Children have no basis for sad and I knew that. Jonathan started to do things that told me he was not


    happy. He didn’t talk as much and yed with his toys less. He slept poorly and had to be reminded to


    nurse. I knew Nu-reeh would notice and she did.


    “He needs his Brothers,” she told me as she stalked in one day without warning.


    “Yes, Mistress,” I agreed watching the unusually quiet little boy sitting Listlessly by the pool.


    “Usually we wait until they have teeth and are eating on their own, but this cannot continue,” she


    informed me.


    Nu-reeh left after her promation, but Tosu returned Later to exin what would happen.


    The women knew the boys had to meet and match with their families. Gatherings were held regrly in


    predetermined sites. Any woman with a son was wee to attend. Women flew from all over the


    world to meet, but I was a special case.


    Jonathan needed me to feed and it was deemed foolish for Nu-reeh to be dragging a human across the


    net. The women had agreed to forgo the usual site and hold the next meeting in our mountain.


    “Be strong, Rachel,” Tosu whispered to me with her back to the cameras, “he will be fine to grow for a


    while with the Child Keepers. He will be brought back to you.”


    I fought for inner peace as I thanked her.


    It was less than four day cyclester when I received my summons to attend. Jonathan and I had been


    sitting with Rose and Fuji. Dinah came to our rooms and demanded I bring my knitting needles, yarn,


    and Jonathan. I followed her out the main door toward the area where the women stayed.


    We walked to the huge wall and Dinah scooped me up. When we took flight Jonathan screamed, but


    not Like I wanted to. That was fun and he wanted to do it again. He cried and fought when Dinah put us


    down at the top. He begged in his jumblednguage to do it again.


    Dinah was never friendly with me; I was barely tolerated. Jonathan was a different story. She took him


    from me and flew him up and down five times before she walked us inside. Jonathan was ecstatic and


    grinned broadly at the huge woman. He was enraptured with Dinah. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at


    his taste in women.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    In the past I’d been in the women’s area and it had been sparsely popted and quiet. Therge


    central area was amon pass through, but the women didn’t congregate the way men did. Today


    was entirely different.


    The stone pit my girls dipped their talons in was literally walled off. The rest of the area was alive with


    activity.


    The main floor was Lit with torches and scattered with brightly colored toys. Cushions were all over the


    ce and I soon noticed why. As two rge women stood and talked a boy was nestled between them.


    He was wrapped in a nket on the soft, little make shift bed, sound asleep.


    There were perhaps fifty women here all with their boys roving about or resting.


    Jonathan rode in my arms and took it all in for a moment. He’d never been in the presence of this many


    before and he’d never seen other little boys.


    He was content to sit in wonder for all of about twenty heartbeats.


    “Mama, down. I wan!” he demanded struggling out of my arms.


    He hit the floor and couldn’t decided where to go first. A momentter he bolted toward a group of boys


    ying.


    I wasn’t sure what to do and thought perhaps I should stop him, but Dinah corrected me.


    “Let him be,” she demanded grabbing my arm.