The Olive Conspiracy by Shira Glassman

Author:Shira Glassman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, lesbian, farming, jewish, fairytale, queens, agriculture, new adult, torquere press, prizm books
Publisher: Torquere Press

***

“You cannot possibly imagine how annoying it was.” Tova rolled her eyes and rested her hands in her lap.

“I understand,” Isaac lied, his face kindly. “It sounds terrible.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Tova insisted.

“May I refill your tea?”

“Thank you.” Tova handed him her cup, and he accepted it with his left hand. With his right, he gestured at the teapot until it lifted itself off the table and topped her off. “That’s a neat trick.”

Isaac smiled amiably. “Have to.” After replacing the teapot on the table, he showed her what he meant.

“Ooh, that’s a nasty scar!” she exclaimed. “You know, sometimes those doctors, they really have no idea what they’re doing, any more than anyone else. There’s a man down in Lovely Valley—”

Isaac was not used to meeting people who didn’t ask about the scar and instead rushed headlong into their own monologue, but since the whole point of this morning’s torturous exercise was to get Tova to talk, talk too much, talk about anything until a confession came out—he knew his ego could take the bruise.

He looked at her intently with his best imitation of a compassionate stare, and half listened, all the while worrying at her words as if they were food stuck in his teeth. He was looking for weaknesses, for likely places to introduce the Imbrians into the conversation, or perhaps the map itself. To steer her there delicately was the object of the game.

“Then there was that awful animal doctor who came and saw me when one of the cats was sick,” Tova continued. “Can you believe he told me I had too many cats? He said that’s why she was doing so poorly. Judgmental assbag. I told him as much. Shouted him into the street. Other people might want to know about his lack of qualifications. Course, he had to get up an attitude about our little difference of opinion. Took it personal and badmouthed me, and now none of his clients will buy my eggs.”

Only Rivka would have noticed the small blue fire that now flared from Isaac’s eyes. He knew his ‘in.’ Inside, he was running around the room high-fiving himself. Outwardly, he took a sip of his own tea, swallowed, then inhaled its grassy, green flavor for a moment as he aimed his tongue. “That must feel awful. That’s your livelihood! Don’t they remember that your crop failed?”

“They remember—they just don’t care.” Tova set her teacup down and rubbed a nervous finger around the lip.

“Wait ’til it happens to them,” Isaac said calmly. The dragon retreated farther into the cave, his glinting eyes leaving the illusion of gold coins deep within.

Tova’s face brightened. “Right? I mean, it really hurts. It’s not just those folks, but also my neighbors”—every one of which she’d already told Isaac some story about having antagonized—“and the farmers from the far side of the lake, and the traders’ families too. Not that you can really trust those traders. One of them had a pretty little jug she’d picked

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