Chapter 27 · The First Mask

"Take that mask off, freak." The guard jammed a hooked baton under my chin and shoved my head back against the lift gate. "Now. Before I call the cutters."

"You can call whoever you want," I said. "But if you break the mask, your boss loses the buyer."

The guard's grip tightened. Metal scraped against my jaw. Under the stolen skin, my shadow body pulled itself thin and still. No twitch. No ripple. No hungry little movement that might give me away.

The dealer beside me made a soft choking sound.

"Don't hurt him," he said. "He's under contract."

"He's a monster." The guard leaned close enough for me to smell boiled meat on his breath. "I can smell the Abyss on him."

"Everybody smells like the Abyss down here," I said. "You included."

The baton pressed harder.

"Cute," the guard said. "Say that again when your face is on the floor."

I smiled behind the mask.

That was a mistake.

The false skin across my mouth shifted with me. It was not a real face, not even close. The dealer had stretched it over a thin frame of black resin and bone dust.