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Thirty-Seven

Lira couldn’t bake while her new oven was being installed, and she wasn’t fond of having time on her hands. Durn had been roused by the noise and had come to observe the commotion, but had since decamped behind the bar, polishing glasses with particular menace. Sass was preoccupied chatting with Val by the fire, and Lira could swear that the guard’s chair had a new decorative cushion that the large woman had tucked behind her head as she knit.

It was the perfect time to slip down to the cellar. Lira hadn’t been there since she’d gone with Iris, and part of her wanted to check on the hiding place. Nothing would have changed, but it was like brushing your fingers over a touchstone in your pocket. She would feel better once she’d done it.

She slid a lantern from a hook on the wall and lit it quickly, giving a cursory glance around the great room before holding her breath and opening the cellar door. Once she was on the first step, she closed the door noiselessly behind her.

Lira stifled the urge to gag. “We have got to clean this place out.”

It was easy to forget with all the improvements upstairs that the subterranean level had been untouched. Of course, she’d preferred it that way. The fewer people down in the cellar, the better. And with the stench, not many folks would brave more than a few steps before retreating.

She hurried down the wooden steps with a hand on the rough bannister in case one of the rickety planks gave way. When she reached the dirt floor, she released a breath and shook her head at her unreasonable worry. It didn’t matter how many people traipsed through the cellar. They could even serve supper down there, although she couldn’t imagine that being a cheery meal. Still, no one would imagine that anything was buried behind the stone wall.

The glow of the lantern pooled gold on the floor which caressed the walls as it swung in Lira’s hand. Despite providing faint light, it didn’t make the underground space any warmer, and Lira wished she was wearing more than a thin dress and simple cardigan.

Lira reverted easily to her old ways, walking on her toes and holding her breath as she listened for any sound. There was nothing aside from the scraping and clanging overhead. She crept around the corner, keeping her distance from the baskets of rotten produce, and she extended her lantern arm.

There was the wall. There were the stones, all snugly tucked into the wall. And there, on the ground in the corner, was significantly more loosened mortar than there had been when she and Iris had left.

Lira went still, swinging the lantern wide, although she was certain she was alone in the cellar. She would have felt the presence of another being bigger than a rat. The back of her neck would have pricked, and it hadn’t.

“Hells and cinders,” she said, taking quick steps to the wall and crouching low so she could touch the corner stones.

She remembered vividly how much mortar had been scraped free. She remembered how much of the stones had been exposed. The corner stone was still set into the wall, but notably less mortar held it in place, and significantly more dusted the ground. She and Iris had not done this, but someone had.

Lira straightened, her mind racing. Who else knew about this?

“No one. Only Iris.”

Had the woman returned to work on the wall without telling her? No, she would have seen her, or Sass would have mentioned it. There was nothing that went on at The Tusk & Tail without Sass knowing.

Her stomach dropped. Sass. Had her friend been the one to venture to the cellar and try to pry out the stone? She knew that Lira had been in the cellar the first night they got caught. She’d seen her emerging from the cellar with Iris. Maybe she’d gotten curious.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head. Sass would have asked her. They’d become close enough that the dwarf wouldn’t start hacking at a wall without mentioning something to Lira. But didn’t that also mean that they’d become close enough for Lira to tell her the truth?

Her shoulders slumped. She was so used to keeping secrets and keeping to herself that it felt normal. Sharing and opening up didn’t come easily to her, even when she desperately wanted to bring others into her confidence.

She stood and backed away from the wall. The only way she would know if Sass had been the one scraping at the stones was to ask her. She had no reason to think the woman would lie. There was no way Sass knew what, if anything, was behind the stones. Besides, if anyone had made an attempt, chances were high it was Rygor, although she didn’t know when he could have snuck in.

Lira made her way briskly to the stairs, emerging from the cellar with considerably less stealth than she’d entered. Clangs and thumps continued to burst from the kitchen, which told her that the oven was still not fully installed.

She set the lantern on the bar, locking her gaze on Sass, who chose that moment to look up from her conversation with Val. Lira beckoned her with one finger, and Sass bustled over.

Lira jerked her head toward the door, and Sass followed her out of the tavern.

“If this is about the oven…” the dwarf started.

“It’s not.” Lira cut her off with an impatient wave of one hand. “It’s about the cellar.”

Sass tilted her head and wrinkled her nose as if she’d just taken a whiff of the dank underground storage area. “The cellar? Please don’t tell me you want to clean it now.”

“Hardly.” Lira could think of nothing she’d enjoy less. “Have you been down there recently?”

Sass recoiled. “I’ve never been down there. One sniff is all I needed to keep me safe and sound upstairs.” She made a face. “Besides, I’ve spent enough of my life underground.”

Lira studied her face, detecting no evasion, no deceit. She released a breath, grateful her faith in Sass had been confirmed.

Sass tapped a foot on the dirt. “Why?”

Lira pushed aside her instinct to hide the truth. “I have a confession.”