32. Lucy

I tried to be kind, but I couldn't really afford that when it came to my business. I wasn't being kind to Sabina. Well, I was. Her passion was singing and there was no place to really do that outside of her home in Guttertown. I meant what I said to Ollie. The expense in paying her and her friends was a gamble, but it had the potential to bring in new customers.

Leodos loved our whiskey. He special-ordered it from us and paid us handsomely for it. He'd shared it with people in the palace, but they thought he was fucking with them when he said it came from Guttertown, so they never showed up and ordered from us. It was a little insulting. They knew he was banished to Guttertown for a little while, but they thought he was just keeping his whiskey maker secret for some weird reason.

I'd never understand rich people.

But if they walked through the doors of the Whispering Raven because they caught Sabina singing as they were leaving the brothel? They'd know for sure our shit was good and we might get more special orders.

Of course, all of this was hinging on Sabina not being totally tone deaf.

She showed up with her friends when she said she would. Ollie and I had cleared a corner for her. She came with three other girls around her age and walked up to Ollie and me with a pretty girl who dyed her hair red. No one had naturally red hair except the old school Tempris before they started mixing with humans.

People dyed their hair red because Princess Esylle was supposed to be the most beautiful woman in all of Nestran and she was Tempris. I'd never seen her and probably never would, but I heard her hair was black. Still, red hair was wildly popular with the men who thought they could tame a Tempris woman, even if that woman was completely human and colored her hair with herbs.

"This is my friend, Mira, who I said would be good for working the tavern while we sing."

Mira batted her eyelashes at me. I was used to having people flirt with me.

"No need for that," I said. "We're about to get busy. I'll give you a trial tonight to see how you do and we'll go from there."

"I told you he was fucking Ollie," Sabina hissed.

Mira just shrugged.

"Couldn't hurt."

I ran through what we carried, what we were serving tonight, where the kitchen was, and how to take orders. Mira asked a few questions, but said she got it. And then we were off. Everyone was getting off of work and spilling into the tavern.

Sabina set up with her girls to sing and when she opened her mouth, I just stood there for a moment. The entire tavern did. She was enchanting. She had a deep, throaty voice and Sabina wove an entire spell over the tavern. We all just stood and stared for her song.

For the next song, Sabina went into something a little more rousing and the spell was broken. We were packed and my idea worked. A few merchants wandered over from the brothel when they heard her. I threatened to kick them out if they didn't order something and they were surprised at the quality of our spirits.

I was pretty sure we netted a few new regulars and maybe some special orders soon. I didn't notice any problems from Mira. No one was complaining and there was no crashing like something got spilled. That was a good sign. That meant she was working out.

If she liked the work, she could be our new tavern wench, even if I loathed that term. We needed more kitchen help because about an hour before call, we couldn't make Bloody Marys again. If we had someone in the kitchen to keep up with the demand, that wouldn't be a problem.

Ollie said everyone he interviewed was a disaster. Hopefully, Basselt would come through. By the end of the night, we were exhausted. I paid the girls for their work and gave them all a shot of whiskey as we sat at the bar with our feet up.

"That was exhausting, but a lot of fun," Mira said.

"You!" Ollie said, pointing at Sabina.

"Me?"

"I think Ollie was trying to say ‘damn, girl. You are really good at singing.' The rest of you are amazing as well. Would you have even come in here and asked to sing if I hadn't posted the job?"

"It didn't seem like a possibility before. Everyone in Guttertown is broke. But you posted the job like you have a bit of extra money."

"We do, but it was the three of you that brought in even more," Ollie said.

"True. I'm pretty sure we're going to get some special orders from merchants soon. Mira, you caught on really quickly. I'm going to need you to work with just Ollie in a few days so I can make more whiskey and vodka."

"No problem. How is your mom?"

"About the same. The herbs are keeping things from getting worse, but she's not getting better. We've got a lead on someone for the kitchen who might be able to cure her, but he's unsure and what he needs isn't going to bloom right away."

"If you need anything, let us know."

"Thanks."

The girls left, and I was alone with Ollie.

"Well, that was a success. One of the merchants asked at the bar if we were the place Leodos was getting his whiskey."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I guess those fuckers finally realized he wasn't lying. You were right. A few of them might be special ordering soon."

Good. We weren't desperate for cash and I had a plan for Mom, but I really didn't want to have to contact my father ever.