Chapter One: The Seventh-to-Last Second

The emergency-room alarms crashed back. Shen Yao fell against a cabinet. Lu Zhi pulled Zhou's hand from hers and delivered a second shock. A ragged rhythm returned. "Spontaneous circulation restored," a nurse said. Only one second had passed. Lu Zhi removed his gloves. "You went in again." It was not a question, but too many people were listening for her to answer. Zhou's eyes opened. They were unfocused until Shen Yao leaned over him. Then they fixed precisely on her. "Eleven seventeen," he breathed. "Pier Seven. Don't let her—" "Don't let whom wake?" "You." He lost consciousness again. Half an hour later, Lu Zhi found her in the fire stairwell, studying a subway map. Linchuan had no Ebbtide Station, and no line ran beneath Pier Seven.