Masks are safe

  The last time he wore the mask he had been terribly wounded by Morgassa. He had abandoned the mountain lion form on the brink of death. Might the mountain lion have recovered somewhat? Could it already be dead? What if the mountain lion form was still horribly injured? If that was the case, Cole supposed he could quickly take the mask off again.

  As he placed the mask over his face, a flurry of disorienting sensations overwhelmed him. Cole tipped, spun, and grew.

  Suddenly Cole stood on four paws. He felt balanced, and calmer. The new form was familiar and most welcome. With his heightened hearing and smell, Cole knew the position of each of the oncoming riders. Their mounts smelled peculiar. Cole could sense they had been changed. No natural horses were so large and strong.

  It felt as if his previous injuries had never occurred. No soreness lingered. Cole supposed that made sense—when wearing the mask, he was the cougar. It didn’t exist elsewhere. The wounded mountain lion had been erased the instant he removed the mask. When he put the mask back on, it had changed him into a healthy mountain lion, not a wounded one. That meant he could heal any injury to his cougar form simply by taking the mask off and replacing it! He wished he had known that when they fought Morgassa.

Chapter 2