SAM

  “I’m ready,” I nodded at Cora, and she grinned at me, pulling on a hat and gloves.

  We stepped into the cool night air. It was probably in the upper forties, and that was definitely cold for summer. But I was used to cool nights in Wyoming, so I just had on my coat. For Cora, these temperatures were winter, so she dressed for it.

  Gods was she gonna have a time when the below-zero temps set in.

  I looped my arm through hers, and we headed down the sidewalk towards the diner.

  “This is the coolest city I’ve ever been in,” Cora started. “I mean, look at how the white buildings all gleam at night. It’s magical. The cold is insane, but living here must be amazing. And knowing other people who’re Talented? We just got here, but I already love it!”

  We passed a row of townhouses then made it to the business district. Nineton was laid out in a creative way that I hadn't seen on Earth. I supposed when you developed an empty sphere you could do whatever you wanted. And when you looked at this city on a map, it was interconnected circles.

  The middle was a huge city center where we’d landed at the airship station, and ringing it were nine circular burbs.

  Each circle overlapped, and in that area of interconnection, businesses were grouped together in a burgh. The non-overlapping parts of each circle contained the residences. So no matter where you lived, there was plenty of shopping or dining in walking distance.

  It was truly genius, and it looked like the burb we were staying in was quiet this time of night, which made sense.

  It was past time for families to be in bed, but Cora and I were too keyed up to stay in. We got to the cafe just as SassySword locked the door on a dark restaurant.

  “You close up by yourself?” Cora asked surprised.

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  “Nah,” Sassy started. “Everyone else left a few minutes ago, so I’m about to head home. Where you two wanna go? My partner’s asleep not feeling good, and everything in the burgh is closed except in the very center where there’s a few all-night spots.”

  I should’ve thought about that before we met up with Sassy.

  “How long of a walk to the center?” I wondered.

  “Around ten minutes, and my townhouse is the other way, about four minutes from here,” she said, pointing up the street.

  I looked at Cora, unsure.

  “Why don’t we walk and talk and decide on the way?” she suggested, and I relaxed. Good compromise.

  “Sure,” Sassy said, heading up the street and motioning for us. “I’m not gonna apologize for everything that happened to you, Sam. But I will say that I wasn’t the one doing the worst of it.”

  My stomach fell. So much for chit chat, eh, SassySword? I’d been able to mostly put the Discord nightmare behind me, but having someone remind me of it, just—“Wait, Sassy, you know about everything?”

  Cora squeezed my arm, but I wasn’t going to spiral. I was embarrassed.

  Sassy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to us, “Call me ‘Ree.' That’s my actual name, yeah? But Sam, I only know about Discord, Purple Road, and your basic stream site. I have limits on what I look into—“

  I held up my hands, cutting her off. This was too much, too fast. “I don’t think we should talk about this out in the open, uh, Ree. That’s so weird, calling you ‘Ree.' Um, I dunno, this whole thing is just—“

  “Ree,” Cora interrupted. “Tell us about your life here in Nineton. We’re used to living on a sphere where the sidewalks are covered in cameras, but that doesn’t seem to phase you. Maybe start there?”

  Her eyebrows lifted in acknowledgment, and she continue down the sidewalk with us. “Okay, yeah. Sorry about that. You’re right. It’s been awhile since I’ve met newbies, and I forget about the surveillance shit. My bad. For my part, you can see what I am, so I don’t bother pretending. I just go about my business not caring about crap most people get hung up on.”

  She paused, looking at me again. “I am really sorry, Sam. I’d love to explain what I can about it. Maybe the truth will help? My moms brought me here,” she waved around the city.

  “When I was a little girl, badly burned from a fire. The docs in Five Spheres were the only ones that would augment both arms for me, if you can believe that. So I love it here and can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

  She stopped in front of a townhouse that had a light on over the porch and a dim lamp in one window. “This is my place, and I don’t blame you if you don’t wanna come in. Actually, you’re smart to not trust anyone, so we can keep walking if that helps.”

  I looked at the townhouse, back at Ree, then back at the home. Something drew me towards the house, and I felt pretty sure Ree wasn’t a liar. She just didn’t give me that vibe.

  “Cora, if you’re okay with it, I think we can go in.”

  She nodded, “Lead the way, Ree.”

  Good choice, Sam. Good choice.