Cindy Lou gathered up the woman’s clothes, which had fallen off when she’d changed, then started walking with me. “What—” I began.

She held up a hand to stop me. “Shh. I’m talking to her now.”

“Huh?”

“GaIAs can communicate with each other by exchanging chemical messages,” she explained. “Even when I’m human, I can still send them from my gut.”

This was a little more than I really wanted or needed to know. But still… “What happened to her?”

“I’m finding that out now.” She frowned. “Her name is Vera. Looks like she ate at a certain restaurant a few days ago. She had yogurt for dessert, but it tasted off. Then tonight, she just started melting.”

“They fed her ‘starter culture’ without telling her?”

“Looks like it.” She pursed her lips. “And you can bet I’m going to learn the reason why.”

“Is there any way to change her back?”

Cindy Lou shook her head. “No. Though she can just stay in human form forever if she wants. Still…” She closed her eyes. “I’m teaching her what she needs to know just in case.”