"Ding ding ding ding ding ding!"
The bell rang rapidly and urgently, as though hastening the slow-moving Shadow Death Laborers to gather quickly.
From the mouth of the alley came the shouts of the Supervisors, and occasionally the sound of whips cracking against the laborers could be heard.
Xander and Evelyn Thatcher exchanged glances, sensing a hint of something unusual.
In Lower Town, the bell rang every six hours.
The Supervisors used the bell to summon their Shadow Death Laborers, count them, check their work, and distribute food—a sort of shadow fruit containing slight soul fragments.
The bell they heard now was the third time today.
At first, Xander and Evelyn thought it was a regular assembly signal, but now the commotion at the alley end made them feel the situation was rather urgent.
The irritable and cold-blooded shadow death overseers seemed extremely anxious, as if they couldn't wait to gather all the laborers in the square immediately.
