Monster - A. Lee Martinez [15]
Monster said, “So I’ll just take these off your hands and—” Two more trolls ventured into the bedroom. One was hairless with a bulbous blue ass, and the other was lumpy and pig-like. The trolls rushed Chester, who threw the candy at them and folded himself into a spider and started climbing up the wall. The trolls snarled and fought over the bag.
Growls and an overpowering stench came from the darkened closet.
Trolls of various shapes, sizes, and colors began to fill the bedroom. A few wandered over Monster’s magic circle and were transformed into harmless stones. But the circle’s power faded and at last was consumed, leaving a few dozen wandering around the room.
Something big and red struggled to stick its egg-shaped head out of the closet, but its ears were too large. Its massive fingers wrapped around the doorjamb as it struggled to push its way through.
“What the hell is that?” asked Monster. “You mean you don’t know?” said Judy. “I believe it’s a kojin,” remarked Chester. “Although I’ve never heard of one outside of Asia.”
The snarling kojin pushed against the frame. Meanwhile, trolls trickled between its ankles. They were groggy in the light of day and confused by the odd surroundings. Trolls ate anything. Or rather, trolls would try to eat anything. They chewed pillows, strewn clothes, the end table, and carpeting.
“Hey! Give me that!” Judy snatched a lamp from a troll’s jaws. “That was my grandma’s.”
The troll snapped up the end of the power cord and slurped it down.
“Damn it.”
The closet frame cracked as the kojin thrust several of its arms into the room. It looked to have at least twelve. It made a clumsy grab at Monster but couldn’t quite reach.
“Time for Plan B, Chester,” said Monster. “We’re going to have to seal them in.”
They exited the apartment. Monster fished around in his pocket and grabbed a red marker. He scrawled a quick containment rune on the door.
“But you can’t just leave these things in there,” said Judy. “What about my stuff?”
“Sorry, miss,” said Chester. “But we’re required to in the interest of public safety—”
“Get me another black marker from the van,” said Monster. “Left the one I had on me in the apartment. Not sure how long a red seal will hold trolls in.”
Chester folded into a falcon and soared off toward the van.
“These doors are made of particleboard,” said Judy. “It won’t hold anyway.”
Something, many things, crashed inside the apartment. The moist troll scent filtered under the doorjamb.
Monster scrawled the last squiggle of the rune just in time as something heavy, probably the kojin, thudded against the door. Several cracks appeared, and the hinges broke off. The magic, and only the magic, kept the door in place.
“How does that work?” asked Judy. “It just works.”
The cryptos on the other side continued their thrashing against the door, inflicting a steady increase in cracks and dents.
“Shit. It’s not going to hold,” said Monster. “What’s going on here?” The manager stormed toward them. “What are you doing to my apartment?”
Judy grumbled. “Look, asshole. All my stuff is getting eaten by trolls. I don’t really need to hear any crap from you.”
“Situation’s under control,” said Monster. “I’m afraid we’ll have to call in a cleanup team. It’ll be inconvenient, but better than having to deal with a horde of skin-eating trolls.”
“They eat skin?” asked Judy. “Among other things.”
“Oh, no,” said the bald man. “No, no, no! You can’t do this! Who do you think you are? You can’t deface private property like this!”
“Relax,” said Monster. “It’s non-permanent.”
Chester appeared with a handful of markers.
Monster grabbed a black one. “Took you long enough.”
The manager grabbed Monster’s wrist. “Nobody marks on my doors without explaining just what’s going on—”
The door crumbled into pieces. Only a residual magic kept the trolls from stepping over the threshold. However, it didn’t stop the kojin from reaching out and seizing the manager by the head. His muffled scream was mercifully ended by a crushing squeeze.