Page 83 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira didn’t like keeping things from Korl, especially after he’d been so kind to them—to her. He hadn’t scoffed when she’d told him she thought she was being followed, and he hadn’t judged her when she’d revealed what she’d been doing for all her years away. She hadn’t seen him since then, but that was only because in the days since she’d done nothing but prepare for the Night Faire. She hoped his and Val’s absence from the tavern meant that they were busy with work or perhaps preparing for the upcoming festivities as well.
As Lira was thinking that she missed seeing Val and Korl in their usual chairs by the fire, the kitchen doors flew open, and Sass burst in.
“This is a disaster!”
Lira almost sloshed some of the bubbling syrup onto the floor, and Crumpet flew to the hanging pots. The dwarf braced two fists on her hips and blew an errant curl from her forehead.
“What’s a disaster?’ Lira asked, instinctively cutting her eyes to the stove. No smoke billowed from the door, so at least the disaster wasn’t from her kitchen.
“How is this plan going to work if Durn is too thick to know that Penny wants him to ask her to the faire?”
Crumpet flapped his furry wings and fluttered down from the top rack, landing on the worktable and shooting Sass a scathing look.
“Relying on Durn’s sensitivity should never have been Plan A.”
Sass crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re right. We should just lock him in a closet somewhere.” Her eyes brightened. “Or we could drug him. Could you make one of those apple things with some of Iris’s sleeping tonic in it?”
Lira shook her head at the exasperated dwarf. “Let’s call that Plan C.”
“Maybe this is why I never made it onto a crew. Contingency plans make me too nervous.”
Strategizing came as naturally to Lira as baking, with a good deal fewer burns. “Why does Durn need to ask her or the other way around, for that matter? They only need to think they’ve been asked by the other.”
Sass bobbed a nod. “We trick each into thinking the other asked.”
“A pair of notes delivered to each should do the job.” Lira lifted the spoon, pleased with the amber syrup coating it. “Cali is good at mimicking handwriting. You should ask her to help.”
Sass bounced on the balls of her feet. “I knew you would have a solution.” Then she eyed Lira. “Should I be worried you’re so good at trickery?”
“Not when I’m on your side.”
A grin teased the edges of the dwarf’s lips, and she drew in a long breath. “Any chance of something to munch on while I’m working with our forger?”
“Not unless you consider raw apples a treat.”
Sass grimaced, backing from the kitchen as quickly as she’d arrived, leaving the doors swinging in her wake.
Lira winked at Crumpet as she took the fragrant cinnamon syrup off the stove. “Now where were we?”
Fifty
Lute music greetedLira as she stepped outside the tavern holding a tray of scones in one hand and a platter of baked apple dumplings in the other. Even though the sun had barely set, people were already milling about and drifting over the stone bridge toward the heart of the village. Luminaries spilled puddles of yellow light along both sides of the hardpacked dirt road, and even the bridge had been strewn with fabric pennants.
Her pulse quickened, and for a moment she was transported back to being a girl and walking to the Night Faires with her gran, her small hand nestled safely in the old woman’s soft one. She’d barely been able to contain her excitement as a child, skipping on her toes in place ofwalking. Her gran had only laughed at her, always letting her run ahead once they got close enough to the village center. There had been nothing like the joy of racing toward the festival, dust kicking up behind her feet and her hair flying.
Now her heart tripped for a different reason. Soon, she and Iris would sneak away and finally break through the stone wall in the tavern’s cellar. She would finally retrieve what she’d left behind, what she’d come home to find.
“There you are,” Sass said as she bustled up to her.
In honor of the occasion, Sass had wrapped her braid into a coil on top of her head. Her usual work dress had been replaced by a teal blouse made from a fine fabric with sheen and a smoke gray skirt that was gathered high on one side.
“You look nice,” Lira said as Sass took the trays from her.
“Don’t sound so surprised. I can clean up when the need arises.” She gave Lira a cursory glance. “I hope you don’t plan to come to the Night Faire covered in flour.”
Lira realized that she still wore her apron, even though she’d finished all her baking. “I guess I should change.”
She untied the apron from her waist, stepping away from Sass before shaking it. “How’s it looking?”
