5:50 a.m.

Only about fifteen minutes until sunrise, and I wasn't any closer to figuring out how to close the Core. I watched the seconds tick by on Jo's monkey watch she'd loaned me, feeling completely helpless. Time had once again joined ranks with the rest of my enemies.

Black sticks in pregnant gardens. Black sticks in pregnant gardens. What could it mean?

We rode in Callum's car while Jo drove carefully through Krapper without any real destination. ...