“Were you getting anywhere?”
“No.” That was the problem and we both knew it. The locals all flared with a bit of aura when I touched them, but when asked about mages, they had no idea what we were talking about. A few of them wore glowing crystals, but other than being handed down for many generations to keep away evil spirits, they knew nothing about where they came from. Some of them were afraid of me after I asked about the mages—which was disheartening—and it made me wonder if all humans in this region flared a little. Maybe all humans did. I’d only ever been around witches and supernaturals, and now that seemed like a terrible gap in my knowledge of the world. I was second-guessing myself that much. “But how is a hike going to solve anything?”
He set down his fork. I’d momentarily wondered why the locals hadn’t flinched when he ordered enough food for four people, but I’d forgotten to think about it after tasting the food. Now I was back to thinking about it. How much did the locals know about the pack? And if they knew about the pack, then why didn’t they know anything about the mages?
I didn’t expect anyone to point me straight to ancient magic, but surely someone should have heard about the local covens or maybe some old shrine where locals went to pray. I’d take any lead I could get right now.
“A hike might solve nothing,” he said. I started to speak, but he kept on talking. “But it might give us some clues. You’ll get a better view from up high. If you look down and sense energy somewhere, then I can lead you there.”
I sighed. I’d liked the idea of staying in the village. The people were nice and exploring was more fun on flat ground. But Lucas had a point. “Okay. A hike sounds doable.”
“Good.” He started in on his second plate of food.
“So how much do they know?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Does who know?”
“These people.” I gestured around the room. Most of the round tables were empty, but the people at the few occupied ones all stared at us. Some were more subtle than others, but most kept glancing our way. I fiddled with the edge of the colorful tablecloth.
Combine the looks with the way everyone in the market treated Lucas, and something was obviously up. These people knew him. If not because he was a wolf, then for some other reason.
He didn’t answer me, but I wasn’t giving up that easily. “Who are you to them? A wolf? Or something else? Because I feel like you’re getting special treatment everywhere we go, and it’s not just because of your looks.”