Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Do it again. After this is over you better be prepared, Double Mocha Fudge Ripple, because you are going down.
First was getting Terak bandaged up. The first-aid kit was under the sink, so well-stocked a hospital could borrow it in an emergency. Only nurses appreciated a fully loaded first-aid kit more than a cop’s kid.
Kit, check. She turned on the water and let it run for a few moments to warm up, then filled a plastic basin and grabbed a few washcloths.
Terak gave a loud groan. She scooped up everything and hustled back into the bedroom. The items were placed around her on the floor as she took stock of Terak’s injuries. The goal was to bandage him up enough that when her next gargoyle protector came on duty, that gargoyle could then take Terak home, where his own people could heal him. Gods, please let him heal enough that a hospital visit wouldn’t be necessary. He might look human now, but who knew if he was as human on the inside? He might have extra organs or something that would give him away. And that was assuming they could actually survive the trip out the building to the car.
Car! Crap!
Since her gargoyle-turned-human protector was bleeding out over her seat on the drive here, it was understandable little things like orc parts possibly caught in the bumper or a front end that had held a strong resemblance to an accordion were overlooked.
No way could she leave Terak, and anyway taking it to Cliff, the mechanic who usually worked on her car, was out. He’d be on the phone to her father in three seconds flat. Any body shop would, all of them by law were supposed to report anything suspicious.
Right now what was needed was a friend who’d dump it somewhere and could be trusted to not blab, and only one person fit that description.
On the second ring the woman on the other end of the phone answered, and before she could finish her ‘Hello?’ Larissa started talking over her. “Olivia, I’m in trouble. Help me.”
Olivia’s tone was soothing. “Calm down, sweetie. Of course I’ll help you. Tell me what is going on?”
Thank gods for Olivia. “I need you to take my car away and not ask any questions.”
Confusion burned through Olivia’s tone. “Take your car? To do what?”
And now came the hard part. “I was chased by orcs. I had to slam into one to escape and now my car is messed up. Please Olivia, I need you to come get it and hide it somewhere.”
There was a long silence on the other end. Before Larissa hung up to dial again, Olivia spoke. “I know someone. I’ll get your car fixed for you. Don’t worry, there won’t be any questions.”
Olivia’s voice was calm and low and apprehension skittered the length of Larissa’s spine at her friend’s words. This was not what she expected when she picked up that phone. “You… know someone? Olivia, what are you talking about?”
“You said no questions, I’m going to say the same to you. We are going to have a nice long talk later, but right now, the only thing that matters is where is your car?”
“On the south side of the building.”
“It’s taken care of. Don’t worry and I’ll call you tomorrow.” And Olivia hung up.
Were there any more surprises ready to drop down on her head? If so, a little advance notice would be welcome, because the nice people at the mental hospital might give her a discount rate after a certain amount of shocks to the system.
Terak was still on the bed, his breathing not as labored as it had been. Picking up a washcloth, she ran it over his flesh, now a sun kissed tone instead of stone grey. He slept through her ministrations.
The wounds across his abdomen looked the worst. Cleaning them would give the answer to whether she could wait with him here or she’d have to brave the hospital.
The washcloth cleared the blood away and a small giggle erupted from her throat.
Relief caused some weird reactions, but after everything that happened today, a little giggle was a nice surprise. The wounds weren’t as bad as all that blood suggested. He still needed to be seen by a healer, but cleaning and wrapping the wounds would suffice for now. Her gargoyle was going to be fine.
He was going to be fine, and the relief flooding through her system left her light-headed in its wake. She closed her eyes tight for a moment to regain equilibrium before opening them to continue with the cleaning.
Through all wiping and bandaging he stayed asleep, even the groans becoming less frequent. And now, was that… a snore?
Some bodyguard.
His face was gentler now, softer. It wasn’t the human features that caused the change, though that helped. Asleep he lost the worry and the authority he always carried otherwise.