Page 106 (1/2)

Chapter One

The suo 's streets, the agony in my head had kepton my apartment door

I answered it and Morgan, half his face covered in blood, gasped, "The Wardens are co Hide me Please"

His eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed

Oh

Super

Up until thatunder thepain into happen to me today

"Hell's frickin' bells!" I blurted at Morgan's unconscious for me!" I was really, really te there in a heap He sure as hell deserved it

I couldn't just stand there doing nothing, though

"You need to get your head examined," I ical security systean under the ar man, over six feet, with plenty ofhih I'm no junior petite myself

I shut the door behind ht eneral, focused my will, and muttered, "Flickum bicus" A dozen candles spaced around the room flickered to life as I pronounced the sian, exa him for injuries

He had half a dozen nasty cuts, oozing and ugly and probably painful, but not life-threatening The flesh on his ribs, beneath his left arm, was blistered and burned, and his plain white shirt had been scorched away He also had a deep wound in one leg that was clumsily wrapped in what looked like a kitchen apron I didn't dare unwrap the thing It could start the bleeding again, andI'd want to bet a life on

Even Morgan's life

He needed a doctor

Unfortunately, if the Wardens of the White Council were pursuing him, they probably kneounded They would, therefore, be watching hospitals If I took hiency rooms, the Council would know about it within hours

So I called a friend

Waldo Butters studied Morgan's injuries in silence for a few uy, and his black hair stood up helter-skelter, like the fur of a frightened cat He wore green hospital scrubs and sneakers, and his hands were swift and nient eyes behind black wire-rimmed spectacles, and looked like he hadn't slept in teeks

"I'm not a doctor," Butters said

We'd done this dance several tihty Butters," I said "You can do anything"

"I'm a medical examiner I cut up corpses"

"If it helps, think of this as a preventative autopsy"

Butters gave me an even look and said, "Can't take him to the hospital, huh?"

"Yeah"

Butters shook his head "Isn't this the guy who tried to kill you that one Halloween?"

"And a few other times before that," I said

He opened a h it "I was never really clear on why"

I shrugged "When I was a kid, I killed a ic I was captured by the Wardens and tried by the White Council"

"I guess you got off"