Chapter 44 : Carmen's Offer

I had no desire to talk to Carmen, but it didn’t seem like I had much of a choice as I followed Brandt and Jared through the village.

“I thought she was supposed to be gone by now?” I asked, the words sharpened to an edge.

“She was refusing to leave until she talked to you first,” Jared replied.

I still didn’t understand his thought process when it came to Carmen. He was very nonchalant about it, especially since he had his suspicions about Carmen possibly being a spy for Aeris, or at least working for him in some capacity.

We left the village proper and began walking into the sparse woods that surrounded the village, walking along the same trail we’d taken during my arrival in the village weeks ago now. Several cottages dotted the area, their windows casting the forest floor in muted amber light as we trudged through mud and fog.

Three men were sitting on a porch, basking in lantern light, while a fourth roamed nearby in his wolf form.