Chapter One: The Name Only She Could See

Tang Li knocked on the locked dressing-room door. Xia Mi folded the program into her pocket and climbed through the back window. She knew it might be a trap. But when the dead extend a hand from the center of a trap, those who loved them rarely step away. The Tidal Stage had been closed for a decade after a fatal stampede. Tonight its gates stood open. Rainwater filled the seats, and every puddle reflected a face looking toward the stage. When Xia Mi looked directly, the seats were empty. The eighth lamp ignited. A silver-haired woman stood at the microphone wearing a mirrored half-mask. Her posture, her grip, even the nervous motion of her thumb against one knuckle perfectly matched Xia Mi’s. She sang Wen Yu’s unfinished melody.