the insurance coverage that the hospital would expect.
Ella pressed the button to open the car doors, and Tappani tucked Maria into the backseat and buckled her in. Helga got in next so she could sit between Maria and Lizzie and help both women. There was room for one more in back.
"Get in," Ella told Rosa. She was starting to feel a little worried about not seeing the harpy for so long. It wasn't like Ocypete to just let them go. "Rosa, get in the car, now."
"No, no. We should not go."
"We should and we are. Get. In. The. Car."
Ella heard the scrape of claws on gravel outside. Time was up. Ocypete must have been able to heal herself enough to be ready for another round.
"We will not go!" Rosa said.
Ella saw claws rip through the metal of the garage door. That was it. She turned and, as gently as she could, she clocked Rosa with a left hook. The cook dropped like a deflated soufflé. Ella caught her before she hit the cement and shoved her into the back of the car. She slammed the door and walked around to the passenger side.
"You drive," she told Tappani, tossing him the keys over the roof of the car. She wanted both hands free to use her sword.
He tossed the keys back to her.
"I don't know how to drive," he said.
"You don't . . . . Oh, shit." Yeah, ex-angel, minimal experience as a human, and that experience didn't include learning to drive. A large chunk of the garage door peeled away, and the overwhelming stench of harpy mixed with the reek of blood and harpy vomit coming from her own clothes. She raced around to the driver's side. "All right. Get in."
Ella sent Gaea's sword back to dormant form. She threw herself behind the wheel, and Tappani got in the passenger seat. She started the car and roared the engine just as Ocypete peeled away the last of the garage door. How convenient. Ella stomped on the gas and headed straight for the harpy.
German steel met harpy feathers at 40 miles an hour. Ocypete's bird-like body was so bottom heavy that she went under the wheels rather than onto the hood. She let out a shriek that rattled Ella's teeth. The car bucked and jerked as it went over the grotesque, feathered body. Then, they were out. They flew down the driveway and onto the road that ran in front of the house.
Ella glanced in the rear view mirror. In the gathering dusk, she thought she saw the harpy stagger to her feet and take a couple of steps in their direction before falling face first on the asphalt driveway. Ocypete wasn't dead. She was still in Gaea's world, and Ella would still have to send her back to the Dreaming. But first, she had to get her car full of casualties to the nearest hospital. Mentally, she checked Gaea's map of the area. Yes, buildings about two miles down the road, something for healing.
It turned out to be a hospital. Lizzie gave the hospital staff a story about being attacked by an eagle to explain Maria's wounds. What an insane eagle was doing in Lizzie's house, nobody thought to ask. No one dared question her word, especially with Helga and Rosa backing her up. As for Ella and Tappani, they managed to sneak out of the ER while the staff was distracted by the emergency. Fortunately, Lizzie had been more than happy to lend them her car. A quick swing through a drive-through got them something to eat, and mystery-meat had never tasted so good. They sat in the parking lot in the front seat of the Mercedes, chewing and slurping, and taking a moment to catch their breath.
"We still have to get that harpy," Tappani said as he sucked up the last of his shake through the straw. He seemed to enjoy making the noises. Honestly, sometimes he was such a kid and other times—other times he was all man.
"I know. I know," Ella said. She reined in her raging hormones. The harpy blood was gone; the desire she felt for Tappani now was all her. "We'll go after Ocypete in the morning. She's too hurt to go far tonight. And I'm filthy."
"No, your blood is clean now," he assured her. "I can tell."
"Not my blood," she said. "Me. I'm covered in harpy puke and I haven't had a shower in a week." She reached up to wipe a bit of blackened goo out of Tappani's hair. "So are you. We need to wash up, find clean clothes."
He sniffed. "Yeah. We stink."
"I saw a motel on the way in," she said. "It's one of those places that charges by the hour, but no decent hotel will take us. Not dressed like this." Or undressed. She still wore in the same blood and vomit covered tee-shirt and pants she'd worn for the past three days. Tappani wasn't much cleaner, and he was still barely covered by his tattered jeans. She suddenly felt shy, embarrassed by the way her thoughts were running. A week ago he'd been an angel; she shouldn't be having these feelings about him. "We could get a room and shower there. Um, you know, take turns."
"Take turns? Why would we do that?" He stretched his arm across the back of the seat to rub her neck. Even through the harpy stench, he still smelled good. "I'd love to see you naked. I'd love to have you see me. And then we could lie together."
"Really?" The word came out in a stupid sounding squeak.
"Well, I am human, and that's the human thing to do, isn't it? And, Ella, I do like you very much."
Which was how they wound up in the shower of the suite at a sex hotel in Sedona. Hey, it was clean, she thought. It smelled like someone had just gone over it with bleach, and the sheets were fresh. She wouldn't put her bare skin on the king-size mattress for a million bucks, but she had faith in the protection of the sheets. The walls were flocked red wallpaper. The bedspread was red velvet. Yeah, management was going for a Victorian bordello look. Ella's credit card had survived blood and monsters, so she charged the suite to her business account. Granny could just ante up the room charge.
The bathroom was at least three times bigger than the largest hotel bathroom Ella had ever been in. There was an ample variety of soaps and oils to choose from, as well as an array of sex toys made of colored gel and wrapped in plastic. Ella ignored the toys and grabbed a bottle of shampoo and stepped into the shower fully dressed. She didn't have a change of clothes, so she intended to rinse out what she wore as best she could. She'd pick up her car and her bags tomorrow. Tappani peeled off his jeans and stepped into the shower with her, naked and angel beautiful. Ella forced herself to look away and turn the water on full, all six shower heads—heaven! Tappani had grabbed his own small bottle of soap and started lathering his hair and skin with brisk, matter of fact motions. Ella poured half the bottle of soap over her clothes and started to scrub. She'd just poured the rest of the shampoo over her hair and worked up a good lather when Tappani pulled her hands away.
"Let me," he said. His fingers massaged her scalp, working the fragrant soap through her hair. Ella closed her eyes in bliss. Then his hands continued on, lathering her neck and shoulders, sliding down her back, and then across her breasts. She gasped as she felt his thumbs flick across her nipples. She reached for him, her hands sliding up the warm, wet skin of his arms, but he pushed her hands back to her sides.
"No, wait please, Ella, just relax and enjoy this."
"For someone with no experience, you seem to know all the right moves."
He raised his head and smiled down at her. "Angels know about sex," he said. "We know about a lot of things. But knowing isn't the same as experiencing. Not the same at all."
Then he kissed her again. It seemed that this once-an-angel was ready for more experience.
The End
*****
About the Author
I've been a writer for most of my life, beginning with illustrated stories in grade school, and continuing with works in the science-fiction and horror genres. I live in Seattle with my cat, Baby, who frequently puts paw to keyboard to help with the story. If you liked this story, check my webpage frequently as I have a series of short stories that I'm about to publish.
Claudette
February 2011
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