c h a p  t e r 1     L ON D ON , 1 9 2 5   A shadow, looking very much like that of a boy, ghosted into the train’s control cab through the front window. It came to a stop in front of Michael, which was strange, given how fast the train was moving. He stared at it for several seconds before looking up. There didn’t seem to be anything that could cast such an odd shade, but after a few moments, he spotted a small cloud floating in front of the full moon. That had to be responsible. In fact, if he looked at the shadow, he decided that it didn’t really look like a boy’s at all—even when it seemed to wave at him. So he ignored it, telling himself it was only a trick of the light and a side effect of a long day. After a few seconds, the shadow’s shoulders slumped, and it slipped out through the same window it had entered from—or, rather, the shadow did what shadows do when they’re no longer visible. It certainly didn’t shrug. Michael glanced back at the sky and found that the…