Page 110 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly
Talia and Lusa shared a knowing glance.“Nothing,” they said in unison.
Sparx rolled her eyes.“Tornit came back today.There’s something we need to talk about.”
Talia nodded her head toward her daughter.“After dinner.Lusa, go help Grandma with your sisters.I’ll put the guns away and then check on your other moms.”
Sparx watched her walk away.“She moves like you.”
“She does.”Talia checked the chambers and put the safeties on.
“Any sign of uninfected men?”Sparx asked hopefully.
Talia shook her head.“It’s beginning to worry me.”
“Why?”Sparx tilted her head.“I thought you wanted to kill them all?”
“Nothing would please me more.”Talia frowned.“But with a bunch of soon-to-be teenagers, the likelihood that one of them will run off with some infected oaf and undo everything we tried to do here grows higher.”
“Romeo and Juliet?”Sparx offered.
“No.None of us will stop them.Women making stupid choices for the sake of men is areallyold story.”
“Men aren’tthatbad.”
Talia bit the inside of her cheek and looked away.“Do you know where the Adlets come from?”
Sparx frowned.“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Of course you don’t.”Talia shook her head.“Niviarsiang refuses to marry a boy.She marries a dog instead.”
“Got it,” Sparx grinned.“I’m cool with furries.”
“You’re lucky Sesi isn’t here.”Talia rolled her eyes.“The Adlets are their offspring.They kill Niviarsiang’s father.In other stories, they’re always murderers and cannibals.All because Niviarsiang wouldn’t marry a man,we’rethe bad guys, so make of that what you will.”
Sparx tilted his head.
Talia sighed.“Do you think a woman made up those stories?"
She gathered up the rifles and ammo boxes and headed towards the storage shed.“Dinner is in about an hour,” she called.
The door to the MobilePod slid open, but she found no-one in the kitchen.There were no lights, but the sun squeezing through gaps in the blackout curtains.A faint blue glow came from the bedroom.Talia smirked and locked the door.
“About time.”Sesi held her prize, bound with the last Lumijute on Earth.The luminescent cord glowed from between her teeth, but Talia could tell Callie was grinning.
“I know you don’t have the patience for this part, so I figured I’d get started for you.”
“So thoughtful.”Talia leaned over and rewarded Sesi with a passionate kiss.Then she turned her attention to Callie.
“This is amazing!”Sparx said between mouthfuls.
Callie joined them at the table with a plate of rolls.“Thanks.Siku taught me.I had no idea what I was doing at first.”
Sparx’s eyes widened.“Uh...”He motioned his hands across his face.
Callie drew her hands across her cheeks and felt the rope marks.She blushed and ran from the table to clean up.
Sparx pursed her lips and side-eyed Cat who rolled her eyes.“I already know.”She kicked Sparx under the table.
Pinga and Lusa were the last kids to go to bed.Cat put on a pot and Callie passed around ceramic mugs.Sparx waited until the tea was poured to break the news.
