Once in a Blue Rune: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Dwarf for Hire Book 2)

by J. B. Garner

  To be honest, quiet wouldn’t only help Aelfie concentrate. It would help me as well. No matter how much I believed that Aelfread could handle this on his own, I preferred to be prepared just in case. As he made his way in long, smooth strides to the front door, I flipped my book open to a fresh page and began to focus, opening my mind to the whispers of untold generations of Dwarves that lingered in the depths of my subconscious.

  I’ve mentioned some of the four laws of magic already, and they all came to mind as I prepared to write this new runeword. Every form of magic was ruled by them, even if they expressed them in different ways or utilized them in a different order. The first was talent, the natural ability to tap into the magic that existed all around us in the world. That I was told I had in spades, and the encouraging echoes of the past in my head made me believe that.

  The second law was motion. For many forms, it was arcane gestures or intricate finger movements. For runecasting, it was the very act of inscription, be it writing, carving, chiseling, or burning. That had to wait, as I focused my thoughts on what I wanted the runes to do.

  That was both the strength and the weakness of runecasting rolled into one. While using a runeword once inscribed was quick, only requiring an invocation of the fourth law of release, preparing a runeword needed both foresight to have the right word already put down and a smart utilization of the third law, that of intention. You have to know what you might wish to do well before you actually need to do it.

  Aelfread was just about to the door as I struggled with what might be the best potential response to Klaus’ defenses. Would it be best to try to protect Aelfread with my own magic or go on the offense and shut down the Gnome’s protections directly? And no matter which I chose, how should I go about it? Every permutation led to a different combination of runes, the pictographic language bringing infinite layers of nuance with every combination.

  One of his long, nimble fingers moved towards what I assumed to be either a doorbell or a speaker button next to the door as I made my decision. I had protective runewords already written and, to be frank, none would reach out so far to be of much use if things went wrong at that moment. No, the best defense here would be a good offense, and what better offense against magical traps is there than something that pulled the very magic that fueled them out of the air?

  To be fair, I wasn’t even sure if it was possible, not until I closed my eyes and focused on that intention. The voices of the past were quick to answer, filling my head with hazy visions of great runecasters surrounding some shapeless thing that reeked of pure horror and vile magic. They each cut a word in the stone, and that was the word I needed. My fingers flew of their own accord, scribing the runes I saw and adding a few of my own, runes that evoked the bonds of love and family, in an attempt to keep the potential disruptive power of the word away from me and mine.

  My eyes snapped open as I finished, right as Bunny’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “Something’s wrong,” she growled as she rode the edge of a change and I had to agree. The buzz of magic in the air and through my bones was reaching a boiling point, something that Aelfread likely didn’t even notice as a deadspell.

  In fact, I could hear him chatting merrily into what I now knew was a speaker grill, none the wiser of what was building around him. Was it the first of Klaus’ defenses about to go off or was it some other intense magic? I didn’t know, and there was no way I was going to risk Aelfread’s life on the off-chance the Gnome was heating up a burrito in the most overpowered magical microwave in the world.

  Bunny interposed herself between me and the building without a thought, even as I looked down at the runeword I had just written. The letters had turned to shining platinum, something I hadn’t seen before, but there was no time to take that in. Holding the book out with my left hand, I thrust my right palm towards it, willing the power of the runes to come forth.

  For a split-second, as time seemed to slow, I thought I had finally overstepped my bounds. My entire body felt like it was on fire as magic rushed through it, all that heat concentrating into a point at the center of my shoulder blades. In its wake, everything was cold as ice, no, colder and the involuntary shivers almost broke my concentration.

  I didn’t waver, though. With grit teeth and thoughts not only of protecting Aelfread but Bunny and myself as well, I forced the inferno of energy through my outstretched arm and hand before it left my body entirely, surging onto the page and through the runes.

  Ironically, the most powerful runeword I had ever invoked, something that worked its will on the fundamental nature of magic in the world, was almost imperceptible to the mundane world. For those with no talent for magic or sense of it around, nothing happened save for a sudden breeze that washed out from behind me and through the parking lot, twisting unnaturally around Bunny and Aelfread before wafting into the pawn shop. That breeze pierced every solid object in its way and kept going until it faded on the other side of the parking lot.

  Aelfie didn’t even seem to notice the winds passage as he continued his conversation.

  For anyone with a shred of magical awareness, though, the ghostly stream of silvery magic that rushed out like a tidal wave from me crashed through the pawn shop and parking lot. Tendrils and streamers of that magic lashed out at unseen wards and artifacts, pulling the very power out of numerous enchantments before washing on, dissipating into the ether once reaching the extent of my control.

  “Hunter’s moon,” Bunny gasped, “what did you do?” She turned to me, no longer afraid of what Klaus was about to do, mouth agape. “I’ve never seen anything close to that …”

  The sidewalk under my feet felt like Jell-O as the world around me tilted dangerously. My teeth chattered as I murmured, “Well, Sinclair said to be discrete, right? No mundanes saw it, I swear by my ancestors’ beards.” My fingers were numb with cold, and my book and pen slipped out from my grasp. “I, uh, I don’t feel so hot.”

  Bunny let out a cry as I fell forward and the last thing I remember before passing out was her catching me as Aelfread shouted in alarm from across the parking lot.

  17

  I woke up from a dreamless sleep to the sound of a slap.

  “Why can’t I take a peek inside her book?” a high-pitched voice whined, still distinctly male. “Considering I let you bring her in here after the incalculable damage she did to my shop, I should have every right to look at how she did it.”

  Aelfread’s voice made me smile involuntarily as my eyes started to flutter open. “Oh please, Klaus, after you were about to tear me and everyone on the lot into their component atoms, you allowing my dear Mary to rest comfortably is the very least you could do. It earns you no favors!”

  I managed to finally keep my eyelids open, still feeling like I had just undertaken one of those crazy Polar Bear challenge things. Bunny was here, wherever here was, joining in on Aelfie’s indictment of who had to be Klaus Smaragd. “You should be thanking your diamonds that you’re not in irons right now. It’s only because of your current cooperation that I didn’t bounce your head off the floor!”

  Turning my head towards the noise, I realized I was on something soft, at least, and my head rested against a threadbare silk bolster. The scene around me reminded me of every bargain-basement pawn shop and junk dealer I had ever been in, a number that I can regretfully say is more than one. As clarity returned to the world, I found myself picking out the little oddities though, the things that an astute observer of the Figment world might pick out to be true magical baubles. That crystal globe looked too perfect, those ornamental flasks were filled with strange liquids, and that wasn’t a horse hoof, no, it was a Centaur’s. Trust me, there’s a difference.

  The one thing I realized was that all the actual magic that I had felt emanating from this place before was gone. All of it, well, aside from the tingle put off by the Figments in the room (Bunny excepted of course as she was still in her human form) and what magic we had brought in with us, her jacket, my bag, and my boo
k. The shop itself and its contents, though, were stripped bare of every trace of arcane power.

  Speaking of my book, looking at that is what caught me my first glance at the shop’s owner. Klaus Smaragd was indeed shorter than I was by an entire foot and much slighter, unlike my blocky build. His face was that of a wizened, old man, with ruddy cheeks and a button nose, his eyes twinkling as he tried to look pitiful in the eyes of the others. A stringy but well-kept white beard hung off his chin and what hair he had was put up under a conical, red felt hat. If you didn’t consider the somewhat comically ill-fitting suit he wore, you could easily mistake Klaus for a garden gnome sculpture if he held his breath.

  Klaus was sucking on his fingers, his entire little hand red, as I finally found my voice. “What’s my book doing out?” I said though it came out more like a groan, as the effort of talking seemed to wake up all the bumps and bruises I had taken over the course of the past twelve hours.

  Bunny let out a sigh of relief from what was now behind me as Aelfread, right next to where my bag and book were sitting in my sight, turned to the sound of my voice. “Oh, verdant vales, hearing your voice is such a relief.”

  “You had us both worried, Mary.” As I rolled onto my back, trying to prop myself up by my elbows, I got a good view of the Huntress hovering worriedly over me. “The next time you decide to go full force on the magic thing, warn a lady, will you?”

  Aelfie was at my side in a flash, almost faster than I could catch with his amazing Elven reflexes. Klaus hadn’t quite caught on to Aelfread’s full movement either, reaching once more for my rune book while attention was turned towards me, only to realize that the Elf had snatched it up between blinks of the eye.

  “While I am most indebted to your swift and courageous actions once more, my heroine, I must concur with Bunny.” He snatched up my hand with his free one, my book tucked under his arm. “If you had worked yourself into a more serious condition on my behalf, well …” His voice trailed off, his eyes betraying the depth of his worry over me.

  I hadn’t realized it right away, but Bunny had a hold of my other hand. “Once again, I feel a little weird agreeing with Aelfson, but that’s about the sum of it.”

  With both of them hovering over me, I felt a little uncomfortable, sure, but I felt more loved than anything else. It was a good feeling, one that had been scarce in my life between Mr. Genovo’s carnival and when Aelfie stumbled into my life. “I’ll take that under advisement the next time I have to make a last-minute life-or-death decision,” I managed to get out without sounding too hoarse or strained. “Don’t be too cross if I pick saving you guys instead of the safe option again, though.”

  “Safe option?” the Gnome hmphed, managing to put an incredible amount of offense into those two words and one sound. “What about my safety? What if I had a powerful or unstable artifact under wards here, huh, and you pulled that, uh, honestly incredibly impressive and frankly frightening trick? You could have obliterated the entire block!”

  With Bunny and Aelfread’s support, I managed to sit up. “Maybe you should have thought of that before trying to blow us to kingdom come. Yeah, I heard that part when I woke up.”

  Aelfread turned back to look at Klaus, but he didn’t let go of my hand. “Indeed, Klaus! I thought we were friends. Think of all the patronage I have given you over the years!” He sniffed with an edge of his old haughtiness. “To think that all that was worthless in the face of one little incident involving the Frizzolis.”

  “I am sorry about that, Aelfread,” Klaus said with a downcast face. His little hands began to fidget together. “I was so worried I didn’t read through all the warnings in the activation rituals for that void circle. I swore I added the manual trigger clause, but the damnable thing was stuck in automatic. The second you hit the button it started to charge, I think.”

  “Why didn’t you shut it down, then, you old fool?” Bunny barked. “You didn’t, which makes this all your fault anyway.”

  The full force of her authority seemed to hit the little Gnome full on. His hands flew to his hat, and he pulled it down over his eyes, trembling like a leaf. “Please, mercy on me, Huntress! I forgot it was a Liche enchantment and those dead things simply hate to let their weapons have a shut off command.” He peaked out for a moment and seeing that Bunny’s glare (mine and Aelfie’s too) hadn’t relented, he added, “Fine, I’ll accept the blame and the losses! Just don’t put me in irons. I won’t survive one second in the Pens!”

  I had heard stories about the Drachenreich prison here in Michigan, but I’d never seen the Pens personally. From those stories, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to, just as I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know what a Liche actually was.

  Flashing what I hoped was a reassuring smile at my two caregivers, I slipped my hands free, so I could shimmy to a sitting position. I was on a stack of rolled-out quilts on a lumpy divan couch, I could now tell. “I think your best way to get out of a trip to the Pens is to tell us everything we want to know and quickly.”

  “Fine, fine, whatever you want,” Klaus pleaded like a scared child, so much so that I felt a twinge of guilt. Fortunately, I remembered that he wasn’t a child and could have gotten us all killed, and that guilt faded. “You’ll honor that deal, right, Ms. Bunny?”

  “So long as your information isn’t a pile of Minotaur crap,” she replied. “Because of what you’ve been dealing in this time, there is at least one life and an entire family at stake here, a family I happen to care quite a bit about. What I’m hinting at is that you better make this good, Smaragd.”

  “Especially if you would ever wish to have my business or that of my family’s again,” Aelfread added with a noble sniff. “So please, do your best to do the right and noble thing for once, my good man.”

  Bunny gave the Elf a look but didn’t make anything more of what he said. Me, I found it amusing that his threat was as effective if not more so than the wererabbit’s. Whichever was more telling, altogether it was more than enough to make Klaus take off his hat, revealing a cotton candy array of white hairs over a bald scalp, and begin to bunch it up in his fists.

  “Please, ask then,” he bawled. “I swear to my last square of iridium that I will be fully honest and truthful with my statements.”

  Well, at least iridium wasn’t highly radioactive. “Start with whatever it was that you wanted to sell to Mercutio Frizzoli, the thing you said was of particular interest to Garou,” I said.

  “Oh, endless mines, I wish I had never laid eyes on the thing now,” Klaus muttered to the ceiling, thrusting his cap back on his head as he trotted over to the shop’s counter. “Well, more that I wish I had never purchased it from that drifter, no matter how valuable it looked to be worth,” he continued as he rummaged behind it, emerging a few moments later with a ledger almost as large as he was.

  With a bit of a struggle, he brought it out, laying it down on the ground before us and flipping pages. “This used to open to whatever page I asked and even float to me on command, but now …” The Gnome cast an aggrieved glance my way before turning back to the ledger. “Ah, here we go.” He laid it out flat and turned it for all to see.

  At closer glance, what I had taken to be a ledger was more of a catalog, a place for Klaus to keep track of and categorize the items he bought and sold, legally or not. Scribbled on the page were notes in an alphabet similar to Dwarven runes but more fluid, joined together like cursive English letters, but still incomprehensible to me. However, the records weren’t necessary to understand the importance of the attached picture.

  It depicted, resting on the red velvet of a jeweler’s tray, what I figured to be a massive, cabochon cut moonstone. Polished to a shine, the flawless stone seemed to hold a stark bluish sheen, something vividly in contrast with the red background. Even if it hadn’t been a magical stone, it would have been worth a bit in my eyes for its sheer beauty.

  “Now, we Gnomes know the value of what comes out of Mother Earth’s womb, much as you Dwarv
es do,” Klaus explained, nodding to me. He wasn’t wrong. Even through the picture, I swore I could hear the stone whispering to me. “And this stone was far more than the sum of its minerals. The magic inside spoke to me, so after I acquired it for an amazingly cheap cost, I plied its secrets with a few gemmamancy rituals and listened as the stone told me of itself.”

  Aelfread looked from the picture to Bunny and me, nodding slowly. “This must be the Azure Star. I’m sure of it!”

  “That was one name for it,” Klaus nodded, as he began to wax poetically. “It has had many over the millennia since it was filled with moonlight and sanctified to the many Garou tribes and the Moon that hovers over all of them.” Shaking his head a little, the Gnome seemed to come back down to Earth. “Though I couldn’t learn everything from it, the coy thing, I realized that the enchantments in the stone were tied to the inherent magic of the Garou. It was obvious that the best person I could sell it to was Mercutio.”

  Bunny nodded slowly, stifling a yawn, and I noticed how dark the bags under her eyes had grown. Gods, I didn’t even know what time it was now. How much longer could she go? “So, you did so, and he told you that his delivery boy would come pick it up, a Garou Chien by the name of Patches Sanderson.”

  “Yes!” the Gnome cried, springing to his feet and closing the book with a thud. “The Corgi-man was so nervous to be here that I thought he was going to jump out of his skin. I accepted the suitcase of Marks as payment and gave him the boxed stone. Anything that happened after was not my fault!”

  “And what did happen, good Master Smaragd?” Aelfread pressed. “Your nerves are showing, my friend. There is more to this than Patches taking the box, isn’t there?”

  Klaus hopped back as if to dodge the accusation entirely. “Please, I couldn’t have known what would happen!”

  Bunny moved around the couch, shifting in mid-stride to her full hybrid form, eyes glowing red, as Aelfread came in on the Gnome’s right. I was still a bit too tuckered to stand, so I simply glared from the couch.