Faerie Dust Dead (The Luna Devere Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

the
help. I made my apologies and promised I’d come back after the shop closed,
when we’d be able to talk longer. Ari nodded and walked me to the gate then
left me at the path. I turned, waved, and took a left turn away from her line
of vision.
     
    Chapter
2
     
    Underbrush rustled noisily. I paused to
peer around me now and again as I traveled back to the Junction. The
continuation and proximity of the sounds prompted me to increase my pace. By
the time I reached the Junction’s back porch, I was breathing hard and was nearly
moving at a gallop. One step from the porch landing, I glanced over my shoulder
and instead of some evil fairie apparition it was Riddles who trotted into view
from the very place I had just assessed.
    Giddiness, followed by a sense
of foolishness, gave way to self-admonishment for allowing Riddles to frighten
me to death. When he headed my way and was within reach, I snatched him up and
tucked him firmly under my arm. It was time he went upstairs to our living
quarters for the day.
    The door swung open as I topped
the last step and I met Annie face to face. She stepped outside and gave me a
small grin. Holding a bag of trash in one hand, she held the door open for me.
    “Glad you’re back. We’re packed
to the door and have people in line at the cases.” She snorted her laughter. “A
hungry bunch of tourists arrived minutes ago. We may need more cakes before the
day is over. Do you have any in the freezer?”
    I nodded. “I’ll take them out
to thaw so they’ll be ready to frost if we need them.”
    “Great. We’re down to eight
dozen of the little darlings and it isn’t even lunchtime.” Annie tossed the bag
of trash into the bin and closed the container’s lid before she rejoined me.
    In the corridor, we went our
separate ways. She rushed into the galley kitchen, and I scooted down to the
creation station after depositing Riddles in our small upstairs living
quarters. I removed huge, plastic-covered containers filled with flavored
cupcakes from the enormous freezer and set the cakes on the counter to defrost.
Frosting whipped in the huge mixer, creating a blend of light, fluffy froth
while I took stock of the choices of toppers to make the cakes more delectable
and eye-catching.
    Jewel-toned candies in sealed
packages lay ready for addition to the buttercream-frosted cupcakes. I pulled
several other bags from the shelf and checked the flavors. Tutti-frutti,
Bavarian crème, butterscotch, raspberry, and chocolate flavored gems would do.
Along with fine, colored sugar crystals, the creations would be perfect.
    It didn’t take long for the
cupcakes to thaw out and once they were frosted, I strode back and forth,
sorting and placing a flavored jewel on top to match the cake flavor. Lastly, I
sprinkled fine sugar crystals, which reminded me of faerie dust, over the
frosting. With trays of cakes at the ready, I would hand them off to Annie, by
way of the dumbwaiter when needed.
    Annie stepped down a few
stairs, leaned over the handrail and whispered loudly, “Is that it, or do you
have more?”
    “I have some, but this will
have to do. If you need them now, I’ll send them up. You can handle unloading,
can’t you?”
    Annie nodded and disappeared
from view. After the last cakes went up, I raced to the first floor and heard
Annie tell Dilly to add the new cupcakes to the cases and make sure the flavors
were noted correctly on the tray signs. Dilly grumbled that she knew what she
was doing.
    I’d no sooner walked into the
dining room when I was bombarded with questions and compliments from the
tourists. I smiled, made the right remarks, and answered questions until the
bus driver reminded the group it was time to move on. The crowd took their
boxed and bagged cakes, along with treasures purchased from the gift shop, and
headed for the bus.
    Several people turned and waved
before they climbed aboard. As the bus lumbered onto the road, I stacked cups,
saucers and plates from tables onto