Page 15 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Vaskel didn’t hesitate to pick up one round, slathering first butter then jam before he bit into it.
Thrain picked up a crumpet but took his time sniffing and eyeing it. “I thought that flying weasel was called Crumpet.”
“Flutterstoat.” Lira flashed Thrain a tolerant smile. “And he’s named after crumpets because he’s so good at baking.”
This made the dwarf’s bushy brows pop high. “I’ve always heard that the Ageless Lands were peculiar…”
Sass scowled at him. “Just eat, you grump.”
Thrain frowned, but then shoved the entire crumpet in his mouth.
“I didn’t think I could like anything more than your scones,” Vaskel mumbled around the mouthful of crumpet, “but I could eat a hundred of these.”
Sass took her time smoothing butter over the pockmarked surface of her crumpet, letting the butter melt into the holes before coating it with sticky jam. Lira watched as she took her first bite, grinning when Sass moaned and let her eyelids flutter shut.
They didn’t have the sweet punch of Pip’s lemon rolls, but there was something seductive about their savory flavor. Like Vaskel had said, they made you want to eat a hundred of them.
“How long have you known about the dwarf search party coming for Sass?” Vaskel asked Lira as he wiped the crumpet crumbs from his mouth and flicked them from his beard.
“Since last night.”
Vaskel folded his arms over his chest. “Then if I know you at all, you’ve been doing more than working on new recipes.”
Lira’s grin quirked into a mischievous smirk. “You know me too well, Vask.”
The door of the tavern swung open, and Thrain leapt to his feet, fumbling for a weapon when he spotted the figure silhouetted in the doorway. “Hells and cinders!”
Ten
Korl pausedin the tavern's entrance, his eyes wide at the dwarf struggling to brandish his axe.
“Relax.” Sass rested a hand on Thrain’s arm. “That’s just Lira’s fiancé, Korl.”
Thrain lowered himself onto the bench. “Lots of curious folks seem to walk in here.”
“Well, it is a tavern.” Sass brushed crumpet crumbs from her lace-up bodice and then glanced at Lira. “Do I need to tell my whole story to Korl now?”
Lira shook her head. “I saved you the trouble, but in my defense, I had to tell him. It seemed too suspicious that I had been searching for all kinds of spells and charms last night.”
“I won’t lie.” Korl’s deep voice was a rumble as he walked up to Lira and coiled an arm around her waist. “It was more than unsettling to see her looking up half a dozen ways to make someone vanish.”
Vaskel’s grin matched the wicked glint in his eyes. “Now we’re talking. Did you find anything good?”
“I don’t know,” Lira said with a sigh. “I’m not a mage, so I don't know how any of my gran’s spells work. And knowing thatnot all of them turned out the way she intended, I’m afraid to try one and turn Sass into a newt.”
Sass almost choked on a mouthful of crumpet. She thought of the bookwyrms that lived in the apothecary’s back room, tiny creatures that looked like baby dragons morphed with hummingbirds. Those had resulted from a spell gone wrong by Lira’s gran.
“I’ll bet going back home isn’t sounding so bad about now,” Thrain whispered to her.
“Maybe we should loop in Iris,” Vaskel suggested. “She was your gran’s best friend, and they ran together for years. She must have more insight into some of the spells.”
“Before we think about all the ways to fight Florin with magic, we should talk about the easiest solution.” Sass looked from Lira to Korl to Vaskel, finally letting her gaze come to rest on Thrain. “I need to consider moving on.”
As Lira opened her mouth to protest, Sass held up her hands to stop her. “It’s the obvious answer. I escaped in the first place by running. Maybe I should run again.”
Thrain grunted. “You want to spend the rest of your days on the run? You know Florin won’t give up. Especially if you take the amulet with you.”
“What if I don’t? What if I leave that here or give it to you? I know Florin is threatening retribution unless I return, but who’s to say searching for me won’t get old? If the Trollbanes have their amulet, there’s a chance they’ll give up their claim, especially if it means they won’t have to tramp through the marshes near Port Frey or cross the Riddle Vales.”
