Meera ran her thumb along the page. "What are we supposed to do with it?"

Halfway across, rain started again—gentle, like a secret. The crane soaked and curled, but its silhouette remained. The compass spun once, then steadied toward the river mouth where the ledger promised a change in direction.

At first there was nothing but the river’s patient murmur. Then a child’s shout merged with a distant bell; the sound bent and softened, and Meera felt something in her chest unloosen, like a tightened knot giving way. "Aah," she whispered.

—End of Part 2