Page 11 of Kin of the Wolf

“I would never.” I pointed at the magnet. It was even grimier than other times I’d seen him withdraw it, and I suspected my guess about whatreallycovered the bottom of the pond was correct. “That’s gross.”

Duncan pulled a set of car keys, attached by the metal ring, off the grimy cylinder. He laid them on the railing. “In case someone comes looking for them.”

That would be doubtful. They’d probably been down there for years.

Duncan reached for a larger attached item, what looked like a pocketknife, though the gunk coating it made it hard to tell. Before pulling it off, he paused, an odd expression crossing his face. He looked toward the cloudy sky.

“Everything okay?” I asked when he held the pose for several seconds without stirring. “Besides that you should be wearing gloves to touch that magnet?”

“Yes, but…”

Something plucked at my senses, the barest whisper of magic. I looked around for threats, but little had changed. A motorcycle roared on the street passing the convenience store, and someone honked in the distance, but the pond was quiet. Several ducks had settled back into the water at the far end, plucking at bugs floating on the surface.

“It’s as if he knows we were talking about them,” Duncan muttered so quietly I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly.

“What?”

He shook his head, plucked off the pocketknife, then tossed the magnet back into the water. “Nothing.”

I raised frank eyebrows.

He looked over at me with consideration. “I suppose since I seek to earn your trust I can’t withhold truths from you.”

“That’s right.” I smiled encouragingly, then held up a finger and delved into a pocket. I withdrew a bar of chocolate, broke off a piece, and held it up so he could see it.

“Are you offering that to solicit the behavior you want from me?”

“It’s a bribe to encourage truth-telling, yes.”

Duncan wiped his hand off and accepted it. “Soon, I’ll be trained so well that the mere rustling of a chocolate wrapper will make me salivate like one of Pavlov’s dogs.”

“I’ll make sure to restock my supply so I’ve suitable rewards for good behavior.”

Duncan slid the chocolate into his mouth and gazed thoughtfully toward the cloudy sky again. “For a minute, I felt something… Something magical.”

“I got a hint of that too.”

“Did you? Hm. Was it calling to you? Almost like the moon’s magic? Beckoning you to come?”

“No, I just sensed that magic was in the area.”

“I think… themagicwas summoned elsewhere but beamed in this direction.” Duncan waved at the dock, but then, after hesitating, rested his hand on his chest.

“At you?”

“If you didn’t feel the call…” He raised his eyebrows, almost hopeful.

I shook my head.

He slumped against the railing, letting his rope droop in his hand, and touched the scar on his forehead. “It felt like the power of the device Abrams has.”

I stirred uneasily, barely able to keep from taking a step back from him. “The device that turned you against me?”

He’d been scary as the bipedfuris, especially when he’d sprung at me. I rubbed my shoulder at the memory of him knocking me flying. Even though I’d been in my wolf form, and sturdier than I was as a human, I’d hit the pavers in that courtyard hard. Multiple times.

Duncan noticed my gesture and winced.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.

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