Page 56 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira inclined her head to the wall. “What do you think?”
Iris returned her attention to the stones. “Where exactly did you bury your gran’s book?”
Lira walked to the corner and squatted. “Right here. That way it would be easy to find.” She produced a dagger that was tucked insideher waistband and scraped at the mortar around the stone. Only the barest amount sifted to the dirt floor. “But it won’t be easy to retrieve. Not without attracting attention.”
Iris knelt beside her, the light oscillating along with the pendant. She squinted at the hefty gray stone that took up a considerable share of the wall’s edge. “You’re sure it’s back there?”
“No,” Lira admitted. “I’m sure I left it there, but I have no way of knowing if it’s still there.” She didn’t mention that she was fairly confident it was there because the box that held the book also held gold coins. Gold that Rygor smelled.
“If Durn found it when he built the wall, I have a feeling I would have heard about it.”
“You think he would have told you he’d found a recipe book buried in his cellar?” If he’d found it, he would have most likely kept the gold and kept his mouth shut.
Iris made another sound in the back of her throat. “Mmm. It’s a small village. Word would have gotten out.”
If he hadn’t seen the book as worthless and tossed it out after keeping the gold, Lira thought. But that brought her back to why the tavern was in such a state if Durn had gold.
Iris ran her fingers along the rough mortar, tapping her fingernails on it. “I might have something that could dissolve this enough to loosen the stone.”
“A potion?”
Iris chuckled. “No, love. A solvent that removes paint.”
A paint solvent? Why hadn’t Lira thought of that?
The light glowing from Iris's necklace dimmed as she backed from the wall. “Even if we loosen the stone, it won’t be a quiet job.”
“Not even with two rogues.”
Iris shot her a look, but it was laced with amusement. “Not even then. But let me think on it.” Her eyes flashed. “It’s been a while since I planned a heist, but retrieving items from unworthy owners used to be my specialty.”
Lira trailed the woman to the base of the stairs. “Do I even want to ask?”
Iris grinned at her in the fading blue light. “Do you want to hear about your gran casting a spell to immobilize a troll, making it collapse in front of our only escape route?”
It was strange to think about her gran being young and living a life full of adventure and magic, but it gave them one more thing in common. “She didn’t.”
Iris took her hand as the light in her illumination stone spluttered out, leading her up the stairs to the cellar door. “Oh, she did, love.”
Thirty-Two
Lira’s feetached as she trudged up the last few steps to the room she shared with Sass. The scones and chai had gained them several new customers, and half of those had returned for dinner. At the request of Val, Lira had made more hand pies.
“Easier to eat them,” the guard had said, as she’d taken her usual spot by the fire and continued knitting her particularly long orange scarf.
Lira assumed it had to be for Korl or his dads. Anyone else would drown in wool by the time they wrapped it around themselves enough to keep it from dragging on the floor.
But it was Iris who occupied her mind nowthat she could stop working long enough to think. If Iris could help her loosen the stone and retrieve her gran’s recipe book…
What? Her goal since she’d arrived had been to get the book she’d hidden, the thing she associated most with her gran. Not to mention the gold she’d tucked away so she could start fresh somewhere. But her appetite for adventuring had gone over that cliff with Malek, and she wasn’t sure it ever brought her as much joy as she felt biting into Pip’s lemon sweet rolls, taking her first sip of chai in the morning, laughing with Sass about her cooking misadventures, or chatting with Crumpet while she baked.
She shuffled her feet the last few steps and pushed open the door, stopping for a beat and glancing around to ensure she’d opened the right one.
“Come on in,” Sass called. “You aren’t seeing things.”
Lira gaped at the compact room that was usually cold and dark when she entered. Tonight, a fire burned in the hearth, sending gold light dancing across the ceiling and floor.
Where the floorboards had once been bare now lay a rag rug. It was worn but it also looked familiar. Now her bare feet wouldn’t freeze when they touched the floor in the mornings.
