After all, this was a hospital barber
shop, and they probably had some rigid rules about sanitation, though he
hadn't seen much other evidence of such care.
The barber finally removed the cloth with a snap and bowed. "Come again,
sir," he said.
Ser Perth stood up and motioned for Dave to follow. He turned to look in
a mirror, and caught sight of the barber handing the bottles and jars of
waste hair and nail clippings to a girl. He saw only her back, but it
looked like Nema.
Something stirred in his mind then. He'd read something somewhere about
hair clippings and nail parings being used for some strange purpose. And
there'd been something about spittle. But they hadn't collected that. Or
had they? He'd been unconscious long enough for them to have gathered
any amount they wanted. It all had something to do with some kind of
mumbo-jumbo, and....
Ser Perth had led him through the same door by which they'd entered--but
_not_ into the same hallway. Dave's mind dropped the other thoughts as
he tried to cope with the realization that this was another corridor. It
was brightly lit, and there was a scarlet carpet on the floor. Also, it
was a short hall, requiring only a few steps before they came to a
bigger door, elaborately enscrolled. Ser Perth bent before it, and the
door opened silently while he and Dave entered.
The room was large and sparsely furnished.
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