Hard to excerpt, which I like.
“I bet the Freaks don’t have meetings,” Elizabeth said sourly as the Council’s broke up. “They probably just chant a few mystic runes, and then gut somebody over whatever ‘sin of the Before Times’ has their asses chapped that day. What?” she said to the other Councilors. “Like I’m saying something you’re not thinking!”
“Human sacrifice is not funny, Professor Collins.” said the current rotating chairwoman. Her name was Brittanie Newstar, and unfortunately she lived up to the stereotype: to wit, in her fifties, aggressively neutral in her style and demeanor, and utterly lacking any sense of whimsy. “The FEMC is an abomination in the eyes of Allah.”
Janet glared at Elizabeth. Don’t get her wound up, you ass! Brittanie was a lot more sensible than most of the former faculty at PCC, but she had an entire beehive in her bonnet about how much nicer the Freaks would look if they were all on fire. Janet didn’t exactly disagree, but… There’s all those slaves in the way. Plus the Devilwood giving the FEMC backup — or were the Freaks the ‘Wood’s slaves? Nobody at the PECZ was sure.