Description: Mr. Allen tilted his head and leaned closer to get a better look. "Is it some kind of tattoo?" "No," Marcus answered without bothering to look himself. He'd seen the mark so many times he had it memorized. Upon first glance it seemed to be a scar or birthmark. But on closer examination, an image had been burned into the skin of his shoulder-- like a brand on a cow. Hard ridges of scar tissue formed a precise likeness of two creatures doing battle inside an elaborately designed circle. On the right was what looked like a mixture of a snake and a dragon-- with a long, scaled body, a mouthful of wicked teeth, great wings, and sharp talons. It was locked in combat with another make-believe creature that seemed to have the head of a boar, complete with long curved tusks, the tail of a fish, and a bird- like body with long, feathered wings. Two pairs of horns sprouted from the birdboar-fish's head, and a pair of human arms held a flaming sword high in the air. The serpent had its talons locked on the front of the bird's throat, while the tusks of the boar were closed on the snake's writhing body. Mr. Allen ran his fingers over the hardened skin. "Who did this to you?" Marcus shrugged. He'd had it since he was a baby.

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