Hunt of the Dwarf King Read online

  Finn turned and saw that the leader was now kneeling on the other side of the woman to whom he had just given the potion. He checked on her and saw that her color had returned, but she still seemed a little dazed. The elf leader was gazing down, tears in his eyes.

  “What the fuck were you thinking, man?” Finn growled, reaching across the woman and grasping the amulet around the elf’s neck. With a quick pull, he broke the delicate gold chain with a snap.

  The elf looked up, his face swollen and red with blood where the branch had cut his cheek open. He looked past Finn at the monstrosities he had created, and new tears ran from his eyes. “I was just trying to make a place for us. I was told the amulet would let the trees grow large, like back in our home cities. He didn’t say anything about this happening,” he cried, waving a hand at the swaying, malformed, enormous pine trees behind Finn.

  “Who told you that?” Finn asked, quickly examining the amulet, and recognizing the type, if not the maker, right away.

  “Timmy.”

  Finn’s brow furrowed, and he looked up. “Timmy? Like, a little boy? That’s who you got this from?”

  The elf focused on him, confusion all over his face. “No, Timmy the broker. He sells magical oddities. Everyone knows who Timmy is.”

  Finn stored the name “Timmy” away for later and stood. He turned to the trees and took in their twisted forms. Moaning like someone in was pain that rumbled across the valley, and Finn realized it was coming from the trees, not the injured elves all around him.

  He gripped the amulet hard enough that he felt the edges biting into his palm.

  “We’re going to have to cull these three,” Garret said, stepping up next to Finn, putting his hands on his hips and sighing loudly. “They’re in too much pain, and the whole forest will go mad with it if we don’t put them out of their misery.”

  Finn held up a hand, stopping Garret from stepping forward to do the deed. “No, I can save them. Just give me a moment.”

  “They are well beyond saving, Finn. You did your best, but we were just a little too late.” Garret reached up to put a comforting hand on the big dwarf’s shoulder. “We tried to convince the others to come sooner, but by the time they agreed, we felt the trees had already gone wild with the pain. It’s a tragedy, but we can make—”

  Garret’s voice cut off as Finn started glowing purple in the late afternoon light.

  The Huldu quickly took a step back, his mouth open in shock as he recognized the amount of power flowing through the dwarf.

  Finn opened his eyes, which had gone from their normal deep brown to snowy gray as magic flowed in waves from the soil into him. He couldn’t normally pull this much power without getting burnt out, but with the amulet, he was able to immediately focus that power into something else, using himself as more of a conduit.

  Dwarven magic was unique in the universe. It was a manifestation of the physical world, unlike what elves and gnomes and most of the other Magicals practiced, which was a mechanism of the universe as a whole. A dwarf couldn’t teleport or create food, for example, but they were very good at manipulating the world around them in physical ways.

  The amulet was a focus for adding or subtracting to the physical elements of plants. Add more cellulose, and it resulted in a thicker tree trunk. The danger was when the magic was unbalanced, and something ran out of control, like in the case of the three trees. The elves had added mass to the trees, but the pines were unable to process so much growth in the minutes it took them to double in size. It would be as if a person were to grow two feet in minutes and have all their growing pains hit in one huge, aching blast.

  It was now up to Finn to try to balance those effects. The magic ran through him at an increasing rate, making the amulet warm to the touch, and causing small static charges to dance along his fingers in tingling bursts.

  The trees began to calm their angry swaying and shrink in size. It was a slow process, but the trunks were thinning, and random growths that had sprouted were flattening out. Where the roots receded, they left wide trenches of displaced dirt, making the trees unsteady on their feet, as it were.

  Several of the elves who had recovered, or were unharmed in the first place, rushed forward and began shoveling the loose soil back around the roots with their hands, their wood elf nature winning out over their fear of what the trees had become.

  A bead of sweat rolled down Finn’s forehead, stinging his eyes, despite the chill in the air. He gritted his teeth and continued to withdraw the magic from the tortured trees. He could feel his blood beginning to respond to the effort, his berserker rage threatening to come to the fore, but he fought it down as best he could. The rage would mute magical effects both against and from him; it was what made being a berserker so dangerous, but it also limited what he could do if the rage took over. Thankfully, he had a friend who knew the signs of his affliction.

  He didn’t feel Penny land on his shoulder or hear her soothing words, but when her small fingers gently wove into his hair and pressed against the back of his head, he became fully aware of her. The boiling rage subsided, flowing from him and into Penny, just like the magic had flowed from the trees, into him. Her cooling, healing touch soothed some of the pressure he was feeling, and he was able to focus more magic into the trees, speeding up the process.

  In the matter of a few minutes, the trees were back to their normal size, and the forest itself breathed a sigh of relief.

  Finn breathed his own sigh of relief, releasing the magic. His purple glow slowly subsided as his shoulders slumped slightly.

  He smiled at Penny. “Thanks for the assist, friend.” He bumped her shoulder with his head, and she rubbed the top of it, messing up his hair.

  “Shshir.” She smiled and winked.

  Chapter Three

  Finn handed the still-glowing amulet to Garret, who gingerly took it as if it were an armed bomb.

  “Be careful with that for the next few weeks,” Finn warned with a raised eyebrow. “It’s overcharged. It’ll work at a much more accelerated rate than you’re used to until the power has been used up or dissipates on its own.”

  Garret held the amulet up, his eyes wide. “How much should we hold back?”

  Finn considered, looking at Penny on his shoulder, who just shrugged.

  “I would start out at, say, ten percent and go from there,” he suggested.

  Mila walked up, a little blood smeared on her forehead from where she had wiped the sweat away with the back of her hand. She had just finished washing her hands and was using a small towel to dry them.

  “Everyone is okay, though we went through seven healing potions to get there.”

  Finn smiled, took the towel, and wiped the blood from her forehead. “Good work, Mila. You saved a lot of lives today.”

  She gave him a half-smile. “Just doing my job.”

  “Actually,” Garret said, holding up a finger, “aren’t you an anthropologist? This is very clearly not your job. I appreciate that you’re working with Finn here, but why?”

  She glanced from Garret to Finn, a smile spreading on her face. “It seems like the right thing to do. Besides, this big oaf would be lost without me.”

  Penny tooted a smoke ring from one nostril while giving her an “Ain’t-that-the-truth” look, which made Mila laugh.

  Finn, feeling like he should at least attempt to save some face, cleared his throat. “She just understands what I’ve come to realize over the last few weeks.”

  “What’s that?” Hermin asked, stepping close to the group, the elven leader in tow.

  “That the Earth is a unique and sacred place in the universe and needs to be protected.” Finn raised an eyebrow. “The ship took off with a huge store of dwarven artifacts, and now that there are no other dwarves, someone needs to police their use.” He gave the elf a withering glance. “It’s pretty obvious that everyone has forgotten what they can do, and the danger involved in their misuse.”

  The elven leader, who was much
younger-looking than Finn had first realized, hung his head. His long, brown hair fell to cover the shame on his face. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea that would happen. We were just trying to make a place we wood elves could be ourselves.”

  “Well, you have your wish,” Finn said, to Garret’s, Hermin’s, and the elves’ surprise.

  Hermin blinked and looked from Finn to the trees and back again. “What do you mean? You fixed them, didn’t you?”

  Finn inhaled deeply through his nose, putting his hands on his hips, and turned to the three trees. He watched for a few seconds as the elves packed the dirt around their roots and generally tried to make amends with the sentinels.

  “I reverted them back to their original size,” he began, stroking his beard and finding a small stick in the brown bush. “But I understand the need to have a place to be yourself, and there is nothing wrong with that, so long as it doesn’t hurt others. And unfortunately, these trees have already experienced what it would be to be giants. I can’t stop them from striving to achieve that. But we all know they would never get there on their own.”

  He turned and saw everyone looking at him expectantly.

  He continued, “I used the amulet to set them on a path to one day achieve that size. It will take a while, but from now on, they will grow at an accelerated rate, and eventually tower over the forest around them.” He pointed at the elf. “You and your people are now their caretakers. Watch over them and keep them secret, and one day, they will provide the home you long for.”

  The elf opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right words. “I...I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say you won’t meddle with things you don’t fully understand anymore.” Finn gave the man a smile and reached out a meaty hand.

  The elf slipped his slender fingers into Finn’s large grip and shook his hand. “I promise. No more dwarven artifacts.”

  Mila handed the elf a card. “Here. This is the number where you can reach Finn and me. If you need anything or have any questions, give us a call.”

  The elf took the card. “My name is Gary, by the way. Thanks, you two, for everything.”

  “No problem,” Finn said with another smile. “Now go help your people with your new charges. The displaced earth is going to need more solid replacing before the trees are safe to stand on their own.”

  Gary nodded and jogged off to join his people, who were working diligently to right the wrong they had committed.

  “I don’t know how the others will feel about this,” Garret mused, glancing over his shoulder at the two other Huldu helping the more seriously injured elves.

  “Don’t tell them,” Finn suggested with a shrug. “By the time they realize the trees are growing too fast, it will be too late. Then you can just send them my way, and I’ll explain what I did.”

  Garret and Hermin exchanged a look, then nodded to one another. “Sounds like a plan, but please don’t make things like this a habit. It’s hard enough keeping this boat running without having to make accommodations all the time,” Garret said to Finn.

  “Not a problem. I’ll be sure to keep any interference to a minimum,” Finn reassured the Huldu. “And I’ll be sure to let you know about any changes that happen to occur.”

  “Good,” Hermin said, pulling out a business card and handing it to Finn. “Now that that’s settled, I have another job for you.”

  Finn took the card and read the name. ‘Preston Meriwether’ was printed on the front, and he turned it over to find an address in embossed lettering across the back.

  “Who is Preston Meriwether?”

  To Finn’s surprise, Mila was the first to answer. “Are you kidding me? The billionaire?”

  Garret nodded. “The one and the same. He heard about you two through the grapevine and has a job if you want it.”

  “What kind of job?” Finn asked, handing the card to Penny, who took a look at both sides before handing it to Mila.

  Hermin and Garret shrugged in unison, and Garret said, “Who knows. Might have something to do with the zoo, though.”

  “The zoo?” Mila asked, getting more lost by the word. “I thought he ran a tech company. What does he have to do with the zoo? And how does he know you?”

  Her hand went to her mouth as realization dawned.

  “Oh, my god. He’s a Magical?”

  Hermin laughed at the look on her face. “He sure is. And he has his own personal zoo for us Magicals. The dangerous animals in storage need to be taken out of stasis from time to time, so while he takes care of them, he lets the Magical community come and see them.”

  “But more importantly,” Garret added, “he works as a kind of secret ambassador between the Peabrains and us. Keeping our secrets secret and greasing the cogs that help us blend in with nonmagical society. If he needs help, then it’s something serious.”

  Finn nodded, taking the card from Mila and slipping it into his back pocket. “We’ll stop by in the morning.”

  “Just be aware, he’s kind of the unofficial mayor of Magicals in Denver,” Hermin warned. “Don’t keep him waiting too long.”

  “Not a problem,” Finn reassured him. “Are you two able to take care of things here? We have a long hike back to the car.”

  Hermin looked around the clearing. “We can handle it from here. Do you want me to teleport you back to your car?”

  Mila shook her head. “No, I need the exercise.” She glanced up at Finn with a pained smile. “If I’m going to keep up with this big guy, I need to get my steps in.”

  They all shook hands and parted ways, the Huldu covering up any sign of tampering with magic, and the elves working to restore the trees.

  Finn turned to Mila and smiled. “You ready?”

  She reached out and took his hand. “Ready, but can we move a little slower now that the danger has passed? I need to take three steps for each one of yours.”

  She started off toward the car, keeping his pace slow by holding onto his hand. Penny hopped off Finn’s shoulder and climbed back into Mila’s jacket, prepared for when the chill would set in and Mila couldn’t take it anymore.

  Finn didn’t fight her, instead just enjoying the walk and the feel of her small, warm hand in his.

  Chapter Four

  Mila pulled the Hellcat into the tight space in the garage while Finn and Penny stood in the alley watching. The process of parking the large muscle car in the tight space had become second nature to the two of them. They needed to get out of the car before she pulled in, or Finn would be stuck in the car, unable to open the passenger door.

  The rumbling motor purred one final time before settling down for the night, the pinging sound of cooling metal like wind chimes in the garage. Mila opened the driver’s door and climbed out wearily.

  “I swear my ass is going to fall off,” she complained, rubbing an ass cheek with the heel of her hand. “I haven’t hiked that far since college.”

  “I could rub it if it would make you feel better,” Finn offered.

  Penny smacked him on the back of the head, but Mila laughed. “I think I’ll be okay, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

  They walked around the corner and entered the four-story building through the front door, the garage not having an entrance of its own. Mila checked the mail, and then they entered the small elevator, riding it to the top.

  “I can’t believe Preston Meriwether is a Magical, and he needs our help,” Mila mused as the elevator passed the second level.

  “He’s really that big of a deal?”

  “Uh, yeah.” She gave him an incredulous look. “He’s one of the richest men in the world. He has his fingers in basically everything, from internet companies to electric cars. He even just started a company that will be mining asteroids, once the tech catches up. He’s big time.”

  Finn was fairly unimpressed, having come from literal royalty and grown up in a palace that was more precious metal than stone. “So, he’s rich? That’s it?”

&
nbsp; “I mean, that’s a big part of it,” Mila said, slightly sobered, “but he also runs a number of charities that help people all over the world.”

  That piqued Finn’s interest. “Really? Like what?”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened on their floor. Mila fished her keys from her pocket and headed for the door. “He has a foundation that feeds millions of starving people. Another one is working to save rainforests, and I think he’s working with the Gates Foundation to wipe out malaria or something.”

  Finn nodded, liking what he was hearing. “He sounds like a stand-up guy. Now I’m a little eager to meet him.”

  Mila laughed, opening the front door. “So that’s your thing, eh? Helping people?”

  “Yeah,” Finn said seriously. “Money is just a means to an end. It’s how that means is used that’s interesting to me.”

  “Speaking of…” Mila dropped her keys in the basket on the counter by the door, scooping up Danica’s keys from a foot away and putting them in the basket as well. “Don’t forget the guy from the bank will be here in an hour and a half to set up the accounts for the mine.”

  Finn, Penny, and Mila had spent many nights thinking up how best to sell the gold they got from Draupnir. So far, they had been using the Cash for Gold places in Denver and surrounding cities, but they had personally depressed the local market for gold and decided that they needed a new way to offload it.

  They had been at a dead-end when Penny found an old gold mine for sale in middle-of-nowhere Idaho. The listing said it had been mined out, but that there was the potential for more if the mine was expanded. The price was right, so they contacted the owner, an old guy living the good life in Coeur d’Alene. He agreed to direct payments, and they signed some paperwork and wired him a hundred grand as a down payment.

  Now he and Mila were the owners of a defunct gold mine a thousand miles away that they had never seen. But it was the perfect cover for selling large amounts of gold.