“Well, that’s not helpful.”
“The dampeners.” Viktor’s jaw tightened. “Claudius clearly doesn’t want anyone communicating with the outside world without his permission.”
Ant tried anyway, pulling up Bridget’s contact. The call failed immediately. He tried texting. The message hung in limbo, spinning endlessly without sending.
Viktor’s right. It would make sense for Claudius to control all of the information flowing in and out of the estate.
“Come on.” Viktor guided him back along the garden path. “I have an idea that might help, although I’d rather we just went into the house, or better yet, the car. That’s closer.”
“I need to get in touch with Bridget if I can.”
They walked in silence, Viktor supporting him on one side and Able keeping close on the other. Ant’s headache had settled into a steady, nauseating pulse. The ambient magic still pressedagainst his own energies, but the farther they moved from the fountain, the more manageable it became.
Viktor led him toward the edge of the property, where the manicured gardens gave way to the wild forest. The magical pressure dropped noticeably - the wards were designed to keep people out, not in, so the ones on the boundaries faced outward.
Ant pulled out his phone again. Still no signal, but maybe… He waved his phone in the air above his head and then looked at it again. One bar flickered into existence.Got it.
He typed quickly, before the signal could vanish:Dig into Raven shell corps. Track the money. Find the Raven lawyer.He pressed send, willing the message to go through.
The message hung for agonizing seconds. Then:Sending...
“Come on,” Ant muttered.
The bar flickered. Died. Came back.
Delivered.
Ant exhaled. “She got it. The message went through.”
“Good.” Viktor pulled him away from the property line. “Now we’re really going back inside before Claudius notices we’re poking around his perimeter.”
The signal died completely as they moved back toward the manor. Ant pocketed his phone and focused on breathing through the headache. His nose had finally stopped bleeding, but he could feel the dried blood crusted on his upper lip.Bridget would not be impressed.
“If you’re wondering, yes, you look like shit,” Viktor said, reading his mind.
“Thank you for that assessment.”
“I’m serious. You need water and painkillers before you even think about touching Ronald Finch’s room.”
Ant didn’t argue. Viktor was overprotective at times, but in this case, he was right. Conducting a scene reading while already compromised would be dangerous and potentially useless. He needed to approach Finch’s murder with a clear head, not while his brain was already trying to process the magical equivalent of a rock festival.
They climbed the front steps. A guard Ant didn’t recognize stood by the entrance, watching them with expressionless black eyes.
“We didn’t want the dog shitting on the carpets,” Viktor said flatly.
The guard didn’t respond. He didn’t even blink, just watching as they passed him and headed into the manor.
It was better inside the stone walls. The oppressive weight of the external magic eased slightly, replaced by the more controlled energy of Claudius’s wards. They were still uncomfortable - very ham-fisted in Ant’s opinion - but he could think again without feeling like his skull might split open.
They made their way back to their suite. Viktor locked the door behind them and immediately went to the bathroom, returning with a wet washcloth.
“Sit, babe.”
Ant sat on the edge of the bed while Viktor cleaned the blood from his face. Able jumped up beside him, resting his head on Ant’s thigh.
“The fountain’s the key,” Ant said quietly. “Whatever Claudius has buried underneath there is powering the secondary defenses. The wards are his, but everything else - the dampeners, the enhanced protections, and probably the lockdown capability, too - that’s all coming from objects he’s collected and buried over the years.”
“Can you break them?”
