Quintessence
Novelette 14,804 words Recommended by 4 award/anthology sources
"He could hear her voice more clearly now, as though the notepad were merely a synchronizing gear between the two minds caught in his head. She sounded sick and frightened and tired—like a young woman trapped alone in a strange place, not like a witch threatening to castrate him or murder his wife. Guilt blossomed in his mind, followed by pity."
Content warnings 4
body-horrordeathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence
Quasar links out; the story lives on BCS, where the author gets the click.