Rune Service Read online

  “It is part of what my people call a Cornerstone, capable of working great changes on things and people. From what Sinclair told me, I suspect he plans to use it on himself to become human before selling out its power to other Figments who want to change.”

  My words brought a damper on the crowd, now starting to grow from curious children and onlookers among the Gobbos. I had a feeling there was more going on here than I suspected. Maybe I had missed something, misread something about Sinclair and his plans. I frowned and tugged on my beard, not having anything else to add.

  Aelfie did, though. “No, my dear, Thyvian does not wish to become a mundane creature. He wishes to be a dragon, a True Dragon.”

  As if to add an extra note of dramatic veracity to his words, the glow of Polly’s ‘sword’ shone with the even, clean light of truth.

  Chapter 26

  “I DON’T MEAN to interrupt the serious looks here,” I ventured, “but what exactly does that mean?” I had the attention of the Fireside Story Club again. “It feels serious but I think I lack the necessary information to make this really worrisome.”

  For the first time since we’d arrived, Polly looked confused but Aelfie jumped in to clarify things. “Lady Stone is an orphan, Dame Brightsun.” He turned towards me. “You must know by now that the Dragons rule this part of Figment territory. In fact, they rule major pieces of the Americas, Europe, and Asia in this fashion.”

  I planted my fists on my hips and cocked an eyebrow up at him. “I do but I don’t see how that makes much difference. So Sinclair gets to throw his hat in the ring for Dragon President … I don’t much like the gentleman but I don’t see how that calls for all the shocked faces I am seeing here.”

  Bernie grumbled something about the excesses of the ruling class as he stooped back down. Fortunately, Bunny had some real answers for me as she began to pace. “The Dragons do not precisely rule, not in a direct fashion. They are so powerful they tend to busy themselves in lofty, metaphysical pursuits. That and they realize that any political maneuverings among their own kind tend to lead to territorial conflicts. Dragons love their territories, after all.”

  Now things were starting to make some sense. “Let me see if I understand,” I said. “True Dragons are basically super-powerful cats. They usually have no cares about what we little people do but if something threatens what they have, they’ll start hissing and scratching.” I tugged on my braids. “But when Dragons fight, they can wreck more than your living room.”

  Polly nodded, her visor snapping shut once again. “Far more, Lady Stone. To magnify the severity of the matter, it will no doubt draw the mundane governments into the situation. They would have to intervene with so many innocents threatened!” She sighed. “No one can abide a conflict between the Dragons.”

  Aelfread nodded with a conviction I hadn’t seen in him before. “I do not know what Dragonsong thought in pursuing this but this cannot be allowed to happen.” He rubbed his perfect features. “Lake’s mists, this is all my fault, all this trouble for a pile of Marks.” His frown quirked a bit. “A ridiculously large pile of Marks granted but …”

  “We might not know if he has some bigger scheme or if he’s just running on instinct,” I pointed out, “but who gives two stones about that now? We need to get the Cornerstone back; it’s that simple.” I turned towards Aelfread, putting my hands on his hips to gently guide him to look downward at me. “Where is it?”

  Snapping out of his self-pity, the Elf blinked slowly at me. “Where is what?”

  “The runestone, Aelfson,” Bunny barked (or honked or whatever you call a loud rabbit noise) right in one of his large, pointed ears. “Where did you hide the runestone?”

  Aelfie’s ears shivered as he shrunk down from the noise. “Gods, woman, you don’t need to shout so!” I squeezed his sides as I pulled him a hair closer. That seemed to help him focus a bit. “Yes, well, I hid it in the best place I could at the time I divested myself of it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And that is?”

  Aelfread turned red from the accumulated attention and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Bunny folded her arms and glowered over him, I stared at him intently, and the Gobbos, Polly included, were all focused solely on the Elf. “Ah, well, it is in your apartment. You know, that adage of hiding things in plain sight.”

  I slapped my hands over my face. “You didn’t.”

  “I did! And in a perfect hiding spot on top of that!” Aelfie seemed awfully proud of himself. “Your utensil drawer.”

  Didymus barked as Polly’s armor clanked. “Surely under some shroud spell or other defensive high magic?”

  I already knew the answer. Aelfie hadn’t been in my kitchen for more than a minute or two. There wasn’t a chance he could have done anything of the like. I continued to hide my eyes behind my hands, shaking my head in my palms.

  Bunny let out another rabbit-grunt. “No, he didn’t. I can tell by the foolish look on the idiot’s face. Aelfson, this is no game; you know that, right?”

  I sighed and pulled my hands away from my face. Aelfread had stiffened up, high-born instincts taking over at the wheel. With a defensive sniff, he said, “There was no time. Besides, it is highly unlikely such an artifact would take an Elven-wove spell.” He glanced away from all of us, up at a cobwebbed corner of the ceiling. “Besides, I … well … such a thing is beyond my knowledge.”

  I thought Bunny was about to bust out into belly laughs. Bernie let out a derisive chuckle, only for me to cut him off by a hard kick to his shin. “Cut it!” The big lug’s eyes widened in pain then narrowed in anger but I kept on going. “Not everyone is good at everything, no matter who they are! The important thing is that Sinclair hasn’t found the piece yet. It’s still there; we simply have to go get it before he figures it out.”

  Aelfie turned away, folding his arms and closing in on himself. I couldn’t blame him, really. How many times had I been looked down on because I couldn’t do something everyone else expected would be easy? If I was reading my cues right, I was starting to understand why a prince had turned into a hustler.

  Polly raised her voice, clear, calm, and commanding. “Our Dwarven friend is correct. We should commend Prince Aelfson on having the quick thinking to hide the stone under duress and then concentrate on getting it outside of his reach.”

  To my surprise, Bunny nodded along with the Goblin (though she was wiping at an eye as if holding back a laugh). “Exactly.” She put a paw on Aelfread’s shoulder. “Aelfson?”

  His tone was bitter as he replied, “Yes, Huntress?”

  I walked next to him and took his hand as Bunny continued, “Can your father make this thing disappear again?”

  Aelfie’s fingers wrapped around mine and I squeezed. I could feel coils of tension unwrap inside him. “As it came from his treasury, I am certain he would love to see it returned to his hoard.”

  Behind us, Polly was talking with Bernie and the other elder Gobbos in low, urgent tones. I looked up at Aelfread still staring off into space. “And what about you?”

  Bunny was a sharp customer and I was sure she was already reading between the lines. “It could always be returned through official channels. I could simply have discovered it as part of my ongoing investigation of the notorious con man Aelfread Aelfson’s activities.”

  The gears turned in the Elf’s brain and his fingers bit into my hand with surprising strength. Not that it was painful, not with Aelfie’s noodle strength, but it was full of emotion. After a long moment of silence, he said, “No, Bunny.” He turned his head, not to her, but down at me. His gold-green eyes danced as an honest smile took shape on his lips. “What kind of Prince would I be if I shirked my responsibilities? No, I will take the stone to Father personally, regardless of the consequences.”

  I frowned up at him. “I don’t know if I should be embracing you or punching you.” I settled on a measure of both, returning his fiercely warm grip while thumping him lightly in the thigh with my off hand. �
��Your conscience has horrible timing.”

  Bunny did laugh at that one, one ear flopping cutely over her snout. “Very well, Prince.” She glanced down at me. “I need to check in with my masters and inform them of the situation both here and with the stone. We will head out as soon as I am finished.” She let go of Aelfie’s shoulder and started to hop-walk to the door of the warehouse. “If you two need to talk or do anything, I would suggest taking care of it now. There may not be a chance later.”

  We watched the rabbit go as she slid open the warehouse door and slipped out. The moment she was gone, I turned towards Aelfie, my frown turning into an honest-to-God scowl. “Why are you doing this, Aelfie?”

  “Doing what precisely, my dear?” he lied.

  “Don’t try to throw dung in my eyes!” Anger I barely understood welled up as I pulled my hand out of his. “Are you only being responsible now because your back is to the wall? Are you doing it because you think it makes you look heroic or noble or something foolish like that?”

  Aelfread was taken aback by my sudden tirade. “No! Nothing like that, Mary, I swear to you.” He was telling the truth this time, at least I was pretty sure he was. Waving his hands dramatically in front of him, his normally glib tongue was tripping over itself. “You know I am no hero or anything of the sort. I simply want … I just … “

  My hands on my hips, I leaned forward while pushing up on my tiptoes. “Come on, Aelfread, out with it! You brought me into all this; I deserve to know why you’re now bent on blowing your way back out of my life and off into Elf prison!”

  Our little tiff was drawing plenty of attention, not that I noticed or cared. I don’t think Aelfread cared either as his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. Even upset, he was beautiful. “I certainly do not want to be locked in the gilded cage that Father will doubtless shove me in but, glorious Light, how can I turn away from responsibility for this? I brought ruin upon your doorstep and … I care about that. It hurts me to think that.”

  “Now is an awfully late time to worry about that.” Still, it touched me that he did truly care. “But leaving now, how do you think that will make things better for me?” I cocked my head coyly. “Especially after that kiss, do you believe I’m going to let you get away like that?”

  Aelfread threw up his hands. “How can it be that you, an imminently responsible and loyal lady of unrivaled charms, can now berate me for wanting to live up to the lofty principles you have displayed multiple times now?” He pointed right at my nose. “You cannot be hypocritical like this, stirring my heart by being so damnably good and not letting me do likewise!”

  I knew I was blushing furiously, my face matching my hair and beard, but I didn’t back down, trying to push up just an extra half an inch. “I’m not being a hypocrite! I didn’t ask you to do any of this then and I’m not now!”

  The crowd was thick now with all manner of Figment and all shape of Goblin. Still, we were too wrapped up in our little back-and-forth to notice. “You did not, yes, but how could I live with myself … live with you if I could not be half as noble as you, dear Mary? Answer me that!”

  “Live with me?! What in the Endless Mine” – apparently, that was one of my best curses in Truespeech – “do you mean by that?!”

  Aelfie’s face was red from a combination of emotion and shouting. “It means I love you, all right?!”

  I matched his volume and beat it out, bellowing back, “Really?! Well, I love you too!”

  “Fine!”

  “Beautiful!”

  We were both breathing hard, faces crimson, and staring into each other’s eyes. Our bodies were tense and quivering, separated by mere inches as I had pushed up and Aelfie had bent over further and further. There was a moment of hair-trigger quiet, the air between us filled with raw emotion and raw sexual tension.

  Polly’s strong, grandmotherly voice shattered the stand-off with honest bluntness. “Why don’t you simply kiss each other already?”

  We both blinked and mutually decided that the Goblin’s suggestion was a mighty fine idea indeed. Aelfread dropped to one knee, I grabbed him by the back of his head, and our lips met in a raw, passionate kiss.

  Chapter 27

  IT WAS ALMOST time to go. Bunny had pulled Aelfread aside, something about his father, which gave me plenty of time to think about what I had just done and said, not to mention everything else that had dropped on me since we had walked up to that warehouse. Usually, when life threw obstacles on the road, I didn’t stop to think about them until I passed them by. This was different.

  I found myself outside, leaning against the aluminum siding and staring up at the clear night sky. Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the panting dog or clank of junk until Polly had opened her mouth.

  “Quite a night, is it not?” the Goblin asked over Didymus’ snuffling.

  I laughed. It felt good. “You could say that.”

  The big mutt settled down right next to me, Polly letting out a comfortable sigh. “I believe the Prince and the Huntress will finish their parlay soon and then we will be off.” I could feel her watery eyes glancing over at me. “As you ride into danger, it would be best to have a clear mind going ahead.”

  Rubbing my face, I sighed. “I guess it’s obvious that my mind isn’t that clear.”

  “It’s only logical, young Dwarf, even if I was blind and deaf. An orphan drawn into a strange world and dire machinations would be in chaos.” She clucked her tongue. “And that doesn’t even count that little relationship drama we were witness to.”

  “Well, I’ll deal with it.” I did crack a smile, looking down at the knight. It was a weird experience to talk to someone shorter than me that wasn’t a kid. “I do appreciate the concern, though.”

  She nodded, holding her visor up with a gloved hand. “Empathy is one of the Light’s highest principles. If you wish to speak of your woes, my ears are open.” Up close, I could tell just how old she had to be if Goblins aged like people. Her face was lined and wizened, with wisps of white hair tucking out of the edges of the cooking pot.

  I barely knew Polly and while I felt like I could trust her, I didn’t know how much of that was that pervasive warmth that flooded off her. The fact was that some things were personal and had to remain such. All the same, there were other things I wanted to share, that maybe she could help me with.

  “Well, you said this was a strange world and I’d agree with that wholeheartedly. I can handle that, though; I really can.” I chewed on my lip, a bit hesitant to go on. “This whole ‘Holy Light’ thing is a little worrisome for me, no offense.”

  “How so?” If she was indeed offended, she didn’t show it.

  “It probably won’t make any sense to you, being a believer, but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around anything like God.” I twined a braid of my beard around a finger. “I was raised in a carnival, you see. I have seen every kind of mentalist, trickster, snake-oil salesman, and faith healer and all they taught me is that faith is a great way to make coin and manipulate people.”

  “Oh, it makes sense to me. To know that there are strange creatures in the world is one thing. Mankind discovers new things in nature every day, after all! But to be shown something beyond our existence, to have that confirmed, it is always mind-blowing.” Polly nodded gravely. “As for the rest, well, faith is like any other force in the world. It can be used for good and for ill. You have your televangelists and your fire and brimstone preachers but you also have your saints and selfless priests.

  “More importantly, do we not have faith in our fellow people and in ourselves? It is the same force, I propose, and it is that boundless faith in the world that is the foundation of the Light as we know it.”

  I mulled that over. It made sense even if it was vague as all get out. “So, is God real then? Or something like God?” Honestly, I was glad to channel this discussion into musings on God. It was a lot less embarrassing than talking about Aelfread.

  “Ah, youngsters! You always drive to t
he big question, do you not?” Polly laughed, a sound answered by a chuff from Didymus. “The truth is that no one truly knows.”

  I hadn’t expected that answer. “Huh?” was my glib reply.

  “The Light is not about worshipping some grand, otherworldly being.” Her voice was rising, swelling with some inner fire, as she stood up in the stirrups of her canine saddle. “No, the Light is that glow that dwells in every person’s heart, swelling with every good deed and positive emotion. It is about love for one another and faith in the common good. It is the message that spreads like a flame, finding fuel from fertile heart to fertile heart.”

  It was fascinating to watch. Not because Polly’s speech sounded like every other holy roller I had ever known, no. It was the differences that made their mark. It was so upbeat and so completely selfless in subject and tone, told with an honest conviction that was hard to find in the oh-so-cynical 21st century.

  It helped that it was far easier for me to buy into something that was more akin to a self-help book than a holy scripture. God was apparently the limit of what I could handle right then so I was happy to not have to worry about it.

  “I guess I can buy that,” I said with a grin. “It sounds like something out of Woodstock but we could use a little more peace and love in the world.”

  Polly swayed in the stirrups, still managing to stand as Didymus started feverishly scratching at his neck. “Ah, love! Perhaps we should speak of – “

  “Do we have to?” I pushed off the wall and planted my fists on my hips, deciding to talk about it anyway. “It’s absolutely nuts! Aelfread is gorgeous, don’t think I don’t know that, and we have some … thing for certain. But shouting that out … look, it’s only been a day or maybe two since we met.” I started pacing around in a tight circle, gravel and trash crunching under my boots. “In the real world, people do not fall in love like that, not real love. Not without knowing each other! How could I say that to him, especially with the fact that he might wind up locked away after this?”