Page 38 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira set her mug onto the counter and patted her damp hand with a cloth. “Where would I be? What we haven’t established is whyyou’rehere.”
Korl grunted and tipped his head across the room. “Your friend said it was broken.”
Lira followed his gaze to the iron stove that sat cold and sullen in the corner. “You’re here to fix the oven?”
Korl shrugged. “Unless you don’t want me to.”
“Please, if you can make it work again don’t let me stop you.”
Korl lowered the metal tool caddy he gripped in one hand to the floor, the contents clattering as he squeezed past her to reach the offending contraption.
Lira sucked in to let him pass, holding her breath as his quilted leather breastplate brushed her tunic. “Have you ever fixed an oven before?”
He shook his head, not glancing back as he knelt in front of the iron beast and tugged on the handle. “Machines are machines, and all moving parts move in the same way. More or less.”
That hadn’t been Lira’s experience, but it was safe to say that she’d never fancied herself a dab hand with gadgets. Unless the gadget was a lock, and that was more to do with listening and feeling than fixing.
Korl thrust his head inside the oven, his grunts amplified by the close quarters as he inspected the interior. When he emerged, he satback on his haunches, jutting out his jaw and blowing a gust of air upward to remove an errant strand of hair from his eyes.
Lira pressed her lips together as she took in his serious expression and the patch of soot capping the tip of his nose. The last thing she wanted to do was laugh at him, especially since he’d come to help.
She snatched the cloth she’d used to wipe her own hand, deeming it clean enough. “Here, hold still.” She knelt down in front of him and took his chin in one hand, holding his face steady as she swept the soot away in a single swipe. “That’s better.”
She hadn’t expected him to smell so good, but she almost sighed as she breathed in his spicy, smoky scent. Lira met his eyes, which seemed to have gone even blacker than usual. He was holding his breath, his entire body rigid. Her pulse quickened, and she held up the dirty rag as explanation. “Soot.”
The air between them buzzed, and even her fingers tingled from holding his chin. He still hadn’t exhaled, so she rose and took a big step back. “I suppose there’ll be more of that before the job’s through. I’ll let you get to it, shall I?” She didn’t wait for an answer before beating a hasty retreat from the kitchen, and almost flattening Sass in the process.
“Grognick’s beard, woman!” Sass stumbled back, almost landing on her ample rear end before Lira caught her by the arms. “What’s got you in such a state?” Then her eyes went wide as her gaze danced between Lira and the kitchen doors. “It’s not rats, is it? I can’t abide rats.”
Lira steadied her breath and released Sass. “It’s not rats. It’s nothing. Well, not nothing. Korl is here.”
Sass gave her a blank look. “Korl?”
“Val’s friend,” Lira said, letting her voice drop. “The orc.”
Sass’s expression brightened. “Korl!” Then wrinkles crowded her brow. “Why is Korl here?”
“He’s fixing the oven.”
“The orc guardsman is fixing our oven?” She gave the swinging doors a pointed look. “Right now?”
Lira nodded. “Val did say he preferred tinkering to fighting.”
Doubt flickered across the dwarf’s face and she stepped around Lira, pushing the half doors open enough to poke her head into the kitchen. When she straightened and released the doors, she gave her head a brief shake.
“Well? I was telling the truth, wasn’t I?”
“You didn’t tell me that he had an assistant.”
Lira cocked her head and went onto her tiptoes to peer over the top of the doors. Korl sat on the floor in front of the oven with the door open and his head inside, and balanced on the handle of his tool caddy perched Crumpet, bent over and pawing through the contents.
Lira groaned. “Crumpet!”
The creature cut his eyes to her without removing his hands from where they were buried in the tools and chittered something. Apparently, he was as fond of hammers and wrenches as he was of rolling pins.
Before she could enter the kitchen and retrieve him, Korl popped his head from inside the oven. “He’s not bothering me.”
“You’re certain?” Lira asked, shooting a severe look at the animal.
