Chapter 41
Forty-One
“Aye.” Thrain dragged a hand down his beard before his fingers snagged on a tangle and he had to jerk them out. “I could persuade Marina to eat some cookies.”
He sat at one of the long tavern tables, the plate of dark potion-filled cookies in front of him and Vaskel, Lira, Sass, Iris, and Erindil standing across the table from him.
Korl and Val sat in their massive upholstered chairs by the spluttering fire, but the rest of the patrons were gone, although the tables still held the occasional emptied tankard or pewter plate littered with scraps of pastry crust.
Sass had just waved off the last customer, but hadn’t finished cleaning the place. They’d all agreed it was more important to get Thrain on board with their plan than it was to polish all the glasses behind the bar and sweep the floors.
“I can make quick work of that while Thrain’s off making cow eyes at the hellkin,” Sass had said when they’d decided to approach Thrain, although not within earshot of the dwarf in question.
Lira braced her hands on the table and leaned forward. “You’re sure you can convince her it’s an attempt to win her back, so she won’t be suspicious?”
Thrain shifted on the wooden bench. “If I didn’t know what I do now, I might try to win her back. I might not have thought of cookies, though.”
Sass jutted one hip out as she stared at her friend. “You’re going to have to convince her you would. Remember, Pip made these, and they’re a special recipe he created just for you to give her. That should sweeten the pot.”
Lira frowned at this as Crumpet chittered indignantly on her shoulder. “Do you really think they’d be less appealing if she thought I baked them.”
Iris patted the woman’s arm. “You’re too close to Vaskel. If she knows you crewed together, she might suspect you of having ulterior motives. No one would suspect Pip of doing anything covert.”
Vaskel grunted his agreement. “She’s met and charmed Pip. She’s also tasted his baking. I can’t imagine her not being tempted by the idea of treats created specially for her by him.”
“Fine.” Lira sniffed, with the fultterstoat mimicking the action with a haughty jerk of his tiny chin. “But if this works, I want credit for making the cookies that broke a soul bind.”
“We can put a sign outside the tavern if you want,” Sass told her with a grin. “Although I doubt that will have folks beating down our doors.”
Lira shot her a look but seemed mollified. Crumpet seemed less so.
“When do I need to take her the cookies?” Thrain asked.
“Tonight,” Vaskel said before anyone else could speak. “It has to be tonight.”
He didn’t explain that he was running out of time before Marina came to claim him or that Cali was planning to leave with the hellkin. He didn’t need to. Thrain was enough of a loyal friend that he didn’t require explanations.
The dwarf nodded and then shrugged. “As good a time as any, I suppose.”
He reached for the plate, but Sass shooed his hands away.
“You aren’t going to take them like that.” She produced a slightly crumpled paper bag from the pocket of her full skirt. “This is one of Pip’s bakery bags. It’ll be more convincing.”
“Good thinking,” Iris said.
Lira eyed her, lips twitching. “You happened to have a bakery bag on you?”
Sass straightened as if affronted. “You never know when you might need a bag.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lira’s lips curled into a wry smile. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the last sweet roll that went missing a few days ago, would it?”
“Don’t know what you’re going on about.” Sass unfurled the bag and began sliding the cookies into it.
Vaskel stopped her before she added the last cookie to the bag. “I need one to eat at the same time Marina’s ingesting hers.”
Thrain’s forehead bunched. “How’s this going to work then? I find Marina, pretend I’m desperate to win her back and offer her a gift, and then what?” He locked eyes with Vaskel. “How are you going to know when she’s eating the cookie?”
“I’ll have to go with you,” Vaskel said, “but I’ll stay far enough away that I’m not spotted.”
“What if she’s in the castle?” Thrain asked. “There aren’t a lot of places to hide in those corridors, and if she invites me into her room, you won’t have any way of knowing what’s going on.”
Iris exhaled heavily. “He’s right. There are too many variables we can’t control.”
“We don’t need to control all of them.” Erindil spoke for the first time since they’d approached Thrain. “We only need to figure out a way to get eyes on Marina.”
Lira turned to her uncle. “I don’t know everything about elvish powers, but I didn’t think you could make yourself invisible or see through walls.”
He chuckled. “I can’t, my dear, although wouldn’t that be delightful fun?”
Vaskel fought the urge to roll his eyes at the elf who seemed to move through life as if nothing was ever worth fretting over.
Perhaps if he lived thousands of years, he might feel the same way.
As it was, he only lived a few hundred, and he didn’t want to spend the last half of his life bound to Marina.
“How do you suggest we get eyes on Marina then?” Vaskel asked.
Erindil put a hand to his face, drumming his long fingers slowly on his jawline. Then he rested his gaze on Lira, a grin spreading across his face. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”
“What?” Vaskel and Lira said at the same time.
Erindil pointed a regal finger at Lira. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Vaskel stared at his friend, wondering what he was missing. As far as he knew, the half-elf woman had fewer powers than her uncle, and even those were hardly controllable.
“Me?” Lira blinked rapidly.
Erindil laughed, draping his hand on his niece’s arm. “Not you, dear, although I can see why you might think that.” He raised his finger to point directly at Crumpet. “Him.”
Everyone in the great room swiveled their eyes to the white, winged stoat with black markings around his eyes that gave him the unmistakable look of a bandit.
“You want me to take the wee beastie with me?” Thrain asked, looking baffled by the suggestion.
“No.” Erindil shook his head. “I don’t think that would be very subtle. Our little friend here is quite distinctive.”
Sass tilted her head. “And clearly enchanted, which is why we keep him out of sight of most folks.”
“But he can fly, can’t he?” Erindil reached up and scruffed the little creature’s head. “Which means he could reach windows.”
“Which could be the same as being able to see through walls,” Lira said, a look of understanding passing over her face.
Erindil bobbed his head up and down. “Vaskel can take our winged friend with him, and if Thrain goes into a room he can’t follow, the little fellow could fly to the window and signal Vaskel when to eat the potion cookie.”
“This seems only slightly less risky,” Iris said. “What if there’s no window?”
“It might be the best we can do,” Lira told her. “That is, if Crumpet is willing.”
The flutterstoat cocked his head to one side, as if considering, then let loose a stream of chatter and flew from Lira’s shoulder to Vaskel’s.
Vaskel reached up and extended a finger for Crumpet to shake. “I think that’s a yes.”
Thrain pushed away from the table and stood. “We’d better get going then.”
Sass handed him the bag of cookies when he’d walked around the table. “Don’t mess this up.”
His belly shook with a rough laugh. “Nothing like a pep talk from Sass.”
“Wait, it’s just the two of you?” Iris asked, ignoring Crumpet’s chattering protest at not being counted. “Shouldn’t you have backup?”
“I’m happy to go with them,” Erindil said. “I’m quite good at staying out of sight.”
Vaskel eyed the elf’s velvet robes that flared out behind him. Unobtrusive wasn’t a word he’d associated with the Lira’s uncle, but he would also never turn down help from an elf.
Korl stood from his overstuffed chair. “I can come too.”
“Count me in,” Val said, as she dumped her knitting on the floor.
Erindil put a hand on the orc’s sizable arm. “I don’t think you’ve ever stayed out of sight, dear boy. But perhaps you and Val could remain outside the castle in case the hellkin tries to run.”
Vaskel gave the assembled team a curt nod. “Shall we?”
He made a move toward the door but Iris stepped in front of him. “I hope this will work, but in case it…I mean, if you can’t break the bind…oh, hells and cinders.” She reached up, grabbed his lapels, and yanked his mouth to hers.
Vaskel’s body reacted instantly, his lips softening and heat pulsing through his veins and pounding in his ears.
Then Iris released him and stepped back, her cheeks flaming. “For luck.”
He attempted to say something, but words failed him. Finally Sass thumped him hard on the back. “I also wish you luck, Vask, but not that much.”