Page 52 of A Light in the Dark
I expected we would need an hour to get them all to safety. Rather than sigh over the time it would take, I went to work, following his example and moving with slow and deliberate motions so I wouldn’t frighten the moths into flying away.
For the most part, they cooperated, although one or twoflew off of their own accord, resulting in an entire tree’s worth of luna moths taking flight before settling back onto the trunk and branches.
“They’re so beautiful,” I whispered.
Once the stick was bare of luna moths, Joel checked it over before heaving a sigh. “Yep, there are eggs on it. That means the stick comes with us so my parents can take care of them. I’m going to need your help with this. Be careful with where you touch the stick. We don’t want to crush any of the eggs.”
Ten minutes later, we got the branch into the back of the SUV. After climbing into the vehicle, he made use of his phone and held it to his ear. “Hey, Mom. We found some deadfall on the road on the way in, and it’s covered in eggs, so we’re bringing it to you. We moved the moths off it, but it took a while. There were a lot of them. We may have taken some pictures first. Valerie loves luna moths, and I would have broken her heart if we didn’t get a chance to get a close look at them.”
I laughed because it was true. “I don’t even know how to look at the pictures I took, Joel.”
He grinned at me. “We’ll be there in about ten minutes, assuming there are no more branches in the way. Valerie suggested we salt the steaks at Jolena’s place, so they’ll be ready to be put on the grill right when we get in. See you soon.” He hung up. “Sorry, my mother is usually pretty relaxed, but that delay would start worrying her. Now that she knows why we’re late, she’s happy about it. I’m pretty sure she’s wanting to collect eggs this year to replenish moth stocks elsewhere.”
“I feel like I should call my mother and father and start taunting them with luna moths.”
He snickered. “I take it you don’t check in often?”
“Every three weeks, give or take. We do a family call. I don’t own a car, so it’s hard to go visit them. While they have vehicles, they think I’m insane for wanting to live in Stonecreek.”
“I don’t mind taking you, but I’m going to have to insist we flee to the better town next door should we be mobbed by gossips.”
“Joel, if I show up with some man from the town next door, we will be the subject of gossip foryears. It will be relentless. If you ever stop at that gas station, you’ll be put under trial for daring to accost one of the town’s girls.”
Laughing and shaking his head, he resumed driving. “I can probably handle it, but I’m going to need retail therapy to recover.”
“Fortunately, your hometown has three forms of ultimate retail therapy. Once you have finished swooning over Shifter Two and Shifter Three, you can relax at the bookstore, and then you can go get food from your cousin. And then there’s the garden store, which we haven’t even seen yet.”
“We’ll get there. There’s plenty of time for us to go to the garden store. It doesn’t take that long to grill and eat steaks.”
I snorted. “There are only so many hours in the day, Joel, and I’ve seen you in a garden store. Are you going to be capable of leaving before dusk?”
He sighed, and had he not been driving, I suspected he would have bowed his head. “I’m going to try very hard to.”
“With all those Earth roses to sniff,” I teased. “I’m going to have to escort you away, probably kicking and screaming. I’lleven allow a temper tantrum, mostly because it’s hilarious knowing that you, who is usually so proper and dignified, will absolutely throw fits over silk. I’m not at all upset you do that, by the way. Having picked my shifter, I understand. I would be pitching a fit, too, especially if Yolana told me I couldn’t buy Shifter Five’s silk. To be told so many times you couldn’t buy your chosen shifters’ silk? A true tragedy. The first time she tells me no, I’m going to be crying in the store.”
“You wouldn’t actually cry, would you?”
“There will be real tears, you mark my words. Real tears, Joel. If I run out of a floss color, and I have to rely on an inferior shifter’s fibers, I’m going to be inconsolable. Will anyone other than me know? Probably not. But in my heart, I will know my beautiful artwork was ruined from a lack of Shifter Five’s silk.”
Joel eyed his phone. “Maybe you should call my cousin and have her warn Shifter Five that they are being hunted.”
I giggled. “Shifter Five is safe for now. Are there only twelve luna moths in town?”
“Oh, no. Most of the people here are luna moths. The other shifters didn’t want to be numbered and just sell their silk to Yolana for her mixed lots. They get paid less but they get paid more reliably. Yolana is considering trying to make a wholesale arrangement for her fabrics and threads; she’s gotten the dyes to be consistent with a mix of magic and technique, so it’s useful for those who enjoy stitching.”
“Like me.”
“Like you,” he agreed. “But yes, we’re a town of luna moth shifters, and the only people who aren’t shifters are the spouses of moths who don’t have the right genes to pick up shapeshifting. There aren’t many of them.” After making athoughtful sound in his throat, he added, “I can think of five people who aren’t luna moths, and they’re actually making trips to Moonriver to see if they can undergo genetic therapy to be able to pick up the genes.”
“How do you know if you can pick up the genes?”
“You’re from the town next door, so you can pick up the genes,” he informed me. “Everyone anywhere near this area has it. The spouses in question aren’t from Stonecreek or Moonriver.”
Interesting. “And Moonriver is working on genetic therapy to allow those without the genes to shapeshift?”
“It was accidentally discovered when the Hunters were working on correcting a faulty gene—the one that killed Mr. Stephans’s wife during her first shift. They’re close to fully cracking the therapy for that, and once they get medical approval, they’re going to do the work on a few Hunters with the faulty gene. They weren’t trying to enable non-shifters to gain shifter genetics, but that’s how it worked out.”
“That’s so fascinating. How do I know if I have the faulty gene, though?” I’d heard of the gene and the sad fate of Mr. Stephans’s wife, but I hadn’t known it was possible to get tested.
