Page 2 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

“You called me for that?” He picked up a pebble, sat down beside her, and threw it out over the canyon overlook. “We may have to rethink your summoning privilege if you’re going to abuse it, young lady.”

“No, that’s not why I called, but since you’re here…”

“Well, your elemental side is very long lived, meaning eons. Your human side is cursed with short life under the best of circumstances. Then there is the issue of fragility, the moment to moment uncertainty, the… risk, if you will, of being human. I tell you, it causes me to marvel constantly at their courage. Living under those circumstances, I’m not sure that I wouldn’t just curl into a ball and hope for sudden death to put an end to the suspense.”

“If they only knew how cynical real angels sound, you would never get your own TV shows.”

“Hmmm. No doubt.” He grinned. “But a few feather sightings would bring them right back around.”

Rosie giggled. “You’re hopeless.”

“And isthatwhy you wanted to see me?”

“No. I need to get out of town for a while, change of scenery. Maybe I need to broaden my experience.”

“Get out of town,” he repeated drily. “What does your mother think of this?”

“She thinks she can get in touch with you if there’s an emergency and that you’ll know where to find me.”

The angel pursed his lips, stood and paced for a while. “Vacations are fun. Sabbaticals are informative. Quests are enlightening, sometimes cathartic. Retreats are rejuvenating. Treks are adventurous. This?” He stopped and looked at Rosie. “This sounds like running away. Hard to put a noble spin on running away.”

“I’m not necessarily asking for your blessing, Lally. Just a place to…”

“…hide?”

Rosie flushed. “It’s a favor.”

Kellareal looked at her for a long time. “I can’t decide without hearing the whole story. I want to know exactly what it is you’re running from and what you’re hoping to gain.”

By the time Rosie finished spelling it out, she was sorry she had started the whole thing. Spelling out what had brought her to that mountaintop sounded spoiled, selfish, childish and silly, even to herself as she said it. She supposed that was one of the angel’s goals in having her connect the dots out loud. She hoped that the worst of it, humiliation-wise, was over.

“Have you thought about how long you want to be away?”

She hadn’t thought about it.

“Do I have to decide that now?”

“I might agree to help you on the condition that you agree to spend your time away working on your control.”

“My control?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about controlling use of your extra-abilities.”

“I could do that.”

“In that case, I might help. I suppose you can do a pay-as-you-go plan.”

“Wait. What do you mean, pay-as-you-go?”

The angel took her elbow and pulled her to her feet. Standing several inches taller, he looked down into her face. “You’re right, Elora Rose. It is time for you to learn something of the world. First lesson, nothing’s free.”

A few minutes later they were standing on the periphery of an enclosure – a crude, gray stone wall. From what Rosie could see, there were homes and buildings built around a park-like area, but the overall impression of the place was of a fort. Through a break in the wall that formed a gate with iron bars, she could see that they were on a hilltop overlooking the lights of a large town.

The air was scented with the welcoming smell of wood-burning fires releasing white smoke into the atmosphere. The prominent feature of the compound was a long row of motorcycles, some of which had parts shiny enough to reflect in the cold moonlight.

“Where are we?” Rosie asked.

“It’s a project of mine, Rosie. A secret. You can’t ever tell anyone.”

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