Page 43 of Curse of the Wolf
I’ll show him,came her prompt reply.The license plate didn’t pan out. It’s linked to the address of the lavender farm that’s up for sale.
I suppose that isn’t surprising.
I’ll get Dad on this though.
Thanks.I showed Duncan my phone when he looked over. “Shall we visit Rue while we’re waiting on our researcher? The good news is that if shecanheal you, it’ll likely be in the form of a sumptuous potion that will perk your tastebuds right up.”
“Your tastebuds looked more tortured than perked when you drank her last potion.”
“They were perkily tortured.”
“My lady, I believe you’re lying to me.”
“I didn’t want to squelch your optimism for an alchemical solution.”
“I’ll acceptanysolution that we can find. If I must imbibe a potion, will you buy me chocolate-flavored espresso drinks to wash down the taste?”
“Of course. I’ll even fish coins out of the koi pond if I need the funds.”
“Dear Luna, I believe you’re falling in love with me.”
“It’s your charm. It’s polishing my jaded edges.” I leaned against him and blinked a few times, trying to stave off the tears forming in my eyes.
“It does have that effect on ladies.” Duncan wrapped his arms around me, and we stood there until rain started falling, dampening the rest of my face.
14
Rue didn’t haveany immediate knowledge about Duncan’s curse, but she found it fascinating and asked him to wait while she looked through her books for information on ways that magical artifacts could be linked to people. He wore a less-than-delighted expression when she took out a magnifying glass to examine and measure his scar but waved for me to return home when I started yawning, the long night having caught up with me.
“Get some rest and something to eat,” he said.
He might have heard my stomach growl earlier.
“Okay.” I stepped toward the door but paused when Rue pointed at the medallion around his neck.
All except part of the chain was hidden under his shirt, but she could doubtless sense its magic.
“What is that?” she asked. “A new ornament, yes? It does not have the power to protect you from this curse?”
“If it does,” Duncan said, pulling it out from under his shirt, “it’s not been inclined to use it on me yet. I’ve even rubbed it andaskedit to, though I don’t know if there are command words that summon its power. Before, it automatically protected mefrom some orange beams that would have made me double over in pain. But it might only defend a person against acute threats.” He looked toward me, eyebrows raised.
“I don’t know.” I hadn’t thought to ask him about the medallion earlier but wasn’t surprised he’d attempted to elicit its powers. “All Mom’s medallion ever did for me was glow when I touched it. It didn’t stop Radomir’s goons from attacking us. Or a weirdo bipedfuris from chasing me.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. As far as I knew, Duncan hadn’t told Rue that he had old-world blood and could become a two-legged werewolf as well as a regular wolf.
But she, with her magnifying glass now pointed at the medallion, didn’t seem to hear my words.
“Unlike with that case,” Duncan said, “there aren’t any inscriptions on it that I noticed. It does warm slightly to your touch if you sleep with it under your pillow and brush against it in the night.”
“When my mom said you could borrow it, I doubt she had pillow cuddling in mind.”
“I feel obligated to keep it somewhere secure.”
“You don’t have a safe in your van, huh?”
“Just a few strongboxes that hold magical equipment. And the glovebox.”
“Where you keep your eighties cassettes?”
