Third Time's the Charm

by K. J. Emrick

  No, not barking. Howling. That’s not a dog.

  It’s a wolf.

  I put the picture down on the table, squaring it to the edge. “That’s a really unique piece. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. That’s assuming someone sold it. I can check the pawn shops and the online sites, and I know most of the shady dealers in the city…”

  With a heavy breath, Molly begins crumbling apart the last of her Pop Tart, letting the little pieces fall onto the plate. “No. That’s not it. They didn’t take it to sell it. I mean, the necklace is valuable, sure. Really valuable. But that’s not why it got stolen.”

  “Right. You said it was a matter of life and death. Whose life? Whose death?”

  “My fiancé’s,” she says, and now there’s a tear in her voice. “Without the necklace, he stops being himself. He stops being…human.”

  Okay. That sure caught my attention. “So you’re telling me the necklace is…some kind of charm?”

  “Well, yeah, I guess you could call it that. It’s magic.”

  “A magic charm.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Magic that keeps your boyfriend…human.”

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  Not human. Sure. What’s that supposed to mean? “So what is he, if he isn’t human?”

  She reaches out again, to the photograph, and taps the center of the pendant on the necklace where the wolf’s head howls at an unseen moon.

  “This is what he is. Kurt Dachiana is a werewolf.”

  Chapter Three

  Without my future-sense being able to work on her, I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting that. And here I thought Molly being a witch was the most bizarre thing I’d heard this week.

  Listen, I’m as open minded as the next girl, but I think I’ve had more than my fair share of changes in my life. Once upon a time my world was all about order and rules and fighting to bring safety to an insane world. I was a United States Marine, and sure I could see three seconds into my future but that only made me a better soldier. That wasn’t magic, it was just me. My world made sense.

  Then I retired into civilian life and decided to put my skills and my talent to use as a private investigator, and I never got rich, but I was good at it. People came to me for help, and I helped them. Everything was in its place.

  Now, I’m finding out all about the stuff that had always been around me in the shadows, all this time, hidden from everyone’s view by a curtain of rational thought that says there are no monsters. No boogie men. Nothing that goes bump in the night. That’s a lie. The truth is that there are magical things out there and some of them have walked right out of the world of myth and legend to sit down with me and have coffee and Pop Tarts.

  But werewolves?

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I finally tell her. I realize that might sound a bit rude but, come on. She’s dating a freaking werewolf? That’s taking the furries craze a little too far.

  Molly blinks at me and sticks out her bottom lip. “That’s not fair. I came to you for help because I thought you’d understand. You of all people. You know things aren’t always as they appear.”

  “Well, sure, but you’re telling me your boyfriend grows hair and fangs every full moon and goes running through the woods chasing after deer for his supper.”

  “He does not! He’s beautiful when he’s a wolf. He’s beautiful when he’s a man too and we…we’re in love.”

  I could see it written on her face. This woman had fallen for a man who was part animal, and she wasn’t ashamed of it. Far from it. She was fiercely devoted to him. There was pride for her man in her voice. Pride, and deep concern.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “This is all a little new to me. You and your friends might know all about me, but I’m only just finding out how deep this rabbit hole goes. You’re right, I shouldn’t be sarcastic when you think Kurt is in trouble. So, he’s a werewolf. This is his necklace…his charm…and someone stole it from him? I’m guessing it was when he was, um, in his wolf form? Is that the right way to say it?”

  “Luping. It’s called luping when someone turns into a werewolf. It’s from the Latin word for wolf which is lupus.”

  “Uh. Sure. That. Do they turn into real wolves, down on all fours, or are they like the ones in the movies that walk on two legs and have nearly human faces?”

  “Phbbt. Don’t get me started on movies. The wolves in Twilight were pretty close, I guess, but have you seen the way they look in those Underworld flicks? Gah. Not even close.”

  Well, I guess that answers that. “I kind of prefer the Resident Evil movies.”

  “Zombies. Don’t get me started on them, either.” Dramatically, she rolls her eyes. “You’re right, though. Kurt had taken the Garoul Necklace off so he could change for the Harvest Moon, right at the September Equinox.” She must have seen the blank expression on my face, because she gives me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. There’s a lot more to being a werewolf than people realize. You have to know the cycles of the moon, and star charts, and a lot about animal care.”

  “Well, sure. I guess that makes sense. It’s called a Garoul Necklace?”

  “Yes. It’s a family heirloom and the symbol of the Dachiana family. They’re the last of the pureblood werewolves and because of that they lead the other clans. They rule over them all. The necklace represents their royal status. It’s more than that, though. The magic it holds is part of the family heritage. Kurt’s family is the last of the purebred werewolves. They’re considered royalty. Lupus Regem.”

  My Latin is a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure she just called her fiancé the King of the Wolves.

  Oh.

  Wow.

  “So you’re saying someone stole what amounts to the crowned jewels of werewolf royalty?”

  “Uh, yeah I guess so but like I told you it’s more than that. The necklace itself is gold and platinum and probably worth the gross domestic product of Iceland, you know, or something like that. But that’s not the point.”

  “This is where the life and death part comes in, right?”

  “Yes. Um. So…see, I love him.”

  “Yeah, you said that.”

  “Right, and I love dogs. Absolutely love dogs, and wolves are sort of dogs, you know?”

  “Sure, but…?”

  Her freckled face burned red with embarrassment. “But you can’t be with a wolf. Not the way I want to be with Kurt.”

  Sexually, she was saying. “Oh,” was all I could say. Yeah, that was something else I never would have thought about in my old life. How to love a werewolf.

  “So…” I reached for the words. “You two can only be together when he’s in his human form? When he’s, er, not luping?”

  “Right. Um. And we really like being together. Like, really really like being together.”

  “Yeah, I get the picture. Young love. Your heart flutters and your mind spins and you go after people like animals—”

  Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the best turn of phrase, considering.

  Her blush deepens and her eyes dance with a smile as they look away from mine. “Yeah. It’s exactly like that, Sidney. So, um, we decided that he would stay in his human form, as much as possible, to be with me. He would give up being the wolf as much as possible. That’s how much he loves me. Except for when he has to change for formal events, like the Harvest Moon, he would live his life as a man. Otherwise, he uses the necklace.”

  “I’m sorry…he uses the necklace? The charm, you mean?”

  “Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. The Garoul Necklace isn’t just valuable, it’s magic.” She takes up her cup of coffee, and downs it all in one long swallow, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand when she’s done. “The spell on it keeps him human. At least, for as long as he’s wearing it.”

  So that was it. The necklace was some sort of magical item. A charm. Kind of like Harry’s rug, I guess, with all the rooms and space that he has inside of it. He swears there’s a sauna
in there, hot rocks and everything.

  “He’s human when he wears it,” I repeat, making myself believe those words. I’m taking a lot on faith here, but I don’t think this young, love-struck woman has any reason to lie to me about this. “So when he takes it off, what happens?”

  A sudden tear slips out of the corner of her eye. “The magic’s been in him for so long now that the only way he can turn human is if he has the necklace on. As soon as he takes it off, the luping takes him and he goes back to his wolf form. He’s been stuck like that for nearly a week now. Ever since the Harvest Moon. I told him,” she sniffs angrily. “I told him not to go to the September Equinox ceremony, but he said he had to. As the ruling clan the Dachianas all had to be there. His mother and his whole family demanded that he be there as part of the royal lineage, and he said he had to go, and I just knew something bad was going to happen. He never listens to me. I’m a witch, and I know when the universe is talking to me, but he never listens he never…!”

  She’s back to letting her words run away with her again, tripping over her own thoughts as they push to come out of her, all at once. I can pretty much piece it all together. Kurt, her fiancé, uses this Garoul Necklace so the two of them can be together all the time. He takes it off when he needs to go wolf—when he’s luping—and then has her put it back on him when he’s done with his family obligations.

  Only this time, when he took it off, someone stole it. That leads to a couple of really interesting possibilities. I may not know squat about werewolves, but I know about thieves. I have to believe they’re the same in the world of magic users as they are anywhere else.

  People only steal things for a couple of reasons. One, because they want the thing they steal for themselves—either to sell it for money or to satisfy their own jealousy. The second reason people steal something is because they don’t want someone else to have it.

  Believe me, it’s just that simple. Sure, there’s variations on the theme sometimes but on a basic level, every thief has one of those two motives. It’s the same thing with Arnie Chen’s statue, that amazing piece of art with the dragon dancing around the unicorn. Whoever took that from him didn’t take it to sell. They just wanted Chen to feel the loss of not having it.

  Eventually, that fact is going to lead me to his thief. Just like I think it will here, with Molly’s predicament. So what I need now, is information.

  “Where was the necklace before it was stolen?” I ask her.

  Using the rough leather of her jacket, she dabs away the tears from her eyes, and a little hint of a smile trembles on her lips. “Does that mean you’ll take the case? You’ll help me and Kurt?”

  I have to wonder if there was ever really any doubt about it. This is me we’re talking about. I’d cross the street in the driving rain to help a cat out of a tree, and I don’t even really like cats. “Yeah, I’ll be taking your case. I mean, if all of your friends know about me already—”

  “Well, just the magical ones,” she clarifies.

  “Still. Who am I to disappoint all the People of Magic in Detroit? Just like the guy who was here right before you. Mister Chen.”

  She gives me an empty stare in return. “Who?”

  “Arnie Chen. You must have seen him in the hallway. He left right before you knocked on my door. You can’t miss the guy, he’s as big as a house.”

  “Um, no. Sorry. I didn’t see anyone out there in the hall.”

  Thinking back, I know there wasn’t time for Chen to lumber down the hall without literally running into Molly. If she didn’t see him, then where did he go? Magic, I thought to myself. I still had a lot to learn about what People of Magic could do with their powers, and what Chen could do in particular. I mean, for all I know he turned into smoke and just drifted away.

  Don’t laugh. I’m sitting across from a witch whose werewolf boyfriend is trapped in an animal’s body for the rest of his life unless I help them find a magical charm.

  How’s your day going?

  “So Molly, let’s start with your boyfriend. I mean, I understand the guy is stuck as a furry, four-legged creature with dog breath and a bad habit of staying up late to howl at the moon…”

  I trail off as something clicks in my mind.

  Dog breath.

  “Molly…” Oh, wow. This is just too weird. “Uh, yesterday, when you said you had to rush out of here because your dog was in the car. Did you actually mean…?”

  Her slim frame deflates in the chair. “Yes. That was Kurt. I didn’t know if I could trust you and I just…I have to keep him with me at night or he just, um, he runs. It’s his animal instincts, you see, and it’s not his fault, but I have no idea where he’s going to go or…or what he’s going to do. He’s not like most werewolves, Sidney. He isn’t. I promise you he isn’t. He doesn’t like to kill. He doesn’t want that to be a part of him but it’s part of who he is, and I just want to keep him safe and let him know that I’m not giving up on him no matter what…”

  “Okay, okay, and I believe you.” I mean, I believe her as much as I can. This is all starting to make sense to me, and I don’t know what worries me more, the fact that this is real or the fact that I can just be okay with it this quick. “Let’s pretend for a moment that I have no idea what most werewolves are like, and you can explain it to me in simple terms. One syllable words would be even better.”

  The joke at my own expense almost brings out her smile again. Then she remembers why she’s here, and what’s happened to Kurt, and her expression goes sour again as she starts to speak.

  “Werewolves have historically been a very violent race. The legends, the stories that inspire all those movies and TV shows? They earned every bit of that. Back in Europe, where they come from, there were entire towns wiped out during full moons. They’re more civilized now, more modern, but only just barely. They still hunt for food, and it’s not always animals like deer and rabbits, either.”

  “Hunt? They hunt in the city?”

  “There’s actual forests up north a bit that they use, a substantial area that they paid to have set aside as a wildlife preserve.”

  Okay, well, that’s actually kind of smart, in a deadly kind of way. It also means the werewolves must have a ton of money at their fingertips. Buying chunks of forestland in Michigan can’t be cheap. But at least they’re hunting for animals where nobody is likely to run into them accidentally and risk their lives—

  “But they still hunt in Detroit sometimes,” Molly casually adds.

  Oh, crap.

  “You’re serious?” I ask her. “Doesn’t anyone notice people going missing?”

  She only shakes her head. “They run down the homeless, or elderly shut-ins, or runaways. People nobody’s going to miss. But they aren’t all like that, Sidney,” she rushes to assure me. “Kurt was different. He was kind. He was gentle. That’s why I loved him. He didn’t like the violence his people brought on human beings. He wanted a change. He’s next in line to lead the werewolves after his mother the queen dies, and her health isn’t very good right now. He’s the oldest of his brothers and sisters. He already has plans to make them more civilized. He’s going to outlaw the hunting of humans. He’s going to make it a crime to kill a human, punishable by death.”

  “Wait…hold on. You mean it isn’t a crime now? There’s werewolves out there hunting and killing humans and that’s just…just something they do?”

  She nods, disgust at the werewolf status quo clearly written in her sky-blue eyes. “Exactly. It’s sad and it’s tragic and it’s wrong. Kurt knew that.” The tears come back again, trailing down her face. “My Kurt was going to stop all that.”

  “That sounds like a pretty big change for his people.”

  “Well, sure, but he was going to make it work. He was going to be the one to bring his people into a modern age of civilized life. He’s a good man, Sidney, and a great werewolf. He really is.”

  He sounds it, actually. It isn’t everyone who will turn their back on their
whole way of life because they know it’s wrong. That takes a certain kind of courage. “And I’m betting there were a lot of people who didn’t like his ideas.”

  Molly shrugs that away. “Of course. There was some grumbling. Maybe a few threats.”

  “I also bet there were some werewolves who didn’t like him spending so much time with you, am I right? A human woman, and not a wolf. You said they were purebloods. Being with you would taint that bloodline in their eyes, right?”

  Molly blinks, starting to see where I’m going with this. “He ruffled some fur, yes. You think…you think someone took the necklace to keep him from going through with his plans?”

  “I think it’s a good place to start, anyway. Can he be king if he’s always a wolf?”

  That, right there, is the craziest question I think I’ve ever asked in my life.

  Molly doesn’t think so. The look she gives me is very serious. “No, he can’t. Some of the older wolves stay in that form all the time, but not the Dachianas. They need to be human sometimes to interact with the other races, make deals, make plans, whatever. If he’s always a wolf, then he can’t take over. He can’t lead.”

  “And the only thing that can make him human again is the Garoul Necklace, now that it’s cast this spell on him?”

  “Yes. You got it. Oh! So they might have stolen the necklace to keep him from changing everything, okay, I get it. See, Sidney? I knew you were the right person to help us.”

  Sure. It’s only taken me fifteen minutes to understand the basic problem. At this rate I should have the whole case solved in about a year. Yay me. “Where is Kurt now?”

  “Um. I left him with his brother. He said he’d watch over him for me.”

  “Okay. That brings up another question. I obviously need you to tell me all about the people in his life but for right now let’s get back to basics. Where was the necklace before it was stolen?”

  That strikes some kind of nerve. She folds her arms across herself and looks away from me into the corner of the kitchen. “It was in my apartment,” she admits. “I took it off Kurt the night of the Harvest Moon and brought him to the festival in his wolf form. Then I went back and went right to bed because I knew Kurt would be gone until morning doing his duty as the Lupus Regem, leading his people in the September Equinox rituals. I knew he wouldn’t be back until after sunrise.” Her cheeks go red again, this time with anger. “I woke up early the next morning because I was going to meet him before dawn with the Garoul Necklace and spend the day together with him like we planned but when I opened the box to get the necklace out…it was…it was…”