Monster - A. Lee Martinez [95]
“Trifles,” said Lotus. “Oh, there will be some growing pains, I’m sure, but it’ll all work itself out in the end, and when it does, the world will be a much better place for it.”
Judy thought about it, and it didn’t seem so bad to become a cat. Her life hadn’t been going very well, and it wasn’t as if she had much of a future. But things like that didn’t bother cats. She wasn’t sure how she felt about having a tail, but she did like tuna salad and sleeping in. She wanted to argue with Lotus, wanted to come up with some brilliant reply that countered everything she had just said.
Nothing came to mind.
A blue meteor smashed through the ceiling, colliding with Lotus, who was knocked through the floor and into the basement. The stone flew out of her hands and landed in Judy’s lap. She grabbed it and was struck by a flash of insight.
The stone needed her, and she needed the stone. Her whole life had been leading to this. Things hadn’t been going wrong in her life. She wasn’t a screwup. She just hadn’t known her purpose.
The stone throbbed with a bright blue light.
Ferdinand wrapped her hand around Judy’s neck and yanked the stone from her hands. Ferdinand’s powerful muscles strained and she wrenched it free, taking a layer of Judy’s skin with it. Judy yelped.
“You’re not supposed to touch this.” Ferdinand tossed the stone to Ed. “Keep it away from her.”
“Okeydokey,” said Ed.
The stone called Judy. Lotus was right. The time was near. Nearer than she’d imagined. The culmination of her life, of every life. But the window of opportunity would close as suddenly as it opened, and she needed to be holding the stone before that happened.
Ferdinand dragged Judy to the edge of the hole. They peered into the dim basement.
“Bet Lotus didn’t see that one coming,” said Judy with a smile.
“Is she okay?” asked Ed.
There was no doubt that Lotus was only inconvenienced. But Ferdinand and Ed were right to be worried. Under normal circumstances, one invulnerable blue guy plummeting from the sky would’ve bounced off Lotus like a single drop of light rain. But the balance had shifted. The stone, though still too afraid of Lotus to leave her completely vulnerable, had withdrawn some of its protection. But Judy knew Lotus wasn’t harmed, merely stunned. And that wouldn’t last long.
A paper hummingbird flitted out of the hole. Ferdinand swatted at Chester, who nimbly darted out of reach.
“Judy, you’re here! And the stone!”
Chester folded himself into a mini-pterodactyl and dive-bombed Ferdinand. She grabbed him by the ankle and threw him to the floor.
Chester refolded in such a rush that he ended up tearing off a few pieces of himself. He became a full-size bear, putting the extra effort into folding himself some jaws with a full set of teeth, which he flashed in a grin.
“Roar.”
He wrapped Ferdinand in a powerful embrace.
“Hurry. I can’t hold her for long.” His paper body was stretched to its limits, and his arms were already half torn from the strain.
Judy turned toward Ed.
“Give me that.” Judy took a step forward. The cats intercepted her. They hissed, honked, growled, and screeched at her.
“Get lost.”
A ripple ran through the universe, and suddenly the room was full of fox-faced imps. They filtered from all the unseen corners and shadowy nooks and crannies, from under the couch and smashing through the windows. The army of imps and the legion of cats turned the den into a deafening war zone.
Judy walked through the middle of the battle. “Give me that stone.”
Ed turned and ran.
A sasquatch stomped its way out of the kitchen, and a manticore roared at the top of the stairs. Ed dashed out the front door and was confronted by a full-grown lake horse on the lawn. The crypto wasn’t happy. Not surprising, considering that it was a twenty-five-ton sea creature stuck on dry land. It flapped its flippers and whipped its tail, with little effect. Its head turned in Ed’s direction and growled.
“Give me that stone!” shouted Judy.
Ed’s horse nature took