Fearless

by Christine Rains

  It’s full of bad prose and self-entitled teens complaining their parents won’t let them stay out past ten. Tawa snorted.

  “As a guide for the Fearless, you have no insight into literature.” Demetrius fetched the book from the window seat.

  Yes, because I spend so much time with a book in my hands.

  He ignored Tawa and held out the book to Abby. “Monsters preying on children. It’s written simply, but speaks to the basest of fears. Great use of tension. Not graphic, but enough detail to be frightening. Leaves a good amount to the imagination.”

  Abby stood motionless, pizza in hand. He knew what he was talking about. He knew literary techniques. No longer just a hot body, he had a keen mind. Nothing turned her on more than intelligence. She was so screwed.

  “Did you hear me? It’s triggering the imagination of its readers to realize their fears.” Demetrius frowned slightly at Abby who still hadn’t moved. He wiggled the book at her, waiting for her to take it.

  Abby slowly took the book. Her hand fell heavily back to her side, the book bonking against her thigh. “Oh, I heard you.”

  Chapter 6

  Abby took shallow breaths, unwilling to press her body any more to Demetrius’ than it already was. They were squashed into a corner by a deck and a garage. She mashed Tawa against the wall, and the hippo complained in some ancient language. Sounded a little like Greek but not quite.

  The man on the deck told his dog to hurry up and finish his business. The dog, of course, took his time.

  Abby could hear Demetrius’ heart. It annoyed her it was much calmer than hers. Her stomach quivered and her hands clenched. No matter how she was breathing, she could smell that masculine woodsy scent that she had come to know as his. Even though he had been using her soap in the shower, he still smelled like he had just come out of the forest. He was as hard and solid as a great oak too. Yet cut in the most appealing of ways.

  She glanced to see him looking at her. A smirk quirked his lips and he leaned against her more. Abby wanted to look away, but her head refused to move. Those lips of his were a crime. Too full and sensual to be a man’s, but so fitting for the fae. What would it feel like to have him kiss her? Would he be tender? Or would he be as wild as he was when fighting?

  The dog finally did his thing and trotted back to the house. The man muttered and shuffled inside, shutting the glass doors and locking them. The outside lights turned off.

  Abby and Demetrius stood where they were for another minute. Their gazes locked. Goose bumps freckled her arms as he bent his head. He was going to kiss her. Oh, how she wanted to taste that fire.

  My face is squished. Tawa grumbled. This is only the first house of the night. Let’s get moving.

  Tawa’s sharp voice was enough to knock some sense back into Abby’s head. She pushed her way from their hiding spot and took a deep breath of cool night air. She needed to focus on the matter at hand and not the gorgeous man her hands wanted to be exploring at the moment.

  “This one’s in the basement. Let’s avoid going through the rest of the house in case anyone is still awake. There’s a window to the basement right there.” Abby pointed to it. She stiffened as Demetrius laid a hand on the small of her back. His hand was hot, or was that just her?

  “I won’t fit through the window. We can go through the back here. No alarms, right?”

  “No alarms, but we’re not taking the chance that anyone’s still awake. I can take care of this one myself.” Abby marched forward and worked the window open.

  “You’re not going in without me.” Demetrius’ tone was one that demanded her to obey. She ignored him. When she sat on the ground and slid her legs in through the window, he grabbed her arm. “Not without me.”

  “I’ve been doing this for years without any help. It’s just one monster.” Abby tore her arm from his grasp. “You go prance around the yard or whatever it is you fairies do.” She slid the rest of the way in before he could snatch her again. “Oh, be careful. The dog left something nasty out there.”

  Demetrius cursed at her and stuck his head through the window. “I have a blood debt. I will not have my honor insulted by being ignored or belittled like this.”

  “Yes, yes.” Abby waved a dismissive hand at him and let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the basement. There was only one child in the house. Mark had sent her a note with the boy’s address and nightmare. Furry critter in the basement ready to yank him down there and eat him. She heard a noise to her left. Her palms glowed and her blades slid free. She gripped them tightly.

  The ceiling wasn’t high and she could see nothing her height or taller. Another noise and she looked down. A monster the size of a rabbit hopped into view. It was all eyes, ears, and mouth, and the rest of it was covered in dirty purple fur. It growled and left a big pile of slobber on the floor.

  “Lovely.” Abby wrinkled her nose. She could step on the thing and be done with it.

  There was another noise to her right. Then one in front of her.

  Several growls echoed the first creature’s, and nearly two dozen of the critters hopped into view. Each of them a color of the pastel rainbow.

  What do you see? How many? Tawa asked.

  “Rabid jelly beans. A whole freakin’ basket full.

  “Get out of there now!” Demetrius bellowed, trying to grab Abby from the window. His broad shoulders prevented him from slipping through.

  Abby ignored him. She stood with knees bent, ready to spring into action. She nearly gagged from their fermented musky scent as it threatened to stick to her throat.

  A swarm. Best strategy is to keep moving and use broad, sweeping strikes. Tawa instructed. And don’t give them a chance to jump on you all at once.

  “Really? I thought that would be the best plan, considering how fuzzy and cute they look.” Abby swiped at the first brave beast that pounced at her. She sliced it in half, and it fell like mush to the floor.

  “Dammit, Abby! Get out!” Demetrius snarled, pounding at the sides of the window. He then let out a roar of frustration and disappeared from sight.

  With a squealing cry, the monsters attacked. Abby spun fast, low to the ground. Her glowing blades made it look like the circle was unbroken. Many of the creatures met the same fate as the first beast, but two landed on their target.

  Abby screamed as their long teeth bit into her. One managed to scrape against bone. She skewered the monsters and three more launched themselves at her.

  Abby! Tawa cried. Retreat to higher ground. Go for the stairs!

  A violet monster attached itself to Abby’s ankle as she dove over the horde and landed in a somersault. She didn’t land on both feet, but stretched the leg out that the critter clung to and smacked it on the cement floor. It squeaked, but didn’t let go. It gave two others the opportunity to jump on Abby’s back.

  The basement door burst open, and Demetrius flew down the stairs. With his first strike, he squashed the one latched on to Abby’s ankle and then yanked the others off her back. As if with the same motion, Abby turned and slammed her swords through the pair of beasts. Black blood formed shiny puddles.

  Demetrius leapt over her and to one side to crush a turquoise one. Abby pushed herself forward on her knees to skid across the now slick floor. She swept her blades out to the sides and killed most of the remaining monsters. Demetrius smashed the last two with a victorious grunt.

  They searched the basement in silence for any beasts that might have been hiding. Not finding any more, Abby limped to the center of the room to face Demetrius. She felt as though she might topple over from blood loss at any moment, but sheer will kept her standing. He was still breathing heavily as he eyed her wounds.

  “I told you I could take care of it,” Abby said as her swords disappeared.

  “And I told you not to go in without me.” His reply was low with his displeasure.

  Neither of them moved.

  So now that you saved Abby’s life, your blood debt has been paid. You can go home
now. Tawa’s voice was crisp and business-like.

  Abby’s stomach flipped. She bit the side of her tongue to keep herself from begging him to stay.

  Demetrius stared at her for another few seconds and then shook his head. “Abby would have killed them all eventually. Her life wasn’t in any danger. My blood debt still stands.”

  Abby wanted to grin and throw her arms around him. Her mouth twitched and her body relaxed. No matter how good she thought she was at hiding her emotions, she spied his little smirk as he offered his arm to help her up the stairs.

  Chapter 7

  “Burrows lives in Wisconsin. Only six to seven hours in the car.” Abby limped into the kitchen area. The washer swished quietly in the corner. She was a fast healer, but she’d be feeling the wound on her ankle for days. She tried not to wince as she balanced to make herself a sandwich.

  “No.” Demetrius shook his head and grabbed a stool from in front of the island to slide it around to her. He took her firmly by the hips and sat her down on it. His hands stayed upon her, and though she threw him a furious look, she didn’t tell him to take them off. “You need to rest and heal.”

  “I consider sitting in the car for hours on end resting.” Abby was very aware of his body behind hers as she opened the peanut butter jar and plopped a big blob onto a slice of bread. “You just don’t want to sit in the car for that long. You can stay here and rest.”

  “I’m not leaving your side again.” His hands tightened on her. “And we wouldn’t need the car. I can take us north in a matter of minutes through the Ways. Once you’re healed.” His woodsy scent enticed her, whetting her appetite for something other than a sandwich.

  “We can’t waste any time. Children will die if we don’t do something about this now.” Her knuckles turned white with her grip on the butter knife. She twisted her head. Her mouth a butterfly’s breath away from his and her eyes not meeting his intense gaze. “I can’t let any children die.”

  Demetrius pressed his chest to her back. His nose grazed hers and heat raced through her veins. The throbbing in her ankle was forgotten as a new ache blossomed between her legs. She needed to keep her mind on what needed to be done to stop the monsters. She needed to turn her head just a fraction of an inch more.

  “We won’t let any children die. We’ll go, but let me handle everything. I can carry you.” His fingers stretched over her hips, slipping under the hem of her shirt to touch bare skin. She sucked in a breath.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Abby snorted, immediately regretting how unattractive that was. She set down the knife and turned, intending to put a few inches more between them and tell him to quit treating her as a fragile doll. His mouth immediately mashed to hers and words were forgotten. His tongue parted her lips, demanding entrance. She didn’t deny him. A wanton whimper escaped her, and her heart hammered in her chest.

  His hands eased upward, taking her shirt with them. When his thumbs skimmed the underside of her bra, she managed to find her voice. “We don’t have time for this. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

  “We have time.” Demetrius insisted, kissing down to her neck and nibbling upon her sensitive flesh. She gripped his biceps and clenched her thighs.

  “We need to go.” Abby’s voice wobbled. She should be pushing him away. Not just because she had a job to do, but because this could never be anything other than a fling. She was one of the Fearless. Her duty came first and it would claim her life sooner than later. He was one of the fae. His world wasn’t hers. He would leave after his blood debt was paid. And she didn’t do flings. Already she felt too much for him.

  “We have time.” He repeated, arousal making his voice deeper, more gravelly. His mouth met hers again, and then he paused to smile in that sexy way of his and said, “We have to wait until the wash is done. Can’t leave without Tawa.”

  No, they couldn’t leave with Tawa. The tension between Abby and Demetrius was smothering at times, and he was her only gulp of fresh air, but no matter how much her body cried out for his, she couldn’t do it. A warrior she might be, but she didn’t know how to defend her heart. He was too easy to love.

  She gasped. He seemed to think it was from his touches and pressed himself more firmly to her. Abby had thought the L word. No. This couldn’t happen. Not now. Not ever.

  She pushed him away, shaking her head. “No. No, we can’t do this.”

  “Abby.” He breathed out her name in worship and nipped at her ear lobe as he attempted to pull her back to him.

  “No.” Abby pushed harder and yanked herself from his arms. “Don’t touch me. Keep your mind on what we need to do. We’re leaving once Tawa is clean.”

  Demetrius didn’t fight her on it and didn’t get angry. He stepped back, brows furrowed. She turned away from him so he couldn’t see her tearing up. She hoped he didn’t see her hand shaking as she went back to preparing her sandwich.

  Chapter 8

  “Don’t puke on my boots.” Demetrius wasn’t smiling, but she could still hear the amusement in his tone and wanted to smack him for it.

  “I’m not going to puke.” Abby leaned against the trunk of the tree, waiting for the world to right itself. In the Ways, she couldn’t tell up from down or that there was solid ground under her feet. Demetrius hadn’t been bothered by the Ways at all. Of course, he had been traveling them all his life, but she still wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing just how badly her mind had been tossed around on their short stroll.

  By the sounds your stomach is making, I think you’re going to puke, Tawa said.

  “I’m. Not. Going. To. Puke.” To prove her point, Abby straightened up and pushed away from the tree. She swayed a bit, but held herself up. Walking, well, that was going to be another story.

  “It’s a wonder you’re still conscious and sane. The Ways have driven humans to worse things than puking in the grass.” Demetrius smirked a bit this time.

  Abby opened her mouth to yell at him for not telling her that information before taking her into the Ways, but she snapped her mouth shut. She never asked and they needed to get to Wisconsin fast. She had too many other things on her mind when they left her loft. Like how his body had felt pressed to hers and how he so easily set her heart pounding.

  “Okay. We find a road and a cab. Burrows is doing a signing at a local bookstore this morning.” Abby dared to take a step and didn’t fall over. One foot in front of the other. Step, limp, step. Don’t think about Demetrius. Children’s lives were in danger. She adjusted her backpack over her shoulders. Tawa was near weightless, but the book seemed to weigh fifty pounds. “I’ll talk to her and see what I can find out.”

  “We’ll talk to her.” Demetrius corrected her.

  I have a few questions of my own I want you to ask, Tawa added.

  “You’ll wait outside. You’ll likely scare her.” Abby shook her head.

  “Or she’ll be so charmed by my good looks that she’ll tell me anything I want to know.” He flashed her a grin.

  Abby rolled her eyes and then sighed. The fae had a good point. She had read Burrows’ bio on her website. Burrows wasn’t married. A handsome man might be more welcomed than just another fan. A flash of possessiveness went through her at the thought of letting Demetrius do such a thing. This helped to make up her mind. “Fine. All right. You’re Plan B. But only if I don’t learn anything from her.”

  That pacified Demetrius, and the taxi ride to the bookstore kept him quiet. When they got out of the cab and she paid the driver, she was going to make a smart remark about Demetrius puking on her boots. Seeing his pale face, though, she held her tongue. Instead, she remained silent as he took a moment to compose himself.

  The bookstore was called The Window Seat. There were half a dozen cozy nooks with great views for people to sit in and read. When they went inside, the line to get a book signed was curled halfway around the building. Abby groaned under her breath, but walked to the end of the line and waited her turn.

 
“I’m going to walk around,” Demetrius said near her ear and disappeared from her sight amongst the shelves.

  Abby spied him a few times walking the perimeter of the store and pretending to browse. She let her gaze wander. After a few minutes, a small girl bumped into her leg as she hadn’t seen where she was going.

  “Sorry.” The girl cringed and hurried off to catch up with her mother before Abby could say it was okay.

  Abby didn’t know why the child had seemed afraid of her. In fact, it was too quiet in a store full of children. There was no laughter or squealing. None of them were running willy-nilly around the shelves or shouting at each other. The children looked overly tired, big circles around many of their eyes. They weren’t getting any sleep. She didn’t have to reason out why. This was far worse than the area she lived.

  Demetrius came up behind her and startled her. He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “There’s a bulletin board at the other side of the store.” He was whispering. Why was he whispering? “It’s covered in missing children posters.”

  How could no one else see there was a problem? Why wasn’t the media all over the fact not just one but several children were missing? Where was the Fearless who was supposed to watch over this area? There were too many unanswered questions. More so, too many big unanswered questions.

  Abby almost didn’t realize she was at the front of the line until Demetrius nudged her. She blinked and put on a friendly smile as she stepped to the author’s table. Burrows was a small, mousy woman. Her glasses sat on the tip of her nose, and her brown sweater had too much fuzz. She didn’t look like a woman who wrote scary stories.

  “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” Abby took the book from her backpack and held it out to Burrows. At the same time, her hands started to glow.

  Abby’s hands had never glowed in the day, in front of other adults, nor at the introduction of a human. Since it was obviously morning and there were adults around, it meant Burrows wasn’t human.

  “Good morning, Miss Burrows.” Demetrius pushed Abby to the side, making the writer focus her attention on him. And oh, did it rivet on him. He smiled that killer smile of his and leaned on the table. His gaze was smoky under long lashes. “My sister here is a big fan, but she never told me how lovely you are. Talented and beautiful. A rare combination.”