Gray Court (Black Hat Bureau Book 7) by Hailey Edwards

Author:Hailey Edwards [Edwards, Hailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Dog Books, LLC.
Published: 2023-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Confirmation the chef despised visitors in his kitchen arrived when Leandra guided us to a silver door crosshatched with deep grooves from, if I had to guess, knives being thrown at it. Weird. Who used precious metal for target practice? Silver was soft, so the door must be an alloy. But what was the point?

“I can smell you,” a haughty voice boomed from within. “Why have you trespassed on my domain?”

“I have come with a special request for my father,” Callula fibbed with convincing authority.

A gelatinous blob oozed into the doorway, its one giant eye taking us in without blinking.

The creature, whatever it was, had translucent skin the color of peaches, and its dinner was on display in what I wasn’t sure you could call a stomach. One adult daemon skeleton floated in its center. Two crows had yet to be digested but were very definitely dead. The same couldn’t be said for the lizards swimming through digestive enzymes to battle the elastic membrane holding the chef together.

From what I could tell, there were no definable organs. How did it function without a brain?

Never mind.

I would sleep better not knowing how a giant booger landed a gig swinging a cleaver for a living.

“Your father has had many special requests this week.” An appendage stretched from its body, formless and goopy, to jab her in the chest. “Does he not appreciate my menus? Does he find fault with my skill?”

“No,” she rushed out. “He is proud to have Buhloe Baruuble as his chef.”

“As he should be.” The creature, Buhloe, reabsorbed the limb. “What is this latest inconvenience?”

“Might I preview tonight’s masterpiece first?” She filled her lungs. “Do I smell skerpikjøt?”

“Yes.” A slight widening of his eye betrayed Buhole’s pleasure. “I had it brought from the Faroe Islands.”

Having raised a son, Callula did a passable impression of a boy eager to be shown wonders.

“You may come.” Buhloe made a gurgling noise. “However, your playthings are not welcome.”

Peleg was eleven. Eleven. The only playthings he ought to have were building blocks.

Leandra lowered her head further, until I was impressed her neck didn’t snap, and I tried to follow her example.

The chef made a sticking noise, like chewing gum torn off paper, as he guided Callula to a metal cauldron hung over a roaring fire. The contents of his stomach turned like spokes on a wheel as he wobbled away.

Lucky for us, Callula’s leather soles didn’t make a sound on the polished stone tiles. That meant Leandra and I could locate the chute without announcing our every step to the chef.

While Callula made conversation with Buhloe, Leandra and I followed Moran’s directions to the chute. It didn’t take us long to locate, and it was plenty big enough to crawl through. The carrion sweetness of its depths made Leandra swallow convulsively, but it simply reminded me of black magic.

After boosting Leandra into the opening, I caught Callula’s eye before hoisting myself in.

Hidden in shadow, I waited to see how she played this, but a soft squeak from behind me shot the gooey eye of Buhloe toward us.

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