Chapter Five: A Kiss Takes This Life Away

The moon still clung to the west as the three crawled along the dry channel. Zhou sometimes knew the route and sometimes ordered them to stop. He bit his tongue to summon himself through pain. "When did Lu enter you?" Shen Wu asked. "After graduation. The town gave me a job and a drink. Every full moon after that, I lost a few hours. I thought I was blacking out." "You deleted the performance." "My hands did." He met her eyes. "I did not choose it." Beneath the water tower lay a circular hall. Forty-three chairs surrounded a dry well, each bearing a name card. Wen Mo was tied at the center, still wearing Shen Wu's face. The silver flute lay at her feet. Black thread sewed her lips shut.