Page 27 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
“He wasn’t a dwarf,” Lira said quietly, which told Sass that she hadn’t been the only one to register his presence.
But Lira was right. He hadn’t been a dwarf, which meant the chances were high he was no threat to her.
“You want me to follow him?” Cali asked.
Sass shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to fall victim to paranoia. “He was just a fellow buying bread. Not our concern.”
Lira studied her for another moment, then seemed to accept the explanation. "Well, Cali and I were planning to pop in and visit Iris at the apothecary. Want to join us?"
The offer was exactly the distraction Sass needed. "I'd love to. It's been too long since I've been in her shop.”
They made their way past Fenni’s storefront and then the haberdasher. Sass spotted Tin inside surrounded by bolts of fabric and gave him a wave. The morning was ambling along, and more villagers were emerging to tend to their daily business. The normalcy of it all should have been comforting, but Sass scanned every face, looking for more strangers.
The apothecary perched at the end of the row of shops, its darkened windows tucked beneath the black-and-white-striped fabric awning. Sass paused at the threshold, remembering her first visit to this place months ago when she'd been new to Wayside.
Then, the shop had appeared curious and mysterious. The shelves lined with black glass bottles had been like nothing she’d seen before, their curling paper labels promising everything from bone powder to belladonna, and the mingled scents of a hundred different oils and potions had been a confusing cacophony that had made her nose twitch.
But now, knowing Iris as she did, the shop felt familiar and welcoming. The same dark wood shelves still held the same mysterious bottles, the same combination of scents still hung in the air like incense, but it all seemed cozy rather than ominous. It was the difference between entering a stranger's domain and stepping into a friend's sanctuary.
The bell above the door chimed softly as they entered, and Iris looked up from behind the counter where she'd been grinding something with her mortar and pestle. Her face brightened immediately at the sight of them.
"Well, this is a lovely surprise!" she exclaimed, setting down her work and coming around the counter to greet them.
Sass had always admired Iris's distinctive style. Today she wore a flowing patchwork skirt in shades of deep purple and forest green that swished and jingled with each step thanks to the tiny bells sewn along the hem. Her dark hair, generously streaked with silver, was piled high on her head in a deliberately messy arrangement that somehow looked perfectly elegant, with escaped curls framing her face. Bangles clinked on her wrists as she moved, and her colorful shawl clung valiantly to one shoulder.
"Come to the back, loves,” Iris said, gesturing toward the heavy curtain that separated the front of the shop from her private domain. "I was just about to put the kettle on."
They followed her through the curtain into the book-lined room that served as Iris's private sitting area. The transformation from the front shop to this cozy retreat never failed to amaze Sass. Where the front was all dark mystery, the back room felt like an overstuffed library crossed with a messy parlor.
Bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, packed snugly with ancient-looking tomes bound in cracked leather. A round table sat in the center of the room, its surface cluttered with open books, empty teacups, and plates that held nothing but crumbs.
The moment they entered, a flutter of wings overhead announced Iris’s bookwyrms. The tiny creatures emerged from their hiding places among the shelves, their iridescent wings catching the light as they darted through the air like miniature dragons morphed with hummingbirds.
Sass knew the story of how these creatures came to be—the result of one of Lira's gran’s magical experiments gone delightfully awry. Instead of whatever the elder mage had been trying to create, she'd ended up with creatures whose primary purpose was eating dust without damaging the books they cleaned.
"Tea?" Iris offered, already bustling toward an alcove tuckedbehind the room where she kept her tea brewing. "I've got a lovely summer berry blend that's perfect for the morning."
"That sounds wonderful," Cali said, settling into one of the large, lumpy chairs with a grateful sigh.
As Iris poured steaming tea into delicate floral cups, she glanced at Sass with a thoughtful expression. "You know, pet, I’ve been thinking about your personal problem.”
Lira pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. "Maybe we shouldn't call it that. It makes it sound like Sass has some sort of rash.”
"Florin is like a rash,” Sass muttered, accepting her teacup with a rueful smile. “Irritating and persistent.”
Iris nodded as she settled into her own chair. "I've been researching some protective measures. Poultices that could ward off 'negative influences.' Herbs that might provide some protection or at least muddy the waters for anyone trying to track you.”
"That's thoughtful of you," Sass said, touched by the apothecary’s concern. "Though I'm not sure how much herbs can do against a determined dwarf with a grudge and an armed search party."
"Don't underestimate the power of the right combination of plants," Iris said with a mysterious smile. "Though I have to admit, I wish Lira's grandmother were still with us. She would have been able to craft an obscuring spell that would make you nearly impossible to find.”
Lira and Sass exchanged a look.
"I've found some of those spells in her book,” Lira said, her gaze not meeting Iris’s. “But I’ve decided not to try them without more training."
“Not try them again,” Sass muttered into her teacup.
Iris's eyes went wide with alarm, and she set down her teacup with a sharp clink. "Lira, love, you mustn't attempt untrained magic! The consequences of a spell gone wrong can be..." She gestured vaguely at the bookwyrms flutteringoverhead. "Well, these little fellows are an example of magic going sideways. Your grandmother was lucky that her failed experiment created something harmless and helpful. Not all magical mishaps are so benevolent."
