Chapter Three: The Name on the Silver Bell

“You weren't supposed to read the words.” Lin lifted the bell but did not ring it. Cold metal touched her palm, and a vision entered her: Lin Yao in a Eurydice concierge uniform, standing in an empty ballroom. Beyond its windows lay no river, only coaches driving nose to tail around one endless night road. “Each circuit takes one,” Yao told the camera. “The forgotten fill vacancies among the crew. Sister, if you come, do not buy me.” The vision broke. The antique camera ejected a wet photograph. It showed the hotel lobby. Eight tourists, Jonas, and Sergei stood before the hearth, with Lin at the center. A young woman in a concierge uniform stood behind her, both hands resting on her shoulders. Lin knew that face.