Page 26 of Hellhound AU

Milo just looked contemplative. “Nah. I think it would look good. Would you do the same color, or would you go with something different?”

“Well, black would be pretty bad-ass,” she admitted.

For fuck’s sake. Was I in some kind of alternate dimension? “Are you seriously talking about nail polish colors right now?”

Milo and Riley both glared at me, and Ialmosttook a step back. Instead I just put my hands up placatingly. “It’s fine. Continue your chat. I’ll just go see about thehuge fucking dentin the car because you had to be a drama queen.”

I turned around to walk to the front of the car, and Milo said quietly to Riley, “That was a great entrance. Very dramatic. Ten out of ten on the scary meter.”

“Really?” she asked. “You didn’t seem very worried. No screaming or anything. I thought I was losing my touch.”

“That’s just because I had my strawberry milkshake with me, and I knew he’d protect me.”

Riley started to chuckle when Milo called me his strawberry milkshake, but I turned around and glared at her, so she cleared her throat instead. Then she flew over to the front of the car, lifted the hood, and used her hands to push the dent out.

“Oh, wow, thanks!” Milo said, like she hadn’t caused the damn dent in the first place.

“Show off,” I muttered.

She just smiled at me, showing her sharp, pointy little teeth. Milo came over to stand next to me, and I put my arm around him. Riley cocked her head, but I shot her a death glare. She better not upset Milo.

“So, why aren't you answering my messages or calls, asshole?” she asked me.

“I was helping Milo. I do have a life, you know,” I answered. “And before that I was dealing with the cult.”

Milo turned and looked at me. “Ha! I knew you set the cabin on fire! Did you kill the fuckers first? Please tell me you didn’t let them go.”

Riley chuckled. “Oh, he’s vengeful. I like that.”

I ignored her. “I took care of the very bad people, but I let innocent bystanders go,” I told Milo.

He looked skeptical, but he’d just have to take my word for it.

“Now we’re going to deal with a dog fighting ring,” Milo told Riley.

Shit, shit, shit. Not his fault; I hadn’t warned him to give her no information.

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Maybe I’ll tag along.”

“Great!” Milo said, and then he climbed into the driver’s seat of the car like nothing odd had happened at all.

“Give me a minute, you fucking pain in the ass,” I told Riley, then I walked around to the passenger seat and got in.

“So…” I started, unsure where to go from there.

Milo looked at me. “Are you a harpy?”

“No! Only the women in the family are harpies.”

“You know, so typical,” Milo stated. I looked at him curiously. “To have supernatural creatures follow gender expectations. It’s just really disappointing. Like, why can’t guys be harpies? What if I want to be a harpy? Am I not allowed because I’m male?”

I… I had no idea what to say. This was not the conversation I thought I’d be having. “Uhhh…”

“And the fact that harpies are real, and they’re obviously powerful, and I’m assuming your sister isn’t evil or anything, and look how they’ve been villainized in mythology. It’s just another example of how our patriarchal society is unfair.”

“Well…” I cleared my throat, trying to think. “I can’t help what society did to the image of a harpy, but most harpiesarefemale. I believe there are male harpies as well, though, but that doesn’t run in my family line, so…”

“Oh, so Icouldbe a harpy?” he asked.