Bound by Blood: An Urban Fantasy Adventure by Lindsay Buroker

Author:Lindsay Buroker [Buroker, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lindsay Buroker
Published: 2023-11-25T16:00:00+00:00

19

“I will enter with you,” Starblade stated after flying Arwen across Bellevue toward a strip mall with a neon-blue arrow directing them to an alley entrance for Mark’s Marks. They stood in a parking lot, motorcycles and trucks taking a few spots. “I sense shifters and half-bloods within the structure.”

A window on the front side of the strip mall let them see men and women playing air hockey and pool, but they appeared to be mundane humans. Fortunately, few customers were outside, so Arwen didn’t have to worry about encountering crowds, at least not until she visited the tattoo parlor. She thought the magical beings were in there. Starblade was right. There were a number of them. Was a tattoo parlor an appealing place to hang out? Or was the wait to be inked that long?

“I appreciate you flying me around, but you don’t have to be my bodyguard.” Arwen lifted her bow. “I can handle myself.”

Starblade looked up from the partially unrolled toilet paper that had reappeared in his hands when he’d shifted form. “You are competent with the bow, but you are not wearing the armor the gnome gave you, nor do you carry a weapon sufficient for close-quarters fighting.”

“My foraging knife works in a pinch.”

“It is not magical. And the blade is small with hair sticking out of the hilt.”

“Those are boar bristles. They’re for dusting off mushrooms.”

He gazed at her for a moment before asking, “Was your statement meant to refute mine?”

“Just educate. You could put some power into it for me if you’d like me to be better armed.” Arwen didn’t expect that and said it as a joke, but right afterward admitted that a magical foraging knife would be a dream tool.

“It is not a sufficient vessel for my power.”

“Does that mean you think it would blow up if you poured magic into it, or your ego objects to you enchanting something meant for foraging instead of killing people?”

“What I choose to use my power on has nothing to do with my ego. Items not built to hold magic are poor receptacles for it.” He shared an image with her of power entering her knife and it exploding, as if it had been zapped by lightning. The boar bristles flew off, and pieces of the charred wooden handle tumbled to the ground.

“Ah. My apologies. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

Starblade rubbed the material of the jumpsuit. Before, it had been silky. Now, it was closer to a fine mesh that lent it a slinky look. Arwen wondered if it would pinch her skin if she wore it. It wasn’t anything one would want to wear without a bra, but she did find its new sheen appealing. She considered putting it on, but she felt obligated to return it to Amber without fresh holes or bloodstains.

“You would be wise to wear this armor. Gnomes aren’t as practiced of smiths as dwarves, but their work is sometimes more clever and can be effective at deterring claws, arrows, swords, and other weapons.

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