“It’s appreciated,” Troy assured him.
“I thought it wasn’t genetic, that it was just random,” Katerina said, her voice tight with worry. He got it; she’d been stalked and almost killed twice by Beatrice. Of course this was hard for her.
“We had to throw out everything we thought we knew about Rogues,” Liam said regretfully. “But at least we now know it’s not linked to breed or species; the mother is a mink, and the sisters are clouded leopard, puma and coyote.”
“Could it be a case of nurture, not nature?” Troy asked.
Liam shrugged. “It could be, but… we just don’t know. Everyone’s scrambling for answers, and no one has any. We’re hoping one of them will eventually speak with us; none of them have been collared, save for Beatrice. But they are choosing, all of them, to stay in their Changed forms.”
Katerina winced. “And the longer they stay in their animal forms, the more the animal nature will take them over.”
“So, eventually they’ll become like Beatrice, who’d lost all her humanity by the end?” Troy wanted to know, looking uncomfortable.
“Eventually, yes,” Liam affirmed. “There’s the hope that one of them will Change, and talk to us. We could try treatments, medications.”
Katerina scowled. “Beatrice was a classic psychopath, with no empathy, no remorse. She was a killing machine. There was no treatment, no medication, that could have helped her.”
“I know. But we don’t know if the others are at that point yet, and we can’t know if they won’t Change and talk to us.”
“If they won’t Change, that’s pretty much your answer there,” Katerina pointed out.
“That’s also true,” Liam admitted with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “But we need answers, and only those women can provide them.”
Chapter2
Liam glanced at his GPS,giving a sigh of relief that he was almost to the West Side Bed and Breakfast. He was aware of being tired; it had been a long day. After the initial interview and ensuing conversation, he’d been given an exhaustive tour of the clinic and the barn behind it. Another hour filling out paperwork… taxes, insurance, and so forth. At some point Douglas, the third partner, had shown up, along with his wife, Jacinth, a lovely exotic-looking woman. The Djinn. Liam had tried not to stare, but she’d given him a friendly smile and handshake, just like any normal person. Considering he was a shapeshifter, and all shifters looked like normal people, too, his surprise seemed a little misplaced. Still… a Djinn! Elusive and secretive, usually only those who found one of their magical vessels ever saw them, and those lucky few weren’t allowed to talk about the experience. Even amongst the supernaturals, most only dreamed of seeing a Djinn.
After that, the partners had taken him out to lunch at a local restaurant, a nice Italian place tucked into a strip mall. In the small but crowded restaurant, there was no more talk of shifter issues. Instead, conversation covered a wide range of topics, from climate change to Douglas’s son Benny’s advanced learning achievements, to Suzanne and Mac’s trip to the Northeastern US to see the fall colors, the month before. Liam found that he liked all these people very much. They clearly were close friends, and he felt as if he were being embraced into a family, not simply hired for a job. It was an odd, but surprisingly nice feeling, when he’d been on his own for so long, to suddenly feel part of a close community, to be accepted so easily.
Shaking his head a bit to clear it, Liam’s felt his eyes widen as he rounded a curve in the two-lane road, the bed and breakfast coming into view. He’d been told it was a renovated old Victorian home. Home? It was practically a mansion! There were two stories, and turrets and dormer windows indicated a third floor. A curved balcony wrapped around the building in front, gracious and welcoming. It was clearly well taken care of, and the spreading lawn was manicured, having that rich, velvety look of a lawn that had been there for a long time. It had the feel of being tucked away, surrounded on three sides by woods. The trees were thickly clustered, a mosaic of reds, golds and browns, a fitting background for the inn, its light green color set off by brilliant white trim.
It looked welcoming to him, as if beckoning him to cross the sun-dappled lawn, clouds drifting high above casting drifting shadows. Liam parked in one of the two guest spaces in front, and went up the wide front walk and up the porch steps. The porch was deep, and curved around the house on each side. Comfortable rockers and gliders were set out for guests to sit and relax, interspersed with small tables.
He opened the front door, stepping into a lobby, and again was struck by the sense of welcome. The lobby was small, with a hallway leading to the back of the inn, probably to a parking lot out back. To the right an open doorway showed a fireplace surrounded by comfortable looking chairs and sofas. He couldn’t suppress a chuckle on seeing a large, shaggy white dog sprawled on the hearth rug, a small tabby cat curled up in the thick fur. Now that’s something he didn’t see every day!
“Good afternoon.”
Turning back to the lobby, Liam saw a tall, elderly black man rising from his seat behind a small counter. He stepped forward with a smile.
“Good afternoon. I’m Liam McConnell, I have a reservation.”
The man returned his smile. “Welcome. I’m Angus Johnston, my wife and I own the place. We’ve been expecting you, Katerina called from the clinic to say you were on your way.”
He beckoned to a lanky young man who appeared in the doorway from the lounge. “Martin, please get Mr. McConnell’s bags.”
Liam fished for his keys, handing them to Martin.
“Do you want me to move your car around back, too, Sir?” The young man asked.
Whoa! Valet parking, bed and breakfast style? “Sure thing,” he agreed. “And just bring the suitcases, you can leave the boxes and miscellany. And please, Liam is fine.””
‘Yes, Sir. I mean, Liam. Sir.”
Liam shared an amused look with Angus as Martin disappeared out the front door.
“This is his first job,” Angus explained. “He’s a junior in high school, and works here after school and weekends.” He turned his attention to the computer screen on the desk behind the counter. “You requested a queen size bed on the second floor. We have one of the front rooms open, or the side rooms. All have balconies, but the side rooms share two rooms to a balcony.”
“A side room will do,” Liam decided. “Most of my evenings will be taken up with work and study very likely.”
