Page 72 of Monster's Baby

I grinned.“I don’t think our opponents quite realized what happened to the last homunculi.”

“Maybe they think they can dig up from underneath,” Pierre said.

“Teeth?Are you ready?”I asked.

Joey saluted.“I can feel him.He is definitely trying to crawl up inside the mountain.”

“He’ll manage it,” Carmine said.“At least until we grind his bones to make our bread.”

I chuckled.“We are pretty giant.”

“He found the mouth,” Joey said after a beat.“Destroy!”

It took very little time before the team that had cheered slumped in place and I knew we had destroyed the heart.

“You two built excellent teeth,” I told Joey and Carmine.“Any damage?”

“Not to us.There’s a little bit of scratch damage to the underside of the mountain, though,” Carmine said.

“If you follow the scratches, they’ll lead to yourdoom!”Joey shouted.

“Hush, puppy,” Carmine ordered, clapping her hand over his mouth.

“Puppy?”I mouthed at Bruce, who shrugged with a smile.

“He’s a wolf shifter,” Sofia stage-whispered.

“Ah,” I said.“Moving on.Who’s next?”

“I think the other beast is the most dangerous,” Pierre said, pointing to the homunculi who had managed to dig his claws into the side of the mountain and was slowly climbing up to the top.

“Hmm.Ideas?”I asked.“We don’t want him to get to our heart.”

“He won’t.It’s not at the very top.”

“No, but the top is a weak point.”

“Maybe we can shake him loose with another jump?”Joey suggested.

“Those claws look pretty sharp,” Carmine said.“He may not fall.But if we trigger a landslide...”

I nodded.“I see where you’re going with that.It should start higher than where he is now, and run right over him.We might have to lose our outer rubber layer from top to middle on that side.”

“It’ll be worth it, though.And the humanoids can’t climb as high as the beasts,” Bruce pointed out.

“Okay.We’re in agreement?”Everyone nodded.“Bruce, Sofia, keep the slide directly over the beast.Pierre, tell me the instant he loses grip.I don’t want to lose an inch of rubber that we don’t have to.”

“Roger that,” Bruce said.

“Joey, Carmine, prepare to eat.”

“With relish!”Joey said, rubbing his tummy.

Carmine rolled her eyes.

I focused on feeling for the spells that held the mountain together.I’d have to be careful not to strip more than the outer layer.Starting at the top, I scraped a thin slice free.It peeled off nicely, starting a cascade of clay rocks and mud that slid down a narrow channel on the side of the mountain.

I could feel Bruce and Sofia in the sides of the channel.It was comforting to know that they were there to catch any stray pebbles.

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