of rain and the slow, sink

t of her grandfather's head, Yifan's cold voice, the diamond sinking in the paper cup, and her chest clenched so

d out onto a gray alley. Her aunt had brought her here before dawn, tucked a blanket arou

Sleep. Do NOT open the door for

first spoonful stuck

nd off. A reporter stood in the rain outside a black-draped

t eight o'clock at the Lin Ancestral Hall, where family mem

into a handkerchief on the steps of the hall. Behind

odbye. Not at the hospital. Not at

ut a stubborn, aching need. I will see him. Even if it is from the street.

. Qingyue lifted it to her face, breathed in the faint trace of jasmine, and wound it carefully around her hair. Then she pu

the words her mother had taught her

door and walked

s courtyard lined with white chrysanthemums. Even from the end of the narrow street, she

he shadows. She would not go in. She only wanted to stand where she could see the

the back of her hand and stepped to

k SUV sat idling at the cu

at the edge of her mind. There was no one beside it. No driver visible beh

ngine

ing white suns, and the SUV lurched f

everything, the road, the rain, the hall, and she heard her own brea

round her waist and w

V roared past close enough to rip the hem of her coat. It slammed into the stone lamppost

arm weight, one hand cupped behind her head. She smelled r

low voice agains

looke

line of his jaw. His eyes were dark, steady, and utterly without panic. She knew h

Wh

ate

, and its engine howled as it tore backward off the ruined lamppost. From th

Ru

face, her scarf whipping free of her hair. They plunged into an alley. A car waited at the far end,

d. The car shot back

s if he were reminding

the mirror, swerving through narrow streets so tight the side mirrors scraped brick. Behind them, the headlights flared and m

ands over her mouth. "T

Ye

are

old

g, dark tunnel, and the engine noise doubled, rolling off the

hear only her own ragged breathing, her heartbeat sla

behind them. They flashed past, close enough to

len

ment, neither

ube far down the row. Qingyue sat with her arms wrapped around herself, shaking so hard her teeth chattered. Her palms were sc

er voice came out

en Y

e cold, beautiful lines of his face, the dark eyes that gave away nothing

ly a second. "

ng. Before the lights went ou

r, and something moved behind the stillness of his ey

at. She pressed her wrist against her mouth until

d drew out a slim brown envelope, creased and soft with handling. "Three days befo

caught. "My

its head engraved with a tiny crane in flight. Beneath it lay a slip of paper in handwriting she

o me, give this to Qin

clutched the key to her chest with both hands, and the sound that escaped her was smal

red. "He knew somethin

ders finally stopped shaking, he spoke quietly, and

u dead. Don't show it to anyon

sleeve. "I have to call my

No

d like a whip. S

he said, more ev

ctive. "She paid my bail. She put shoes on my feet when the e

m saying the people who want you dead knew exactly where you'd

face. "No," she whispered.

y and unreadable. "Perhaps

self. It couldn't be. She would not let it be. A stranger who spoke in riddles

he glove compartment. He took out a pl

dy to disappear. And Qingyue," he said, as she reached

e climbed out of the car, clutching the key to her chest, and

houette had vanished up the

ed at his palm. There, across the heel of it, was a faint red mark, the kind

s cracked. The hands had stopped at 9:41, one minu

ed every second of the dark. He had seen the old man fall, and he had s

had not

s hand slowly

Not until I can bear

overhead flickered onc