Page 13 of The Psychic and the Vampire: A Bad Case of Vampire Curiosity

Following my instincts is the right thing to do.

Ant knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier, witnessing yet another murder.

Ant had enjoyed his holiday with Viktor.

Given his last vision had come from being held between Officer Mike and Colin Banks – and that was intense – it had been nice to only pick up the sexy thoughts Viktor seemed to have for him for a change.

Finding the site where Carol’s body had been found wasn’t easy, either.

The details in the police file Carmine provided were sparse.

It wasn’t as though there were beacons or spirit guides pointing to a certain area in an overgrown park, letting Ant know where he was supposed to go.

Carmine had said his sister had been found under a tree, so Ant, with Viktor and Able by his side, headed off the marked trails, moving toward the first patch of trees he saw.

Three patches of trees later, Viktor sighed, causing Ant to look up in astonishment. It wasn’t as though a vampire would get puffed wandering around trees.

“I think we’re going about this the wrong way,” Viktor said, looking up from where he had been scrolling on his phone. It always fascinated Ant that someone could walk and still watch their screens. If he tried it, he would fall flat on his face.

“This is Blumen Park, and Carmine said Carol was found under trees.”

“There are a heap of trees here.” Viktor flashed his screen under Ant’s nose. “At least five hectares worth of trees according to the parks department.”

“Oh.” Ant looked down at Able. “Able will be pleased then, with all that walking around.”

“Let’s save on the shoe leather, shall we?

” Viktor pointed to the map. “Thinking like a person from the shadows, if I were planning to murder someone, then I would want them as far away from the public trails as possible. Bridget said the body wasn’t found for three months, so we can also disregard the trees, say, within two hundred yards of any trails.

You’ve got to think there’d be some people who would be using the trees as somewhere private to make out, and our murderer wouldn’t want the body found too soon. So we’d need to move farther out.”

“But we’re assuming Carol was lured to this place, so it can’t be too remote. Or, if she was already unconscious or inebriated, then again, a murderous individual isn’t going to want to manhandle a resisting or limp person too far.”

“Service roads,” Viktor said, pointing at a thin trail on the map that went right around the outskirts of Blumen Park.

“This is public information,” he added. “Therefore, anybody who had a reasonably serviceable vehicle could use one of these side roads. They could’ve driven Carol well away from the public areas, lessening the chances of the body being found quickly. ”

Ant frowned, studying the map. “If the road is used by park staff, then wouldn’t the murderer be taking a huge risk, leaving her close to a service road? That still implies people will be in the area – the park staff, for a start.”

“Look around this place, babe.” Viktor indicated the unkempt grass and overgrown trees. “I know the murder was ten years ago, but even if this place was immaculate back then, staff would only come through roughly every three months. They likely have different duties depending on the season.”

“And the ME said Carol had been dead about three months when the body was found, which makes sense.” Ant looked back the way they came. “We came in through the public entrance. Should we go back and get the car?”

“Nope.” Viktor shook his head quickly. “I’ve not had that car very long, if you recall, and I’m not risking it getting scratched and bumped about in potholes unless I have to. I’ve got another idea. Can you let go of Able’s lead for a moment?”

Bending down, Ant unclipped Able’s lead. “I’m not comfortable doing this. Technically, I’m working and if Able is wearing his leash, then he knows he’s working as well.”

“It’ll only be for a moment,” Viktor promised. He took a step back and then patted his chest. “Able, jump.”

Able let out a happy woof and jumped straight into Viktor’s arms. Viktor managed to wriggle the German shepherd around until Able was safely tucked under one of his arms, and then indicated for Ant to come closer to the other side of him.

“We’ll go vampire style,” he said. “It’ll save my car, your shoe leather, my legs, and will be a lot faster.”

“Were you going to command me to jump, too?”

Viktor chuckled as he scooped Ant up with his other arm. “Maybe another time,” he said as Ant got a flood of warmth through their bond. “Hold on tight, we’re moving.”

Ant was endlessly fascinated by how fast Viktor was in his vampire form. Being carried by him, to Ant, it was as though the trees, the grass, and everything else just all faded into a blur, glitching at times, leaving the background scenery as one big smear on the landscape.

And yet, within only what could have been only ten seconds, Viktor stopped in a small clearing, well away from the public trails. Still being held, Ant could see there was a service road about twenty yards to their left, and yes, there were a lot of potholes in it.

“We’ll start from this area,” Viktor said. “This is the farthest point away from the main entrance. I imagine if I were dumping a body, that is where I’d want it to be.”

“That sounds plausible, especially if the murderer had a vehicle.” Ant waited until Viktor put him down, but then, almost as soon as his shoes hit the sparse grass, he felt a surge of magic that wasn’t his own.

“Be careful,” he warned, immediately sending out his senses, trying to see the location of the magic he was feeling.

It was abrasive, sharp, and it had no finesse to it.

Whoever had laid it was clearly a young mage.

“There’s magic in the area,” he said. “I can feel it. Chances are we’re in the right place and somebody has set a trap for us. ”

Viktor made to reach for him, possibly to shield him or hold him back, but Ant sidestepped him.

“No, I need Able on his lead and for both of you to stick close to me.” Viktor put Able down, and Ant quickly fastened his leash again before he tapped against the side of his leg, so Able knew he had to stay immediately in Ant’s vicinity.

“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 person or 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.