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concentrated on the magnetic prayer. His hearing was tremendously enhanced, could hear each of the voices, and all at the same time. The pace and force were on the rise. As in an ascending spiral the energy produced by the singing, drew all of them. The greatest exaltation moment was when the voices of Burnt Stone and the old woman joined in. Night Eagle was thrown with force by an internal burst, something blew up in his inside and stopped hearing the songs, then perceiving something truly extraordinary and fascinating; an immense and majestic rattlesnake, the size of the world and yet was in the room. The animal saw him directly with a penetrating, cold and impersonal stare. Its tongue showed intermittently through its jaws. Night Eagle was terrified, an animal fear overtook his body, and yet something in him, made him feel bewitched by the wonderful presence. Instinctively he realized that to the extent he followed the rhythm of the serpent tongue, with its own breathing, his body relaxed and his mind cleared.

The serpent asked the reason of the boy’s; Night Eagle then began to speak in a slow and orderly way, almost recounted his life, and everything could be synthesized in this quest, which since his early years, burned as a perennial flame in his heart. When he finished he was exhausted; the serpent on the other hand remained immutable, only moved its tongue in a rhythmic and constant fashion. It seemed it was analyzing one by one, the boy’s words.

After a while, as an acceptance sign, the serpent opened its huge jaws and Night Eagle; with fear, verging on the most primitive animal panic began to move forward slowly.

Her body shuddered in horror and at the same time of emotion, a strange exhilaration overtaking him, also by panic, of what was left of his deranged reason.

Night Eagle entered on his own, into the depths of the great rattlesnake. In the dark guts of the animal, his

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