(Click here to return to Chapter 2)
“Well,” said Liam, “that was interesting.” He removed his cloak.
Lucy considered the undyed linen tunic and pants he wore underneath. She suspected it was a Benarian uniform of some kind. “I’ll take the cloak,” she said, holding out her hand. But Lucy’s heart was thumping. She hadn’t realized that two members of the Guard of Cognes had been sitting by their fireplace. The city of Cognes lay two days northwest by horseback. The café didn’t get many Guardians, but they worried Lucy. Some called them the most violent of the religious orders.
“Was the minister talking about the hidden library?” she whispered.
“Probably. The Guardians would likely fight to find those books, and the Ministry would probably give their coffers to find them, too. I wonder what our minister friend heard that he didn’t care to share.”
“I was wondering that, myself.” Lucy poured a cup of coffee and pushed it to Liam across the counter. “Can I get you a piece of pie?”
“Demon cake,” he said.
Lucy blushed and turned quickly, which she knew was ridiculous. The monk had other things on his mind than silly traditions for a festival, but she wished he’d stop ordering her cakes.
“Part of the reason I’m following up on this rumor,” Liam whispered, voice even quieter than before, “is because the Abbey of Azure had trouble last winter when the peace talks—”
“Oh, I heard about that.”
“But did you hear that the former leader of the Guard of Cognes, the man your Minister Andreasen took down, had found a way to read minds?”
Lucy held Liam’s gaze for silent beat. “I thought that wasn’t possible.”
He nodded as if to say she’d caught his meaning. “Rumor has it those banned books discuss all sorts of ways that we’ve been told don’t exist.”
For the briefest instant, Lucy felt a thrill inside her. She didn’t know if it was fascination or fear.
“Can you imagine the advantage those books would give?” Liam mused.
The words jarred her. Power was an advantage, and it troubled her deeply. She should be scared by all of this, and yet here she was, chumming around with a monk whose order likely wanted even more power than they already had. What was she thinking?
Lucy’s gut clenched with sudden anger. “The question,” she hissed, “is who could use those books for the benefit of everyone. And I don’t think it’s any of you in the orders.” She turned and grabbed a tray from the back counter, moving toward the seating area.
Liam hopped off his stool and blocked her path. “Wait.”
“Move. I have to clear tables.”
“What did I say?”
Lucy’s jaw tightened. She had to consciously relax it before she could speak. She knew Liam hadn’t said anything all that bad, but her anger still glowed. “All that power stuff,” she gritted out, “is only a pissing contest for people who want control.”
“But—”
“The rest of us simply have to deal. Right?”
“You’re lumping me in with—”
“You,” Lucy hissed, “will never understand.” She stepped even closer to him, not wanting to draw attention, “You don’t know what it’s like to be the people without power, people who have to watch the orders give their minions all that special training so they can intimidate us.” Part of her knew she might be overacting to Liam, but at the moment, she didn’t care. “I hope you never find your stupid library.” She tried to step around the monk.
He moved to block her again.
She bumped into his chest. “Move.”
“Are you done?” Liam’s voice sounded amused rather than offended.
Lucy glared at him.
“I want exactly what you want.” The monk’s light brown irises had darkened with the shadows between them. “If those books get found, I want them in the hands of people who will use them to benefit everyone.” Liam stopped speaking, but his eyes didn’t let go of hers.
“And,” she pressed, “if your Order of Benar decided to use those books for the benefit of themselves alone, would you go along with it?”
“No.”
Lucy sneered.
“I wouldn’t,” he insisted.
She couldn’t believe he was that naïve. “You obey your superiors’ commands. You joined the order and gave them your loyalty. Of course, you’d cave. You people don’t leave the orders.” Lucy lifted her chin, expecting Liam to furrow his brow and respond with anger. To her surprise, he did neither.
Instead, Liam’s expression softened. “People can leave the orders. It’s harder to leave some orders than others, but it’s possible. And I’d consider leaving the Order of Benar for any number of reasons.”
Lucy blinked. “Have you ever actually considered leaving?” she asked, sincerely curious.
Silent for a beat, Liam only searched her eyes. “Yes,” he admitted finally, “I’ve considered it.”
“When?”
“Recently.”
“Why?”
Liam’s eyes sparked suddenly with mischief. “You don’t trust me. Makes me wonder if I can trust you.”
Lucy huffed. He’d broken the seriousness of the moment, and she knew they wouldn’t get it back. As if that weren’t bad enough, the monk burst into laughter.
“What?” Lucy demanded.
“Minions?! Really?”
Lucy sighed. It had been a long evening. Any remaining anger in her fizzled. She felt more tired than anything. She knew she didn’t have to entirely trust Liam to believe that he had good enough intentions. “I’m sorry. I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have said what I said.”
“It’s alright.” The monk searched her face. “Will you tell me about what happened earlier? With the minister and the Guardians, I mean.”
Lucy took a breath to speak just as the front door opened, bringing half a dozen more patrons inside. She blew out a breath. “I need to seat these people and serve some food. If you sit down, I’ll tell you when I can.”
“Alright.” Liam removed his cloak and plopped himself down again on the stool.
He had to wait a while. The monk didn’t complain, though. Lucy did slide him some food that would likely have become leftovers, anyway. Though he hadn’t asked for it, the bowl of stew and side of roast chicken seemed to keep him happy. He’d only just finished eating when Lucy found the space to pause with him. Still whispering even though no one had joined Liam at the counter, Lucy told him about the man and woman who’d nursed their drinks by the fire for way too long.
Liam listened intently. “Interesting that they wore plain clothes,” he observed.
“Don’t they usually?” she asked, scraping some dishes into the garbage before stacking them in a bin on the back counter.
“No. They usually wear some version of the burgundy Guard of Cognes uniform,” he took a sip of cold coffee, “even if they are traveling.” He fell into thought.
“It’s not a good sign that they’re aware of your search, is it?”
“Yes and no. Yes, it may mean I’m on the right track. But no, it wouldn’t be good if they found the books before I did.” He sighed. “There are well-meaning people in the Guard of Cognes, and I’m hopeful their new leadership will deescalate their efforts to overthrow the Ministry. But—”
“They want to overthrow the—”
“Shh!”
Lucy’s voice had gotten louder. She stopped scraping plates clean and dropped her voice again. “The Guardians want to overthrow the Ministry?”
Liam nodded. “They did until recently, and they’re still a group of people I don’t want to get ahold of these books. I know you don’t trust any of the orders, but I believe very strongly in the Order of Benar’s original mission to train everyone in their ways. I’d like to see that happen one day, and these books might be a start.”
Lucy frowned and scraped another dish. “But isn’t anyone with any kind of power already in the orders?” She set the dish in the bin on the back counter.
A corner of Liam’s mouth had crooked up. “There are all sorts of reasons that people with very strong ways avoid the orders. And people with milder ways may not even realize what abilities they have. There are so many ways that the more militaristic of the orders have ignored for years now. We’ve all begun to forget. That’s why I joined the Order of Benar.” Liam spoke with energy. “We believe that everyone was created with a unique way of interacting with the world around them.”
“You think everyone has some sort of power?”
“Yes.”
Lucy thought that sounded a little fantastic.
He was grinning again. “It would change the stakes of my search, wouldn’t it? If these books expanded our society’s understanding of peoples’ ways, then—”
Lucy stared at him. The silly monk was putting himself in danger, and he couldn’t even stop grinning. “Quit grinning! This is serious.”
“I am serious.”
“But you’re grinning like …,” she caught herself before she said something offensive.
He quirked up one of his eyebrows. “Like what?”
“Like you always do. But this is serious,” she repeated.
“I do serious work in playful ways.” When Lucy only frowned at him, the monk’s smile grew mischievous. “Are you sure you’re not worried about me?”
Lucy’s heart thumped. “No,” she lied. “I’m thinking about what happens in this city if the people with power get even more of it.” She made to grab another dirty plate but dragged her sleeve through the brown sludge of gravy. With a huff, Lucy wiped her hands on a towel and began rolling up her sleeves. “If what you say is true, then I hope for all our sakes that you find the hidden library before …,” her voice trailed off as she noticed the monk staring at her arm. She followed his gaze to the pewter bracelet on her left wrist, which he’d made for her.
“I bet you do think of me,” Liam said, expression warm.
Which horrified Lucy. He’d better not start thinking about her in the wrong way. “I do not!” She grabbed for another dish, but she grabbed too roughly. Two nearby plates fell before she could grab them, but they didn’t crash to the floor. Instead, they paused briefly at her knees before floating back up and laying themselves gently down on the tray. Her eyes returned to Liam. He’d used his power.
“You,” Liam said, standing up, “are a bad liar.” He tossed coins on the counter. Then he winked at her, went for his cloak, and left.
» TO BE CONTINUED »
CAKE AND PEWTER: A NOVELETTE. Copyright © 2026 by Callie J. Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, visit www.calliejsmith.net.
Cake and Pewter first appeared in Forever Yours: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology
(Dragon Soul Press, 2026)