Daphne's heart pounded in her chest the whole walk to the train station, and it continued to pound on the train and the walk to the ferry, and even on the ferry itself, where she paced back and forth along the railing at the side. She wished the damn thing would move faster. Why were ferries so damned slow? What was the point of a big, slow boat? The approach to Miyajima was windy, and every knot she tried to tie her hair into came loose.

"We might have to get in contact with the investigation team," Rin said as the ferry started—finally—to pull up to the dock. "You know, tell them we're coming."

Daphne shook her head. "No time. Call them if you want, but if they don't answer, we're pushing ahead."

She made sure they were the first people off that boat and flew down the gangway, leaving Rin trapped behind some tourists. He called after her, but she barely heard him as she walked swiftly away from the ferry terminal and toward town. Rin caught up just as she went into the first all-purpose shop along the water front. Inside, she bought the biggest funnel she could find, a large plastic bowl, and as many bottles of water as she could carry in one arm. She passed half the water bottles to Rin and left the shop. He dropped a few as he tried to follow.

"What's the plan, then?" he asked, stumbling up alongside her.

"We take these up to the murder site and see if the water makes the same shape up there," she said. "If it does…" She hadn't fully formed that thought yet. She hadn't really processed what they'd seen in the lab for that matter. "If it does, that means our demon, the lab, and the murders are connected somehow."

"And if it doesn't?"

Daphne shook her head. "Then we're back to square one."

The trek up the side of the mountain was grueling, and she lost a little of her speed on the incline. Eventually, she and Rin made their way along that near-hidden path through the woods that led to the clearing. The whole section had been roped off, but she ducked under the tape without a second thought. Any forensics would have been gathered long before now. She didn't go too far into the clearing, though, instead lingering a few feet away from the edge. Rin followed suit.

"You wanna hold or pour?" she asked, setting down her portion of the water bottles and offering him the bowl and funnel.

"Hold," he said, and took the bowl.

Daphne uncapped a water bottle. She took a deep breath. Her eyes closed. For a moment she tried to center herself, to feel out that presence like she'd done so many times before. But it wasn't there. She hadn't felt it at all since they'd exorcised those ghouls. Part of her had assumed that it would return with them to Hiroshima, but it hadn't, and it wasn't on the island now either. Daphne opened her eyes.

Extending both arms, she held the funnel over the bowl in Rin's hands and poured the water into the funnel. Nothing happened. Daphne frowned. She uncapped another water bottle and poured that one into the funnel, running the water down the edge so that had to fan out along the surface. Nothing happened. She uncapped another and poured. Nothing.

"It's not working, Daph."

"No, it has to. This has to be right."

She picked up another water bottle and poured that one in, too, then another. The bowl in Rin's hands filled up. She got another bottle.

"It's not working," Rin said. "It's not here, Daph."

"No, this happens after that presence leaves some place," she said, pouring the water of another bottle in. The bowl overflowed. "It's a mark, a lingering effect. It doesn't mean it's here, it means it has been."

Still nothing.

Daphne grabbed the bowl out of Rin's hands.

"Woah—hey—what the hell?"

He stumbled back to get out of the way of the water as it spilled from the bowl, and only narrowly avoided the splash when Daphne dumped its contents on the ground and crouched next to it. She summoned Pollux from its seal, overturned the bowl, and stabbed the blade through the bottom. Then she gripped the handle, bonded her hand, and twisted until the plastic gave way and let the sword carve out a haphazard circle. Sheathing Pollux, she stood and held out the bowl to Rin.

"Funnel wasn't big enough," she said.

Eyeing her, Rin hesitantly reclaimed the bowl.

Daphne grabbed another water bottle. She took the lid off, praying, willing it to work this time. It had to work. She knew that demon had been here. She was certain of it. All she needed was proof.

She placed the lip of the bottle at the edge of the bowl and poured the water in, circling around the outside. The water ran down the sides, then, where it neared the center, it suddenly turned ninety degrees, making the briefest flash of a five pointed star before dripping onto the grass. Daphne grabbed another bottle and tried again, to the same effect. Finally that furious pounding of her heart subsided, but it was replaced instead with a cold dread.

"It was here, Rin."

Rin shook his head. "But what does that mean?"

"Maybe we should ask our friend Akiyama."

Daphne opened the final bottle and poured the water through the bowl just to be sure. The star was faint, but she was certain that was because the bowl was a poor drain and the bottle couldn't provide a continuous stream of water.

"She's not going to tell us anything."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't ask."

"No, but we have to ask the right way," Rin replied. He gathered up the empty bottles and put them in the bowl with the funnel. "If we bully her, she'll shut down and then we'll never get any answers."

Daphne hated to admit it, but he was right. Whatever was going on here, Akiyama either had no idea or had worked very hard to keep it hush-hush. If she was pushed too hard, she might destroy any remaining evidence, and if she did that, they might never figure out what was going on. Daphne shivered. That demon had nearly drowned her. She needed to know how to kill it.

"Did you want to head back to Hiroshima?" Rin asked.

She nodded. It would take them a long time to get back to the office, and they'd be lucky to catch the receptionist before he left for the day. Rin was right, and they should go about their interview the proper way, make an appointment with Akiyama for the following morning. As it turned out, however, they didn't need to make an appointment at all. When they walked back into the office, a whole team of policemen was there, and so was the director, all of them clustered around the broken handle of the door into the lab.

Akiyama made eye contact with them from the other end of the hall. Her jaw clenched. Rin and Daphne froze. They'd forgotten to arrange for a repairman.

"Lord Pheles has been notified of this incident," Akiyama said through her teeth. "And he is on his way here. Right now."