Stepping out onto the water, Nomi prepared for the plunge. She knew that something had him—this was not the Ramus she knew, not really—and there was a potential about this place that seemed to seed itself in the air she breathed. It may well carry him, but it would send her down.

She did not sink. Her foot met something solid, and though she felt the coolness of subterranean water seeping into her worn boots, she also felt safe. She looked down and followed Ramus's footsteps, aiming for the centers of the rippling traces he had left behind. Even now, the splashes were fading. She hurried to catch up, trying to ignore the pain, because he strode quickly, never once doubting where his next step would take him.

The stepping stones were as black as the water around and above them. There was no way to see them without already knowing they were there. Nomi paused for a beat and glanced back, and already all traces of their passing had rippled away to smoothness.

The Sentinels were almost level with her now, twenty steps away but separated by waters unknown.

This is where they follow, she thought. They'll try for us, they have to, and some will find the way.

The first Sentinel stepped out and sank up to its knee. It howled and withdrew, shaking water from its leg, and another shoved past it and tried again. This one found the first two stones before slipping and splashing heavily into the lake, arms flailing and bubbles rising as its head went under.

A shape rose and submerged, and when the Sentinel surfaced it was screeching, holding up its arm to display its chewed hand.

Nomi turned back to Ramus and had to hurry, just able to follow his steps before the waters smoothed over. She caught up with him, keeping pace for a while before looking back. The Sentinels were still on the shore, the stricken one nursing its gnawed hand, the others striding back and forth but not actually touching the water.

“They won't come,” Ramus said.

“They will.” She thought of everything Sordon had told her, all his guilt wrapped up in the Sentinels' pure, perpetual purpose. “All they know is keeping this thing down.”

Ramus paused and looked back at her, and his eyes were sparkling, shimmering like reflections in water. “We're almost there,” he whispered.

The building was close now, not more than twenty steps away, and it seemed larger than it had appeared from the shore. The wall facing them was adorned with intricate symbols and lettering, and Nomi guessed the others were the same, and perhaps the roof as well. She could feel a steady vibration in the air, and sometimes the structure's walls seemed blurred as if it were moving, though the water lapping gently at the island's shore seemed undisturbed.

“There's something wrong,” Nomi said, not quite sure how to explain what she felt.