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man and a woman, were snoring. |
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The Dark Man took up a position at the foot of the bed with his men flanking him on either side. From under his shirt he took an amulet fashioned of wood, feathers and bonea poor imitation of his precious talismanand pointed it at the man, softly singing in the harsh tongue of his people. When the man on the bed began to stir, the Dark Man took another pinch of powder and blew it over the bed. The sleeping man immediately started to twist and moan like a man in the grip of a terrifying nightmare. The Dark Man continued to sing, his voice rising and falling in perfect tempo with the rain hammering against the windowpanes. Finally, the man threw off the bed covers and sat up, his feet swinging unerringly down into the slippers positioned beside the bed. At first his eyes were fat with sleep, but they quickly opened wide and grew round when he saw the dark shapes hovering around the bed. |
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In his youth the man had been powerful, but the years of soft living had turned much of his muscle to fat. The flesh of his arms sagged like rolls of Polish sausage. Above his lip was the traditional down-turned bandido moustache and above that, the tiny mean eyes of a wharf rat, now shining saucers of terror. |
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"Good evening, Mr. Morales," the Dark Man said. |
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Morales's mouth worked up and down, but nothing came out and sweat popped out of the man's forehead like condensation on an ice-cold can of beer. |
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The Dark Man glanced at his men. "Help Mr. Morales." |
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The goateed man took hold of one of Morales's arms, the bald-headed man the other, and they jerked him to his feet and quickly peeled his silk pajamas off. In the bed, the woman continued to snore peacefully. |
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The Dark Man's assistants then dragged Morales over in front of the television set and lowered him onto his back, chuckling to themselves as the man's hairy belly sagged to either side like a water balloon. Morales's eyes were frantic, bouncing from face to face, but the rest of his body was as stiff as the Dark Man's long-lamented son. |
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