by Wesley King
“I understand, Laura,” he said. “I do. I lost my family to the monsters. It’s natural to want to protect them. And he is very young, I know. But when Tom gets older, I would love to sit down with him. He could play a big part down here, Laura. He has the Sight. He can help us.”
“I’ll think about it,” I grumble. “He’s already asking about it.”
Eldon laughed. “I’m not surprised. I suspect I will see him in Derwin before too long.”
Eldon glanced at me, as if remembering something.
“By the way, Caria mentioned she found some spiders by a tunnel entrance. Probably just followed the army up—I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Let us know if any wild monsters pop up in your world. That’s part of your job now: getting rid of them again.”
“I look forward to it,” I muttered.
He smiled. “Are you going to continue your training?”
“Probably should,” I replied. “I might take the week off, if that’s all right.”
He nodded. “You earned it. Go get some sleep, Laura Monster Crusher.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Laura Monster Crusher?”
He laughed and started for Arnwell.
“That’s what the people of Derwin are calling you. They’re singing it in the streets. Laura Monster Crusher: the girl with the mighty swing. She may be young, she may be small, but when she swings her hammer, monsters fall.”
I heard him laughing across the courtyard, and I smirked and shook my head.
“Small?” I asked incredulously. “That’s a new one.”
Saying goodbye to some of the other Monster Crushers, I went back to the elevator. Laura Monster Crusher. I could get used to that.
When I returned to the surface, I closed the panel behind me and was just starting to change for bed when my cellphone rang. It was Shal and Mia.
“We were just talking about you,” Shal said.
“Why?”
“How you were probably dancing around your room thinking about going out with Liam on the weekend.”
I paused. “I got tired.”
Mia giggled. “We knew it.”
“I still can’t believe Allison was nice to us today,” Shal said.
“I can’t believe Mia witnessed it.”
“Me either,” Mia said.
“Speaking of which,” Shal said, “did you see Carl’s hair today?”
I sighed. “Here we go again.”
“It was really cute.”
“I’m going to bed now,” Mia said.
“Me too,” I agreed. “Good night, girls.”
“But it was spiked differently,” Shal persisted.
I laughed and hung up the phone. Lying down, I thought about everything that had happened since I’d moved here. I knew my life had changed now, and not just because I was a Monster Crusher. Somewhere in all of this, I stopped wanting to be someone else. Did I want to be skinnier? Sure. Did I want to be prettier? Absolutely. But I think I was a little braver, a little smarter, and maybe even a little more of a leader than I ever would have imagined. Not to mention Liam technically asked me out. That was awesome.
Like I said, I’ve had a lot of names: Laura Largebottom, Laura Lardo, Laura Lovesick…the list goes on. But as I closed my eyes, I realized my new name described me best now. The one that reminded me that sometimes our most obvious weaknesses are also our biggest strengths. Laura Monster Crusher.
And for now, I was just happy that things were back to normal.
I was just closing my eyes when I heard a strange noise. It was like the pitter-patter of little feet against glass. I glanced at my window, frowning. Easing out of bed, I slowly crept toward my window. I gently pulled the curtains apart and almost fell backward. There, crawling up my window, was an enormous, furry black spider.
I sighed. Sort of.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Lynne Missen and the team at Penguin Random House Canada for taking on this project and giving life to a character that I know readers will love. Laura Ledwick is a representation of all the strong, self-deprecating, amazing women in my life and I certainly learned a thing or two by walking in her shoes. Working with Lynne to polish the draft and create a more cohesive book has been a pleasure, and I am also grateful to the team at PRH Canada for the amazing design work.
I would also like to thank my agent, Brianne Johnson, who just plain rocks. Thank you for your support in the early days of this project and for your endless enthusiasm and encouragement.
Thank you to my wife, Juliana, for not divorcing me while I was swinging a sword around pretending to be a Monster Crusher. Though if the call ever comes, I will definitely be ready. Thanks to my family and friends for their continued support. It is always appreciated and even more now with a move and a little more distance between us.
Lastly, I just wanted to reflect on the dedication. My Opa, Rolf Mueller, passed away a few years ago to join my Oma in a better place. He was a proud man who had a soft heart for his family, and he was much like Laura’s father: a big, burly guy who loved nothing more than to build with his own two hands (and to do it right the first time). We all miss him and my Oma greatly, though we know somewhere there must be a fabulous garden bordered by the sturdiest fence ever conceived, and that they might just be sitting in it now with a couple glasses of wine and some Lawrence Welk playing in the background. From Adam, Eric, Carola, Tom, Juliana, Dianne, Roland, Farida, Sharlene, your two new great grandsons, and myself, we love you guys and miss you very much.