“Don’t move too far or too fast,” he warned, scanning the ground and trees for any slight disturbance. “I have no idea what type of trap has been set.”
The shimmer he put up, which was designed to show him energy signatures, indicated there was definitely something only five feet from where they were standing. But it was as though the magic was being reflected - it was pinging off three or four different spots around a clearly defined area. A body-sized area. Somebody had warded the site where Carol Doukas’s body had been found.
To Ant, it was fascinating, although highly inconvenient. Carmine didn’t have any magic, but he clearly had contacts, as Viktor had explained many times. It was as though Carmine had set them a deliberate trap to make it more difficult for Ant to read the scene. It was possible Carmine even imagined Ant couldn’t find the site at all – not understanding that the magic was all the signal Ant needed.
“This all feels very weird,” Viktor grumbled, moving to Ant’s left. He was rolling his shoulders, and Ant saw his fists were clenched as if his mate was bracing for a fight. “I can’t sense anyone’s magic but yours, but my vampire senses…they don’t like it here. There’s something definitely not right.”
“Whoever did this was woefully inept.” Ant moved to the side where he believed the magic was being reflected from. The problem with a bouncing signal was that it was very difficult to locate exactly where the origin point was. He swept his hand through the air in front of him, seeking some sort of tingle, some signal that the reflecting magic’s origin was close by.
As he edged closer, Ant heard Viktor yell. Twirling around, he was shocked to see that one of Viktor’s feet was sinking into the ground. “I’m fucking stuck,” Viktor growled. “I can’t move my fucking foot, and I’m sinking.”
“How unusual. A secondary magical trap. Whoever set this genuinely didn’t want me reading this scene.” Ant glanced around at the original source of the magic he believed he’d identified. “I think you’re right. I believe Carmine was definitely hoping I couldn’t find out anything at all, probably to use that as leverage as you suggested.
“It’s annoying because he’s clearly used one of the young students from the Mage Academy. He’s either wooed the personor paid them off. Young people are likely to think working for a gangster is cool, or whatever term it is young people use.”
“Excuse me,” Viktor snapped. “Do you think we can discuss how right I am another time. Did you miss the little matter of my foot is sinking into the ground, and I can’t fucking pull it out? It’s like trolls have grabbed hold of my shoe and they won’t let go.”
“It won’t be trolls. Don’t worry about it,” Ant said, still looking for the source of the magic protecting the likely body site. “Magic quicksand allows a person to sink at the rate of roughly six inches every two minutes. By my calculations I’ve got about five minutes before you get into too much trouble. Even then, it’s only going to go up to your knee, so it will be well away from any vital organ.”
“Have you factored in the weight of vampire bones?” Viktor was frantically pulling at his leg, but it wouldn’t come free.
Ant could have told him that, technically, there was no way out of magical quicksand without using more magic, but he got the impression Viktor didn’t want to listen.
“The equation has nothing to do with the density of vampire bones,” Ant said calmly. “Now, please hush a minute, I’ve got to find the source of the original magic ward. There’ll be something here. This magic user is too young to have laid something without providing a talisman.”
“I’ll give you fucking talisman hunting. Get me out of this hole!”
“I’m working on it. I will get you out. But if I don’t do this properly, then the spell could backfire, or I could trigger something else. There. There it is.” Tucked under a protruding root of a large tree, Ant spotted a tiny earthenware pot. Going over, Ant picked it up, feeling a slight zing up his arm as the magic in the pot realized it was being disturbed. He sniffed at the pot and then wrinkled his nose.
“This is newly done,” he said. “This talisman hasn’t been here very long at all, probably only in the last couple of days. Which ties in again with what you said. Carmine likely had this done the same day he came to us wanting me to investigate his sister’s murder. This is so annoying, though. The person who set this is really young, and…”
“What is annoying,” Viktor interrupted him, “is that you’re not following the adage about saving your mate above all else. My leg is literally stuck in the ground. I dread to think what this mess has done to my shoe and my pants. Get me out!”
Viktor sounded panicked, which was surprising. Ant figured he’d better move quickly. “I promise this will only take a moment more. Two at the most.”
“What happens if you shut off the magic?” Viktor’s voice rose. “Is my leg going to stay stuck in the ground forever?”
“No, but I’m not sure your distress is helping matters. It’s probably feeding the magic that’s holding you. Please just wait a moment.” Ant would dearly have loved to have had time to study the talisman – it was crude, but it was working, and that took an element of skill. But Viktor’s panic levels were increasing, and Ant had to move fast.
Encasing the talisman in his own magic, Ant put it on the ground and stamped on it. The clay smashed apart, causing a flurry of sparks to rise up about Ant’s boot. He quickly indicated for Able to move to his other side, in case his dog got his fur singed.
The shimmery, reflective ward between the trees flickered for a moment, then disappeared. Now it was gone, Ant could feel the energies in the spot – dark, desperate…although that might have been Viktor.
“Ant, my dearest. I, more than anyone else, appreciates your deliberate nature, your meticulous attention to detail, and howyou instinctively know how to deal with any scene. But at the risk of sounding insensitive, this shit is freaking me out. Get me out of this dirt. It’s almost up to my knee!”
“Aww, you’re being complimentary again.” That always made Ant feel special. He never thought he needed that sort of thing before, having lived his life not really caring what other people thought about him. But since Viktor had come along, he found he liked it when Viktor said something sweet to him.
“I want to compliment you on your ability to get me free. In case you haven’t noticed, we have another problem. I haven’t got a tape measure, so my estimates are not scientific or academic in anyway, but I’m fairly sure I’m sinking faster than six inches every two minutes.”
Ant took another look. His mate was right. “Honestly, I’m going to have to speak to the head dean at the Mage Academy about this. That little sod who made this mess doesn’t even know how to set a spell with the correct parameters. What are they teaching mages these days?”
He clearly didn’t have the time to look for another talisman. The dirt was already halfway up Viktor’s knee and rising fast. Viktor’s other leg was bent at an almost impossible angle, as if Viktor was terrified of falling and being sucked in even farther.
Indicating for Able to stay, Ant hurried over to Viktor’s side, peering at the ground where his leg was disappearing. “It’s a very small hole, which is a bonus,” he said. “It was sheer fluke that you stepped on it. Clearly, the mage wasted most of his magic on the talisman side of things and…”
“Ant,” Viktor growled.
“I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Crouching down, Ant put his hand over the dirt.
