A few hours later, Esme and Lillian stood on the pathway beside Conte Canal. Daniel was with them; he had dropped by earlier, and offered to take them over in Talia. Conte Canal was part of the same neighbourhood that Esme had passed through on her way to Sofia Square. The waterways were blocked here too, full of debris from dwellings that had toppled over.
Lillian wrinkled her nose at the dank odour. ‘This doesn’t look promising.’
A crow sounded overhead. A rat scuttled into an abandoned house, which was teetering on the water’s edge. Esme heard the sound of laughter, and caught a glimpse of a face behind a dirt-streaked window. Two hollow eyes scrutinised her, before melting away into thin air.
She jumped back. ‘Did you see that?’
‘See what?’ asked Daniel.
‘That … oh, nothing.’
Aro
