I fly around the lounge, launching towards the hallway and the bedrooms, determined to get rid of this spawn.
“Wait! Stop!” Mrs Nome shouts, but I ignore her. “Diablos, you better come sort this out right now. I quit! Do you hear me! I quit!”
Diablos appears. “Mandy, wait!”
“No, sir. Look what they’ve done!”
Diablos huffs as he takes it in. I stalk towards him, forgetting the bedrooms. Lirin and Reed take over searching for me.
“Siri says she’s here,” I snarl furiously.
Diablos does a double take. “Siri?”
“Yes, some evil female is hidden inside the house,” I snap. “We can’t find her.”
“Oh…” Diablos sits down heavily but falls through the destroyed couch, ending up trapping himself in the ruins. He struggles, but it appears the couch is a perfect demon trap. “Get me out!”
I stare at him impassively, absolutely unwilling to release him until I get my answers. “Did you send Siri to spy on us?”
“What? No!” Diablos says, outraged.
“Who is she?”
Diablos explodes the couch and stands up. Crawling on his hands and knees, staring mournfully at Mrs Nome as she disappears. He stands up and slams his hands on his waist, glowering and radiating demonic fury. “Come here! All of you. Let me explain human technology. Again.”
***
I walk out to the ocean and step into the water, just letting the bracing cool calm me. What will it be like not to have a connection to the oceans? To be free?
Siri. Humans have artificially intelligent technology in their homes to help them with…everything. It’s exhausting. This world is exhausting.
“Ronit.”
I shake my head. “I’m going to change my name to something you don’t know so you can’t walk around saying my name all the time.”
Lirin chuckles and leans against me. “I was just checking you weren’t out here trying to drown yourself.”
“Not there yet. Close, but not yet. What are you doing out here?”
Lirin lets out a happy laugh and scrapes his hair back in a carefree movement that reminds me how much I love him. He was innocent, like Brio and Reed. They don’t deserve to live like this anymore.
It’s my job to protect them. To free them. Whatever it takes.
“Reed threw a wet tea towel at Brio, but it missed and hit her. Leaf is now chasing Reed around with a cheese grater, saying he will grate off his fish balls and stir-fry them with kelp.”
I bite my lip, closing my eyes, trying not to laugh. It’s not funny. It’s not.
“She is something else,” Lirin says gently. “I don’t think she’s bad or evil, Ronit.”
I let out a weary moan and squeeze my eyes closed. “I don’t want to hear.”
“Coward.”
“Damn straight.”
There’s a silence as we float in the water ,and I wait for him to continue. I reach out and tangle my fingers with his, drawinghim closer so I can kiss him, perhaps to stop any more stories or because I need to feel something steady.
I don’t give out my affections easily. It’s not my way.
