Chapter Two: The Theater That Did Not Exist

Her pulse began to fall. Lu Zhi caught Shen Yao's arm. "You went in last night." "She's showing us the way." "Or something is using her as bait." Lin Mo's pulse dropped to forty-two. "Doctor Shen," she murmured, though they had never met, "the curtain is up." Shen Yao took the girl's cold hand. The ward became an empty children's theater. Seven lamps hung from the dome and went dark one by one. Rabbit-masked children stood with their backs to her. The scenery showed Linchuan—and beneath it, an inverted city whose towers pierced the ground above. "Seven," the children said together. The first rabbit turned. Lin Mo's sleeping face hid behind the mask. "How do you know me?" Shen Yao asked.