By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel(38)

“You’re late.” He nodded, handed me a scroll, and then shuffled off to the kitchen. My back itched with the heft of the gazes I felt leveled at us. I didn’t turn around, though. Important for the patrons to know we weren’t interested in causing problems.

“What did he mean, we’re late?” Quinn whispered.

“Cyclopes get glimpses into the future.”

“So he knew we were coming?”

“Probably.”

“What’s that he gave you?”

I took time to examine the scroll. Correspondence from my father. Of course. Only Auric Starfig would know I’d end up in a giant infested saloon on the outskirts of civilization. Why was I even surprised?

Quinn’s eyebrow quirked when he saw my father’s very recognizable seal on the scroll. “Well aren’t you going to open it?”

I shrugged. The last thing I wanted was more chastising from my dad.

Quinn fidgeted next to me.

Reaching out, I touched his arm. “Relax. You’re making them nervous.”

He frowned, but stilled his movements. “I take it you have experience with giants?”

“I helped one out of a tight spot once. Leave them alone and they’ll likely leave you to your business.”

Even though I saw how nervous he was, he attempted a smile. “The exact opposite of fairies, faes, and sprites, then.”

“Exactly. I find them refreshing. I know they look scary, but believe me, they’re the kinder of those options.”

“You’re stalling,” Quinn said after a moment.

I was.

“Fine.” I severed the seal with a fingernail and began unrolling the parchment. Pictures of my dad and each of his offspring filled the page.

“Is this your family?” Quinn leaned over to get a better look, his balance on the stool precarious.

“My father’s. The acknowledged ones, anyway.”

“Why did he send you this?”

I sighed, opened the scroll all the way, and pointed to the bottom. “A new addition.”

An adorable changeling with large eyes and a mass of aqua curls on her head stared back.

“Aww, she’s cute. A new Starfig.” Quinn’s face softened as he looked at the baby.

“Yeah. Poor kid.”

“Hey, nice likeness of you. And is that your half-brother?” Quinn pointed. “What’s so terrible about him? He looks harmless enough.”

Yeah, as harmless as a griffin with a grudge. I rolled up the parchment with a snap. He was the last fairy I wanted to think about at the moment.

Fortunately, the cyclops returned just then with a pitcher of water the size of a small bathtub and two huge plates of food. Quinn’s stomach let out a growl that would have done a hellhound proud and his attention shifted to the meal.

The cyclops also put two enormous cups of steaming tea in front of us. I sighed. Giants were notorious teetotalers. I pulled out a gold dypari and slid it toward him. He pocketed it without even a glance to see if it was real. Nodding, he moved down the counter, giving me and Quinn a little privacy.

“Rice and beans?” Quinn sniffed. “No meat?”

I pointed to a gelatinous blob at the center of the plate. Maybe it was because giants only had a few teeth, or maybe they simply couldn’t cook worth shit, but they boiled the hellafuck out of everything.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, they like spice though, so it’s bound to be hot.” My stomach growled at the thought. I might not breathe fire, but my mouth could handle any hot pepper or spice thrown at it. I dug into my meal with gusto, using a large slab of bread to scoop up as much of the food as I could.

Quinn watched me eat for a moment before he picked up his own bread and dipped it. A bite or two later and he gulped water like his tongue was on fire. My mouth tingled pleasantly, but his watering eyes and reddened face said he didn’t feel the same way.

After that, he stuck to the bread and some plain green vegetable I found rather tasteless, though he seemed pleased with it. Between us, we managed to finish off the water and I consumed my entire plate of food. No easy feat since the portion was giant sized. Not having much to eat the last two days fueled my feeding frenzy and even Quinn managed to put an impressive dent in his plate . . . staying well away from the meat.

When we pushed our plates away, the cyclops swept in to remove them. He returned a moment later, waiting.

“Any rooms available for the night?” I slowly raised my eyes to meet his one, and kept my posture as relaxed as possible, which wasn’t hard since I was so full I wouldn’t be able to fight my way out of a cloth sack if something went wrong.

“Just passing through?” His eye swiveled in a way that was a bit unnerving.

“Not planning to stay long.”

“Going to Nevershire?”

Nevershire was the largest city on this side of the Expanse, but still dwarfed in comparison to Lighthelm.

Quinn began to shake his head in the negative.

“Yep.”

Quinn froze mid shake and then nodded a little too vigorously. The cyclops’s huge pupil began swirling again, then clouded over. He shook his head, blinked, and his eye was back to normal.

“I see.”

I held my breath. Since this was the only inn at the outpost, I really hoped we could get a room. I didn’t fancy sleeping in the tall grass since I couldn’t be sure what would come out at night to play. I’d never sleep with Quinn’s safety at stake and, if the rumors were true, I needed all the rest I could get to deal with Sahara Burningwood.