Sophia nodded. “I agree. That way you get to choose who you take out rather than blindly letting a whole population wither away.”
Lee slipped the business card for King Rudolf Sweetwater into her pocket. “All right, you’ve survived to live another day. For your helpfulness, I’ll do you the favor you’re no doubt about to ask for. So go ahead and tell me how you got hold of three of some of the rarest and sought-after magical baking ingredients in the world?”
Chapter Eighty-Five
“Like I said,” Sophia began and handed the box of apparently prized magical baking ingredients over to Lee, “I got them from a Brownie.”
Lee opened the box and gave the supplies a discerning look before glancing back at Sophia. “You do realize that’s not a statement most…nary anyone can say.”
“Well, my sister Liv works with the Brownies, and she introduced me,” Sophia explained.
“You two are very strange with giant friends and partnerships with the king of the fae.” Lee didn’t sound impressed as much as paranoid. “What sort of favors do you do for these people?”
“Usually we save their butts, and they save ours, and we go back and forth like that.” Sophia pointed at the box in the baker assassin’s hands. “Anyway, I got that from the Official Brownie Headquarters just now, so I know it’s real.”
Lee slid the blue box onto the counter and shook her head. “You’re probably the first magician they’ve allowed in there. Brownies don’t like to work with magicians. They don’t usually work with anyone because it compromises their servitude to the mortals. I wonder how the old fogies feel that a magician has been mixing with one of theirs. You say they help you?”
Sophia suddenly thought about the union problems that Mortimer faced. Could it be caused by the Brownies helping her and Liv? She hoped not. Things were in flux in the world right then, and there might be several reasons that the coalition was having issues. She’d look into that when she didn’t have a billion problems of her own.
“Anyway, the point is that I got these ingredients for Bep at the Rose Apothecary or she won’t help me,” Sophia explained. “I need it made into something, but I didn’t have a chance to ask the Brownie what it would be best to make.”
Lee peeked into the box again, studying the contents. “Easy. Imposter dessert.”
“Say what?” Sophia questioned.
“Im-post-er de-ss-ert.” Lee sounded out each syllable as though Sophia was suddenly hard of hearing. “It’s a dessert that looks like something else. Usually, it resembles a savory entrée like a pizza, burger, pot pie, or fried chicken. Lots of work goes into appearance or rather deception. You can guess that I’m bloody great at these types of things.”
“I guess that does make sense. So then when you bite into it, you get sweet instead of what’s expected, right? Your brain tells you that you’re going to get a meaty burger, but instead it’s a doughy cake with sweet frosting?”
“Yep,” Lee affirmed. “It’s pretty clever, and as you said, it’s more of a mind game than anything. You’ve heard the phrase about how we eat with our eyes, right?”
Sophia nodded.
“So this plays with that part of our brain.”
“These ingredients,” Sophia began, indicating the box on the counter, “they’re right for this kind of dessert?”
“They’re ideal for it. I’d guess that if you’d asked this Brownie friend of yours, that’s what they would have told you. As I said, these are rare ingredients and will make the most convincing imposter dessert I’ve ever attempted. I’m guessing I can even get the burger to smell like fried meat and pickles. It will convince the person that it’s a burger down to the moment they take a bite of it. Then bam!” She slapped her hands together as excitement made her eyes widen. “It’ll not only not be the burger their brain expected, but it will be the best cake wrapped in fondant they’ve ever had.”
“Wow, that’s great.” Then Sophia wondered why Bep wanted something so complicated. But the potions expert had been right when she suspected that Sophia could get these magical ingredients from the Brownies. A strange mind-game dessert was probably right up the potions expert’s alley. Sophia didn’t see her eating anything simple. She wasn’t only craving a dessert but also an adventure.
“So you don’t mind making this dessert for me?” Sophia asked.
“No, not at all,” Lee stated. “Don’t tell yourself this, but it will be an honor and so much fun to have the opportunity to work with those ingredients. Should be a total breeze too. Oh, and I won’t need all of the ingredients for the dessert and will nick the rest for my use.”
Sophia blinked at the baker assassin. “You do realize that you told me that?”
Lee waved her hand in a circle. “Shush, you’re getting very sleepy. You’re forgetting everything that I’ve previously said in the last thirty seconds.” She snapped her fingers. “You can wake up now.”
After drawing in a breath, Sophia shook her head. “Do you think you hypnotized me?”
“I know I did,” Lee said sneakily. “And yes, I can make the dessert, but it will be arduous and no fun. However, I’ll do it for you. Oh, and it will require all the ingredients. None will be left over.”
Sophia sighed. “Okay. Sure thing.”
“Now, I only have one remaining question.” Lee glanced over Sophia’s shoulder.
“What’s that?”
The baker assassin pointed at the front window. “Why is that guy lurking at the front of my shop and looks like he wants to murder one of us? I don’t remember trying to kill him or anyone he knows.”
Chapter Eighty-Six
“Oh, it most likely wasn’t you,” Sophia said with zero inflection as she gauged the guy who wore a mean expression and brandished a fist that looked ready to assault her as he stared through the bakery window. Sophia was surprised that the bold gentleman, who was anything but gentle, stood there in such a threatening fashion.
She turned and gave Lee an apologetic look. “I think he’s here to see me.”
“Oh, did you try and murder his wife?” Lee pointed her finger at the door and bolted it shut.
Sophia shook her head. “No, I don’t murder people.”
“Poor you. Maybe one day you’ll know that joy of ridding the useless from this planet.”
“Maybe,” Sophia remarked. “I think he’s here because I have a new set of enemies.”
“Welcome to Wednesday morning for me,” Lee sang. “Some have new music Friday, but I get to wake up to new enemies Wednesdays. It’s delightful. Always a new list. New skills. I have a ton of fun hunting them down and taking them out—or letting them go depending on what they can offer.”
“I think that makes you the worst assassin ever,” Sophia remarked.
Lee shrugged and pulled a carton of ice cream seemingly from thin air. “So why is murder face after you? Did you make eyes at his girlfriend? Make an inappropriate joke about his momma? Tell him that he’s incompetent and show him a detailed bar chart that explained why?”