Kiran walked without hesitation through one of the passages and was immediately swallowed by darkness.

  Salome had to stay close by so she wouldn’t lose sight of him. He seemed to have a clear goal in mind, as he strode steadily along the iron torch holders lining the walls. Soon the corridor opened into a vast room, whose dimensions Salome could only discern from the cracks in the walls and ceiling through which sunlight streamed.

  Kiran stopped in the middle of the room, stood motionless for a while as if listening, and then briskly walked toward another passage on their left. In the room beyond, he paused once more, only to hurry toward a staircase that led them to the next floor. He repeated this pattern room after room.

  Before long, Salome lost all sense of direction. The rooms were plain and empty, there was nothing to indicate their original purpose, except for their size and occasional remnants of furniture that belonged to tables or shelves.

  When Kiran led her into a sort of storage room, she asked him what exactly he was doing, but he interrupted her with a wave of his hand and hissed irritably, “Shh. I have to concentrate.”

  Salome had the feeling that they were moving deeper and deeper into the ruin. Her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, yet it kept getting darker. Only now did she notice the absolute lack of windows. Light always seemed to originate from somewhere behind the walls, as if the next room bordered the outer wall of the ruin. And it grew quieter—the same silence that had suddenly overcome her in the great hall.

  “Kiran… what keeps those Echoeaters from attacking us here?” she asked with an anxious glance toward the shadows.

  “I,” he replied simply. Noticing her tension, he stopped. “As long as you stay near me, they can’t harm you.” He hesitated. “However, it seems that something else is lurking in this ruin. Something very old.”

  “Something dangerous?”

  Kiran thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. There’s something… unusual about it. Better to stay—” He wanted to say more, but something made him pause.

  He listened. Salome did as well. It was so quiet, she could hear her own heartbeat.

  Something reached her ear then. It sounded like distant bell chimes. She turned her head. There it was again. It reminded her of the bright tinkling of boat bells that sometimes echoed through the valley of her home. But this sound was deeper. Pleasant. It was not meant as a warning, but conveyed a much more joyful message.

  “Do you hear that?” asked Salome as she moved toward a passage.

  “Yes. It’s quite close.” Kiran passed her and resumed his pace. They crossed two more rooms before arriving in a small hall that was distinctly different from the rest of the labyrinth. In the ceiling there was a hole through which bright sunlight poured. And in the circle of that light sat Van.

  He looked relaxed, his eyes closed, and he seemed to be murmuring something to himself. In his hands lay the compass he had sought in Fundament. The sound of the bell appeared to emanate from it.

  “Van!” cried Salome, and she wanted to run to him, but Kiran held her arm back. “Wait,” he hissed. His gaze was not on Van, but on something hidden further back in the room. Because of the bright light, the shadows there were particularly deep.

  Kiran stepped ahead of Salome and slowly reached into a pocket of his coat. His movements were cautious, as if not to startle a shy animal. He pulled out something that looked like a large glass shard.

  “Listen carefully now,” he whispered, without looking at her. “We are going to go to your friend and you will speak to him. Say nothing except his name. Get him to leave the room with us without uttering a word. And focus only on him, do you hear?” He looked at her intently over his shoulder. “Think of nothing else!”

  Salome nodded hesitantly. Kiran’s tense words frightened her.

  He let go of her arm and set off. She stayed close behind him.

  As they approached the beam of light, Salome had to stop herself several times from peeking into the shadows on the other side. She didn’t know if something lurked there, but she felt as if something was present in the darkness—the same weight in the air as when the Echoeaters had appeared. The same emptiness.

  Once they stepped into the light, Salome immediately went to Van and turned her back to the darkness. She knelt beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Van!” she whispered urgently and shook him. The boy stopped murmuring and opened his eyes as if he had been asleep.

  “Salome?” His voice was rough. “What—”

  She instantly pressed her hand over his mouth. For a few dreadful seconds they stayed like that, listening.

  Nothing happened.

  Slowly, she exhaled. She placed a finger to her lips and looked Van squarely in the eyes. Then she gestured past his head toward the exit. He followed her gesture, his gaze falling on Kiran, who stood in a crouched, tense position beside them, staring into the shadows. A muffled sound escaped Van, but Salome immediately increased the pressure of her hand and caught his gaze. She shook her head vigorously.

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  Slowly, Van seemed to understand. He nodded almost imperceptibly. Salome removed her hand from his mouth and stood up. She watched Van, who slung his compass over his head and also stood up, paying attention to every one of his movements, every detail. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kiran, who beckoned with his thumb over his shoulder. She nodded and stepped out of the light together with Van. Her heart pounded.

  Then something changed.

  Salome noticed it immediately. It was as if the heaviness in the air increased, as if it was shifting. The silence expanded. She knew that feeling—it was the same silence as that which occured between thunderclaps, between the echo of distant rumbles and the roar that follows when the world holds its breath.

  Her heartbeat stopped.

  “Run!” shouted Kiran.

  Salome sprinted off. She didn’t know the way out, but at that moment it didn’t matter. She just wanted to get away from that place, away from whatever lurked back there.

  As she rounded the next room, a blinding flash of light illuminated the ruin behind her, accompanied by a deep, pulsating beat that she felt more than heard. But she didn’t stop. She ran haphazardly from one room to the next.

  Eventually, Van took the lead, and she concentrated on keeping his billowing coat in sight. Her breathing came in gasps. How were they ever going to find their way out?

  Another flash pierced the darkness, and the pulse that followed reverberated within her chest like a powerful heartbeat, an indestructible sound. It kept the emptiness from closing around her, from wrapping her up like a spider would its prey. Yet the effect was short-lived, its power too fleeting to hold back for long the ancient silence that had consumed this place.

  “This way!” Kiran called suddenly, emerging from a room to their left. He pointed toward a staircase. They quickly changed direction and moved toward it. Salome realized they were on the right track, as the light steadily grew brighter and a gentle breeze touched her skin. In the next moment, she stumbled into the great entrance hall of the palace ruin.

  She quickly regained her footing and headed straight for the exit. Van and Kiran made no effort to stop either.

  A cool breeze caught Salome.

  She ran along the stone path that led to the gate of the palace ruin until she stepped out of its long shadow. Only then did she stop, breathing heavily, hands resting on her thighs.

  Van collapsed beside her in the grass. He stretched out his limbs and struggled for air with his eyes closed. Kiran stood a little apart, lifting his collar with his index finger. He, too, was breathing heavily.

  The scent of fresh grass, mixed with the subtle aroma of moisture in the air, replaced the dusty taste in Salome’s mouth. She took a deep breath, feeling the mist draw through her lungs and wash away the musty smell of the old ruin. It was as if the cool wind cleansed her and swept away a veil from her mind, just as one might rub away the last traces of sleep from one’s eyes.

  For a while, no one spoke. Only heavy panting could be heard. When Salome finally caught her breath, she asked, “Van… are you okay?”

  “That’s what I should be asking you,” he replied. “How did you even find me? I thought…I thought I was a goner.” He looked up at the sky. Then he settled into a sitting position and nodded toward Kiran. “And who's that?”

  “His name is Kiran,” said Salome. “He’s the one who found you.” She looked over toward the palace ruin, its eerie silhouette towering above them. “What, by the endless pillars, happened in there?”

  Van regarded Kiran skeptically. “I’m not sure. No idea why I even entered that ruin. Was pretty damn foolish, actually. But somehow I couldn’t think straight. I only remember standing beneath that hole in the roof and… not being alone. I activated my compass just in case, although I'm not sure it would have helped against that. And then you were there” He stood up as Kiran approached. “Maybe he can tell us more.”

  “You were damn lucky I’m here,” said Kiran.

  “Seems that way,” said Van with a smile. “Salome said you found me. Apparently, I owe you one. I’m Van, by the way.” He extended a hand, but Kiran made no move to take it. Van let it drop awkwardly. His smile then appeared somewhat forced as he continued, “Uh… and who are you? Why are you here? And what is this place?”

  Kiran flatly ignored his questions and said, “My task is to bring Salome to my master. I assume you’re traveling together, so I have no choice but to take you with me.”

  Van scrutinized Kiran from head to toe, his gaze lingering for a moment on the yellowish embroidery on his chest.

  “Who is your master?” he asked. “Do I know him?”

  “Certainly not. And if it were up to me, it would stay that way.” Kiran’s tone carried a hint of disdain. “But as fate would have it, I have no say in the matter. You should consider yourself lucky. Few people ever get the chance to meet my master.”

  Van raised an eyebrow. “Well, if he’s so important, then I should have at least heard his name before. What is it?”

  “You’ll learn soon enough. I’m only to show you the way to him, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Everything else is irrelevant.”

  Van crossed his arms. “Whoever your master is, I have no desire to meet him until I know what’s going on here. And you can’t force us to come with you.”

  “No, I can’t,” agreed Kiran. “But I think you’ll accompany me anyway.” He turned and, without another word, made his way through the tall grass.

  “And now?” asked Salome, who had been quietly listening to them. The shock of recent events still ran deep, and she had so many questions. Kiran seemed as if he could provide some answers. And so far, he had only helped them. But was it a good idea to accompany him to his master? She couldn’t tell.

  “Guess we should follow him for now,” said Van. “It’s kind of suspicious… I mean, he appears here out of nowhere, even though he couldn't possibly have known we were here! There’s certainly more to it. But based on what he just said, I suspect that this… master, whoever that is, lives on another island. That means Kiran must own a ship, or at least a larger boat, if he arrived with the prospect of passengers.” He nodded. “Of course! Salome, this is our chance to leave this island!”

  A short distance away from the stone path, Kiran waited impatiently for them. He waved and then pointed vigorously to somewhere behind him.

  “Alright then. I guess we’d better hurry,” said Salome. She wanted to get away from the ruin as far away as possible anyway. When she received no answer, she turned around. “Van?”

  He frowned as he looked at the massive facade of the palace looming above them.

  “Van!” she asked again. The sound of her voice made him start, as if he’d forgotten where he was.

  “Yeah… yeah, it’s fine. Let’s go,” he said, setting off. They walked side by side through the grass, and he kept shaking his head and looking back at the ruin.

  “Hurry up already!” called Kiran impatiently.

  “Yeah, yeah” said Van, loud enough for Kiran to hear. “We’re coming! Why the rush?”

  Kiran turned and strode off with long, determined steps. A veil of mist that swept along the ground enveloped him and almost instantly swallowed him up.

  Salome and Van hurried to follow the trail of trodden grass before the wind righted it again.