“It’s Liam. I brought Naomi to visit Beth. Beth took one look at her and Changed. The two of them are sitting on the bed, eating pastries, and having a reunion.”
“And?” Maroulla prompted, as Liam drew a deep breath.
“I’m going to ask you and the Council to take a leap of faith. I want permission to move Beth from the animal part of the Sanctuary to the residential side. I’m not suggesting she be given the option to leave her rooms like the regular prisoners. She should stay contained, but as a human rather than as her animal. At least until we can assess her more thoroughly.”
There was silence on the other end. Liam waited patiently, giving Maroulla time to consider.
Finally she asked, “You’re sure about this?”
Liam didn’t hesitate. “I cannot express strongly enough my belief that there’s something here we don’t know about. I’d like to get to the bottom of this. She doesn’t present as a psychopath, certainly. And while she doesn’t remember the attack on her fiance, she certainly exhibits regret, and sadness. Guilt. Self-blame.”
“And she’s not manipulating you?”
“No way. Her emotions are as real as can be, and my animal agrees. He’s protective of her. He wants to lean into her, and whine, and lick her face, and give her comfort.”
Maroulla’s tone was thoughtful. “Well, that’s telling, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Very well. Give me a little time. I’ll contact the Council and see if I can make your case. Hopefully I can get back to you with an answer this morning.”
“That’ll be great,” he said, in some relief. “We could get her settled into her new digs before we have to leave for home. Naomi will probably want to go out and do some more shopping for her, we only got the basics last night.” He hesitated. “Can you get permission for her to have a cell phone, even if they don’t approve moving her to the residential apartments? I know Naomi will be anxious to be in touch with her.”
“I can authorize that myself. It does sound like they were incredibly close.”
He grimaced. “They’d have to be… two young woman with a solid moral compass, growing up in a family of psychopathic killers. I imagine they would have had to cling to each other.”
He returned to Beth’s makeshift bedroom to find the women engaged in a discussion of the Shifter Council.
“I’m still learning about it, too,” Naomi was explaining as he rounded the corner. “Think of it like the Senate, with each District having Senators, but instead they’re called Wards and Wardens.”
“And then there’s the Djinn Council, and the Witch Council, and…” Liam put in, coming forward to take a seat in the armchair beside the table.
“Right!” Naomi exclaimed. “And for shifters, there’s also the Grand Council, which is the international one.”
“Good girl, you’re learning,” Liam approved.
She grinned at him. “I am! And then there’s the High Council of Others, with representatives from all the different supernatural Councils.”
“This makes my head hurt,” Beth complained. “I always hated taking government in school. Not to mention political science. Ugh.” She dove into the bakery bag and came up with a cherry danish. She took a big bite, mumbling, “Yum.”
“That’s because you’re a science nerd,” Naomi teased.
Beth smiled back at her sister. “Guilty as charged.”
“In the meantime,” Liam interrupted this exchange, “I have something for you, Beth.”
He opened his satchel. While Naomi had been choosing clothes for her sister the night before, he’d done some shopping of his own in anticipation of this. He pulled out a small box and tossed it onto the bed. Beth picked it up, looking at it, then gasped, her gaze flying to Liam.
“A cell phone? I can have a cell phone?”
He nodded. “I just got the nod from Maroulla. It’s all set up, and I have Naomi’s number, as well as mine, programmed in, so you two can keep in touch.”
Tears welled up in Beth’s eyes as she looked at her sister. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered. “To be able to talk to you, to hear your voice… it means so much. I can get through this, if I still have you.”
Naomi’s eyes were misting, too. She pulled Beth close, hugging her tightly. “We still have each other. I’ll take tons of pictures to send you. And we can Zoom, or Facetime, or Discord, or whatever, and talk face-to-face whenever we want.”
“Don’t forget ebooks,” Liam suggested. “Since you like to read, there are apps on the phone for reading ebooks.”
