Death remained silent both through the djinn's accent and after the rather unexpected turn of hearing Susan use his voice - his voice, which no living creature could mimic or resist.

Intriguing indeed.

WERE YOU AWARE, he began after several long moments of that same silence, THAT THIS CITY SOMETIMES BRINGS PEOPLE OF THE SAME WORLD FROM DIFFERENT TIMES? It was the only explanation that made anything resembling sense, or what passed for "sense" in the city.