“I have more reading to do!” The old man threw his hands up so swiftly that Reeve had to lean away to avoid being knocked in the nose. Geezer took off, and Celeste was left there with Reeve at the northernmost point of Briarwyke’s circle feeling sick to her stomach as a set of hens pecked around their feet.
“So, a sieve,” Reeve finally said, dropping his hands onto his hips and jutting out his chin as if they hadn’t just been told that very thing was a danger to them all.
Celeste rubbed hard at her eyes, blocking out the town’s center and the few who were milling about it. “Apparently. And a formidable, cannibalistic one too.”
With all the confidence in the realm, Reeve spoke, “Then we shall seek it out. Sir, how fare thee? May I have a moment of your time?”
In the seconds it took for the stars to clear from Celeste’s eyes, Reeve had made his way across Briarwyke’s center and gone straight for a tall, blond man with a bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder.
“Have you seen a sieve mucking about in or out of town?”
“A what now?”
“A sieve. It’s a—ah!”
Celeste sprinted right into Reeve and grabbed the back of his surcoat, all she could think to do to shut him up. When he tried to turn, she did her best to hold him in place, just peeking out from behind his elbow to address the stranger, “We’re doing some baking!”
The knight lifted an arm and glared at her beneath it. “No, we’re looking for—”
She gave his surcoat another hard tug and cleared her throat. “We need lots of fine flour for tea cakes, and we need a sifter. You know how it is.”
The stranger gave them both a dubious look, but then grinned at Celeste. “Well, if you’re looking for anything, Baylen’s either got it or can get it for you.”
She wanted to hide herself fully behind Reeve but couldn’t risk what the knight might say. “Thank you so much, sir.”
“I can take you there, if—”
“No, we’re fine, and we can see you’re busy.” She yanked at Reeve again, pulling him in the opposite direction the stranger had been headed.
There was a moment, brief and painful, that the blond man stared down the two. When he finally continued on his way, Celeste was tempted to thank Valcord on behalf of them both.
Reeve pulled himself free to round on her. “Is therenothingyou will not lie about?”
She held up a finger to his lips, urging him to stay quiet. “You just can’t mention the sieve, all right? Not toanyone.”
“What? Why not?”
Celeste looked about, shushing him harder. “We don’t want to cause a…a panic in the village. We’re protecting the people by not letting them know.”
Reeve’s brow softened, and she hoped he would believe her. It was at least a little bit true, shedidwant to protect them, it just so happened that keeping the sieve, and the fact she released it, a secret protected her too.
“She might have a point,” spoke Sid from Reeve’s hip, and they both jolted at the voice.
“See?” Celeste gestured to the pommel. “Your verygoodsword agrees with me.”
“My opinion of you is only barely tempered,” said the sword. “I just know my wielder can sometimes be impulsive and a little too honest.”
Celeste snorted—marginally good sword then.
Reeve’s jaw ticked, and she was sure it was at them both. “Then how are we supposed to find out anything?”
“We have to ask without asking.”
Reeve crossed his arms and jut out his lip which was annoying, but it was a fair bit better than looking like he wanted to throttle her. “How, pray tell, does one ask a question without asking it?”
“Well, you just…you know…oh, look, you’re good at asking questions, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She took him by the elbow and tugged him toward the Dew Drop Inn.
“I am good at asking questions,” he conceded and allowed himself to be pulled along.
