Chapter Six #2
“They’ve worked perfectly fine so far, and one non-descript mage with an attitude bigger than his boots isn’t going to change that.”
Footsteps approached the door. Viktor moved, sliding down the hallway with inhuman speed and ducking into an alcove just as the door swung open.
The lawyer emerged - middle-aged, expensive suit, briefcase clutched in one white-knuckled hand.
He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
He hurried toward the stairs without looking back.
Viktor waited until the lawyer’s footsteps faded, then continued down the corridor in the opposite direction. If Claudius had a safe, it would be somewhere secure, probably in his office, which Viktor remembered was near his private quarters.
The hallway ended in another set of double doors, these newer than the rest of the estate’s fixtures. Viktor tested the handle. Locked. He pressed his ear against the wood and listened.
Silence.
He tried the handle again, applying more pressure this time.
The lock mechanism clicked softly, and the door swung open a crack.
Viktor slipped through and found himself in what looked like a private study.
Desk, bookshelves, and a fireplace that probably hadn’t been lit in decades. And there, set into the far wall…
Bingo.
A safe door. It wasn’t particularly large, maybe four feet high by three feet wide, and one that was clearly usually hidden by a wall panel that leaned on the wall below it.
But it was the safe Viktor was interested in.
The layered wards around it made Viktor’s skin prickle even from across the room.
He crossed the room and examined the door more closely. The wards pulsed with a faint crimson light, responding to his presence. If he tried to force it open, every vampire in the estate would know instantly.
Fuck it.
Viktor pulled back, his mind racing. He couldn’t open the safe himself - not without triggering alarms and alerting Claudius. It was possible, with enough time and focus, that Ant could. The trick would be getting Claudius out of the way long enough for Ant to work.
A clock on the desk chimed softly. Viktor checked the time and swore under his breath. He’d been gone almost twenty minutes. Ant would be waking up soon, and if Viktor wasn’t there when his mate opened his eyes, Ant would panic.
He took one last look at the safe, memorizing its location and the pattern of the wards protecting it, then retreated back into the hallway.
The return journey was faster. Viktor knew where he was going now, and he didn’t bother with stealth beyond maintaining his invisibility. He flew down the stairs, through the foyer, past the terrified familiars, and back into the east wing.
The door to their suite was still closed. Viktor slipped inside and let his invisibility drop, the world snapping back into full color as he became solid again.
Ant was stirring on the bed, one hand reaching out automatically for Viktor’s side of the mattress. When he found it empty, his eyes opened, gray and still slightly unfocused.
“Viktor?”
“Right here, babe.” Viktor crossed to the bed and sat down beside his mate, running a hand through Ant’s sleep-mussed hair. “Sleep okay?”
Ant blinked at him, then glanced at Able, who was watching Viktor with an expression that clearly said I know what you did.
“How long was I asleep?” Ant asked.
“About twenty minutes. You needed it.”
Ant’s gaze sharpened, focusing on Viktor’s face with that unsettling intensity that meant he was analyzing every micro-expression. “You left.”
Shit. “Just for a few minutes.”
“Viktor…”
“I found something,” Viktor interrupted. “Claudius has a safe in his private study. It’s warded to hell and back, but I think that’s where he’s keeping the physical evidence of the financial crimes. The stuff he didn’t want to destroy.”
Ant sat up. “You went snooping.”
“I went investigating,” Viktor corrected. “There’s a difference.”
“Not from a legal standpoint.” But Ant didn’t look angry - just thoughtful. He swung his legs off the bed and stood, stretching before he reached for his clothes. “Tell me everything.”
Viktor did, recounting the conversation between Claudius and the lawyer, the safe’s location, and the wards protecting it. Ant listened without interrupting, his expression growing more focused with each detail.
When Viktor finished, Ant was silent for a long moment.
“So he’s already thinking about killing me,” Ant said finally. Not a question. A statement.
“Yep.” Viktor’s hands clenched. “He’s not going to get the chance.”
“No,” Ant agreed quietly. “He’s not.” He looked at Viktor, and there was something almost cold in his expression. “Because we’re going to find his evidence, prove he murdered Ronald Finch, and make sure he spends the rest of his very long life in a Justiciary prison cell.”
Viktor grinned. “That sounds like something my mate would do.”
Ant bent over and picked his boots up off the floor, tugging them on quickly. “First, I’ll conduct the scene reading in Ronald Finch’s room. That will establish the timeline of his death and hopefully identify his killer. Then we’ll figure out how to access that safe.”
“Claudius isn’t going to just let us waltz into his study.”
“No,” Ant agreed. “He’s not. Which is why we’ll need leverage.
” He pulled on his shirt and turned to face Viktor.
“You said the lawyer was worried about prosecution. That means Claudius knows he’s vulnerable for some reason.
We just need to make him more afraid of what happens if he doesn’t cooperate than if he does. ”
“I love it when you talk in riddles.” Viktor stood and moved to join his mate. “Are you ready to do the scene reading now?”
Ant nodded. “I was going to do that now, but no, not just yet. First, I want you to take me for a walk through the grounds.”
What the fuck? Viktor had been sure Ant would want to get into the room where the accountant had been killed.
He’d have a vision, see all the details, and hopefully from those details, Viktor would be able to work out which vampire was responsible for the man’s death.
Claudius. Viktor might’ve been biased, but he was pretty sure that’s what Ant would find.
And now Ant wanted to go for a walk in the gardens?
“Are you going to tell me why?”
“Magic needs a source.” Ant tugged on his boots.
“I know the magic for the wards comes from Claudius, but that is the only magic he has. As an old vampire, he only gets one additional gift. But there’s a lot more magic here - magic that has to have a source.
I want to have a wander around and see if we can find it.
That could be where his vulnerability lies. ”
“What has that got to do with who killed the accountant?”
“Nothing,” Ant said, clicking his fingers for Able to come to him. “But, if we need to make a speedy getaway, after I’ve done the scene reading, I want some idea of the defenses Claudius has set up to try and stop us. Besides, Able needs some outside time.”
How is it, my mate can be so logical, and yet so infuriating all at the same time. “You’ll surprise the fuck out of Claudius then. He’d expect you to read the crime scene above all else.”
“That’s just an added bonus.” Ant smiled as he reached for his phone and slipped it into his pocket.