Page 51 of A Light in the Dark
“Absolutely. I’ll figure out a fair rate for it, and I won’t even mark you up too much. Those shifters are a pain in the ass, though, so I have to mark it up.”
“Of course. I mean, they’ve earned being a pain in the ass. You want them for their vomit, Yolana.”
The woman giggled. “I’m going home tonight and tellingmy husband I only want him for his vomit, and he’s never going to forgive me.”
“It’s important that he understands his place in life, and that is as a provider of excellent quality vomit.”
Joel snickered. “And on that happy note, we’ll let you go. I’m about to hit the dirt road, and I expect we’ll be stopping every other minute along the way. Do me a favor and call my mother, would you? I’ll be taking my time so Valerie can enjoy the sights.”
“Will do. Enjoy the drive.” Before I had a chance to say goodbye, Yolana hung up.
“What sights?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
FIFTEEN
You are surprisingly naughty, Joel.
Five minutes after leaving town,Joel turned onto a dirt road, one that had seen some maintenance and a recent layer of gravel. The forest thickened, casting everything into gloom. It didn’t take long for me to spot the first cluster of sleeping luna moths.
“It’s so close to town,” I commented, rolling down my window so I could get a closer look at them. Cocoons hung from many leaves and branches, each one made of ghostly thin silk. “I see the cocoons!”
“These are wild luna moths, as my parents own only the road in this section. We’ll hit their property shortly. They have twenty acres in the front of their property, and the remaining thirty are in the back. They’re thinking about buying more land, too.” Joel stopped the SUV and pointed at a cluster of moths. “See the ones with the big feathery antenna? Those are the males. Once the sun goes down, the unmated females will release a scent that attracts the males.The first male to reach an advertising female wins the opportunity to reproduce. Basically, we’ll be photographing luna moths seeking a partner, engaging with a partner, laying eggs, or flying off to live the remainder of their days.”
“You are surprisingly naughty, Joel, photographing insects in the act. I don’t suppose you can teach me how to avoid the ones engaging in the act? I’d rather photograph the ones seeking their partner or flying off into the evening, satisfied with their procreation activities.”
He laughed. “Sure, I can help you with that. You’re not going to avoid the procreation activities, but you can readily dodge photographing such things.”
“I do not need any reminders that bugs get more action than I do,” I informed him in my most serious tone.
He snickered, put the vehicle back into drive, and headed down the road, slowing whenever we came across a large cluster of luna moths sleeping the day away. As we went deeper into the forest, every tree sheltered luna moths, transforming the entire area into a blue and green sea. “There are so many of them!”
“Around my parents’ house has the highest population. They bring in their favorite foods and feed the pupae so they grow healthy and strong. It also makes collecting the cocoons simple once the moths have laid their eggs and the process begins again. They try to collect as many of the cocoons as possible right as the main hatch ends, that way they don’t have to worry about disturbing the eggs. It’s a process, but it keeps them busy.”
I had no doubt it did. “This is absolutely incredible. If you told me this was magic, I’d believe it.”
“The only magic used is what my parents use to gain asmuch of the mundane silk as possible for spinning. Otherwise, luna moth silk wouldn’t be practical to collect and use. They’re the sole supplier on our world. Honestly, I think they might be the sole supplier, period. Yolana only buys a small fraction of the silk they gather every hatch.” Joel took care with where he drove, and when a cluster of moths had decided to sleep on a branch lying across the center of the road, he stopped the vehicle, killed the engine, and got out. “Get out your camera. You may as well start learning now. We’re going to have to move all these lovelies off the road, so we may as well charge them posing for us while they sleep.”
I did as he asked, pulling out the green camera and both film cameras. “Which lens for the green one?”
“Let me see what you have.”
I dug around the bag and retrieved each of the lenses, handing them over. After some deliberation, he selected the largest of the lenses and showed me how to install it on the camera. Once he had it clicked into place, he turned the device on and introduced me to the basic features, which included how to adjust the focus, what moving the rings around the lens did, and otherwise confirming I knew nothing about cameras. “If you hold the button lightly, the camera will try to auto focus for you. If you press harder, it’ll take the picture. If you like where the focus is, just press harder. You’ll figure it out after taking a few photos. You need to be about two feet away from your target to be able to focus it with this lens.” After handing me the camera and making sure I had its strap wrapped around my wrist, he pointed at the luna moths on the road. “Go play.”
“Why can’t I get kidnapped every day? I’m going to be fedsteak, I’m being told to go play, and I got set loose in a craft store.”
“And you bought your first camera. That’s important.”
“It’s important, but not quite as important as Shifter Five’s silk and steak,” I informed him in a solemn tone.
Joel sighed. “My mother keeps telling me the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach, but I thought she was joking.”
“Food is life, and steak is delicious. And when I’m fed, I’m happy. When I’m hungry, I get mean. I’ve been sufficiently excited through the acquisition of Shifter Five’s silk to be able to ignore the fact I’m hungry.” I eased out of the SUV, careful not to drop my new camera. “I can really just go up to them and start taking pictures?”
“They’re sleeping, so yes. Some of them might fly off when we move them to a safer spot, but as long as you don’t make loud noises or disturb them, you can photograph them.”
We spent the next half hour taking pictures of the luna moths, and when it was time to move them, we put our cameras back in the vehicle. Rather than pick up the stick, Joel worked his hand beneath the first one, woke the poor thing up enough it moved onto him, and he carried it to a nearby tree, giving it a chance to get its bearings before transferring it over.
