Fearless by Christine Rains

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.

Chapter 12
     
    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.
    “Ah, Abby. You know, don’t you?” Burrows chuckled and leaned
back in her chair. “Most children conceive of their monsters in the closet,
under the bed, somewhere it’s dark and scary at night. Yet there are a few who
have the darkness in them for one reason or another. And Myrtle had such a
powerful imagination. When she created me, she gave me voice and intelligence.
No regular monster for this little girl.” Smirking, her gaze bore into Abby. “When
one of the Fearless came to kill me, she found she couldn’t take the life of a
child to do so. So I killed her instead. My first kill. My most momentous kill.”
    Demetrius’ battle cry shook the little room. He rushed at
Burrows and was hit by an inky black tendril that sent him toppling down the
stairs.
    “Children are easy to kill.” Burrows stood up. The shadows
around her so thick the glow from the screen couldn’t penetrate them and the
window was blacked out behind her. “I’m so glad you’re here now, Abby.”
    Abby started to move to check on Demetrius, but had to stop
as Burrows rounded the desk. She couldn’t turn her back on the thing no matter
her desperation to know if Demetrius was dead or not. It had killed one of the
Fearless when Burrows was a girl, and she wasn’t a young woman. That meant it
had several years to get stronger.
    “I have no qualms about killing Burrows to kill you.” Abby
had several, but she wasn’t going to let the monster know that. Perhaps if Tawa
was with her, she might be able to tell her a way to kill the thing without
killing Burrows too, but she was on her own.
    She heard Demetrius then, stomping up the stairs and
growling curses. Warmth spread through her. No, she wasn’t alone. She