“Beautiful!” I sigh, loving the sound of their different languages, peppered with human words that I do recognize.
Sammy laughs as she looks at my awed face. “It’s all pretty amazing, right? Don’t worry if in a day or two you get a case of Labyrinth overwhelm. I did, but Arlo got me through it.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s when your mind gets overstimulated, like culture shock, I guess, and then you go all wobbly and tearful for a time. But it passes.”
“I very much doubt that will happen,” I respond jauntily. No way am I, Clem Summers, going to get overwhelmed by this place. And I certainly won’t cry.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, you’ve always been tougher than me,” Clem replies. “Come on, let’s eat.” She leads the way toward a building with brightly lit windows and above it is a sign that readsWelcome to Digger’s Diner. Best hot dogs in the Labyrinth.
My mouth starts watering. It’s early evening by now, I’d guess, and hunger pangs are setting in.
As we enter the diner, my eyes are once again accosted with amazing sights, sounds—and smells.
Most of the tables are already filled with monsters. Babies squeal, cute little replicas of their parent monsters, with chubby cheeks and upturned snouts and tiny horns. The adult monsters chatter, and there is laughter, somuch laughter. It strikes me that despite our constant entertainment in Sparkle, this kind of spontaneous, chaotic fun is not something we experience.
In Sparkle, people laugh in a certain way, like they’re constantly trying to impress.
That’s not what’s happening here. There’s so much babbling and infectious joy. Folks reach across tables to grab plates, pass them around, even share food off the same plate.
“Ah, there’s Digger,” Arlo says.
Sure enough, a sturdily built bearded guy with horns is racing toward us on cloven hooves.
He claps Otis and the other guys on the back, kisses Sammy’s hand with a lot of panache, and then his bright blue eyes appraise me. His pupils are oblique; it’s hard not to stare.
“Digger, this is my friend, Clem,” Sammy says. “She’s going to be assisting Otis for a while.”
He bows low and takes my hand. “An absolute pleasure to meet you, Clem, welcome to our humble abode. Let me locate you all a table.” With that he strides ahead, leading us through the restaurant to a large empty table near the back.
Many curious eyes are on us, and a few monsters wave and call out. It’s all good-natured, welcoming, friendly.
When we’re seated, I realize I’m right opposite Otis.
I glance under my lashes at his arm as he straightens his cutlery. His sleeves are rolled up and the play of muscles in his forearms sends a frisson of pleasure down my spine. I do love hunky arms, and the sheriff sure qualifies in that department.
The next moment, the prettiest creature sashays up to our table, lays out a water jug and glasses. She looks almost human, but the pointed ears poking out of her hair belie that notion.
Sammy introduces her as Tippy.
Sothisis Tippy. She’s petite, about my size, with pixie-cut red hair and a pointed chin. Her nose turns up at the tip, and I wonder if that’s how she got her name. Long silky red ears flex as she gifts me the sweetest smile.
Sammy gives her a brief rundown of how I got here. Tippy doesn’t seem surprised.
“Welcome, Clem. We had an inkling you’d be here soon,” she says, “You and Jax have exactly the same beautiful eyes.” She glances between me and my brother.
“Thank you,” I say, and waggle my brows at Jax. “Tippy just paid us a compliment, Jax.”
Jax raises a brow. “Guess it’s better than you nagging me, eh Tip.”
“Egh, sorry, my brother is so rude.”
“I’m used to it.” Tippy shrugs, and her pretty lips curve higher to match the twinkle in her amber eyes. She really is gorgeous. If Jax has the hots for her, I would totally understand.
And I think maybe he does. When Jax is rude to someone, it usually means he likes them.
Sammy launches in, “Tippy, Clem arrived here in just a bikini—too hard to explain right now, but she urgently needs some clothes. I’ve leant her one of my dresses, but, well, as you cansee, she’s drowning in it. I reckon you two are the same size. Could you lend her some stuff?”
