least the garage was on that side of the house.
"Okay, here's the plan. We get you and the girls to the garage. Tappani guards you while I try to find Rosa."
"Tappani?" Lizzie asked.
Ella jerked a thumb at her companion. "Him." She wasn't about to get into explaining Tappani's ex-angel status. "Trust me, he'll guard you with his life."
"I will?"
"You will. You do want to make up for past mistakes, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah. Okay."
Ella rolled her eyes. Such enthusiasm! If Tappani let the harpy kill Lizzie and her servants, she would see whether Gaea's sword recognized him as a human or as one of the monsters. Let him see how he liked going back to the Dreaming as a flying squirrel!
"I'll need my wheelchair," Lizzie said. She seemed ashamed to admit to needing the contraption, but Ella was relieved. She'd been worried about how they were going to get someone as shaky on her feet as Lizzie through the broken glass and rubble.
"Get Lizzie's chair, Tapp. We've got to get moving."
Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face, because there was no further protest from the beautiful ex-angel. He was quick to pull the wheelchair out of its place in the corner and help the frail woman into it. They stepped out into the hall, Ella in the lead with Gaea's sword in her hands, and Tappani pushing Lizzie's chair.
Lizzie knocked on a door on the left. Ella heard shuffling sounds inside and a stifled sob. Maids' quarters, she thought.
"The door is locked." Lizzie gave an angry twist to the knob.
"Tell them to stand back," Ella said. They would be more likely to obey Lizzie than a stranger.
"Girls, stand away from the door," Lizzie said. Her voice was raspy, but pitched to carry. "Help is here."
Ella heard more movement inside the room. She hoped it was the sound of the two girls backing away from the door and not the sound of the harpy getting ready to attach. Well, she was herself again; whatever happened, she'd deal with it. Once again, the katana cut through the wood around the lock. A gentle kick pushed the door back. Ella went inside, her eyes moving around the room, looking for trouble.
The only occupants were the two maids, one blonde, the other Hispanic. Both ran past her and straight to Lizzie.
"Oh, Mrs. Goldfinch! There are things in the house!"
Lizzie put her arms around them, like a hen with two chicks. "It's okay, girls. Calm down. Ella and her friend have the situation under control."
That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Ella wasn't about to contradict her. The girls—Helga, a German Au Pair and Maria, the Hispanic, as Lizzie introduced them—had already been through hell. They didn't need more worry.
"Let's get out of here," Ella said.
She led the way out. Maria took over pushing the wheelchair, while Helga followed close behind her. Tappani brought up the rear. Ella was all too aware of how vulnerable their little procession was as they moved out onto the flagstone of the atrium. The sun was setting, and they'd lose the light soon. Ella had good night vision, and she was sure the darkness wouldn't bother Ocypete at all, but the rest of their party might have trouble. Even if a few lights had survived the harpy's trashing the house, Ella didn't want to advertise their location by turning them on as they went.
"Stay together," she cautioned, "but don't crowd me. I need room to use the sword." She felt the others drop back a yard or two.
They were in the middle of the atrium, skirting the edge of the pool, when Ocypete attacked. With a cawing shriek, a dark shape sailed down from the roof into the midst of the hostages. The girls and Lizzie screamed. Ella saw the wheelchair tip over and heard a splash. One of the girls screamed again, a cry of agony. Ella rushed forward with Gaea's sword already cutting through the air in a slashing arc intended to take the harpy's head off her shoulders.
Ocypete grabbed Helga and threw the girl at her, knocking Ella off balance. Helga cringed away from the katana. Ella realized that the girl didn't know the sword couldn't hurt her. Helga was born in this world. She belonged here, and the katana would bounce off her like a butter knife off a suit of armor. Ella climbed over the girl and attacked Ocypete again. This time, she managed to get in a good slashing cut, but it went too low. The harpy's feathered abdomen opened up, spilling stinking pink guts. The harpy shrieked and danced back. Ella started to go after her, when she realized that Lizzie was in the pool, and she wasn't coming up.
Abruptly, an older woman appeared. She was dressed in a cotton house dress, covered by a large, white apron. Ah, Rosa, the cook, no doubt. The cook flapped her apron at the harpy as if she were shooing off a chicken. The remarkable thing was that Ocypete was backing away. Of course, she was backing away from Ella, who stood behind Rosa with Gaea's sword still in her hand.
"Go! Go!" Rosa ordered, flapping for all she was worth. "Get out of here!"
The harpy backed away, holding her arms across her midsection to contain her entrails. Ella knew the wound wouldn't be enough to kill the monster. Nothing short of cutting off her head would do that, but maybe it would slow her down enough for Ella to get the hostages and Tappani to safety. Tappani was bent over a blood-covered Maria. Helga lay crying and shaking on the ground, in shock, and where was Lizzie? Oh, Goddess Gaea! Lizzie was still in the water. Ella hesitated. She could go after the wounded harpy and finish her, or she could get Lizzie out of the water before she drowned.
Ocypete disappeared into the house, and she heard the sounds of crumbling concrete and brickwork. The harpy was making an exit for herself. In an instant of decision, she returned Gaea's sword to its dormant mode as a sliver tattoo on the inside of her right wrist. She took two running steps and dove into the pool. There was Lizzie, on the bottom, eyes wide as she waited to drown. She was too feeble to kick upward and to skinny to float. With her heavy cigarette habit, she wouldn't be able to hold her breath for long either. Ella jackknifed down toward her and grabbed the old woman in her arms. She saw a trail of silver bubbles go up from Lizzie's mouth as she kicked toward the surface.
They broke water next to where the cook stood at the edge of the pool.
"Help me get her out of here!" Ella demanded, treading water for them both, but Rosa didn't seem to hear her. She still stared after the harpy as if afraid the monster would return. "Damn you, get over here and help me get Lizzie out of the water!"
Rosa turned toward her with her mouth working as if she were uttering prayers. Or maybe she was swearing. Ella couldn't tell which. It was Helga who reached out to take Lizzie from her arms. The Au Pair was a strong girl, and she pulled the old woman out of the water. Having something to do seemed to calm her shock, as if the routine of taking care of Lizzie brought a little normality to the chaos that had engulfed her.
Ella heaved herself out of the water and checked the condition of her charges. Helga would be okay. Lizzie coughed up a surprising amount of water, but she was breathing. Tappani was covered in blood, but she didn't think much of it was his own. He cradled Maria in his arms. The girl's chest bore deep claw marks. Ella was sure she wouldn't last much longer without medical attention. Rosa, the cook was unhurt, at least physically, although Ella had a strong suspicion that her mind had cracked under the strain of being imprisoned by the harpies. After all, the woman had lost her husband to them, and she'd been the one in daily contact with them as she prepared food for the others. Ocypete was wounded, but she was still out there and probably not far away. They had to get out of the house, and they had to get Lizzie and her staff to the nearest hospital.
Rosa's husband had been the chauffeur as well as handyman. That meant there was at least one car in the garage. They were halfway there. They just had to go back to the kitchen and out to the garage. Piece of cake. She righted Lizzie's wheelchair.
"Tapp, you carry the girl. Helga, you push Lizzie in her chair. Rosa, pay attention." The cook was looking off in the direction the ha
rpy had gone. "You have to keep up with everyone. We're going to the garage."
She and Helga lifted Lizzie back into her wheelchair.
"God," Lizzie said, coughing, "I'd kill for a cigarette."
"Later," Ella told her, amazed at her resilience. She called Gaea's sword to her hand again and set off.
They made it back into the house and through the kitchen without trouble. Ella stepped into the garage and looked around. Lizzie owned some sweet rides. There was what looked like an early sixties Corvette, a big Ram pick-up, and a late model Mercedes. Yes, the Merc was what they needed. It was big enough to hold everyone, fast enough to get to the hospital quickly, and heavy enough to smash an angry harpy into a smear on the road.
"Keys," Ella said.
"On, the board," Lizzie told her, gesturing to the pegboard beside the door.
"Okay." Ella pulled the keys to the car off their hook. "Everybody in the Mercedes. Next stop is the hospital."
"No!" Rosa said. "We must stay."
"What?"
"The monster is outside," Rosa said.
Somehow, Ella felt that the explanation was an afterthought. Did Rosa have some other reason for wanting them to stay?
"Don't be a fool. Maria is hurt, and Lizzie nearly drowned. They both need to get to the ER." Tappani's wounds she could deal with herself. In any case, she doubted that he even had an official identity, let alone
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