The Visitor: Kill or Cure
Novelette 10,283 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
Ruby is a powerful “Ace” who cynically does dirty jobs for bad people who help her keep her pain under control. Her world changes when a job puts her in contact with an elusive, childish, but very powerful Ace who won’t give in.
Content warnings 2
illness-and-pandemicviolence
Quasar links out; the story lives on Tor.com, where the author gets the click.