We examined each other. Two against two, white nightgowns and yellow light against dark clothing and shadow. The door to the corridor was too far away, across a sea of humanlike machines, all eyeless, skinless, and unfinishe; there had been no one here to give life to their expressions for a long time. And then I saw that the living shapes before me were also without faces. the two men wore masks. Mary's hand tightened on mine.
The larger one took a cautious step toward my light, and I could juste make out the glint of eyes through the slits in the mask, searching for the path that would lead him to us. He focused on my face and began picking his way ingerly in the dim. The smaller of the two hung back, still and enigmatic. My eyes roved, seeking help that was not there.
"Ne te déplace pas", said the large one softly, almost soothingly, as he moved. "Ne bouge pas, Katharine."
My stomach twisted. He was speaking French, and he knew my name. I might not know what words he had used, but any doubt about why these men had come was now banished. I thought of my uncle Tully's door, hidden only by the darkness behind me;I had not the smaller hope it would be locked. The man reached out a hand as he came, beckoning, a gente gesture, almost imploring. in his other hans was a dagger, twinkling in my light.
"On n'a pas besoin d'avoir recours à la violence, Katharine," he said. "Donne-moi Monsieur Tulman."