Prologue

They come from the silence, first like a ringing in the ears, then growing into a long, eerie howl before disappearing again into silence, leaving no life behind.

***

Chen Mei-ling clenched her teeth as the elevator started moving toward their fifth-floor apartment. Her conversation with her mother after she finished work at the office was still ringing in her ears:

"Still no promotion?" her mother's reproachful voice echoed in her ears.

"No one has been promoted yet," she defended herself, but her mother, as she expected, just continued.

"I don't care about the others! We didn't raise you to be a nobody's subordinate! You're a mother now—it's time to be more responsible!"

She pressed her lips together bitterly at the memory and opened the door to her apartment. The hallway was dimly lit, with only a little light filtering in from the living room.

"I'm home!" she greeted as the sharp breeze from the air conditioner hit her. No one answered, only the TV was on in the living room. The shopping bags weighed heavily on her shoulders, and she set them down on the shiny floor, panting. The axe hanging on the wall still sent a shiver down his spine. There was one in every room. She glanced at her watch and sighed resignedly; it was past eight o'clock. She was late again. She put on her worn-out slippers and tiptoed in. Her husband didn't like her waking him from his evening nap, even though he was supposed to be looking after the child at this time, but she didn't bring it up anymore. The babysitter had gone home two hours ago. Her husband lived according to a strict schedule:

"The evening is for silence," he always said, but for Mei-ling, that quietness now scratched her ears. She held her breath as she entered the room and exhaled with relief when she saw her husband fast asleep. But that meant only one thing, and with a lump in her throat, she walked out the door toward the child's room. From a distance, she could still hear the TV announcer's voice:

"The authorities have reported further cracks in two districts of New Taipei City. Both Luzhou District and Sanchong District are close to the subway, so everyone is asked to avoid these areas until the situation is resolved..." Mei-ling felt sweat running down her back; both districts were close to their home. A cold breeze froze the back of her neck, and her heart pounded in her ears, but she saw nothing behind her. Only the familiar lights. At that moment, her husband began to snore loudly in the room.

She turned back and carefully opened the door to the room, where her little girl was still playing on the floor. She was alone, but as soon as she saw her mom, a huge smile spread across her face, but Mei-ling's facial expressions were frozen in fear. She slowly walked towards her daughter, as if wading through water, and raised her index finger to her mouth.

"It's the quiet hour, so let's play," she whispered, "the one who can stay quiet the longest wins, okay?" She took An-chi's tiny, warm hand and covered the child's mouth with it. The little girl's brown eyes widened, but she didn't say anything, just nodded. How small she was, and yet how skilled at this game. True, they played it every night, Mei-ling's stomach somersaulted when she saw An-chi's favorite stuffed animal on the floor: the little green monster's purple spiky hair pointing skyward—a gift from her father—then she handed it to the girl and once again covered the child's mouth with her hand. She stood up silently and quietly pulled out a travel bag: she threw the child's clothes, toys, vitamins, and a photo of the two of them into it haphazardly. It was taken at the amusement park, and she had never seen her daughter happier than she was then. Tears welled up in her eyes at the memory, but she swallowed them back because the goose bumps on her back warned her that it was time to leave.

She grabbed the car keys, slung her bag over her shoulder, and led her daughter out by the hand, while the announcer was still speaking on the TV:

"...only running can help," Mei-ling heard the advice and shook her head.

If running would help, then… At least he wouldn't get hurt, she thought one last time as she closed the door, but she didn't lock the apartment.

The street was quiet and deserted. Light filtered out of the apartment buildings as the residents returned home. As she turned the car out of the driveway, one of her neighbors was taking out the trash, but she didn't care if he saw her. The air conditioning slowly pushed out the warm humidity, but to no avail, the goose bumps on her back pricked like sharp needles and rubbed uncomfortably against her sweaty shirt. She stepped on the gas and, dodging the motorcyclists, arrived at her friend's apartment. She set the little girl down as they reached the door, she kept her hand pressed lightly over the child's mouth, and rang the doorbell with bag in hand.

"Who is it?" she heard her friend's curious voice crackle over the intercom.

"It's just me, Mei-ling, let me in!" she urged, and after a brief, stunned silence, the buzzer sounded and she pushed open the heavy door. She put down her bag and then helped the little girl inside, but then a sharp pain shot through her arm, as if she had scraped it, and she hissed. She didn't dare look, she didn't want to see.

"Mom, you lost," whispered An-chi with a giggle, and Mei-ling sighed and looked into the little face, the most beautiful face in the world to her.

"Shh!" Mei-ling playfully put her index finger on her daughter's mouth. "You haven't won yet. When you get to the top, you'll have won the game and you can talk," she smiled as she stroked the little girl's black curls. "Tell Aunt Lin that I'll wait for her down here, but you stay up there, I'll be right back!"

An-chi nodded cheerfully and rushed off. She took big steps up the stairs, which were still too high for her.

"Hold on to the railing!" she whispered from below, and her daughter did so.

She waited until An-chi disappeared around the corner, then placed the letter she had been carrying with her for days on the bag and ran towards the car. Her legs trembled as she drove eastward, far away from her daughter, far away from home. Tears streamed from her eyes, sometimes blurring her vision, sometimes clearing it, but she didn't stop. She drove from intersection to intersection until she reached her destination.

She breathed shakily, thinking she would feel relieved, but she didn't. The animalistic panting she had been hearing for days grew louder in her ears. She unbuckled her seatbelt loudly to make as much noise as possible in the silence of the car. Then she slowly got out and just walked and walked until the houses and lights disappeared from view and she was enveloped in eternal gray.

***

Ten hours later, downtown Taipei, 32 degrees Celsius, 72% humidity

The morning sunlight streamed through the striped window of the office, revealing the particles floating in the air as Nova entered the stifling heat. The door slammed loudly behind her, and the steam from her cup of Boba[AK1] escaped through the lid as she threw her backpack onto the sofa with her other hand and ran her fingers through her wavy hair. Despite the early hour, she was sweaty from riding her scooter. Still, she enjoyed breathing in the sweet aroma of the tea.

Finally, a peaceful morning, she thought, raising the rim of her thermos cup to her lips, when the phone rang, sounding as shrill as a fire alarm. A legacy of the 2000s. They had told her long ago that she should replace it, but this display also showed the number.

I'll call back, she thought, raising the drink to her mouth and taking a longing sip, but the liquid spread like lava across her taste buds. With tears in her eyes, she swallowed and cursed hoarsely, but the phone wouldn't stop ringing.

"Novus Shadowhunter and Detective Agency, how can I help you?" she answered irritably, fanning her mouth.

"I'm Shu Lin, and my friend is in trouble," the speaker whispered softly.

"Ms. Shu, are you in trouble too?" Nova asked, now focusing all her attention on the person on the other end of the line. "Why are you whispering?"

"Because my friend's daughter is sleeping here in the room!" Ms. Shu's voice sounded hysterical. "I have her clothes and a letter stating that I am her guardian, but I can't reach her, and the child has a father!"

"Then this is a matter for lawyers, not me. Please contact..." Nova reached for the business cards on the table, but the woman's voice stopped her.

"My friend didn't have a very good relationship with her husband and... and she's been acting strangely lately," Ms. Shu lowered her voice even more, so that Nova had to press the receiver close to her ear.

"Strangely? How?"

"She heard voices, she said they were calling her... The Crack was calling her!"