Free Obsidian Butterfly (ab-9) by Laurell K. Hamilton Page A

lipless, skinless opening.
    Heat washed over me in a rush. The room swam. I couldn't breathe. The mask molded itself to my open, gaping mouth. I turned and went for the doors. I walked slowly. I didn't run, but if I didn't get out of there I was going to lose what little I had on my stomach or maybe faint. Of the two I think I preferred throwing up. Doctor Evans pressed the pad that opened the door without a word. The doors opened, and I went through.
    Ben the nurse turned to me, mask hastily held in place with a gloved hand. When the doors shut behind me, he let the mask drop. "You all right?"
    I shook my head, not trusting my voice. I jerked the mask off my face and still couldn't seem to get enough air. It was too quiet in the little room. The only sound the soft hush of the air whooshing in, recycling. The small movement of cloth as Ben moved towards me. I needed noise, human voices. I needed out of there.
    I jerked the plastic thingie off my head. My hair fell around my shoulders, brushed my face. I still couldn't get enough air. "I'm sorry," I said, and my voice sounded distant. "I'll be back." I opened the outer door and escaped.
     
     
     

7
     
    THE HALL FELT COOLER, though I knew it wasn't. I leaned beside the closed door, eyes closed, breathing in great draughts of air. The corridor was full of noise after that silent hissing room. People walking, moving, and Lieutenant Marks' voice, "Not so fucking tough after all, eh, Ms. Blake."
    I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was sitting in the chair that had probably been brought up for the uniform guarding the door. The uniformed officer was nowhere to be seen. Only Edward leaned against the far wall, hands behind his back. He was watching my face, watching me, as if he'd memorize my fear. "I made it through three patients before I had to leave the room. How many did you see before you had to go outside, Marks?"
    "I didn't have to leave the fucking room."
    "Doctor Evans said that no one has made it through the room, all the way through the room without having to run out. That means you didn't make it either, Marks. So piss off."
    He was on his feet now. "You ... you witch." He spat the last word at me as if it were the worst insult he could come up with.
    "Don't you mean bitch?" I said. I was feeling better out here in the hallway.
    Trading insults with Marks was a cakewalk compared to my other choices.
    "I said what I meant."
    "If you don't know the difference between a real witch and an animator, no wonder you haven't caught the thing that's doing this."
    "What do you mean 'thing'?" he asked.
    "Thing, thing, monster."
    "The Feds think it's a serial mutilator," he said.
    I glanced at Edward. "Nice of someone to tell me what the Feds said."
    Edward didn't look guilty in the least. He gave me pleasant, unreadable, and I turned my attention back to Marks. "Then why aren't there any tool marks from the skinning?"
    Marks glanced down the corridor where a nurse was pushing a small cart. "We don't discuss an ongoing investigation in the open, where anyone can hear us."
    "Fine, then after I've gone back in there and looked at the last three ... bodies, we'll go some place more private and talk about the case."
    I think he paled just a bit. "You're going back in there?"
    "The victims are the clues, Lieutenant. You know that."
    "We can take you to the crime scenes," he said. It was the nicest thing he'd ever said to me.
    "Great, and I need to see them, but right this moment we're here and the only possible clues are inside that room." My breathing had returned to normal and the sick sweat had dried on my forehead. Maybe I was a touch pale myself, but I was mobile and felt almost normal.
    I walked into the middle of the hall and motioned Edward over to me, as if I had something for his ears alone. He pushed away from the wall and came toward me. When he was close enough, I faked a low kick he looked down for just an instant, reacting to it, and the second, higher kick caught