A to Z Challenge - E is for Exactly

I'm writing a story spanning over all the days of the challenge.

If you're just joining me now, please start with A is for Abby.

E IS FOR EXACTLY

"If you don't stop following me, I will kill you." Abby marched along the dark street. She ignored the fact her body was very aware of him keeping pace beside her, arms nearly brushing. Or at least tried to ignore it. She should have left him in the trunk.

He's going to be hard to get rid of, you know. You should have listened to me. Tawa said in her lecturing voice. Maybe you could let the next monster eat him.

Abby softly grunted wanting to agree, but knowing she couldn't let such a thing happen. Being one of the good guys sucked sometimes.

"No, you won't." Demetrius smiled, breathing in the night air as if they were taking a casual stroll. "I've always wanted to see one of the Fearless in action."

"And what do you know of the Fearless?" Abby couldn't deny her curiosity. Tawa had taught her the history of what she was, but it was suppose to be a secret. Only a few privileged others were suppose to know of their existence.

"The Fearless." Demetrius pronounced the name in a deep dramatic voice and made a grand gesture with his arms. "Chosen by the gods to protect the children from their fears made real. They're given blessed weapons, magical sight, and superior strength and dexterity. They're rumored to be fierce beauties." He eyed her with a smirk. "There's truth in that one. It's also said that since they are fearless, they die young because they lack the wisdom to know when to retreat."

"You never run away." Abby huffed with a shake of her head. Trying to compliment her and call her stupid at the same time. He was the idiot. So he knew a few things, but he didn't know her. She was smart. Yet she refused to think of running away when there was the life of a child at stake.

"Exactly." Demetrius looked smug. "Lucky you have me with you now."

Yeah, lucky you. Tawa snorted.

Abby turned right and headed up the driveway to her second stop of the night. For the longest time, she only fought once or twice a week. Then this last year, the number of monsters had rapidly increased. She had been unsuccessfully trying to find out why. Even with Tawa's guidance, the answers eluded her.

"You want to see one of the Fearless in action? Here's your chance. Just make sure you don't get in my way." Abby went around to the back of the house and scanned the second floor windows. Thick shadows rimmed one in particular. Making sure Tawa was secure, she climbed up onto the roof above the porch and crept over to the window. She paused to peer into the dark room through the slats of the blind and startled as she felt his warm breath near her cheek.

"Nasty beast in there." Demetrius moved to remove the screen and see if the window would open. "Best let me go first."

"And you best not set off the alarm." Abby pushed him aside and placed her hands on either side of the window. They began to glow and the tiny light she had seen blinking in the top inside corner of the window went out. She slid the window up and didn't look at him as she slipped into the girl's room to dispatch the monster in the closet.

A to Z Challenge - D is for Demetrius

This is part of a continuing story. Please start from my post A is for Abby.

D IS FOR DEMETRIUS

Run, Abby! Run!

"Did you just call me cookie?" Abby folded her arms and lifted her chin. She felt even more riled when he chuckled softly.

"I did." He stretched out his long legs and ran his hands along them. Then he eased himself up to stand in front of her. He was pure muscled grace. He was about ten inches taller than her five foot six.

Abby found herself staring at his broad chest and his fascinating tattoos. She had a few of her own that weren't visible at the moment, but nothing as big and intricate as his. The ink amplified his natural physique and exotic features, making him even more sexy. Oh man, she could not let herself get taken with a man she saved from monsters. She had no room in her life for relationships.

Damn right you don't. Tawa interrupted her thoughts. I told you to run, but no. I mean, who listens to an old spirit with centuries of wisdom? Maybe if you had a G.I.Joe as a favorite toy when you were a kid, I'd be stuck in a figure you'd actually pay attention to.

"Shut up." Abby hissed at the hippo.

"Are you telling me to shut up?" The stranger blinked.

"No. It's-" Abby grumbled as she cut herself off. "Who are you? How did you get captured by the monsters?"

"Ah yes, proper introductions are in order. My name is Demetrius of the Darkwood clan." He dipped his head, smiling again. He held out his hand to her and raised an eyebrow as she hesitated.

Darkwood. Even worse. Tawa grunted.

"Abigail White." Abby paused again, considering Tawa's comment. Yet shaking his hand couldn't hurt.

She reached out to take his hand, but as her palm almost settled into his larger one, he slid his hand up to clasp her upper forearm. Her immediate reaction was to grip his as well and shift her body back as his moved closer. Abby willed her swords to be at the ready, but her hands didn't even spark with a glow. At least she was reassured he wasn't a threat. Not in the traditional I'm-going-rip-off-your-head-and-eat-you monster kind of way at any rate.

"Well met, Abigail White." His voice had lowered an octave, graveling in her ears in just the right way.

"Yeah, uh, nice to meet you too, Demetrius of the clan Darkwood." Did he see her eyes drop down past his beltline when she said Darkwood? Why did she have to look down there? Pulling her arm free, she took a few steps back. "Tell me how you came to be here."

"Ah, well, unfortunate incident. I tracked this pack of beasts here, and I would have killed them all, but the boys stumbled into the mix. I let myself be captured for the sake of the children, but I didn't expect the beasts to put me into that box." Demetrius shook his head and threw a dirty look over his shoulder at the steamer trunk. "I don't suspect they knew they had me contained quite so well, but that they did."

"But it's just a trunk. You could have kicked through the lid." Abby didn't believe the trunk, no matter how heavy it was, could trap him inside.

He couldn't kick through it. The trunk is ribbed with iron. Tawa pointed out, and when Abby didn't react, she went on. He's one of the Fae. If you remove your eyes from his crotch for a few seconds, you'll see the pointed ears.

"You're a freakin' fairy!" Abby yelped and shook her hands as if she could somehow make her swords come out. Still nothing. She could see the whole of him now. The pointed ears and fine features. His fingers and legs were a little longer than what would be normal for humans. His black pants looked almost leather, but weren't quite anything she recognized. The matching boots went to his knees and then there were the strange tattoos. Black ink and yet something more than regular ink. Something that seemed to subtly flow beneath his skin.

"Well, fairy's not exactly the right term, but human minds are limited. Yet I'm pleased to see you worked it out on your own." Demetrius smirked and then he was down on his knees in front of her. His hands lay on his thighs as he looked up at her. His eyes were the color of twilight so close to night.

"Abigail White, one of the Fearless chosen by the gods, you have saved my life this night. My life is yours until I can repay blood for blood and breath for breath." His tattoos shimmered with his words. "I, Demetrius of the Darkwood clan, will not leave your side until my blood debt is paid. My body and soul are yours."

Abby swallowed. His soul and, oh, his body were hers. Her mind went off on a little erotic adventure with that. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. No way. The Fae were always bad news, especially since he knew what she was.

"I release you from your debt. I don't need you following me around. I've got work to do." She turned and walked to the stairs. She had to get out of there, get away from him. "You go home, or wherever. Whatever. I need to leave."

"It's not that easy to rid yourself of me, baby doll." Demetrius whispered near her ear with a quiet laugh. Abby hadn't even heard him come up behind her.

I did tell you to run. Tawa sighed.

Teaser Tuesday with A Million Suns

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The first book in Beth Revis' trilogy pulled me immediately in. A Million Suns has done the same thing. I don't know what is truth or lies, or who to trust. It's great!

Here's your teaser:
I feel the hands around my throat, crushing my windpipe. I swallow dryly. He's not here. Not anymore. He killed her and left. (page 105)

Today is also my husband's birthday. Happy birthday, baby! He already has his birthday present, and we'll be going out to the restaurant of his choice (Joe's Crab Shack)  next week.

A to Z Challenge - C is for Cookie

For the A to Z Challenge this year, I'm writing a story spanning the entire 26 days.

If you're just joining in now, it would help if you started with A is for Abby.

As for the name of this post, I couldn't resist!

C IS FOR COOKIE

Abby made sure each of the monsters no longer had heads before she retrieved her grumbling hippo. Her swords had retreated into her palms. As they didn't glow any longer, she knew the danger had passed.

That beast could have torn me to pieces. Tawa huffed as she was hooked onto Abby's belt. Now I'm covered in blood. Again. How many times in the past week has that happened?

"I'll run you through the washer. Now be quiet a moment." Abby cocked her head, listening.

The washer? You're a cruel woman, Abigail Grace. You know the washer makes me sick.

"Shush. I need to find the children." Once the hippo quieted, Abby's acute senses picked up the ragged sounds of breathing. Poor things were so scared, and rightly so. There were three steamer trunks against the far wall. She opened the lid of the first to find the two boys. The littlest one cried out and curled up against his brother.

"It's all right now. The monsters are dead." Abby liked to think she was good at being comforting, but only time would help erase this nightmare from their memories. And eventually for most kids, it was forgotten or at least passed off as an imagined event from their childhood.

The boys didn't move at first. The eldest peeked over the edge of the trunk and saw the black heaps. He silently urged his brother to stand up with him. The littlest boy clutched a book to his chest.

"Don't worry. They can't hurt you now. Go back to your room." Abby didn't bother with a smile, but stood back to give them space. The eldest boy glanced at Tawa on her hip and stood a bit straighter. With his arms protectively around his little brother, they went to the attic stairs and started down. He then paused.

"Hey, are you Mark's math tutor?"

"Yes, but let's not mention tonight to anyone." Abby put a finger to her lips. "Yet if you hear of any other kids having problems like yours, give Mark a note to pass on to me."

"Okay." The boy urged his brother to go down the stairs and then pointed to the other two trunks. "They caught the man that tried to help us. I don't think they ate him yet." Nodding, he disappeared downstairs.

A man? Tawa piped up. That's not possible.

"Could be someone like me." Abby argued and opened the second trunk. She dropped the lid seeing the bottom covered with dead rats. The third trunk was the largest and heaviest. "Damn iron monstrosity. How did people ever travel with these things?"

The only people like you are woman. Men aren't fit for such gifts. Tawa sniffed. Is anyone really in there? I can't see.

With the lid open, the moonlight streamed through the single window and onto the unmoving occupant of the trunk. He was curled up awkwardly, being a very tall man. His dark hair covered his face, but it moved with his breaths. He was well muscled and shirtless.

"Oh yeah, there's a man in there." Abby couldn't stop staring. He was bruised and scratched up, but otherwise intact. There was a bit of blood, but it was his exotic whorled tattoos that drew her eyes over his bare skin.

You're gaping. I can tell you're gaping. Let me see.

Abby turned Tawa to face the trunk and directed her stuffed head down.

Close the trunk and leave now. Leave now. Tawa's voice rose as if trying to push Abby with it.

"I'm not leaving the poor man after he tried to help the boys." Abby shook her head and reached in to hook her arms under his shoulders. He was warm and heavy as the trunk's lid. She slid him inelegantly onto the floor and pursed her lips as she debated what to do next.

Okay, you helped him. Let's go.

"We shouldn't really leave him. He'll wake up and likely startle the boys, maybe wake their parents. It'll be messy. Maybe I should try to rouse him-"

Abby! Tawa cut her off with a growl. No. Listen to me for once. Leave now.

"I can't just leave him." Abby hissed back.

"And I thank you for that, cookie." The man stretched and propped himself up on his elbows. He grinned a wickedly gorgeous grin at her. "It saves me having to track you down to settle my blood debt."

Flashes of Foxwick

Please join Cherie Reich during the A to Z Challenge for her

Flashes of Foxwick.

Twenty-six great pieces of flash fiction from her Kingdom of Foxwick's fantasy world.

Cherie will be publishing her flash pieces in a collection,

and they will be available mid-April.

It will include a bonus story entitled "Lady Death."

You can mark it to read on Goodreads.

If gifting us with her great fantasy stories isn't enough,

Cherie is also featuring authors participating in the Challenge from A to Z this month.

You can check out the writers at Surrounded by Books.

Thank you, Cherie, for all you do for the writing community.

A to Z Challenge - B is for Beheading

I'm doing one story throughout the Challenge.

If you're just joining me now, please start with A is for Abby.

B IS FOR BEHEADING

Another coming behind you! Tawa shouted. And it's a big one!

"A little busy with the two in front." Abby hissed as she ducked under a massive set of claws as they raked through the fetid attic air. Still crouched, she spun to hamstring the first monster with one glowing sword and thrust the second blade up into the gut of the other beast. The blood was hot and black as it splattered over her, making her stomach churn.

What did you want me to do? Stare him down my my unblinking button eyes? Tawa snorted.

Abby twisted around to slash the injured monster's bulbous eyes and face the third ugly thing behind her. It was indeed a big one. Likely the original monster in the attic. She circled around it, stepping over the twitching bodies of its pack. Its gigantic fish eyes followed her every move.

"Big eyes all the better to see me with and big claws all the better to tear me apart. These guys are fast and wary. Any suggestions, boss?" Abby was panting. She had taken five down already and she didn't think they were dead. If she didn't take out this huge fellow swiftly, the others might rise and she'd be their next meal.

Take off its head. It's the only way. This one's powerful. The stuffed hippo's tone was tense. Abby grunted for want of more info. Get behind it. It can't get you with either the claws or fangs that way.

"Yeah, so easy. It's totally going to let me do that." Abby could feel her skin prickling. If she didn't make her move very soon, the monster would come at her. She wouldn't win that fight. There was no way to behead it in one smooth move either.

With the tips of her blades, she cut the straps to the carrier that held Tawa on her back. Having an unassuming second pair of eyes had saved her life several times. As the hippo slipped, Abby caught her with the flat edges of her swords and threw Tawa at the monster.

Tawa shrieked and the beast's first instinct was to catch her. As it did so, Abby leapt to one side and somersaulted to stand behind it. She rammed her swords into its neck and yanked them outwards. The monster's garbled wail rattled the single window, but she didn't hesitate in slicing one blade through the top of its spinal column and severing the behemoth's head from its body. The head hit the floor with a meaty thud.

A to Z Challenge - A is for Abby

Today is the first day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Yay! Every day in April (except for the Sundays after this one) participants must write a post for that day's letter of the alphabet. It can be about anything you wish as long as it has to do with the letter of the day. Hundreds people are participating. Make sure you set aside a little time to visit their blogs. It's going to be a fantastic month!

I'm writing a story that will stretch over the entire month. Hopefully I can pace it right to have it end on the 30th. Please sit back, read, and enjoy!

A IS FOR ABBY

Abby White was seven years old when she killed the monster under her bed.

At first, the monster only made weird noises. It sounded like it was sick. Abby's mother told her that she was hearing her father's snoring from down the hall.

Then the monster began to talk. Dark and silly rhymes, and rude things about her mother. Abby's mother told her she was having bad dreams.

The next week, the monster tugged at Abby's blankets and pulled her hair. It told her it was going to eat her toes first. Her parents ignored her screams and pleas. When she tried to sneak out to sleep in the living room, she was locked in her bedroom. She hid under her blankets clutching her stuffed hippo Tawa and stayed up until the morning sun rose.

Abby wore her father's steel toed boots to bed the next night. The monster growled it was going to eat her fingers first instead. It was another night without sleep.

Abby put on the boots and her mother's mesh gardening gloves the night after. The monster snarled and said it would just eat her head. It yanked the blankets off her and wiggled out from under her bed.

She was exhausted and terrified. More so, she was furious. No one had believed her. She had fallen asleep at her desk at school and the teacher yelled at her. Her friends laughed when she missed the ball she intended to kick and fell on her rear in gym. Her parents looked at her as if she were sick like her Aunt Hilde who lived in that special hospital. It was all the monster's fault.

Screaming as she leapt off the bed, Abby threw herself onto its thick and hairy body. She kicked at it with the too big boots and threw off the awkward gloves before pounding on it with her little fists. Her hands began to glow. Soft and blue.

The monster's tentacle wound around her middle and it laughed at her attempts, until it noticed the glow. Both she and it stared at her hands as they grew brighter. A shining blade slowly emerged from each of her palms. Abby barely had time to grasp the ornate hilts when the monster's grip tightened and she rammed the swords into its neck.

An inhuman screech left her ears ringing and she was flung back onto her bed. The monster crumpled into a black heap on her floor.

The blades disappeared back into her hands and the glow winked out. Just in time for her parents to throw open her door.

"What's going on in here?" Her mother demanded.

"Just a nightmare, mom." Abby gathered up her blankets and hugged Tawa. Neither of her parents turned on the light or entered the room to come hug her, and thus they didn't notice the dead monster. Her throat tightened and a small sad sound escaped her.

"All right then." Her mother nodded and shooed Abby's father away before closing the door.

Abby buried her face against the softness of her hippo's big head and cried.

Get all the tears out, girl. You're safe now. Tawa said without moving her mouth. She made a few comforting noises, and when Abby stopped crying, she added, It's about time you killed that bloody monster. Listening to it trying to spin a good limerick was pure torture.