Authors: Christine Rains
Fearless (6 page)
“Good. This has to end tonight.” Abby didn’t protest as he
put an arm around her to lead her away from the café. He was warm and strong.
She needed that right now. Night would bring the cold, and then she would have
to be the strongest one. If she wasn’t, she was certain she would die tonight.
The house at the end of the road
.
I wonder how much it’s like the one in the book
. Tawa piped up from the
backpack.
“It could be exactly the same for all it matters.” Abby rang
the doorbell. Her breath made small impatient clouds. There was still an ache
in her head, but from lack of sleep rather than her injuries. Her wrist was
wrapped up, and she had taken some Tylenol. She was at the best she could be
without more time to rest and heal.
“Do you hear that?” Demetrius cocked his head to the side.
“What? The cheesy jazz music Burrows just turned on in
there?” Abby snorted.
Hey, that’s Sarah Vaughan
.
This is classic jazz
.
Tawa asserted.
“No,” Demetrius said in a quiet tone. “There’s no nightlife.
No birds or animals. It’s only seven. No kids or even teenagers out in the
neighborhood.”
Abby had been too lost to her own thoughts to notice the
eerie quiet of the night. Even if it was cold out, it wasn’t late. She didn’t
get more than a few seconds to nod at Demetrius before the door swung open.
Burrows smiled at Demetrius with lips painted too red. Then
she noticed Abby and her smile faltered. “Oh, hello. Good evening.”
“A good evening to you, my dear Myrtle. I hope you don’t
mind. My sister was feeling better, and I didn’t want her sitting around the
hotel by herself, so I brought her along.” Demetrius grinned and walked inside
without waiting for an invitation. He unbuttoned his jacket and slid it off.
Rolling his big shoulders, he dropped the jacket over the back of a chair.
“Oh, well, I suppose. I didn’t make enough food for three.”
Burrows fiddled with the rings on her right hand. She stepped back and motioned
to Abby. “Come on in then.”
“Thanks. And it’s all right. I’m not hungry.” Not for food,
anyway. Abby walked near Burrows, but her hands didn’t glow. What was different
in the store the first time they met? She closed the door behind her.
What’s it look like
?
Is there a curving staircase
?
Tawa inquired.
Two of her characters had their first kiss on it, and then
one of them was killed in the same spot
.
“Nice place you’ve got here. I see you got a lot of your
inspiration for your books from your own home.” Demetrius answered Tawa’s
question as he took a slow tour around the main room. He came near Burrows and
threw her a sexy little smile. “You look lovely tonight. That color brings out
your eyes.”
Abby suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Burrows wore a
hideous green sweater that made her look more like a toad than anything else.
She undid her coat and eased the backpack off, setting it on the floor. She
bent as if settling her bag and opened the top so Tawa’s head popped out.
“Thank you.” Burrows cooed and flushed. “Um, perhaps your
sister would like to go into the TV room and watch something while you and I
have dinner?”
Demetrius looked over at Abby, and she gave him a subtle
shake of her head. She wasn’t going to wait for them to have a leisurely meal
before they questioned Burrows. They needed answers as soon as possible. The
monsters would come out as soon as children started going to bed. There was no
time to waste.
“If you don’t mind, darling, I think maybe we could all go
have a sit-down. Our conversation got cut short earlier today, and I prefer to
work up an appetite.” Demetrius gestured to their hostess to lead the way.
Burrows looked as if she was going to protest, but finally nodded and took them
into a smaller room where the furniture was more worn in and a flat screen TV
hogged the space on the far wall.
“Have a seat. I’ll just check on the food and make sure it
doesn’t get cold.” Burrows exited the room with a smile over her shoulder at
Demetrius.
Ten seconds later, the power went out. The house was dark
and quiet. Too quiet. Just like it had been outside.
Abby’s hands glowed and the swords slid out. She gripped the
slim hilts, trying to ignore the nervous perspiration. She and Demetrius moved
to stand back-to-back with one another. Instinctive reflex.
Who turned out the lights
? Tawa squawked from the
other room.
“I guess I’m not getting any dinner.” His humor didn’t hide
the tension in his voice.
“I think that’s the least of your worries.” Abby listened
for something, anything, but the house itself didn’t even creak. “Too bad you
didn’t bring your club. Anything else you could use as a weapon here?”
“Ah, but I did bring it.” Demetrius reached into his pants’
pocket. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped as he withdrew his enormous
weapon. It was like watching a cartoon. It wasn’t physically possible. Her
mouth opened and shut wordlessly.
“Bet you’re wondering what else is in my pants.” He smirked,
clearly enjoying her reaction. She elbowed him. “Magical weapon. It can be a
twig or a trunk depending on your needs.”
“I’m not going to say anything.” There was no way Abby could
do without thinking about what else was in his pants. Focus. She needed to
focus. “Burrows was expecting us to do something. We search one room at a time.”
“Main floor first,” Demetrius said. “Then—”
Staircase
! Tawa shouted.
Something’s coming down
the stairs
!
Abby and Demetrius raced from the TV room. She managed to
catch sight of what looked like a black magic carpet hovering beside the banister
before it pounced on the fae. It wrapped itself around him and his club like an
inky cocoon. He twisted and fell, rolling on the floor.
The thing was smothering him, and Abby couldn’t wildly stab
it without hitting Demetrius too.
“Hold still!” It was like trying to tell a cat in a bath to
stop fighting. He was a fighter. He couldn’t stop himself.
Let him fight it
.
Go after Burrows. She’s the real
threat here
. Tawa barked.
“No. Dammit.” Abby cursed. She tried to shallowly slice at the
monster, and though it squealed, it didn’t release its hostage. Her heart
hammered in her chest. She refused to let him die. She stepped on either side
of Demetrius and trapped him between her legs. She raised her right sword and
brought it down through the most bulky part of the cocoon.
The monster wailed and let go of Demetrius. He gulped in a
huge breath. It shuddered before flopping down to lie motionless between her
legs.
Demetrius stared at her and then at her blade still embedded
in his club. “You could have hit me.”
“There’s nothing about you
that
big.” Abby yanked her
sword free and stepped away. She scooped up her backpack, hitching it over her
shoulders.
“That you know of.” Demetrius picked himself up. “You should
have listened to Tawa. If Burrows gets away—”
“No.” Abby replied too quickly. The thought of leaving him
behind to die tore at her soul. She cleared her throat and motioned to the
stairs. “Besides, she’s not going to leave. All monsters want to fight. And you
deserve better than death by blanket.”
Demetrius grabbed onto the backpack’s straps and pulled her
to him. He kissed her. Nothing gentle about it. Teeth clinked as his tongue
rolled around hers. Her world spun and went out of focus. When he pulled back
an inch, all she could see was him.
“You saved my life again. If I had two lives to pledge to
you, you would have them.” His eyes bore into hers. “Honor or not, you already
have me. Blood for blood, breath for breath, heart for heart.”
Abby didn’t have time to respond before he let her go,
turned, and marched up the stairs. It wouldn’t have mattered. His words left
her more breathless than the kiss.
Go to the attic
.
That’s
where most of the characters are killed in Burrows’ book
. Tawa informed them.
It’s also where Jessica tells Matt that she kissed his best friend, but he
still protected her and got eaten
.
“What else does the book say?” Abby followed Demetrius up
the stairs. Her steps were careful and silent. Her heart was still pounding and
her lips still tingling. “Seems kind of soap opera-ishy for a kids’ book.”
Matt was the older brother of the protagonist
.
His
death helped motivate her
.
Not soap opera-ishy
.
I just have a
mature appreciation for the story
, Tawa said.
The attic is through the
door at the far end of the hall
.
Abby reached the top of the stairs and stood beside
Demetrius. She could feel the heat of his body and had to battle the temptation
to touch him. Silently chastising herself, she forced her thoughts away from
him and demanded focus. There were five doors between them and the closed one
at the end of the hall. All five doors opened slowly, and green glowing cat’s
eyes locked onto their prey.
“Of course,” Abby groaned. “At the end of a hall filled with
monsters.”
“I’ll clear the way.” Demetrius tapped his club on the floor
and crooked a finger at the beasts. “Come here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
The answering growls didn’t sound feline at all, but the
monsters had a big cat’s grace as they padded out of the rooms and fell into a
synchronized prowl. Demetrius raised his club and roared, barreling down the
hall at them. He smashed two against the wall as a third bit into his forearm.
A fourth, going for his head, jumped high into the air over the others.
Abby threw her blade with her right hand. It twirled in the
air, leaving a pale blue contrail and hit its mark.
The monster fell motionless to the ground, but there were
still four. Demetrius snarled and slammed the beast attached to his arm onto
the floor. The position allowed him to headbutt another as it charged him. Abby
moved forward to join him.
Abby
! Tawa screamed.
Turning around, but not quick enough, Abby faced another
green-eyed beast that had come from a linen closet. It had snatched Tawa from
her backpack, and with a technique like an alligator, it swallowed the stuffed
hippo with two hungry gulps.
“No.” The word came out as barely a whimper.
There was an answering roar of pain from down the hall. The
monsters had taken Demetrius to the ground. He was sitting on one, pounding
another, and a third had just leapt onto his back.
There was no time for Abby to let loose her tears. She
swiped at the monster that had swallowed Tawa with her sword, scratching it
across the eyes, and then ran down the hall as her other blade emerged from her
right hand. She used her momentum to skewer the creature on Demetrius’ back.
She hopped over him and tossed the dead thing into one of the rooms. She spun
and chopped down another beast. Black blood splashed over the walls and dripped
on her from the ceiling.
Demetrius killed the other two. Ignoring his wounds, he
picked up his club and met the newly blinded monster as it tore down the hall
at them. His swing sent it flying against the wall. Abby was there to stake it
to the ground and disembowel it. There was nothing inside but shadows and ooze.
“No!” This time, her cry rattled her throat. Abby would have
fallen to the floor if Demetrius didn’t put an arm around her. A few shuddering
sobs escaped her before she could speak again. “Tawa. It ate Tawa.”
Demetrius held her closer, stroking her arm. “Tawa went down
honorably. But there’s no time for mourning. Now is the time for vengeance.”
Since the night when Abby had killed her first monster, Tawa
had been the only one who ever truly knew her. Her parents had no sympathy for
a child’s wild imagination. Her friends at school could never know. Then as an
adult, no one knew her secret calling. Tawa wasn’t only her teacher and guide;
she was her confidante and best friend. Her life was a little less lonely with
the stuffed hippo.
Now Tawa was gone.
“Vengeance.” Abby numbly repeated. Her face hardened as she
walked to the attic door and opened it.
Abby was ready for anything as she
walked up the stairs. An ambush, a giant monster, a hundred monsters, a
guillotine whooshing through the air to lop her head off. Everything in her was
itching for a battle. She wasn’t prepared for nothing when she reached the top.
The attic wasn’t a big room. Its ceiling was V’ed and the rafters
were bare. A filing cabinet loomed in one corner and a bookcase in the other.
There was one diamond-shaped window at the far end. The only thing in the room
was a large old desk. Burrows sat behind it with the light from her computer
screen illuminating her unhappy expression.
“I had hoped it would be you alone, Abby.” Burrows sighed
and tented her fingers.
“We can arrange that,” Abby said through clenched teeth.
Demetrius stepped in front of her. “No, we won’t.”
Abby wanted to push him aside and charge, but she still
expected something. She moved to stand next to him, attempting to focus through
her sorrow and rage.
“Handsome and chivalrous. No wonder Myrtle went all silly
over him. It didn’t deter her when I told her he had fae cooties.” Burrows shuddered
and made a blech sound.
“You know what I am.” Demetrius grunted and then frowned. “Myrtle?”
“Not Myrtle.” Abby shook her head. Her still glowing hands
told her that whoever was sitting there wasn’t human. Whatever it was wasn’t
hiding itself now.
“She’s still in here, but I’ve had control for many years
now.” Burrows grinned, slow and maniacal.
“Demon.” Demetrius bared his teeth, but Abby shook her head
again. She knew what it was. She just didn’t know how it could be what it was.
