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

by J. B. Garner

  “What happened?” Bunny growled, the low chuffs of anger causing her chest to puff out. “What happened to Patches?”

  Klaus attempted to hide in his hat again, managing somehow to pull it down to his nose. “Something in the stone must have awoken, some magic in it that only a Garou could call forth. The box burned away, and the Star shone, well, like the moon in the sky.” His voice grew more high-pitched and more excited with each word, and I could swear he was crying. “He shifted, went all man-Corgi, and his eyes started to glow blue, blue as the stone, and then he ran, right through the front door and right through the anti-theft ward I had installed.” He sniffled as snot tried to run down his nose. “That’s all I know! I don’t know where he went or why or even what the stone did. Please, you must believe me! Don’t let the rabbit eat me!”

  Aelfread regarded the pitiful Gnome as he continued to try to become one with his hat, then looked up at Bunny. “I must say, Bunny, you have not lost your touch.”

  “You didn’t do so bad yourself, Aelfson,” the towering rabbit-girl chuffed. “I suppose I can see why Mary keeps you around.”

  I was still bone tired and freezing cold, but I bit those feelings down. “All right, Klaus, I think you’re off the hook. Maybe this whole incident will make you rethink your life choices.” I remembered what Frizzoli said and decided to add, as a note of kindness, “You should also come clean to Frizzoli. From what he said, I don’t think he’ll kill you over this one.”

  Klaus mewled and nodded, daring to peek out of his hat again. “Huntress? Am I all right? Am I free to go?”

  Her red eyes burned down at him in response. “I wouldn’t leave town just yet, but yes, you’re off my radar for now.”

  That was all he needed to make a run for the back. “Thank you, goodbye, and please lock the door on your way out!”

  I think Aelfread was tempted to stop him, to see if he could glean any more arcane insights about the Azure Star, but realized that all he would get would be more panic and blubbering from Klaus. With a sigh, he looked at the both of us.

  “I know you will both strenuously object to what I am about to say, but at this juncture, it would be best for the both of you to sleep, at least for a few hours.” He raised a hand as if expecting an objection, though he wasn’t going to get one from me. “Trust in me to do the legwork necessary to learn more about the Star and perhaps what it may be making our poor missing Garou do.”

  Bunny looked at me, then at Aelfread, before collapsing down into her human form, her shoulders sagging. “Hate to repeat it, but you’re right, Aelfson.” She fished in her normal pocket for a moment and threw him the keys to the Cruze. “Mary can nap in the back seat while you take us for a quick stop by the Sandersons. I’ll give Mother a quick update, and I’m sure she’ll let us crash there while you do your research.”

  I smiled a bit, as much at the prospect of sleep as seeing the two getting along. “Sounds like a plan. Just make sure we don’t take too long resting, Aelfie. We can’t be sure that the astronomical blue moon still isn’t important to this whole mess. The Star might be only the first part of the puzzle.”

  The Elf snapped a sharp, crisp salute before turning it into a flourishing bow. “Rest assured, my dear ladies, that Aelfread Aelfson can be relied upon to ensure the success of this venture.” He twirled the keys on an outstretched finger as he rose. “Now, let us be off!”

  18

  I couldn’t really sleep per se on the ride crosstown to the Cathedral district and the Sanderson home. After being saved from a gory death by my seatbelt, I wouldn’t forgo it, even to sleep better, and despite the lingering chills from my massive expenditure of magic, every bump and knock reminded me of the massive bruise forming between my breasts and on my collarbone. Still, I did drop off several times, drifting off into brief micro-naps.

  All I remember from the trip was the onset of rush hour traffic and Aelfread and Bunny talking the whole way, though I was too far gone to understand anything other than they didn’t seem to be fighting. That was good enough for me, and I wound up with my only desire being that I didn’t snore too much on the drive.

  Honestly, I barely recall getting there. It reminded me of how I often felt when the carnival convoy would first roll into some dusty backwater at the crack of dawn after a hard night breaking down the day before. I had the presence of mind to grab my bag and not yawn too much as we shuffled into Mother’s presence, along with some of her more awake brood. One of them, the oldest I guessed, was actually in human form, a young boy with the same tawny orange hair as his parents and dressed in shorts and an oversized doge-meme T-shirt.

  I knew I was dead tired when I let out an uncontrolled giggle at that.

  Mother tilted her head in what I knew for sure was a mildly submissive way to Bunny as Aelfread led me along, one hand on my shoulder to keep me steady. “With all that you three are doing for my pack, I would be honored if you would rest your heads here. You are always welcome in my home, Huntress.”

  “But I would never presume that, Mother.” Bunny bowed her head wearily. “Thank you for your hospitality. If all goes well, we will have Patches back to you safe and sound before this day has passed.”

  “Don’t you or yours worry,” I added, blinking away the gummy feeling in my eyes. “A promise is a promise.”

  Aelfread patted my shoulder. “As you can see, my miracle here is about dead on her feet, but her words are no less true. Perhaps I should get her to bed and let Ms. Kincaid bring you up to speed, Mother Sanderson?”

  As much as a part of me wanted to object, having a vaguely voyeuristic urge to see what Bunny would say and if Mother did indeed know anything about the Azure Star or the lunar ritual Aelfie had mentioned, I was too tired to give into it. With Mother’s assent, the boy led Aelfread who then led me down a side hall from the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Stone,” he said as he looked down at his feet. “For hopping up and down on you so hard.”

  It took me a moment to remember what he might be talking about but then it came back. “Oh, don’t worry, little one. You were just protecting your mom. I’d have done the same.”

  He brightened a bit at that and nodded, right before coming to a stop in front of a closed door. “Here’s the guest room. Close the door, and none of the other pups should mess with you. Most of ‘em can’t make hands yet.”

  I smiled as Aelfie bowed grandiosely to the lad. “Understood, young Master Sanderson, and our mutual thanks for your assistance.”

  If the kid had his tail at that moment, he would have been wagging it. “Thank you, thank you!” he practically barked and scrambled off back towards the kitchen.

  With that done, Aelfie opened the door for me, and we entered the cozy little guest room. It wasn’t fancy, but it had the lived-in warmth that Polly Brightsun would have said was the heart of the Light. I wondered as I flopped onto the bed if we shouldn’t call for more help, like our local Lightbringer, Governor Sinclair, or perhaps Siofra and the Dragon’s Eye. Surely a dangerous thing like the Azure Star would be worthy of the Elven Watcher’s attention and she had authority over, well, everything. Even Sinclair backed down before her.

  I also wondered if I mumbled something about it because I distinctly remember, as Aelfread began to carefully unlace and tug off my boots, he started to talk.

  “I would almost agree that this may be too much for the three of us to take on,” he murmured softly, “but I feel as though Reba needs to do this on a personal level. To be fair, I feel as if I need to as well.”

  I managed to lift my weary head enough to blink down at him. “Maybe it’s the exhaustion, but I don’t quite follow you.” I blinked. “Like, I understand Bunny’s stake in this but …”

  Aelfie grinned at me. “And here I thought you were already gone, lovely Mary.” He chuckled a little and turned his eyes to my other boot. “I suppose I want to prove myself as being more than the one that needs saving in these situations. Not that I mind being saved,
so please don’t stop, but …” He laughed again as he managed to free my other foot. “It isn’t easy not feeling like an equal, no matter how deep and abiding our love is.”

  “I’m sorry, Aelfie.” Gods, it was hard to keep my eyes open, but I tried. “If it matters, I want you to feel equal too.”

  “Well, there is at least one place where we have that kind of equality,” he chuckled as he climbed onto the bed, straddling me as he leaned over, his face hanging over mine. “Don’t you agree?”

  I stared up at the divine sight of his perfect face and fair skin, golden hair hanging down, and that enchanting smile. “I can’t argue with that one bit, sweet prince.”

  No, we didn’t sully Mother’s clean bed with a sexual romp before I slept. As heavenly as that might have been, I didn’t have the energy for that. Still, a bit of careful, passionate kissing and a quick snuggle was enough to put me to bed, content for the moment.

  It was one of the best rests I’ve ever had. Think of finally getting into bed after the most strenuous workout of your life, where you go right up to your limit but don’t kill yourself, and how deep you sleep. That was how it was curled up in the quilted comforter of the Sandersons’ guest bed.

  Of course, it couldn’t last nearly long enough, not with what was looming over our heads.

  “Mary?”

  I started awake and regretted it immediately. My contusions, which were still getting nice and fully formed earlier, had become ugly, multicolored, and doubly painful, making my idea to sit up a stupid one. My eyes practically bulged out of my head as I bit back on the cry that wanted to escape my lips, turning it into a slow hiss.

  It did wake me up rather thoroughly, at least.

  “Oh dear,” Aelfread gasped. “Please, my dear, take it easy. You are far from well!”

  He was sitting on the side of the bed where I had wound up sprawling out. Somewhere in either our cuddling or afterward, I had also managed to strip down to my sports bra and panties. Breathing slowly through the pain I looked down at myself, holding my beard gingerly to one side to inspect the line of bruises on my chest, from collarbone through the breastbone.

  “If I say that I’ve been worse,” I ventured through clenched teeth, “you’d believe me, right?”

  What had been morning daylight streaming through the window was now the dull glow of late afternoon, adding a fey-like luster to Aelfie’s alabaster skin as he laid a neatly folded pile of clothes on the bed. “If I were to doubt your words now, I would be besmirching your perfect record of honesty with me. I suppose I must believe you in this instance regardless of empirical evidence, then.”

  I managed not to wince as I scooted myself down the bed to the fresh, clean clothes. “Do you think we have time for a shower?”

  “I think it is best not to tempt fate,” he said with a faint frown. “Mother actually knows far more about this supposedly hidden ritual than either Bunny or I imagined and, well, perhaps it is best to say that we should discuss it in the car with the time we have left.”

  I sighed hard, half-glaring at the Elf. “Is there a reason you didn’t wake me up sooner if that was the case?”

  “I’ve been trying, dear.” Now that my brain was catching up with my body’s wakefulness, I could feel the worry rolling off my lover. “Bunny and I have both tried to rouse you for two hours now.” Glancing over at the closed door, he coughed slightly. “Mother suggested letting the pups loose upon you but considering your relative state of undress, well …” He shrugged faintly.

  I blushed a little, my cheeks matching the freckles on my broad shoulders, and it wasn’t just at the thought of the pups having free reign while I slept. “I’m sorry.” Shaking off my momentary embarrassment, I reached for the blouse Aelfread had brought. “Both for questioning you and worrying you.”

  “Promise me you’ll be careful, and we shall be, how do they say it? Square?” Aelfread stood up and idly brushed some shed fur off his immaculate leather pants. “I don’t know if Siofra or anyone else ever bothered to tell you that it is certainly possible to overuse magic, to burn so much of your internal energy that you drift into a coma or, dare I say it, die.”

  I had already pulled the blouse over my head, so Aelfie didn’t see the stark realization on my face. “No. No one had bothered to mention that before or at all.” I finished pulling my head and arms into the shirt, carefully pulling my beard and hair loose. After a quick shake of my two manes, I turned my eyes to him. “I promise I’ll be careful. I’m sure as hell not ready to lose you yet.”

  “Nor I, you.” He reached out for my hand, and I placed it in his. Bending forward, he kissed the back of my hand gently. “Now, I’ll leave you to this. Bunny and I will be waiting for you in the car. I took the liberty of bringing your bag out there already.”

  “All right, sweet,” I said softly. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Stepping back, he only reluctantly let my hand go before turning swiftly to go out the door.

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Why hadn’t Siofra told me that rather critical fact when she first taught me about the principles of magic? Not that she was really under any obligation, but I would have thought that would be an essential thing to mention. Frankly, no one else had either. Lady Brightsun, Bunny, Sinclair, not a single Figment had ever brought it up before now, and we all used magic in our own ways.

  The only thing I could think of as I gathered myself and got dressed was that it was something that was possible but so rare that no one considered it necessary to mention. Maybe it was so hard to pass that safety limit where you just couldn’t magic any longer that it didn’t come to mind. I simply couldn’t think that they didn’t care about me enough to mention it.

  Of course, that made me wonder how I had managed to do something so rare that every magic user I knew had plum forgotten it was even possible. Wasn’t that just like life, though, blindsiding you with brand-new questions every time you get used to how things are?

  Despite the apparent severity of the situation and this new wrinkle of my magic hovering over me, I was smiling and even chuckling as I buttoned my skirt and pulled on my socks and boots. I saw it like this, you could either roll over, curl up, and give in whenever life threw you another curveball, or you could take it head on with a smile, a laugh, and the knowledge that those curves were what made life worth living.

  That smile was probably why Bunny and Aelfread both looked at me like I was crazy as I slid into the backseat of the Chevy a few minutes after giving a heartfelt thank you to Mother Sanderson.

  “I thought you said she was okay, Aelfson?” Bunny growled, looking at Aelfie from the driver’s seat. Someone had patched and stitched her leather jacket, and she had fresh clothes as well. In fact, she looked like she hadn’t gone through the same day of hardship I had.

  “I am okay,” I countered from the back as I pulled my bag into my lap before buckling up.

  They both ignored me. “She said she was,” Aelfie said, echoing what I said. “I cannot say I know what that crazy grin is about.”

  “It’s called a smile, folks, and it isn’t that bizarre, you know.” I glanced between the two of them, who were looking at me now. “Or is this where you two reveal what is so bad that I should be as grim-faced as you both seem to be?”

  When they both glanced at each other and then back to me, I knew there was, indeed, another shoe about to drop. I sighed and nodded. “Right, okay, if things are so dire, we should get on the road while you tell me. Time is of the essence, right?”

  Bunny laughed and shook her head, a smile creeping onto her lips as she turned her attention to the road. “Isn’t it always?”

  19

  “You have to be kidding me,” I exclaimed, honestly trying to tell if Aelfread or Bunny were indeed pulling my leg.

  For the fourth time in twenty-four hours, we were driving from one side of the Saginaw River to the other. In fact, there was still an oily smudge and a severely damaged stretch of guar
drail from where Bunny’s Kia had died so dramatically the second time we had crossed this self-same spot. What had me so surprised was where the place we were racing towards as the sun fell in the sky.

  “Nope,” Bunny said, eyes on the road as she shook her head. “It looks like I may actually have to listen to all the prattling that comes out of Aelfson’s mouth, so I don’t miss when he’s right about things.”

  “I would think that would be simple with your prodigious rabbit ears,” Aelfread beside her smirked, no doubt feeling free from serious retribution with the wererabbit driving.

  “Don’t think I can’t smack you silly and get us through traffic at the same time,” she shot back.

  I waved my hand across the rearview mirror, really stretching to do so while raising my voice to get their attention. “Hello! Can we ditch the catty infighting until we save Patches and who knows what else?”

  The two verbal combatants glanced sidelong at each other before looking back at me in the mirror. “Sorry, Mary,” they said in near unison.

  “You’re forgiven,” I sighed, settling back into my sear. I should have made Aelfie sit in the back. “Now, what I understand here is that Aelfread was right, like, entirely right. All three of the possible leads he discovered turned into one super-lead?”

  “Exactly,” Bunny said, though it sounded like I was pulling her teeth out to force her to admit it. “You saw the Azure Star yourself, and Aelfson mentioned the fact that Mother knew of the lunar ritual when he woke you. That ritual was practiced extensively by the ancient Garou tribes of this region, who just so happened to share them with the local Ojibwe Native American tribes.”

  “Who also just so happened to have a certain ancient ritual site at the Blue Moon smoke shop,” Aelfread finished for her. “Now, if I recall, I did tell you all three of those things, did I not, dear Mary?”