My mind wanders back to Stryker as I stare at the sky. He’s going to be a big problem. I’d felt it while we were in the Greenhouse Tavern. While there’s something about the player that intrigues me, I know it’s best to let that intrigue die. Whatever Stryker’s Glitch is, he’s clearly a master of it. Maybe he’s a Tier Three, or a Tier Four. Either way, that makes him a threat to our Tier One status. Tangling with Stryker would be a death sentence, and I’m smart enough to know that, even if I’m not smart enough to not be attracted to the asshole in the first place.
Dox did always say I was shit at picking men. After my run-in with Orion and that unbelievably bad decision to sleep with him, I have to agree with her. Despite my acknowledgement, I can’t help but be attracted to dangerous men. A girl likes to have her enemies killed and her back blown out every now and then. Even Dox can admit that.
My eyes trace the few stars I can see through the foliage above me. The night is so beautiful here. The stars are bright and twinkling. The sounds of the forest are far more relaxing than the pained mechanical whir of Dross. Dox is going to like it here. She’s going to point to the sky and say, “See! It was worth it!”
“You think of her often,” Cipher comments as my thoughts latch onto my best friend again.
“I miss her,” I say truthfully. “I shouldn’t even be here without her.”
He hums and the sound washes over me. “If she is as strong as you think she is, I have no doubt she will find her way to you.”
I take a deep breath. “I don’t doubt it either. I just wish it wouldn’t take as long.” I tilt my head back and look up at the stars. “You wouldn’t happen to be able to make the Harrow Gates open faster, would you?”
He chuckles. “There are a lot of things I am capable of, Vespera, but speeding up the Cradle rings is not one of them.”
I frown. “That’s what it takes to open the gates?”
He hesitates. “Harrow Gates open when two planetary rings intersect in their rotation. As long as the rings are aligned, the Harrow Gates will remain open.”
“Ah,” I muse. “Which is why the thrusters on Dross effect it.”
“Precisely,” he says proudly. “I am pleased to find your reasoning skills higher than average.”
I snort. “That’s not saying much. The average person in Dross is barely capable of anything besides brutality and survival.”
“Yes,” he comments. “If it would reassure you, I cannot make the Cradle rings spin faster, but I can tell you how long until it will open.”
My eyes widen. “You know? You don’t rely on Astronomers?”
Cipher laughs. “I am the ultimate power here, Vespera. Of course, I know when the Harrow Gates will open. It is not a secret held tightly here.” He pauses. “Would you like to know?”
“Yes,” I answer immediately. “Tell me.”
“Very well.” He pauses again. “The next Harrow Gates will open in two weeks, six days, twelve hours, and fifty-one seconds. There could be a few discrepancies due to the thrusters, as you stated. I cannot see into Dross, so I will adjust my scale, should it change.”
“Almost three weeks,” I say, sighing. “That’s a long time to survive until she can show up.”
“Yes, but at least you will be stronger when she arrives,” Cipher points out. “Perhaps, you will be able to protect your friend.”
“That . . . is a very good point,” I muse. “Look at you, Cipher. Being all reassuring and stuff.”
“I am simply stating facts that matter to you,” he responds.
“Well, I appreciate it regardless,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
The stars twinkle above me, making the sky a beautiful carpet of sparks. I could look at this all night, would almost consider it if I didn’t need to sleep. I feed the fire some more in the hopes it keeps whatever creatures in the dark from venturing closer. Nothing appears in the shadows, but I don’t trust that nothing is there. The feeling of eyes on me is everywhere, and when I pull my hyena mask on, I can sense life forms all around us, but they keep their distance. For now.
“What exactly is the Harrow?” I ask Cipher a few minutes later when I realize I don’t actually know. “Is it a different ring?”
“No,” Cipher says. “It is not a ring within the Cradle.”
“Then what is it?”
“Think of it like a parallel world, an in between that can only be reached and exited under specific requirements.”
“A different world,” I muse. “Like Earth?”
He hesitates. “Earthwasa different world. It does not exist any longer, but even if it did, The Harrow would not be like Earth.”
