Except for the moon. There was only a dim star-filled sky left in its place.
The cult howled with ecstasy at the triumphant departure of their god. Except for Sharon, who released a long, miserable wail. For several seconds after the other cultists had returned to their human shapes, Sharon stayed a beast, reluctant to give up the last bits of Fenris left to her. But even she couldn’t hold on to it for long.
Diana took Sharon’s hand. “It’s for the best.”
Sharon nodded. “I know.”
A tendril dipped back into reality just long enough to slide along the celestial rift in Fenris’s wake and seal it shut like an undone zipper. And he was gone, off to whatever and whenever, to realms of possibility that Diana didn’t bother trying to imagine.
From one bewildered hapless entity to another, she wished him the best of luck.
CHAPTER THIRTY
She sat on her lawn chair, enjoying a tall glass of iced tea in the peace and quiet. Not all possible worlds were those of giant mutant insects or mole people. The universe was not just home to cosmic monster-gods and inconceivable horrors. And this reflection of an Earth that might have been (or perhaps once was or would be) was a good place to get away from it all.
This particular world was quiet. Humanity was gone. Here and gone like the hazy details of a forgotten dream. Or perhaps it had never been. The only possible trace of its existence in the endless fields of green was the silhouette of a tower on the horizon. It could’ve been a skyscraper. Or a peculiar rock formation. Diana had never bothered to check.
The floating door opened, and Sharon stuck her head through.
“There you are. West said you’d be here.”
Diana glanced at her watch. “Oh, damn. Sorry. Lost track of time.” She jumped to her feet and exited the universe.
“Are you going to leave your iced tea there?” asked haron.
“It’s not mine.”
“Whose is it?”
“Don’t know. But it’s always there. Sometimes it’s lemonade.”
Sharon didn’t ask for any further explanation. She understood as well as Diana that there were mysteries meant never to be solved.
The door closed on the universe with a peculiar pop. The door was one of five in a cramped hexagonal room. The door they had just exited had the word safe written across it in black marker. Two of the others were marked iffy. One was unmarked. And the last one was stained with red handprints and deep scratches.
They climbed the tight spiral staircase up and out of the room and entered the apartment hallway. The staircase was visible only from certain angles, but that was true of many things in the building. Thanks to Zap’s transference, Diana was getting better at perceiving reality beyond a standard fourdimensional model. It’d bothered her at first, making her think she was losing her humanity, but humanity was found in more than limited awareness. And being able to see into the sixth dimension meant never having to lose her car keys again.
West, holding a broom in each hand, shuffled forward.
“Not Apartment X again,” said Diana.
“’Fraid so.” He held a broom out to her.
“Can’t you take care of this one without me?” she asked.
He stared at her.
She smiled. “I’ve got a dinner date.”
West shrugged. “Fine, but don’t come cryin’ to me when Dread Ghor absorbs the stars, Number Five.” He shambled away, mumbling.
West wasn’t so bad. In his own way he was a friendly sort, and she didn’t mind helping around the building, pitching in here and there. Keeping the universe in order helped pass the time.
“Thanks,” shouted Diana at his back.
“I owe you one.” He made a vague wavelike motion with his hand without turning around. He passed Vom in the hall.
“Hey, hey, Diana,” asked Vom. “Is it dinnertime already? Where are we going?”
“We were hoping to keep it just the two of us,” said Diana.
“Oh.” His mouths frowned. “Okay. That’s cool.”
“Let him come along,” said Sharon. “He’s cute.”
“You’ve been spending too much time around monsters,” said Diana.
Vom stuck out his lower lip and tilted his fuzzy green head in her direction.
“Oh, fine. But we’re not gng to any buffets.”
On the outside Diana took a moment to study the moon in the night sky. The glowing orb was a little fuzzy around the edges. She focused her powers and willed it into place.
Fenris had absorbed the original moon with his escape, and Diana had taken it upon herself to create a replacement for the sake of the ecosystem. Such was her power now that it hadn’t been difficult, although the moon’s existence did demand most of her magic and required periodic reinforcement. Imagining a moon into being kept her more arbitrary wishes from forcing themselves on the universe, and she called that a win-win.
There was another other-dimensional refugee waiting at the bottom of the steps. Waiting for her.
In the few months since the Fenris incident, Diana had begun picking up strays. Some were brought to her by people like her. Wardens who had stumbled into contact with the unnatural. Others were like this newest one, simply sitting on the doorstep, drawn to her by the mysterious aura that made her a beacon for things lost in time and space.
She’d stopped being reluctant when she realized that the creatures, for all their faults, were just lost and confused. Like Fenris, they were just waiting for their chance to escape. In the meantime, all they really wanted was a safe place to stay for a while.
The furry mushroom with stumpy legs whimpered as she approached.
“It’s okay,” she said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Why don’t you go inside and make yourself comfortable? I’ll be back in a few hours.”
The creature yipped. It rapidly trundled (as rapidly as anything could trundle) up the stairs and ran into the building.
“You must be running out of room,” said Sharon.
“The apartment is a lot bigger than I realized,” replied Diana.
She was discovering new doors daily. Space was a more flexible concept than most ever conceived.
“I still think we should be a little more selective,” said
Vom. “If you keep adopting every little horror you come across, something bad could happen.”
“Bad like what?” asked Diana.
“I don’t know. Bad like bad. Weren’t you the one terrified about too many monsters messing up your life? Or if the universe would smack you down for gathering too much supernatural power?”
“I was,” she said. “But I’m over that. I don’t think the universe cares if I have power. It just cares what I do with it. And if I don’t do anything too radical then I think everything will be okay.”
A few gray clouds sprinkled rain on the block. Diana willed them away. Small magics burned away the little bits left to her after her preservation of the moon. She couldn’t help having some unwanted influence on reality, but little wishes kept her power in cheheight=" was all about balance, a fine touch.
“I never apologized,” said Sharon. “For that thing with the cult.”
“You don’t need to.”
“But I almost stopped you from saving the world.”
“I didn’t save the world. I almost destroyed it.”
“Don’t be modest. You reminded Calvin what it was like to be human.”
“He would’ve remembered on his own. You’re the one who spent years with him, really showing him.”
“Possibly. But I think you sticking around to fight was what really struck the chord.”