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uncomfortably, wanting very much to remain attached to his
private parts.
"Did you think you could take me unawares?" The
ogre's smile widened, showing a disturbing number of
jagged teeth. "I sensed a kasha in residence the moment I
moved here. I felt your power return to you when you were
claimed. Poor little kasha. All that magic and it's merely at
the beck and call of some idiot human. What does your
master want with me? Does he think I have a hoard of gold
in the basement?"
Kasha brushed a paw over his tail, trying to appear as
calm as his host and jailer. "Actually, no. It's the house that
interests him. Apparently you've stolen it from a friend of
his."
"Stolen? Please be careful with such words. They could
be considered libelous." He flicked his fingers and a folded
sheaf of paper appeared in his hand. "I have the legal deed
to this property, free and clear, from the bank which held the
remainder of the mortgage. Would you like to glance
through it to satisfy your, no doubt, overactive feline
curiosity?"
Kasha took the papers gingerly from dubiously clean
hands ending in black talons. He had his doubts if a bank
could truly grant such property rights prior to seizing land in
a foreclosure, but the documents certainly were impressive
and would no doubt cause a tangled legal mess in civil
court. He had to suppress a snicker at the grantee named
in the deed, a Mr. Ignacious M. Ogre, Esq. Does no one
possess the imagination for good names any longer?
He folded the deed and placed it beside him on the
chair. "It certainly looks in order. I must congratulate you on
your foresight and your considerable intellectual prowess."
The ogre preened under the praise and the seed of a plan
sprouted in Kasha's mind. He heaved a tragic sigh. "I
suppose I've made the effort for my master in vain. I've
been outflanked, and will neither gain him what he sought,
nor be able to return to him."
"That is a shame. You will make a satisfying meal, if it's
any consolation."
Kasha tipped his head in acknowledgment. "Somewhat
gratifying, under the circumstances. Ah, well. I've had a long
life. Even the mountains crumble eventually."
"Well said."
"I can't help a few nagging bits of curiosity, though... "
"Oh?"
He slid off the chair and set his hat on the seat. The
ogre's eyes narrowed, so Kasha explained, "I'd rather you
didn't eat the hat, if it's all the same to you. It was a gift and
not part of my claiming."
"Of course. I understand." The ogre waved his claws for
him to continue.
"I've known a number of ogres throughout the centuries,
though certainly none as accomplished and powerful as
you. I've heard that"--he nearly said older ogres, but caught
himself in time--"more experienced ogres are able to
change form. Is this true?"
The ghastly smile grew indulgent as the monster
steepled his fingers. "Quite true, little pretty. I suppose you'd
like to see?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
The ogre's chair squealed in protest as he rose. He
slipped out of his jacket and stepped to the middle of the
room where he presumably had more space. The air
around him shivered, as if the chilly room had developed a
sudden heat shimmer. He raised his arms, the lines of his
body blurring. A moment later, a black lion the size of a
grizzly bear stood where the ogre had been.
The floorboards trembled when the lion roared, and
Kasha let out a convincing squeak of fear as he leapt to the
top of the black lacquer buffet.
The lion chuckled, a horrid, choking sound. "Poor little
kasha. You're not as brave as you pretend, are you?"
Kasha made a show of shaking down his fluffed-up fur
and cleaning his paws as if he were annoyed with his
skittish reaction. "I was simply surprised. Of course, it's
easy to shift to something so big. It's a simple thing to pull
mass and magic to you to enlarge your shape. A lion.
Naturally, a lion would be easy. I'm sure it's much harder to
change form to something smaller, like a rat. Where do you
put all the extra mass? How do you hold onto the disparate
components until you take your own form back?"
His irritated commentary earned him another chuckle.
"It's not so hard once you've reached a certain level of
expertise," the lion growled. "A rat? Don't insult me. I can
do far better than that."
Again, the air shimmered, the lines of the lion's body
growing indistinct. Kasha kept his gaze glued to the shifting
form, waiting, every muscle tense. When a shrew finally sat
on the carpet where the lion had stood, he discarded all
attempts at conversation. With a low growl, he pounced,
landed directly on the shrew, and broke its back. While this
didn't kill the ogre, it certainly slowed him down, giving
Kasha time to devour him.
The shrew squeaked, trying to wriggle out from under
his paw despite the broken spine. Kasha had to tamp down
hard on his natural inclination to play with his food. Any
delay would give the ogre a chance to heal and shift again.
He bent his head and took the tiny, squirming body into his
mouth.
Great Raiju, ogres taste worse than they smell.
He crunched through the skull and swallowed the body
whole.
"And that, I suppose, is that," he said to the now-empty
room, quite pleased with himself.
He turned, thinking he should open a few windows to let
in some fresh air. A sharp pain lanced through his stomach.
I guess ogre doesn't agree with me.
Though he tried to ignore it, the pain increased as he
walked toward the window. On his third step, he collapsed
to his knees, gasping, clawing at his midsection with both
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