She glanced right and left. There was no one nearby to interrupt this unpleasant conversation, and he was blocking her way to the bakery. She didn’t want to just turn around. “I’m not causing trouble.”
“You think I don’t know about the orchard?” Fenerer barked. “All the oddness. One of the trees . . . It won’t stop singing. Singing! An apple tree. Unnatural.”
She felt herself grow cold. Had he seen her and Caz working magic? What could she say to convince him he’d imagined it? Pretend it wasn’t her? Say it was just a game?
He wagged his finger at her. “You’re the only new arrival we’ve had, the only thing that’s changed on this island in weeks. It had to be you.”
He didn’t see me,she thought, relief flooding through her.He’s guessing.“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t been near any orchards. I live in my family’s cottage in the forest beyond the cliff. You’ve been there, remember? My shop?” She heard her voice squeak, and she wondered if he could hear that she was lying. She’d never been a good liar. It was part of what had gotten her assigned to the third floor of the library with the less-flashy books on nature spells, instead of a section more popular with scholars, such as palace construction or canal construction or fire magic. When directly asked what she thought of their research, she often answered honestly before realizing they’d merely wanted her to praise their brilliance.
“You can’t fool me. I know—”
Behind her, Kiela heard the clop of hooves on cobblestones. Eadie’s voice rang out, “Kiela, is this old snot bothering you? Don’t you mind him. He hasn’t been the same since the day he drove his precious boat into a rock.”
Fenerer’s scowl depended. “There was an unexpectedly strong storm.”
“Yours was the only ship foolish enough to be out after the harbor alarm sounded,” Eadie countered. “But enough about that, what are you doing in town today?” She directed the question at Kiela.
Why shouldn’t I be?And what was a harbor alarm? There had never been such a thing when she was a child, or had she simply not known about it? “I tried a new flavor of jam, and I thought you might like to try it—a gift. Blueberry.” She drew the jam she’d intended for Larran out of her basket and held it out to Eadie.Please don’t mention the remedies.She didn’t want to hand Eadie the pine cones in front of Fenerer. That would only give him more fuel to suspect her.
Eadie accepted the jar and held it up to the light. The deep blue-purple glowed like a jewel in the bit of sunlight that slipped between the clouds. “Ah, lovely. I’ll enjoy this. You know”—she addressed Fenerer—“your disposition might sweeten if you tried some jam with that bread.”
He grunted, “Humph,” before stalking off down the street.
Kiela felt her chest loosen, and she could breathe again. “Thanks.”
“Don’t let that old grump get to you,” Eadie said quietly. “Not all of us think the way he does. Most of us don’t. Now, is this really what you came to give me?”
She glanced down the street, waiting until Fenerer turned out of sight, before she drew out the five pine cones, wrapped in cloth. “Maybe don’t bury them when anyone is looking? Just to avoid misunderstandings.”
“Of course,” Eadie agreed. “We don’t want any misunderstandings. Now you’d better go on and finish your business with Bryn. Not a day for dallying.” She gestured toward the sky, and Kiela noticed that the wind had picked up. Overhead, one of the gulls was flying into the wind and making no progress—it looked as if it were hovering stationary above the roofs. Most of the cats had cleared off. The roofs looked bereft without them.
Thanking Eadie again, Kiela scooted inside.
Once again, the scent of warm bread enveloped her like a hug. She stood for a moment and breathed it in before raising her voice to call, “Bryn? Hello?”
The baker bustled out of the back room. She wasn’t wearing her apron, but instead was in sturdy brown pants, a plain shirt, and waterproof boots. “Ahh, Kiela! Surprised to see you here on such a day. What are you doing in town?”
That distracted her from offering the blueberry jam. Eadie had said it wasn’t a day for dallying. Why not? And where had the winged cats gone? “What do you mean, ‘such a day’?” Kiela asked.
“Storm’s coming, about to blow in from the southwest. The fisherfolk have already pulled their boats in and are securing them—don’t you hear the harbor alarm bell?”
Oh. That was what that was. “I hadn’t realized . . .”
“When the sky starts looking blue and purple, the harbormaster rings the bell, and that’s the sign to stay home. It’ll blow in quick and blow out quick, but there’s no way to guess how badly it’ll pummel us in the meantime. I’m about to close up the shop, since there’s no point in being open when everyone’s just going to hole up in their homes, which you should be doing too.”
“Right. Okay. Yes, I will.” She pulled the jar of blueberry jam out of her basket and placed it on the counter beside a vase of daisies and a roll of ribbon. “I wanted to give you this, a new flavor for you to try.”
“I’m sure it’s delicious, but it’s not worth risking your safety.” Bryn frowned at her. “Why don’t you stay here? I’ve an extra bed upstairs—you can wait out the storm in town and head home afterward.”
She shook her head. How could she stay when Caz was by himself back at the cottage? If a storm hit hard, he’d worry himself sick. She knew the spider plant—he had an impressive imagination. He’d concoct all sorts of disasters that could have befallen her and convince himself that she’d washed out to sea. “I’ll hurry home,” Kiela promised.
“Take these,” Bryn said, scooping several cinnamon rolls into a bag and handing it to her. Kiela reached into her pocket for a coin, but Bryn stopped her. “A gift for a gift, and besides, they’ll just go stale if no one comes to buy them. You’re doing me a favor by taking them—I hate to see a baked good go to waste.”
“Thanks,” Kiela said.
Taking the rolls, she headed outside. Behind her, Bryn began to close up the shop, securing the door with a second, heavier door. As Kiela hurried through the street, she noticed that in addition to shutters, more than a few windows were boarded up with thick planks.Caz won’t know to do that,she thought.He doesn’t know a storm is coming.But he would notice the wind and stay inside. Hopefully, he’d coax the cactus and the hen in with him.
She didn’t see a single cat.
