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Bryan's right hand and right foot. Then he repeated the procedure on Bryan's left side. Next he took a mallet from the bag and hammered a spike through both of Bryan's knees, both hips, both shoulders and finally, taking the last spike from the Dark Man, through both earlobes. When he was finished, Bryan was pinned to the floor as neatly as a laboratory rat on a dissecting tray. |
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The pain must have been incredible, for in spite of the Dark Man's paralyzing spell, Bryan could feel. His cheeks were twitching like they were on fire and tears were streaming down his face. |
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The Dark Man waved his hand in front of Bryan's eyes. |
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"Are you still with me? I'm going to release your vocal cordsjust for a second. Now don't screamthink of the neighbors." |
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"Good. Now I have some good news and some not so good news. The good news is there is no permanent damage done and no matter what you may think, I'm not going to kill you." The Hungan smiled benignly and leaned down next to Bryan's ear. "There, doesn't that make you feel better?" |
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Chuckling, the Dark Man whispered, "And now for the bad news. In a very few minutes you are going to be begging me to kill you." |
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The Dark Man waved his hand and Bryan's plea was cut off. He held out his hand and the goateed man placed the falchion in it. Then, dropping to his knees, the Dark Man held the point of the sword toward the ceiling for a moment, whispering a brief incantation in Creole, then turned the blade over and made a careful incision down the middle of Bryan's abdomen, starting just below the rib cage and ending just above the groin. Bryan's belly opened like a zipper, exposing masses of gleaming pinkish viscera and yards of convoluted gray intestinesbut spilling not a single drop of blood. As a result of this brutal surgery, Bryan had cracked his two front teeth, |
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