Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore #1) - K.A. Merikan Page 0,100

as soon as possible.”

Adam sucked in so much air he might have risen over the floor like a balloon. “Five hundred bottles. Did you hear that?” He asked, grabbing Emil’s hand and shaking it. His face glowed with joy, as if there couldn’t have been a better message waiting for him.

It took several seconds for Emil to understand what this was about. “Bottles? You mean—”

“Yes. Organic, homemade alcohol infusions in rustic packaging. Perfect presents for politicians, officials, and friends of the Church, just in time for Christmas.”

Emil blinked, taken aback by this development. The archbishop’s curia? He had no idea Adam had been pitching his products to church officials. “How much should I ask for them?”

Adam’s hand on his was as warm as ever. “I calculated it already. We’ll get 80% profit on each bottle. Five hundred bottles is a start, but a good one!”

Emil couldn’t believe that fortune smiled on him for once. Maybe Adam really was his good luck charm? He touched the little cross pendant Adam had given him on Kupala Night. “Five hundred… That will easily set me up for the first few months. I’d have time to look for a job. I was actually… looking at the stables. There are so many around Warsaw, and if I found work at one, I might get a discount on keeping Jinx.”

Mrs. Luty cocked her head, still with the plate of chocolate babka in hand. “What is this about?”

Adam spun around and let go of Emil with reluctance that made Emil’s smile grow even wider. “I helped Emil find a buyer for his alcohol infusions. You know how Father Marek likes those. And he might—”

“Move,” Emil said, taking the plate from her.

“Move? Good heavens. Where to?” She scanned him from head to toe as if she was seeing him for the first time.

Emil stood taller. “To Warsaw.”

“And what do you know about Warsaw? You haven’t been out of Dybukowo your whole life.”

“That’s not true. I’ve been away a few times.”

“For a couple of days at a time. You can’t move,” Mrs. Luty said, stepping closer, as if she’d forgotten how mean she’d been to him for the past dozen years.

Adam winked at Emil and walked off to change, which left Emil to deal with the nosy housekeeper, who stared at him as if she expected to hear it was all a joke.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Luty, you will still get to see me for a while. I need to sell the house before leaving for good, anyway.”

Mrs. Luty gasped, touching the middle of her chest in exasperation. “Sell your grandparents’ land? It’s yours to do with as you please, but that cannot be something you’re seriously considering, Emil. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but Dybukowo is where you belong.”

How could she possibly claim she knew where he belonged? This pushiness was getting awkward, so he decided to nip the topic in the bud. “There are still many decisions I need to make.”

“But you are staying for the Forefathers’ Eve, right?”

“No reason not to. Why?” Emil asked, stuffing the cake into his mouth to get this ridiculous conversation over with while also eating the cake he was to earn by swinging the besom outside.

Mrs. Luty shook her head. “Wouldn’t be right to not visit your family’s graves. Who’d clean them otherwise? Who’d leave flowers and light candles? What would they think if you left their gravesites in the care of strangers?”

“You’re right. As always,” Emil said just to get her off his case, and put the plate down, chewing through the deliciously sweet sponge. “Thank you for the babka. I’ll get on with the sweeping.”

“I think it’s time to ring the bells,” Adam said, emerging from the office in a purple chasuble that featured a stylized cross overgrown with vines. The hand-stitched image was finished with gold thread, and was possibly worth more money than most items Emil owned.

It always gave Emil a bit of an illicit thrill to see Adam like this, all dressed up to perform his role as the village’s young, energetic priest. He’d never said he was a good boy, but Adam knew that and had been attracted to it from the start. Breaking boundaries was Emil’s catnip, and he’d finally get to prove his independence by leaving Dybukowo.

As Adam left for mass, Emil wrapped a scarf around his neck and went out into the yard to sweep the yellow leaves fallen from all the poplars. He could only hope Jinx didn’t