I’m not certain I have the energy to birth… this… Oh, my! I can hear it! My Darling! I can hear you inside me…”Alana smiled weakly at her li...emate lying next to her as he absorbed as much of her radiated emotions as he could. “How much longer…”“It will stop feeding on your life-blood when it reaches maturity,” Sibilius promised. “Probably another ten or fifteen minutes. This one is growing faster than its parent plant.”“Do you… suppose it…” Alana gasped. “It’s evolving? Some… something you. 'Where could she be, ' she wondered."I have an idea," Mark said, interrupting Nena's train of thought as he took another long pull of his beer, "Why don't we play a little language game before the band comes on?"The others around the table nodded their agreement. Nena said in her broken English, "I don't do well in language games. I don't speak English really well."Mark leaned in and said to her with a lopsided smile, "There are only two words you need to know in this game, truth or dare. Just. She's not the owner, so strictly speakingshe's not the junkshop girl, either. Sometimes I'll go by and I'll see theowner there, a squat older woman from some Southeast Asian country, and I'llpass by, avoiding her forbidding scowl.But other times I'll be about to pass by the window of the junkshop and I'lljust know my girl is there. Maybe I've subconsciously glimpsed her in one ofthe tarnished tablespoons in the window, or maybe her dusty-spicy fragrancelingers on the doorstep I haven't even. If Kellta was dead I had no doubt I'd be bringing not only Weeta, Woota, and their possessions back but I'd probably need to bring her mother too. Shit, I'd worry about it tomorrow."Do not worry Weeta. I will take plenty of people with us so that we can deal with any situation that comes up. If Kellta is alive and well, he will take care of you. If he is injured and not able to we can bring he and your sister back with us if he wants. I have some very good medicine at our camp. If he is dead we.