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to look toward the kitchen, and the thing stood there, giant and terrifying, but also kinda funny-looking, filling up the massive opening to the kitchen, one hand holding an empty kitchen drawer, its contents strewn all over the floor. Its nose was like a misshapen light bulb, its mouth long and thin with sharp teeth poking out, and the eyes were black and small like shiny beads. When it spoke again, Tessa expected a growl or a roar, but instead she got broken but polite English, slightly accented. It sounded…Norwegian?
    “Scion. You are it?” the thing said more than asked.
    “Huh?” Tessa asked, dumbfounded.
    “You are it. Scion,” it said, dropping the drawer it was holding. Tessa stared at the drawer.
    “What are you looking for?” she asked, and then bit her lip, unsure why she cared.
    “You is what I am looking for,” it said simply.
    “You thought I’d be in a drawer?”
    “I do not know your size. Mortals come in all sizes, I think,” it said, explaining itself, and then added, “Like goats.”
    “Yes, well, I suppose, but few fit in drawers, or would want to,” Tessa said, blinking stupidly, feeling as if she’d stepped into a Twilight Zone episode.
    “I don’t know of such things. But now you are here.”
    “Yes. Now I’m here.” Tessa repeated back while looking around her house at all the destruction the thing had caused. Books pulled from shelves, furniture tipped over, a plant toppled, soil spilling across the floor. Looking at the mess she realized how pissed her dad was going to be and she found herself suddenly very angry and unable to stop herself from popping off. “Thanks for destroying my damn house. What do you want?”
    “Now you are here. Now we fight,” it said simply.
    “Um. No?” Tessa said more as a question, simultaneously gripping the bat in her hand more tightly, preparing for anything.
    It came at her much faster than she anticipated considering its size, and Tessa was so startled that she wasn’t able to do anything except squeal a little and dodge out of the way, escaping into the dining room. She stood gaping at where the thing had clearly gotten into the house—the massive picture window that looked out onto the back lawn was smashed to bits. “Dammit!” Tessa shouted but before she could say anything else, the thing tackled her from behind. They both tumbled through the already broken window and rolled onto the lawn outside.
    Tessa got to her feet and looked around. Better at least to be out here where there was less fine china, she thought. She looked at her arms and legs, surprised that nothing was broken. In fact, she felt pretty good. Like, a lot better than you should feel after being hit by something that must weigh 500 pounds and going through the remains of a broken window. She turned to look at the thing on the grass only to find that it had already gotten up and was in mid-swing. It clipped her across the face with its giant fist, and the force sent Tessa flying partway across the yard. She landed painfully on her back.
    Okay, so, whatever was going on with her she could definitely still feel pain. But a blow that probably should have killed her hadn’t.
    “Not so tufffff,” the thing grumbled as it lumbered toward her and then stood over her, preparing to punch her again while she was still down. Tessa drove her foot up into the thing’s groin area. She didn’t know if it actually had a groin, but she figured it couldn’t hurt matters. And indeed the thing fell to its knees and then rolled away from her with a sighing groan of pain. “Mean though,” it said, as if narrating its thoughts on her to itself as it slowly climbed back to its feet. Tessa popped herself into a standing position and they stood there looking at one another, about eight feet of bright green lawn between them.
    “Yeah, well, I didn’t break into your house now, did I?” Tessa said, eyeing her bat, which lay on the ground too far away to easily reach. Tessa had