She passed Thistleburr Booksellers, which didn’t seem to be benefiting from the increased traffic in any appreciable way. Viv stayed in the sandy street, distrustful of the decrepit boardwalk. And maybe she didn’t want Fern to spy her through the windows just yet. Viv glanced at the door as she thudded past, but she had another errand in mind.
Sea-Song Bakery had apparently soaked up all the custom before it could reach the bookshop. A line stretched out the door, with a mix of dockworkers, tradesfolk, and passengers from the frigate. Viv joined the queue, earning a few wary looks from the gnome in front of her. Thank the Eight I didn’t belt on the saber today. She tried for a smile, but that got her nothing but a raised eyebrow.
The scents were even more appetizing in the fresh, poststorm breeze. When Viv finally clomped her way indoors, those savory and sweet smells redoubled.
Hot and humid, the bakery was open all the way to the back. Moisture beaded on the glass of the front window. Two brick ovens and two enormous cast-iron stoves faced each other beyond a counter, with long marble workspaces flanking them. Down the center ran a pair of open shelves, stacked with an impressive variety of breads.
More baskets lined the front, sorted by type. There were long loaves with slitted crusts, salted rounds, the massive, flaky biscuits Viv had spied two days ago, and buns studded with huge crystals of sugar.
When she reached the front of the line, the dwarf behind the counter looked her up and down, then gave her a pink-cheeked grin. Her sleeves were rolled past the elbow, her forearms evidence of hard work wrestling dough. She fairly glistened with sweat, and she wore her hair bound in a thick blond braid. A startling quantity of flour dusted her apron.
“Well, ain’t you a big piece of somethin’ sweet?” she said, winking. “What can I getcha?”
Viv was baffled by the wink and stared back wide-eyed for a second before recovering herself. “Uh, can I get three of those biscuits and … I guess the same of whatever the dark ones are?”
“Ginger lassy buns. You got it, hon. Fresh off the boat?”
“No … no, I, um—”
“Oh, hang on!” The dwarf snapped her fingers and pointed at Viv’s leg. “Highlark! Hells, you’re the one that—” She clutched at her neck and poked her tongue out. Then she laughed and slapped the counter, an explosive sound in the open bakery. The sea-fey behind Viv actually flinched.
Viv flushed, although she thought she ought to be immune at this point. “So, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind when I—”
“Ha! Nah, don’t fret over it, sweet thing. He’s a sour apple. You probably squeezed a little sugar into him.” She snapped her fingers again, this time at a willowy human girl with her hair up in a bun. The kid dutifully flapped open a paper sack and filled it from the shelves.
“For you, six bits,” proclaimed the dwarf as she folded the top of the sack and handed it over. “Gonna be in Murk for a while?”
“A few weeks,” replied Viv as she fished around in her wallet. “I guess.”
“Suppose I’ll be seeing you again then.”
“These are that good, huh?” Viv tried for a teasing smile. To her astonishment, it seemed to work.
“I know you’ll be back tomorrow. Hells, you try my biscuits, I bet you decide to stay longer. I’m Maylee. Welcome to Murk.”
“Um. Viv.” She took the bag.
“Try not to eat ’em before you get home, Viv,” Maylee called sweetly as the line shuffled aside to let Viv maneuver out into the air.
* * *
When Viv cracked open the door to the bookshop, the scent of pastry almost managed to beat back the musty funk of the place. Fern looked up from her stool behind the counter where she’d been writing notes in a ledger.
Potroast darted into view from around some shelves, his yapping hoots strident and self-important. He scrambled to a stop at Viv’s feet, and she was careful to maneuver her crutch between him and the precarious piles she’d overturned last time.
His barks dwindled when he caught sight of the sack in her hand, at which point he began darting glances between it and her face. His eyes goggled in furious consternation and a pink tongue like a tiny spade lolled out of his black beak.
“Back the next day, hm?” said Fern, closing the ledger and leaning an arm on the counter.
“Bandages aren’t so good in the rain,” replied Viv. “Brought an apology, though.”
“Hm. Hope you brought enough for three. Potroast, at least, is very susceptible to bribes.”
“That’s what I was counting on. So …” She dug into the sack and withdrew a biscuit, pinching it between two fingers above the creature. His tail blurred, and he uttered a long, plaintive hoot. “What exactly is he?”
“A gryphet.” Fern climbed down from her stool and approached. “If you don’t break it into pieces, he’ll try to swallow it whole, and then we’ll have to fish it out of him. He’s incredibly greedy.”
Viv couldn’t manage a crouch, so she handed the biscuit over to Fern, who tore a little off and dropped it. The gryphet snatched the morsel out of the air before it reached the ground.
“I’ve got more,” said Viv.
Fern tossed another piece to Potroast and then waved Viv over to the counter, where she unpacked the sack, laying out her bounty.
“Maylee’s, hmm? You did want to apologize.”
“Yeah, she seems … nice. Friendly.”
“She does, does she?” The rattkin selected one of the lassy buns and took a surprisingly enormous bite. “Oh fuck,” she said around her mouthful. “Forgot how good these are.”
Viv laughed. Her leg really was less sore today, and her mood was up. She slid twenty bits onto the counter beside the baked goods and picked up one of the biscuits. “Been wanting one of these since the first day.” She inhaled deeply and took a bite. The bread was still warm—moist and crumbly, with a hint of sourdough tang. “Eight hells, it’s made of butter. You could have this every day, and you don’t?”
Fern frowned. “Well, some expenses are more pressing.”
Viv stared around at the state of the shop uncomfortably, especially since she’d only just squared with Brand for another few weeks of lodging, with coin to spare. Mercenary work was deadly work, but it paid to match.
Potroast whined, and the rattkin eyed him, then polished off her bun before heaving a pleased sigh. “Anyway, never mind that. Any thoughts on Ten Links in the Chain? How are you faring?”
“I’m fared. It got me through a rough day and then some. I’ve never really read like that … just to read.”
“You finished it?” Fern’s brows shot up in surprise. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Thanks for the suggestion.”
“You really want to thank me, you could subsidize this place by buying another.”
Viv propped her crutch against the wall and put an elbow on the counter, easing the weight onto her leg. “Business that bad?”
“I sell a lot of maps and sea charts, but …” Fern picked up one of the biscuits and examined it. “These days, that’s just bailing water. The ship will go down eventually.” She took a bite, closed her eyes, and mumbled another crumb-filled profanity.