Page 35 of Quest of the Wolf

“Yes, it guarded the medallion. Rather, Iassumethat was what it stood watch over. I doubt it was placed there to keep an eye on the bats.” Duncan pointed at headlights now visible through the trees. Whoever was honking, their vehicle was stationary. “The beeping started after I lopped off the first of its wheels.”

“It didn’t like that? Weird.”

“Quite. I think… That isn’t one of Radomir’s thugs.”

No. As he spoke the words, we drew close enough that I could sense Jasmine’s familiar presence. When my truck came fully into view, she stood outside it, the engine idling as she peered into the forest in our direction.

“Had I known one of your relatives was responsible for the honking,” Duncan said, “we could have continued our most pleasant cave rendezvous.”

“You would have been okay with my niece walking in on us?”

“I do prefer my cave rendezvous to be private, butshewouldn’t have used a magical control device to force me—toattemptto force me—to attack you.”

I caught his slip, and it wasn’t comforting, but I didn’t comment on it.

By the truck, Jasmine had shifted from looking toward us to back down the dark logging road. I couldn’t see or sense anything in that direction, but more than a yearning for my scintillating company might have prompted her to drive up here.

“Hey, Jasmine.” I lifted a hand as we stepped out of the undergrowth and onto the bumpy dirt road. “I didn’t expect you to follow me.”

“I got cold,” she said, “so I decided to drive farther up the road and see if I could sense you.”

“The raccoon wouldn’t spoon with you?”

Duncan blinked.

“It didn’t show up again,” Jasmine said. “My fearsome werewolfness probably scared it away.”

“I’m sure that’s it.”

She looked back the way she’d come again. “There were also some headlights visible through the trees, a couple of cars that had turned off the highway and were coming up the road. I thought it was weird that someone would be visiting a mushroom farm in the rain at night. Or at all. And we hadn’t seen anything else back here that would prompt visitors…”

“There’s an enchanted cave formerly guarded by a robotic dog and bats with glowing bellies.” Duncan waved toward the waterfall.

“You think that attracts a lot of visitors?” On the way to it, I hadn’t stumbled across a trail, so I doubted many people knew about the cave—especially if it was on private land.

“It attractedme.” Duncan flattened his hand on his chest.

“Yeah, but a lot of weird things attract you.”

He smiled and gazed at me but didn’t suggest thatIwas weird.

Two beams of light cut through the trees from down the slope, the direction of the mushroom building.

“Did they see you driving up here?” I asked Jasmine.

“They might have. I got out of there before they reached the raccoon den, but it was too dark to drive up without headlights, so they could have seen the truck. It’s also quiet enough out here that they could haveheardit.” Jasmine spread her arms. “I didn’t know if I would find you. I thought I might get lost or stuck in one of the crater-sized potholes. Congrats on rescuing Duncan, by the way.”

“He didn’t exactly need rescuing,” I said.

“Except from my supreme loneliness and angst over not being able to visit you,” he said.

“I thought there would be shackles involved.”

“Intangible magical shackles, yes.”

I tilted my head as I considered him. “Can you come back with us now? Or are you compelled to keep hunting for the medallion? Theothermedallion?”

Duncan looked toward the headlights. Whoever was driving had decided the mushroom farm held no interest and was continuing up the mountain. Toward us. Or toward Duncan, anyway. His forehead scar glowed faintly in the night.

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