Eliza and Her Monsters(30)

Now Mom’s holding up her hands too. “Honey, your father’s just saying that, you know, this is the first time you’ve really hung out with a boy, and we should think about scheduling a few doctors’ appointments—”

“STOP.”

Sully has his hands clapped over his mouth to keep in his laughter. Church’s forehead rests on the table beside his plate, his ears and the back of his neck bright red. I sink against my chair. My hands and feet have gone numb. I stuff a green bean into my mouth, chew, swallow, nearly barf it up, then stand from the table.

“May I be excused?”

I don’t wait for an answer before I march out of the room.

I have never been so happy to spend an hour immersed in Monstrous Sea. I’m on the Great Continent, sketching clouds in a pale blue sky and a ravaged battlefield circled by carrion feeders. Hywolves, raptors, the fanged KiriKiri battlefield mice that spring from the earth to rip rotting flesh from corpses and drag it to their underground nests as food for their young. Fans often ask where I get ideas for the monsters of Orcus. I tell them I don’t know, but it’s easier to come up with monsters when you’re angry or upset.



I only stop when I hear Church and Sully pound up the stairs and into their room. It must not be board-game time yet. I check my phone.

Another picture from Wallace waits for me. In this one, an empty pie pan littered with crumbs sits on the floor beside a large knife. Wallace kneels next to it with more crumbs on his sweater, expression horrified.

NOOOO

WHAT HAVE I DONE

MY LOVE

OUR MARRIAGE

’TIS ALL FOR NAUGHT

I text back: Oh no!! Not sweet potato bride!

Another picture comes: Wallace sprawled on the floor beside the pie pan, one arm thrown over his eyes.

Let me only be accused of loving her too much.

Wallace is definitely having a better Thanksgiving than me. I wonder if his family asks if he has a girlfriend, and how much further things are going to go. I wonder if he says yes. I wonder how much further he wants to go.

I could ask him.

I probably won’t.



The Watcher had to have a host.

The pilgrims who visited for Amity’s blessing told her so, each and every one of them. The Watcher had to have a host, because its counterpart already had one, and that threw the world out of balance.

“Its counterpart?”

The old woman who had come to see her—the first of many pilgrims to come—nodded slowly. For the Nocturnians, who defied aging, the deep creases in the woman’s face spoke of long decades, perhaps even centuries, of life. A cluster of stars was tattooed over her right cheekbone, the same constellation she was named after. Like all the name tattoos, it was white and nearly camouflaged against her skin.

“Across the sea, they call it the Scarecrow. Its host has been gone from the island for many years. He has abandoned his guardianship. If he ever returns here, you must bring him back to order.”

“There’s—there’s another host?”

“His name is Faust,” the woman said. “And he eats souls.”





Monstrous Sea Private Message


emmersmacks: So how was the turkey??

emmersmacks: Seeing as the only turkey I got was the soupy stuff they serve in the student center Apocalypse_Cow: you could’ve asked me this in october. you know, when we canadians celebrated our thanksgiving. it was overcooked, thank you.

emmersmacks: Okay sour goose

emmersmacks: Lets hear from the less salty side of this trio MirkerLurker: Ehhhhh, it could have been worse. It could have been one of my aunts saying I should have a doctor check out my vagina, instead of my mom.

Apocalypse_Cow: um.

emmersmacks: Seconding that um

emmersmacks: What exactly prompted this??

MirkerLurker: Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

MirkerLurker: You know Wallace? My parents think we’re doing stuff together.

Apocalypse_Cow: i thought you already were.

MirkerLurker: No, we aren’t.

emmersmacks: Ew

emmersmacks: Not to you and Wallace doing stuff emmersmacks: To your mom being all like emmersmacks: VAGINA EXAM

MirkerLurker: She scheduled the appointment for next Wednesday. Kill me now.

Apocalypse_Cow: can’t, you have to finish monstrous sea.

Apocalypse_Cow: also you should probably stick around to keep doing commentary for dog days. I was scanning some of the forums for trolls after halloween and people were concerned that you were gone.

Apocalypse_Cow: also also i believe you have a foot to eat.

MirkerLurker: Oh, yeah. I saw those.

emmersmacks: We really did miss you though

emmersmacks: Are you feeling better??

MirkerLurker: Actually, I was never sick. . . . I went to a Halloween party with Wallace.

Apocalypse_Cow: wait. you’re telling me . . . hermit eliza mirk . . . went to a PARTY . . . with a BOY?

Apocalypse_Cow: and you expect me to believe the two of you aren’t doing anything?

MirkerLurker: We aren’t doing anything! I went to the party because I thought it would get my parents off my back.

MirkerLurker: Plus there was some really awesome Monstrous Sea cosplay there.

Apocalypse_Cow: is there anything else we should know about? harbored fugitives? cult of cthulhu in your basement? secret love of greek yogurt?