CHAPTER#32

"Okay, so what's the damage?" Lily set the last box back in place. Between the two of them, it had been nearly two hours of Lily lifting boxes aside to read their contents while Beth crossed them off. Currently, Beth was trusting that the boxes hadn't been opened, mainly due to the fact that they had been sealed up extra tight with duct tape that had strange letters written across portions of it. She thought they were initials at first, but closer inspection made her think of Hebrew, or something similar.

"It's so weird," Beth said. "When I look at the stuff that's missing, it's nothing interesting. None of these boxes contains anything of actual value. Just random knick knacks. If anything, it looks like we are only missing maybe two boxes of items. Unless these things are antiques or something, I can't imagine the financial loss is that great." Beth turned the paper over. "Well, unless you count the missing grandfather clock."

"Missing clock?" Lily undid her ponytail, her dark hair flowing freely across her shoulders.

"Yeah. An old grandfather clock. I don't see it. However..." Beth stood on the corner of the pallet. "I imagine it was right here. You can see the gap where they didn't stack anything."

"That's weird. From everything I saw, there was no mention of selling a clock. Just those boxes."

"Well, that's something for their lawyers to figure out. After all, clocks don't just get up and walk away." Beth stuck the papers in her briefcase, which was open on a stack of boxes. She closed it, sliding the locks into place. "This could have been way more work for me. Thanks for all your help."

"Thanks for letting me tag along." They walked out of the storage unit together, Beth pulling the door down and then locking it. "I don't know about you, but I am famished. Lunch isn't holding me over like I thought it would."

"I doubt there's anything nearby," Lily said, her shoes clicking on the hard floor beneath them. They walked back into the sun's light, squinting at the sudden brightness. Walking past the office, Beth saw that the worker was fast asleep at his desk.

"Such a hard worker," she said.

"Hope he's having good dreams." Lily said, a smirk crossing her face. They got into Beth's car, and Beth pulled out of the dirt lot and back onto the main road. They drove largely in silence, occasional small talk breaking up the trip. Beth pulled into the drive-thru of a local burger joint, requesting extra fry sauce for Lily to eat. The miles were swallowed up behind them until they found themselves back in the city. Beth dropped Lily off at the parking garage, noticing that the town car was gone.

"See you tomorrow?" Beth asked. Lily winked, stepping out of the car and walking across the lot. Beth watched her disappear behind a concrete pillar, marveling at how helpful her new intern had already proven to be.

-

Navigating the cliff path took some effort, but Mike and Zel finally arrived at the door to the greenhouse. Standing before the giant wall of glass, Zel stared up into the sky, her eyes round in wonder.

"I never thought about how it would feel to leave this place," Zel said, lowering her gaze to the door. "I debated trying to sneak out a few times, but the human world is cruel to my kind, and I had nowhere else to go."

"Why didn't you bust out and speak to Emily?" Mike asked. "I'm sure she would have let you stay."

"Maybe." Zel admitted. "My aunt warned me that if I did, it was my one shot at survival. If Emily said no, I was out on my own with nobody to help me. Emily wasn't exactly known for her kindness to strangers, especially among my tribe."

"What did they say about her?" Mike asked.

"Recluse. Homebody. Murderer." Zel shrugged, her breasts rippling through her tunic. "She seemed okay when we met her, but very guarded. Didn't let us anywhere near the house."

Mike moved to stand in front of Zel. "So here's the deal. Be honest with everybody when you meet them. Tell them why you want to move in with us."

"I'm lonely. I have nobody else. I want to fit in." Zel's eyes shimmered with tears. "You don't think they'll tell me no, do you?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem. We do have to talk to Naia first." Mike appraised the centaur, listening literally to his gut. Naia had imbued him with a danger sense that often came far too late, one that he felt in his stomach as an icy spear of pain. For now, his stomach was silent.

Zel took a deep breath, running her hands across her stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little worried. I don't know what I'll do if you make me go back."

"I think you're good to stay. Like I said, I want to run it by Naia first, simply because she knows the house better than I do." Mike opened the door. "And if that doesn't work, you're always welcome to stay in the greenhouse and come visit. It isn't like you haven't already lived here for a decade. Maybe we can redo the garage, make it a living space for you."

Nodding, Zel stepped through the portal onto the darkened lawn of the house. Mike followed from behind, closing the greenhouse door.

"Hello," he called, expecting someone to be waiting for him. Strangely, the house was silent. "I was supposed to be back hours ago," he explained, walking across the lawn. Zel followed in silence, her eyes fixed on the house like it would reach out and snap her up.

"Tink? Abella?" Coming around the corner into the garden, he saw Naia lying in the fountain, blue and green strands of hair spread across the surface of the water like seaweed.

"There you are!" Naia sat up, the water of the fountain parting to let Mike in without getting his feet wet. Naia pulled him in for a tight embrace, "You were supposed to come back forever ago!"