Page 26

Twenty-Five

“Come and get ‘em!”

Sass’s shout gave Lira a start, and she was grateful she no longer held the tray. She stepped back as the dwarf waved their customers over, managing tight smiles as she murmured thanks for the flurry of compliments and made her way toward the Tabaxi.

Seeing Cali had banished all thoughts of buttery pastries and warm chai from her brain, and a chill went over her as she took wooden steps around the tables. She and Cali had always been friends, perhaps tighter than any others in their party. So why were her feet leaden as she walked toward her?

The archer wore her trademark leather pants that stopped above the knee and a vest that molded to her torso. Her claws were retracted, although she drummed them on her folded arms. Her boots were scuffed but not caked in mud, meaning she hadn’t traveled through the marshlands to reach Wayside.

Lira dipped her head when she reached her. “Cali.”

The Tabaxi’s pupils flared, but not in the way they did when she was about to strike. “Is that all? After all our years together, I don’t get a hug?”

Lira blinked at her. “You want a—?”

Before she could finish her question, Cali had yanked her into a ferocious embrace, holding her close enough for her whiskers to tickle Lira’s cheek. Lira’s entire body sagged as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

When Cali pulled back, Lira was still regaining her equilibrium. “I thought you’d be…I thought you came to…”

Cali cocked her head. “You thought I was… what? Angry that you wanted to leave our group?”

Lira gnawed at her lip without answering.

Cali threw her leg over the nearest bench and sat, waiting for Lira to join her. “No one blamed you for leaving. We were all torn up after Malek. It wasn’t the same.”

Lira shook her head, but it was to agree. Malek might not have been her favorite in the crew, but they’d worked together long enough that she’d felt his loss keenly.

“You weren’t the only one to leave,” Cali said, a flicker of something crossing her face and making her pointed ears twitch. “Vaskel followed right after you.”

Lira wouldn’t be surprised if the Tiefling had felt guilt over losing Malek, blaming himself for not being able to sense the danger before it was too late.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Lira said, allowing her attention to drift to the small gathering around the scones and chai at the bar. It struck her as odd that such a deep sense of satisfaction could be swept away with a reminder of her past.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

Cali’s tone was sharp, and Lira’s gaze snapped back to her.

“Malek knew what he was doing when he cast that spell. It was dangerous and risky. We’d all warned him for years not to dabble in dark magic.”

Lira let loose a sharp laugh. “Malek was not one to be convinced of anything.”

Cali’s own chuckle was without mirth. “No, he wasn’t.” She put a paw on Lira’s arm. “Which is why you can’t blame yourself.”

Lira frowned. “But I had him, Cal.” She opened and closed her hand as if she could still see the scrap of Malek’s cape as it tore from her fingers. “I had him, but I couldn’t hold him.”

A half-purr, half-growl rumbled from the feline’s chest. “The spell had already rebounded on him by the time you got there. There was no saving him, Lira.”

Lira’s eyes fluttered closed as she fought to purge the memories of Malek’s face, his shock, his horror as he’d slipped from her grasp and hurtled into the vengeful sea. Then she remembered the web of veins glowing black as they’d crawled up his arms and neck, the infernal magic consuming him with such potent power that he’d been unable to stop his inevitable plummet off the cliff.

Cali was right. He wouldn’t have lived even if he’d survived. Not as he’d been before, at the very least. The dark magic they’d begged him not to dabble in would have contorted him into a creature none of them would have recognized.

When Lira opened her eyes again, it was to see Cali with her ears flattened and Korl standing beside them. He held a mug of chai and a partially decimated scone, crumbs clinging to his dusky green chin.

“You okay?” His question was directed at Lira, even though he barely met her gaze.

Cali flicked her amber gaze from her to the orc, the hairs on her slender arms rising.

“Fine,” Lira said. “This is Cali, we used to run together. She’s the best archer you’ll ever meet. ”

“Caliqua.” Cali extended one paw. “But if you’re a friend of Lira’s, which I’m guessing you are, you can call me Cali.”

Korl took the paw gently in his massive hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Korl. Her gran used to make scones like this.”

Cali eyed the remains of the scone in Korl’s hand but didn’t comment on the non-sequitur. “I’ve heard about this gran, but not about the scones.”

“I told you she taught me to bake.”

Cali shrugged. “You never mentioned specifics or that scones smelled so good.” She sucked in a greedy breath. “I could smell them all the way outside the village.”

Lira scoffed. “That’s because you have a highly attuned sense of smell.”

“Perhaps, but I would recognize the scent of that chai anywhere.”

Lira grinned at the memory. “Because you were with me when we discovered it.”

Cali nudged her knee with her own. “That amazing elven cafe with the hanging lanterns and cushions on the floor.”

Korl scrunched his nose at this.

“You had to see it,” Lira assured him. “The cushions were enormous and everyone sat on the floor drinking chai.”

Korl grunted, and Lira suspected that lolling about on the floor might not be his style.

“I’ll get you some chai.” Lira started to stand.

Cali’s ears were no longer flat against her head. “And I wouldn’t say no to one of those scones.”

“Sit, sit!” Sass called over. “I’ll get it.”

Lira noticed that the dwarf was no longer manning the tray of scones and chai at the bar but was hurrying to the tray from the hearth, patting Tin on the arm as she passed him. She also noticed Silas watching her and Cali with narrowed eyes, but she took Sass’s advice and ignore the curmudgeon.

Korl grunted again. “If everything is okay here…” Then he turned and left them for his chair by the fire .

Cali twisted her head to watch his retreating back. “He’s an interesting one. Quiet for an orc.”

“He’s on the shy side, but he’s been a big help today. He fixed our oven and won’t take any payment aside from free food.”

“No doubt.”

Lira wasn’t sure what Cali meant by that or why her whiskers quivered when she swung back around.

“Too bad he’s a guardsman,” Cali said. “He’d make a great addition to a crew.”

That thought made Lira bristle. “He hates fighting.”

Cali made a face like she didn’t believe her. “An orc who hates fighting?”

Lira held up one palm. “I swear on the souls of those who have gone before us. He’s good with gadgets and prefers tinkering with things to killing.”

“Hence the oven repair.” Cali sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

Sass swished over, balancing a plate on her arm and holding two mugs. She dropped the mugs on the table before sliding the plate down the length of her arm. “Chai and a scone for our guest and for the baker.” Sass winked at Lira. “I figure you didn’t get to eat one yet.”

Lira hadn’t, and she was grateful that the dwarf had thought of her, even over their profits. “Thanks, Sass.” She gestured to Cali. “This is Cali. We used to work together.”

Sass’s brows lifted. Lira hadn’t told her much about her past work, but she knew the dwarf had figured out a good deal on her own. She eyed the quiver of bows on Cali’s back. “An archer, eh?”

Cali smiled. “I try.”

Lira shook her head at the misplaced modesty. “She’s as good as they get.”

Cali took a bite of the scone, and a purr rumbled her chest.

Sass grinned as if she’d come up with the recipe herself. “Good, aren’t they?”

“I had no idea you could bake like this,” Cali mumbled around her bite, sending a shower of crumbs cascading onto her pants .

“Your loss is our gain,” Sass said with a wink as she spun around and headed back to the fire where Val was draining her chai and Korl was making little secret of watching her and Cali.

Cali took a gulp of her chai, her purring nearly rattling the plate off the table. “Why didn’t you ever make these for us?”

“You mean over our campfires or in all those dodgy inns?” Lira leaned forward. “I know you didn’t come here to sample my baking or even recruit more members for your crew. I also know that as much as you like me, you didn’t come here for a social call.”

Cali gave a curt nod. “Perceptive as always, although you’re wrong about how much I missed my friend.” The purring stopped. “But I did come here to warn you.”

“Warn me?” Lira sat up straighter, instantly more alert.

Cali’s ears folded. “Pirrin is dead.”

Lira stared at her for a few beats as she thought about the Ranger she’d run with, the man who been as fierce a fighter as he’d been a loyal friend. “How?”

“No way to know. There wasn’t a mark on his body.”

Fear iced Lira’s skin, and for the first time since she’d returned to Wayside, she wanted to run and not look back.