Watch for Falling Rocks: Echidna's Darlings, #2

By Marianna Palmer

Gina Daniels is away from Echidna's School of Monsters for the summer. Hurray! But her life as a troll is far from forgotten. A reunion with her mother and a trip to troll mountain brings in more complications. Suddenly, all of Gina's control is lost. A thorn is inside her mind, because not all is well in Troll Mountain thanks to a new Hero, just as bad as Hercules. Thor, the Troll Thumper, the mighty God of Thunder! He keeps Gina's mother and people under tight control, but Gloria Daniels doesn't want Gina's help! As Gina tries to forget the newfound connection with her mother, she loses more and more of her control while enduring a summer camp for monsters. Gina comes to find out, though, that ignoring her mother is in trouble isn't at all possible as Gina begins to turn into stone. Realizing she has to do something to save her mother, Gina sets off to destroy the mighty Thor!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marianna Palmer
• Release date: May 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224761357

Marianna Palmer

Marianna Palmer is a creative force who has been crafting captivating stories from the depths of her imagination since she first learned to dream. Encouraged by a dare from her sister, she bravely embarked on a journey into the world of writing, which became her sanctuary during years of solitude, personal challenges, and overcoming deep-rooted fears. With an unwavering passion for storytelling, Marianna pursued her education and proudly earned her BA degree. However, she didn't stop there. Preferring the enigmatic allure of privacy, she briefly disappeared from the public eye, resurfacing intermittently in the company of her sister before once again retreating into her world of words. Currently residing in the vibrant city of Tacoma, WA, Marianna draws inspiration from the beauty of her surroundings while reveling in the safety of her sister's presence. Determined to live life to the fullest, she fearlessly confronts the unknown, defying the daunting obstacles that once hindered her path.

Book preview

Watch for Falling Rocks

Echidna’s Darlings Book Two

Marianna Palmer

1 Summer Tidings

Gina Daniels sighed as she stood in the living room of her cottage, holding up a rag and ready to do battle. Spring cleaning in the summer is the worst! she thought as she blew off a thin layer of dust that had accumulated on the mirror over the fireplace. Shortly after that, her amazingly big face appeared. She could see the reflection of her big but not ugly nose, her chestnut brown hair, large green eyes, and her—oh, she couldn’t say anything else about her face other than the fact that it was large.

Still, it wasn’t nearly as big as the troll she turned into when she was angry. That form had humongous features with the most massive horns poking out and yellow rubbery skin covering her body.

Both forms were relatively ugly to Gina, but she was trying her best to see the beauty in them. She, however, couldn’t see the beauty in cleaning when it was sunny outside. When she had heard that the summer break away from Echidna’s School for the Gifted (a nice way of saying school for monsters of all shapes and sizes) was a whole three months long from June 4th all the way to September 3rd she had been totally ecstatic. Even though Echidna’s was her second home, Face Mimicry, Strength Control, Self-Defense, Gardening, and Fu-Sci got really old after a few months.

A free summer with nothing except homework of squeezing her new pet chicken had seemed magical. Yep, still had work to do even being away from the school. Not that it hadn’t been helpful! She had further managed to separate her two forms so she could be the girl and become the monster a lot easier.

Now, though, that endless summer just seemed dusty. Even Buster, her summer homework chicken, wanted to spend the day outside. Yet, he was stuck inside clucking on her shoulder as she wiped down the mirror. It was amazing the bond she had with this chicken considering she spent the afternoons squeezing him to control her strength.

Gina didn’t see the need for it. Every single time she squeezed Buster, he plumped right back up. Truth was, she was doing great! Top of her class as usual. She was doing much better than before Echidna’s. Most times before, she would spend the summers crying because she had too much strength and no real friends. A year at Echidna’s had done wonders and she’d return to that school as an eighth grader in the fall. Now summer was here, the time for ... cleaning!

Yuck, Gina noted.

Don’t complain, her father, George Daniels, said as he carried a load of trash outside. You were too busy saving the world to do this at the proper time. This is the perfect day to make up for it!

Gina made a face—literally; she pulled her troll face out and stuck its gigantic yellow tongue at her father, after he went outside of course! She didn’t want to push it. She had been delaying this house cleaning ever since spring. She could always find an excuse with her friends. This year she had more of them than any other, and each one of them had called up and asked if she could come over, which demanded a lot of scheduling because some of them didn’t even live near her.

It was a good thing most of her group did. Betty Wendell, a gorgon girl, lived only a couple blocks over, while for Jack Anderson, a werewolf, she needed a bus ride to get to his adopted parents’ house. Helen Davidson, a dragon girl, was a lot further away, but Gina didn’t exactly mind. Every single time Helen and Gina came together it became a competition. And Ryan Adams, a vampire, lived in a rainforest further west in Washington.

She saw Helen regularly thanks to Valerie’s Banshee Boots and her willingness to make the trip from her house to Gina’s and vice versa (of course Gina had the sneaking suspicion that it was more about Valerie and George spending time together than Gina and Helen).

She had a few games of street football at Jack’s house. There was tea at Ryan’s house, a sleepover at Betty’s, and a bike race (of course a competition!) at Helen’s.

Unfortunately, the last of her friends had gone on summer vacation the day before yesterday, leaving no excuses and no other plans than to do as George asked and clean. That’s why here she was on a glorious summer day inside and wiping a mirror clean instead of seeing about climbing her hundredth tree of the summer or reading another book under the summer sky.

The phone rang. Gina dropped her rag and dove over the couch, knocking it over in the process.

Gina! George yelled.

The phone, Dad! It might be important! she replied breathlessly and picked it up. Neither George nor Gina had a cell phone. George insisted on a landline. It was good enough for my father, he had said more than once. Hello! she answered, hoping it’d be some kind of emergency her Uncle Lou had that’d get Gina out of the house and away from this cleaning.

Hi, Gina? Charlie Ballas’ voice came in clearly. Another new friend, this one had come over from the Heroes’ school, though as different from the lot of them as night to day.

When one heard the word hero, one thought of selfless and self-sacrificing people. But when it came to the Heroes school, the word selfish was way more appropriate.

The children Hercules had taught were direct descendants of Heroes and had powerful blood in their veins.

Heroes hated monsters. From the long past to current days, they had spread lies upon lies that all of Monster-kind were baby killing, blood hunting, evil beings from the underworld. They wanted to wipe the monsters off the face of the planet as the Heroes saw all monsters as a blight on their own perfection.

The Heroes’ plot to attack with a golden football and murder all the monsters as they sat stunned was the most underhanded dirty trick that Gina had ever heard about—and Gina read a lot.

Charlie himself thought he was a Hero until the blood of Lamia started appearing and making him unable to traverse the many stairs at the Heroes’ school. When the Heroes had found out they had tried to kill Charlie—which is when Gina had met Charlie in the first place.

Gina had saved his life.

Charlie! How are you?

Not bad, he said easily. You know that summer culture funding thing Echidna’s does?

Gina knew. Echidna’s had a sponsor that made gold, and he gave it over freely for the monsters’ care. There was even funding for monsters to discover their roots. As long as monsters or their families promised to use the money for learning more about their cultural heritage, their entire summer vacation was funded.

Well, Mom and I have taken advantage of it to find my heritage. There’s a small village of lamiae in southern Florida.

Florida! Did you go to Disneyworld?

Charlie laughed. Really? A lamiae village and you’re more concerned if I saw Mickey Mouse?

Gina laughed herself. I always wanted to go there, she admitted.

Yeah, I visited the park, but, sorry to say, Gina, I don’t think a troll and Disneyworld would work well together. Those lines would transform you really quickly into that angry troll.

Gina conceded his point. So, how are the lamiae?

"Amazing! They built an entire village from the bottom of a swamp. They made water roads and swim from house to house. We’re staying with an elderly couple who introduced us to their family and all sorts of lamiae cuisine and traditions. The food they eat is spicy! And Ryan would love the water polo. It is totally different with lamiae!"

Sounds like you’re fitting right in!

Charlie suddenly got quiet. Yeah ...

What’s up?

It’s nothing. How’s your summer?

Come on, Charlie! Gina pushed, knowing she wasn’t getting the whole story. Gina betted with everything in her that Heroes didn’t emote. But monsters did! And she would not end this call until she knew why Charlie suddenly sounded so down.

It’s nothing.

When you get back, I am going to stomp you with my troll form!

What? Charlie asked in surprise.

Or you can tell me what’s on your mind.

Charlie sighed.

Don’t be a Hero! she chided.

"Fine! These lamiae fly through the water. But that’s not all! They can also glide across land as well."

Aha, so that was it! Gina remembered the last time she had seen Charlie. Even with the training Ms. Ino, the Face Mimicry teacher, had started him on right away at Echidna’s, he couldn’t change his legs. He was supposed to have a thick green snake tail which would be quite a contrast to the mop of red hair on his head. Instead, his legs were only fusing together. Without training in Face Mimicry and then the Limb Transformation that came next, he’d be forever crippled when he reached maturity, like his mother already was.

As it went, he had to go around in a wheelchair for now. Even though he still had his great strength, his legs had started diminishing. It wasn’t pretty. Charlie had been so sure his entire life, and now this horrid weakness had taken over. He must have felt terrible when he came across lamiae who held the same blood in their veins but were more capable than he was in every way.

"When I play water polo, I stinking lose! Every time!"

Every single time?

Okay, no, they let me win quite a lot. They feel sorry for me and my mom. But ... I want to win for real!

Give it time! And for now, a little more practice might ...

No, Gina! I’ll never get their skill. They all were born into a community who understood how to take care of their young and teach them how to control their transformation since they were babies. Babies! From the moment a kid is in the water they can swim faster than me—they don’t need wheelchairs!

Echidna’s will help, Gina soothed.

"With all these capable lamiae around, I feel like an idiot. It’s funny; when I was a Hero, I believed I was superior to every monster. I guess I still have problems believing that. Here these so-called lesser people are kicking my tail! Or lack of one. Now I just feel like a loser. I’ll have to wait until fall to see if I can do a complete transformation. Ms. Ino said I should just get comfortable with the way I am now. Like that’s so easy!"

Gina’s heart went out to him. She understood all too well being the odd one out. Maybe you could focus on anger—oh, or better yet not anger.

Yeah, that makes sense. But he was quiet for a minute. Gina, he finally said. You aren’t like the others with your transformation, are you?

I guess not.

What exactly do you do? I mean, I heard from Ryan at your birthday party last year your mom showed up and looked ...

Gina’s heart went into her throat. She had spent a lot of time trying to forget her mom. Gloria Daniels was a troll just like Gina. But unlike Gina, when Gloria started noticing her own trollness, she had just run off and abandoned Gina.

Last year, Gloria had just shown up on Gina’s thirteenth birthday party and had not been welcomed in. Gina had thought that to be the last she’d hear of that nonsense, but then, before summer started, Gina had received a letter from Gloria Daniels, and it still weighed heavily on Gina’s mind. In it, Gloria begged Gina to come to a place called Troll Mountain, wherever that was.

With all the summer stuff she had done, it had been easy to forget her, but now that note came roaring back along with her mother’s face—not quite troll but not quite human.

Yes? Gina asked stiffly.

"Well, she didn’t look like what you turned into at the coliseum. Your mother is like ... okay, I’ll just say it. Your mother is like me—with the same kind of deformity, but you have completely become your troll, which makes you more like the lamiae at this village. How? What’s the difference?"

Gina considered that, but she had no real answers. At Echidna’s she had only one lesson, and bam her troll had jumped out, fully formed and ready to do damage. What was the difference between Gloria and herself? I ... don’t really know.

Charlie sighed morbidly.

But! I bet we could figure it out. How about when you get back I’ll show you what I can do, and then maybe you’ll be able to copy me.

Really? That’d be awesome! You’re so cool, Gina!

Gina blushed. She was not! Just doing what I can for a fellow monster.

Well, Mom and I will return at the end of July so as soon as we get settled back in, I expect a full lesson. I’ll be gliding by the end of summer. Then maybe we could play a game of water polo.

Fat chance! Gina said cheerfully. Sports and Gina didn’t go really well together. She usually ended up destroying ... something. But I’ll see you when you get back.

Great! Bye! and the dial tone sounded in Gina’s ear.

Gina, George said pointedly, was that phone call important enough to forget cleaning?

It was Charlie! He’s having a tough time. I personally think that doing good for your fellow monsters is a bit more important than cleaning. She put on her most angelic expression and smiled.

George groaned. Fine! You’ve got me! What did he want?

Training.

From, um, you? George said delicately.

Hey! I heard that!

What? he asked, his own angelic expression making an appearance.

That tone of judgment! You think I can’t be a good teacher? You know how good I’m doing in my classes! Look!

She ran to get Buster.

No, no, don’t bring the chicken into this, George moaned, but it was too late. Gina smashed the chicken together. George always got a sick expression on his face when she did this. He was a vegetarian, because he didn’t like cruelty to animals, and here Gina was, squashing a lifeform in front of his eyes.

Gina made sure to show that the chicken, even though crushed between monster hands, plumped right back up again. That was the mysterious connection monsters had with poultry. Chickens were protected by some kind of magical barrier which was why they were used as a way to control strength. If the monster side was not embraced enough, the human side was more in control. A human squashing a chicken wouldn’t do much to the chicken, which is why the chicken was a perfect learning tool.

As usual, fine! she declared to George who was covering his eyes.

But he conceded her point. Besides, there were more important things to get done like cleaning the house from top to bottom. No matter how much Gina begged to be let out, it had gone on too long.

Suddenly a honk echoed outside.

The mail! Gina yelled and ran towards the door. Since their house was the only one on this lane, the mail truck always came with a honk to tell them it was there.

Ginaaaaa! George yelled. She’ll just place it in the box. It can wait! Cleaning!

The word cleaning echoed in a wail, because Gina was already out the door and down the lane, bouncing in eagerness. If she were lucky enough, many more distractions would prevent further cleaning episodes today!

Hi, Gina, Beth the mail carrier called giving a departing honk. Gina waved her good-bye and opened the mailbox. Her heart soared. It was filled to the brim. She knew Ryan said he’d send letters even though e-mail was more popular, and Helen said she’d copy, but Gina had no idea that so many of her monster friends would appreciate that Gina had no phone. George adored the past and still wished that technology had frozen on telephones.

Gina was just glad that at Echidna’s there were similar ideas on technology. Some monster kids couldn’t even get near it without losing a limb or fading out of existence. That was the reason the popular devices that were all the rage at her old school were in short supply at Echidna’s. She didn’t have to feel too left out.

And this pack of letters all handwritten and personal sure was worth the wait!

Gina grinned as she flipped through the mail, no hurry to get back inside. She was sure to get an earful when she entered the house, but she still quickly scooped herself into the old tire which hung in sad slumber under the giant oak tree. As the gentle summer wind muttered through her hair, she gave the swing a light push. She was gratified to see return addresses of Betty in Italy and Ryan in Romania. There was even one from Helen in England. Thanks to Helen’s overachieving ways she probably started composing the letter before she left! In addition to the letter, there were some bills and a letter without a return address, but it was stamped with all these locations originating in Norway.

She ignored the last along with the bills. It was probably just a chain letter or something. Strange, it was addressed to George and Gina. Still, her friends’ adventures were way more exciting. Giggling (and pointedly ignoring George yelling for her), she enjoyed Betty’s tales of visiting Hercules’ temple and trying to turn it into a different kind of stone; Helen’s indignant tale of being escorted off the grounds of Buckingham Palace just because she flashed her monster face at a guard; and Ryan’s complete boredom as he sat around listening to the tales of vampire history told by an ancient vampire lady who had met Dracula.

When George started yodeling, she knew she’d better get inside quick, so she hurriedly opened the one addressed to both of them.

She froze.

No ... it couldn’t be! George wouldn’t have done this to her! He couldn’t ... how did he even know? No, no, no!

Numb, she slid off the tire and went inside, throwing the mail on a small table near the door. For the first time ever, the large foyer that loomed overhead seemed small and tight as she traveled through it. The air felt like warm molasses, thick and sticky. That letter ...

2 The Letter

The very same living room Gina had wanted to avoid so much suddenly looked more appealing. The first thing she did was grab the vacuum cleaner, roaring it around the living room, dodging the two leaf-green armchairs which were perpendicular to a matching couch with six flower-shaped throw pillows. The flower pillows were the last remnants of her mother. Her mother had taken a lot of care to match nature with George’s favorite color when she