take precautions, the sharp eucalyptus tang of the disinfectant would make her vomit as soon as she pulled the trigger on the plastic bottle. She turned up the volume of her music, fitted a latex nose clip over her nostrils, grabbed two more paper towels, and sprayed the table and floor.

      Her nose clip was attached

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