The floor here was carpeted in something that looked like bleached sherpa wool, with the effect of smothering the sound of footsteps. And the walls and ceilings, rounded at the corners, were of unrelieved white. Quent noticed three other doors and wanted to think of an excuse to touch the knobs on each one to see if Zoë had come down this way, but he dared not do anything that might raise Fielding’s suspicions. It wasn’t long before they reached the end of the spiraling hall and the door there. As before, Fielding opened a small panel next to it and moved something around before closing the little door once more. The entrance opened and Fielding gestured for Quent to enter. The octagonal room glowed, undulating with shadows and swaths of light. Its ceiling was glass, and the sunlight beamed down from…above. It took Quent only a moment to realize that the room was submerged like a large circular aquarium. Dark water surrounded the walls, surging silently against the floor-to-ceiling glass, giving an eerie feel to the space.
