Demon’s Quest (High Demon #4)(52)
Author: Connie Suttle

Fes watched diligently, as did two others—Rane and Wald were there. If I’d known that Wald would come I might have stayed away, but I forged ahead, ignoring him. He was used to this—he’d watch me before, although he never seemed to learn anything.

"You cut the uyto fruit with a fork?" Fes asked as I worked.

"Or a pastry cutter," I said. "It needs to be in fine strings, instead of cubes. It cooks faster and you get the flavor into the sauce right away. It can go wrong if you use chunks—the sauce won’t be as smooth, either. Actually, since it will be easier to acquire gishi fruit, I was thinking about substituting that for the uyto fruit."

"That sounds wonderful," Rane sighed.

"I’ll try it soon, if I can get my hands on the fruit. Now, for the pepper and spices," I flung all of it into the pan on the stove with my fingers while Fes watched avidly beside me.

"Want to slice the beef, Rane?" I asked. He looked to be itching to do something. He nodded enthusiastically and did a fine job, layering it in the pan as he should. Once the sauce was ready, I poured it over the six pans of beef and slipped them into the ovens. Then we started on the fowl in white reduction and two other dishes. The fish would cook last—it took the least amount of time.

While we worked on that, I asked Fes if he’d like to serve a special cake as one of the desserts. He did. We swirled chocolate, cream and raspberry into a cake batter, cooking it in a moderate oven. It came out looking and smelling like a dream. Fes prepared the sweet sauce to drizzle over the cake while I told him how to make it. The time to open the restaurant had come and guests were arriving when the beef came out of the oven. Fes dipped out a slice and passed the plate around among us.

"May the stars have mercy, this is better than Addah’s," Farla exclaimed. "We may stay alive, my darlings." She hugged Fes and Rane—hard. I watched, feeling a slight twinge of self-pity. I was motherless, and had been my entire life. The cake, too, came out beautifully, and Farla was in raptures, closing her eyes in pleasure with the first bite.

"But this recipe is yours," Fes said, pointing at the now-empty saucer—we’d devoured the slice of cake.

"Use it—I don’t care as long as you don’t show up wherever I’m working and say that what I’m serving is very like yours."

"Reah, I apologize for that," Fes said. "I didn’t know any better. I do now."

"Mother, Garet Howt is here tonight!" Wald was back and hissing—he’d disappeared to help open the restaurant.

Garet Howt. The most famous (and demanding) food critic on all of Tulgalan. He’d decried the absence of the yaris fish dish ever since I’d been conscripted by the Alliance. I quirked an eyebrow at Fes. "Well, why don’t we give him a night to remember?" I said, smiling at my uncle.

Garet Howt received a complimentary serving of yaris fish with my own sauce recipe, along with a sampling of the sliced beef in bittersweet sauce, the fowl dish and two others, followed by the cake for dessert. Garet had two people with him, but there was plenty of food to go around. The yaris fish, though, he kept for himself and called for the cook afterward. Fes dragged me to Garet’s table.

"I was planning an article, scheduled to come out in two days, over the death of Addah Desh and his restaurants," Garet smiled at Fes and me. "However, it seems that Addah may have been keeping his talent under his thumb. I often suspected him of this. I’ll rewrite the column, telling everyone that Desh’s has been reborn. This is the best yaris fish I have ever tasted." I noticed he’d cleaned his plate.

"Fes and I worked on it, with help from the other staff and family members," I nodded at Garet Howt. "I think you will not be disappointed, anytime you visit Desh’s, sir."

"And your name, lady cook?" he asked.

"Reah," Fes answered for me. "This is my niece, Reah Desh Nilvas Silver." Garet smiled widely, hauled out his comp-vid and dutifully recorded my name. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it was too late to take it back.

I worked with the kitchen staff throughout the evening, helping Fes and the others prepare regular menu items. It was a relief when the doors closed and the last guest went home—I was exhausted.

"Here," Fes handed a glass of wine to me and offered a chair in his office. Farla, Rane, Wald, Landor and several other family members were also inside. He explained to all of them what Garet Howt had said. "After this, we just need to get number two and three back on track, and four through six through a small drought," he sighed. "Wald, are you going to be able to take care of number two? I’ll bring Halde in and show him how to prepare these recipes that Reah brought to us. Perhaps number three will reincarnate."

Wald looked at me. And then dropped to his knees. "Reah, I’m so sorry," he said. "I was trying to impress Edan. I wasn’t impressing anybody."

"You won’t ever impress Edan with that kind of behavior now—he’s changed drastically. Did you know he’s working on his medical degree on Le-Ath Veronis? I think I’ve called him Daddy twice—he seems to like it."

"You’re joking?" Farla stared at me in shock.

"No. Someday, maybe I’ll tell you about gods and things of that nature. In the meantime, here’s to a successful night and a positive review," I held up my glass. Wald surged to his feet and clinked my glass with his.

"Are you sure you won’t stay with us?" Fes was doing his best to convince me to come home with him and the others.

"No, Uncle Fes. I have some thinking to do," I said.

"Uncle Fes. I like it, Reah. Don’t leave us. Visit often. You’ll be welcome anytime."

"I enjoyed cooking with you tonight. I’d like to do it again," I smiled up at him.

"Reah, walk into my kitchen whenever you want." His grin widened. "It is my kitchen now, isn’t it?" I think it was just sinking in. I wasn’t privy to Addah’s will, but I felt Fes was probably the primary beneficiary.

"Fes, it’s your kitchen." I patted his arm. "Your family, too. Spread the love around."

"I’ll call you—I have your code," he patted the pocket where his comp-vid rested inside his heavy coat. Winter had definitely settled in for Targis.

"Any time," I said and turned to walk toward the bus stop. As soon as Fes was out of sight, I skipped away.

Beliphar wasn’t my goal for the evening—I was tired, bone tired, and only wanted a warm bed. Perhaps a nice bath. I skipped to the house Teeg had purchased, since all my belongings were still there. He wouldn’t think to look for me in such plain sight.