Page 36

Thirty-Five

“You know what’s strange?” Sass asked as Lira walked into the kitchen carrying a bag of warm lemon sweet rolls.

Lira eyed the dwarf feeding Crumpet a bit of leftover scone, his wings fluttering behind him as he hovered in mid-air. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Sass slid off the three-legged stool and took the bag Lira proffered, sticking her nose inside and inhaling greedily. “The smell of these rolls made me lose track of what I was saying.”

She took out a fresh roll, the lemon glaze slicking her fingers as she tore off a bite. Then Crumpet chattered at her and she tore the bite into two pieces and relinquished one to the winged creature.

“Since when are you two friends?” Lira took a roll from the bag and bit into it, her teeth sinking into the pillowy sweetness.

Sass shrugged. “I figure it’s best not to have an enchanted creature on your bad side.”

Aside from the wings and his impressive instinct for baking, Lira wasn’t sure how magical Crumpet truly was, but if it made Sass more accepting of the flutter-stoat, then she wasn’t going to argue.

Sass hoisted herself back onto the stool as she fed bites of sweet-roll to Crumpet between big bites of her own. “An unfortunate run-in with some water pixies in Eldu taught me that it’s better to make friends than enemies.”

“Well, I’m glad.” Lira smiled at Crumpet as he daintily licked his paws and tucked his wings close to his furry body. Then she swept her gaze around the kitchen, noticing several bowls not where she’d left them and one of the lower cabinet doors ajar. “Did you move things around while I was out?”

Sass wrinkled her brow. “Why would I do that?”

“You wouldn’t,” Lira said, telling herself that Crumpet could have opened the cabinet door and Durn could have wandered into the kitchen and moved the bowls, even though she didn’t believe either of those two things happened. She had the strangest sensation that someone had been snooping in her kitchen. “Rygor didn’t happen to visit, did he?”

Sass made a face. “Not when I’ve been here. Why?”

Lira shook her head in an attempt to dismiss the uneasy feeling. “No reason. It’s just been a while since he’s popped in and made threats. I figure we’re due.”

Sass laughed darkly, swiped an errant trail of glaze on her chin with the back of her hand, and then snapped her fingers. “Speaking of popping in, now I remember what’s so odd. Korl hasn’t been by in a couple of days. Val stopped in yesterday for scones and she took a few to go, which I guess she took to him, but I haven’t seen tusk nor tip of him.” She leveled a gaze at Lira. “Any reason he’d be avoiding the tavern? ”

Lira shuffled behind Sass to stand at the worktable, dodging her stare. “Why would he avoid the tavern?”

“You tell me.”

Lira blew out a breath. “The last time I saw him was when he fixed the roof.”

“Mm-hmm. You were up there with him for a spell, weren’t you?”

Lira thought back to sitting on the roof with the orc. They’d talked, but she hadn’t said anything that would make him stay away, had she? But he had been quieter than usual, quieter than the time they’d talked in the kitchen. Then there was the almost-kiss. At least, she’d thought he’d been about to kiss her, but she’d clearly been wrong about that.

“Not very long,” Lira said. “I don’t think I offended him by taking him a sweet roll.”

Sass shook her head thoughtfully. “Couldn’t have been the sweet rolls.”

“To be honest, I can’t get a read on the guy.”

“He’s shy, that’s for sure, and a bit awkward around people.” Sass chuckled. “I thought you were a bit standoffish, but he’s got you beat.”

“I’m not standoffish.” Lira pulled out the saucepan and started adding the ingredients for chai by rote. “I’m selective about who I befriend.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Sass made a sound that told Lira she didn’t see much difference in the two.

“He’s all right around Val.”

Sass picked up one of the papery cinnamon sticks and put it to her nose. “So the question remains. What did you do to make him avoid the tavern?”

“Why does it have to be me? Maybe you did something, did you ever consider that?”

Sass crinkled her snub nose before lowering the cinnamon stick and shaking her head. “Nope, I’m still sure this has to do with you.”

Lira rolled her eyes as she stirred the spices into the milk. Crumpet flew the short distance between the counter and the worktable, pawing through the small burlap bags and producing a knob of pale yellow ginger.

“Good catch, Crumpet.” Lira scruffed the fur on his head before she chopped off a sliver of ginger and added it to the chai.

Sass slid off the stool and landed on the floor with a thud. “I still don’t think it’s right how much he knows about kitchen work. Are we sure he isn’t a runaway from Pip’s?”

Lira grinned at Crumpet. “That would explain a lot, but I don’t think so. If he was, why would he leave?”

“You’ve got a point there,” Sass said. “ I wouldn’t leave.”

“I guess he likes it here.”

“Likes you, you mean. I don’t believe for a second that he hung around here when it was Durn alone.”

Lira had to agree with her. Crumpet had shown up once she’d started baking, making himself as comfortable as if the place had always been his home. She glanced at the nest of dishrags she’d made for him in the corner. Which it now was.

A thud that shook the floorboards snapped her from her thoughts about Crumpet, making both her and Sass jump. Crumpet had already flown out the window when Lira looked up.

“What in Grognick’s beard was that?” Sass wasted no time hurrying from the kitchen and into the great room.

Lira turned off the flame under the pot of chai and wiped her hands on a dishtowel before taking a step. Before she could reach the swinging doors, Sass stuck her head between them, grinning wickedly.

“One of the mysteries is solved.”