Page 2 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones (Tales from the Tavern #2)

Two

“Any chance of getting some of those meat pies at the bar?”

Sass jumped and pressed a hand to her heart at the low, rumbling voice coming from behind them.

Lira was the first one to spin on her Tiefling friend and swat him with a dishrag. “You’ve got to stop doing that, Vaskel.”

Her former crew mate gave Lira a wolfish grin that Sass knew was more mischievous than truly wicked, despite his red skin and the pointed horns sweeping back from his forehead. “Do what?”

Lira huffed out a breath and granted him a reluctant smile. “Sneak up on people.”

Usually, he wouldn’t have been able to creep up on them without the faint scent of ash masked by sandalwood giving him away, but the tavern was such a cacophony of smells that it was hard to parse his distinctive aroma from the rest.

His icy blue eyes flashed more kindness than heat as he cast a look back at the polished wood bar.

Patrons crowded the length, perching on stools or using the bar to prop themselves up, and Sass noticed more than one female eyeing the bartender who’d stepped away.

“Some of my customers could use some food to counteract the ale.”

“So you aren’t plying your fans with drink?”

The Tiefling cocked the dark slash of a brow with the scar running through it. “Are you implying I need to?”

Lira tapped one foot on the wood plank floor. “You know the rule we agreed to, Vask. No seducing the patrons.”

Sass wondered if it was considered seduction if the women were more eager than he was. It was hardly his fault that seduction was as natural to Tieflings as swinging an axe was to dwarves.

“I’ve seduced no one.”

Lira leaned back to sketch a gaze over the buxom milkmaids and starry-eyed shop girls at the bar who were tracking Vaskel’s every move, then she eyed her friend. “You know that not everyone is as immune to your charms as Sass and I are.”

Vaskel’s laugh was a velvet chuckle as he wound one arm around Sass’s shoulders and his tail around one of her calves. “Who says Sass isn’t secretly in love with me?”

Sass’s cheeks warmed, but she elbowed Vaskel playfully. “Go on with you. You know you aren’t my type.”

Vaskel shrugged and slid his gaze toward the hearth and the blonde guard sitting in one of the overstuffed and oversized armchairs next to it. “Speaking of your type, don’t you have a date tonight?”

“It’s not a date,” Sass said hurriedly. “At least, I don’t think it is.”

Lira’s head snapped to her. “Wait, you and…?”

“Val agreed to stay after closing tonight.” Sass didn’t meet Lira’s eyes as she shifted from one foot to the other. “But it’s not what you think. She’s going to teach me how to knit.”

“Ah, yes, knitting,” Vaskel said, disbelief oozing from his words. “Too bad I didn’t think of that one before.”

“Well, I think it’s great that you and Val are hanging out,” Lira said brightly, “even if it is as two friends knitting. The best things start with friendship, right?”

Vaskel wrinkled his nose, clearly ready to challenge this idea before Lira shot him a look.

He cleared his throat. “Absolutely. Look at Lira and me. We’ve been nothing but friends, and there are few people I adore more than her.” He lowered his voice. “Not that I would let her bruiser of a fiancé hear me say that.”

Both women laughed at the thought of Korl being a bruiser or being threatened by Vaskel. The orc was a gentle giant if ever there was one.

Lira’s face softened into a smile. “Is that why you’re still hanging around Wayside?”

Vaskel folded his arms across the leather vest he left unbuttoned at the top. “Wayside was supposed to be only one stop in my search to locate everyone in the old crew. I was planning to continue my search for Rog before you two begged me to stay because your barkeep up and left.”

“That is true,” muttered Sass, “and he’s a vast improvement on Durn.”

She and Lira had a lot of reasons to be grateful to the tavern’s former owner, but no one could argue that the surly man had been a big draw.

Not only did Vaskel seem to attract patrons like a fairy moth to nectar, but he took particular pride in keeping the bar spotless. A trait that Durn had never possessed.

Lira’s brows pinched. “What I wouldn’t give to see Rog again and know he’s safe. I’m thrilled that you and Cali stayed in Wayside. It’s made it feel more like home than ever, but not knowing about Rog worries me.”

“I’ve put out feelers,” Vaskel said. “If he’s out there, I’ll find him.”

“If he wants to be found.” Lira held up a finger. “Our gnome friend might not be quite as stealthy as Cali, but he’s good at staying hidden. ”

Vaskel grunted his agreement then glanced at the bustling great room. “Speaking of our Tabaxi friend, where is Cali?”

Sass had been so busy getting food out to the patrons, refilling tankards of ale, and worrying about her not-a-date with Val that she hadn’t clocked that Lira’s other former crew mate wasn’t occupying her usual perch at the bar.

“You know Cali,” Lira said with an airy wave of one hand. “She probably got wrapped up in the latest pirate romance Iris found for her.”

“How is it I haven’t scored an invitation to the apothecary’s secret book stash?” Vaskel asked.

Sass tilted her head at him. “You read?”

The Tiefling’s expression was arch as he peered down his nose at her. “How do you think I learned so much about females if not by reading their deepest, darkest fantasies? The best books are romances.”

Lira gave him a playful shove back toward the bar. “Go take care of your customers, and we’ll get some pies out to you.”

Sass watched Vaskel saunter back to his post, his pointed tail swishing behind him. “He was joking about reading romance, right?”

“Oh, no. Vaskel would never joke about that. He might have read more romance novels than Cali.”

Sass opened and closed her mouth. Well, the Tiefling never ceased to surprise.

Lira wiped her hands on her apron as she turned toward the kitchen. “If you want to take off a bit early, that’s fine by me.”

Sass already regretted mentioning knitting with Val, and she could feel heat climbing up her neck. “There’s no need…”

“Go on, Sass,” Lira said, her voice quieter. “You’ve worked hard enough. It’s okay to live a little.”

Sass didn’t have a chance to respond before Lira had ducked through the swinging doors leading into the kitchen, but she couldn’t stop the heavy breath that slipped from her lips. Her friend was right. She deserved to enjoy herself, even if she and Val were only friends.

As much as the woman intrigued her, she hadn’t been able to let herself imagine anything more. At first, when she didn’t know if things in the village would work out, it had seemed too presumptuous. But now that she'd settled into a nice life at The Tusk & Tail, she should be able to imagine more.

If only…

Sass pushed aside the fears that tickled the back of her brain, assuring herself that the growing sense of dread was all in her mind.

She had nothing to worry about. She had a cozy place to lay her head, good friends, and honest work to keep her occupied.

Not to mention the striking blonde guardswoman who’d caught her attention from the first moment she’d walked through the doors.

If only she could get a read on what Val thought of her. Despite the guard’s friendly demeanor, she still didn’t know if Val considered her anything but a friend. Did the woman like to play her cards close to the chest, or had Sass been relegated to the friend zone?

She glanced toward the fireplace, where Val was knitting and laughing at something Korl had said from where he sat in the chair across from her. Even the sound of Val’s laugh made happiness bubble inside her. Lira was right. She deserved this. All of this.

Then she caught sight of the figure hunched over a small table in the back corner.

A hood sagged over his eyes, and his face was bathed in shadow, but Sass would know the silhouette of a dwarf anywhere.

She stumbled back, her breath caught in her throat, and all thoughts of a happy future fled her brain.

She didn’t know how he’d found her, but she was certain why he had.