Page 12 of Death and Donuts

Anchor chuckled and returned to his place at the bottom of the VIP stairs.

Music came on, and I pocketed my phone as I greeted the first group of patrons to claim a table in my section.

“Everly,” a familiar dwarf said as he and his companions settled at one of my tables. “You look lovely, as always.”

Brott and his friends were regulars and fond of Blur’s lamb skewers with an herb dipping sauce and one of the signature drinks, Effervescence.

“Thank you,” I said. “Can I get you your regular order, or would you like to try something new? Chef Griz has a delicious goat cheese and roasted tomato tartlet tonight.”

“Let’s do our regular order and add the tartlet as well,” he said.

I placed the order on my handheld POS and excused myself to welcome the new customers who sat down in my section. By the time I was about to check on the order for the dwarves, they were flagging me down.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “I was just going to get your order.”

Brott shook his head. “I’m sorry,Vezrama.We have to go.” He handed me a fistful of cash that was much more than the cost of the drinks and food. “Keep the food for yourself.”

“I can box it up,” I said. “It will only take a moment.”

“A moment is more than we have, I’m afraid. We must go,Vezrama.”

They moved quicker than I’d ever seen them move and were gone before I could say goodbye. I headed to the main bar at the back of the room to cancel the order, but it was already ready.

Shepard was behind the bar with Buzz, so I called him over.

“Brott and his friends had to leave. They paid me for their food and drinks. Can I give them to another table so they aren’t wasted?”

He nodded, but his brow furrowed. “They weren’t the only dwarves to leave suddenly.”

Vena popped up next to me with a wad of cash. “My table just left after ordering, but they paid cash before anything was ready. Can I keep it?”

“Were they dwarves?” I asked.

She nodded.

“So, can I keep it?” Vena asked.

“You can keep the difference in the cost of their order,” I said. “And Shepard agreed to give the food and drinks to another table in your section.”

“Excellent,” she said. “My tables will love me and tip me well.”

As she grabbed her order and practically skipped away, I looked at Shepard.

“Do you think there is an issue with the dwarves?” I asked.

“Doubtful. They are one of the most stable creatures.”

He was frowning, though, so I quickly pulled out my phone and sent Miles a private text.

Me: Just checking in to see if everything is okay. The dwarves left Blur suddenly.

“I’m sure everything is fine, Everly,” Shepard said.

“You’re probably right, but let me know if you hear why they left.”

I hurried away with the order to split it between two other tables and spent the rest of the night running back and forth between customers and the bar. No other dwarves came in, and it wasn’t just me who noticed.

The wolves at Blur seemed to grow anxious with every passing hour.

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