Page 13 of The Lost Empress

CHAPTER TEN

HANDCUFFS AND HALF-TRUTHS

The Crying Cat Bakery, Roya Lane, London, England, United Kingdom

Thankfully Gen didn’t need the mobile device to find The Crying Cat Bakery since it was on Roya Lane and she was somewhat familiar with the magical lane. Hell, she’d broken the dirt on this place when she and the Founders of the House of Fourteen created the area in London. They knew then that they’d need a secret location for magical shops to set up and sell their wares. It was more than heartwarming to know that what she and the other founding families started all those centuries ago was still going strong.

When Gen entered the magical bakery, her senses were once again assaulted with confusion, just like when she stepped into the Fantastical Armory earlier. This time, the sound of metal on metal made Gen reflexively straighten. Then the sights around the enchanting bakery stole her focus. And the smells of sweet, baked goods drew her forward with their delicious warmth.

Gen had never seen anything like the place that she stepped into. Little fairies of every color flew through the air, throwing flour like it was pixie dust and giggling. Others polished the glass on the display case that was filled to the brim with oversized pastries that were oozing with different concoctions that Gen didn’t recognize as anything but mouth-watering.

The Crying Cat Bakery was both untidy with pans lying all around and dough hanging off the ceiling and then also mesmerizingly cozy with the many cakes all standing on the countertops. It felt like a place that was perfectly chaotic, which made sense for a bakery that would also be bustling with the process of creating.

Gen waved at the tiny fairies zooming overhead, but they didn’t pay her any notice, seeming to be having a food fight of sorts, tossing flour at each other. Striding forward, in the direction of the banging of metal on metal, Gen peered over the bakery counter. That’s when she saw a woman with short blonde hair hunched over a wooden table and using a hammer to flatten a sword. Strangely, the lady was wearing both an apron and had a shield slung over her back.

Gen cleared her throat, thinking that was the best way to get the woman’s attention. Reflexively, the baker of sorts, straightened, stopping her banging. She dropped the hammer on the ground with a thump and then turned her chin over her shoulder and glanced sideways at Gen.

“Who is that? I don’t recognize you,” the lady said with a tone of skepticism in her voice. “And you move about as stealthily as a ninja, which I really don’t like. I should have heard your entrance.”

“I’m Genevieve Beaufont, but call me Gen and thanks. I’m known for my stealth.”

The woman turned to face her directly. “I’m going to call you dead if you sneak up on me like that ever again. And where did another Beaufont come from?”

Gen grinned. “The 15th century. I’m new here.”

The woman studied her with a scrutinizing expression. “By the looks of it, you’re new to everything. You’re totally medieval.”

Gen nodded. “That I am. I came through a time gate and now I’m here for good. I work for the Rogue Riders or at least I want to.”

The baker narrowed her eyes, continuing to measure Gen up. Finally, she nodded. “I’m Lee. You can call me…well, I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

“Okay,” Gen said, pointing at the sword, lying on the workstation. “What are you doing there? I thought this was a bakery.”

Lee glanced back at the sword and grabbed it at once. She also reached for a bowl and put the sword in there. “That’s how I make the dough. I stir it with swords. It makes it…really elastic.”

“Right,” Gen said, seeing the lie written all over the woman’s face. “And the hammer? Is that for helping you with baked goods too?”

Lee nodded. “Absolutely.”

Another lie, Gen spotted.

She decided to ignore this since Mama Jamba had insisted that she come to this bakery. There had to be a reason, besides getting a cookie, which Gen would definitely be doing.

Looking around at the food-fighting fairies Gen smiled. “This bakery is pretty different.”

“How would you know?” Lee questioned. “You’re from the dark ages.”

“Well, that’s true, but I’ve been hanging out in Los Angeles since I was dropped in this time period and I haven’t seen anything like this.”

Lee grimaced with disgust. “Los Angeles has been keeping me busy lately. The bad cops there are out of control.”

Gen arched an eyebrow at the woman. “Why would bad police officers keep a magical baker busy?”

Lee cut her eyes to the side, like searching for an answer to this pointed question. Just then, one of the fairies zoomed over carrying what appeared to be a pair of manacles strung together by a thick chain. She went to hand it to Lee whose eyes widened at the sight. Lee took them and tossed them behind the bakery table, out of sight.

“Were those manacles?” Gen asked.

“Handcuffs,” Lee corrected. “And I use them as cupcake molds. Yeah, that’s right.”

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