Chapter One: The City Only I Could See

"Xiao Yan, if the bird beneath the ice ever begins to fly, don't trust the first person who asks you to open the door." Lin had always taken it for a delirious farewell. The elevator reached basement level two. Its doors opened, and the garage lights awakened in sequence. At the far end stood a man in a janitor's uniform, staring up at a security camera. His neck was bent backward at an impossible angle. A click came from his mouth every seven seconds. Lin stopped. The man's body slowly turned, though his face remained aimed behind him. His badge read WU HAI, but the photograph was a black hummingbird silhouette. "First observation established," he rasped. "The First Observer will proceed to the wing bone." His feet left the ground.