“There’s a protection circle on the other side of the body,” Ashworth said, obviously guessing what I’d been about to ask. “The spell stones are damn massive, too.”
My gaze jumped beyond the dead man, and my eyes widened. Spell stones were usually quite small—they generally tended to be little more than an inch or so in diameter. These things were huge chunks of black quartz that glittered like diamonds in the fading afternoon light.
“Why on earth would anyone want to use stones that large?” I asked. “What sort of spell was he even creating?”
“I have no idea.”
I narrowed my gaze and studied the stones. After a moment, I saw the shimmer of magic. “There appear to be multiple layers placed onto those stones.”
“And they’re not all protection, I’d wager. Stay here.”
A somewhat unnecessary order given I had no intention of going any closer to either the body or the circle than I absolutely had to. “Is there any sign of a sacrifice or blood within the protected area?”
“Not all blood magic requires a sacrifice.”
“But it does require at least some blood, otherwise it wouldn’t be called blood magic.”
His smile flashed briefly as he knelt beside the stranger and placed two fingers against his neck. Why he was looking for a pulse, I had no idea, given it was very obvious the man was dead.
“Some dark witches do take apprentices,” he said, “and a part of their duty is providing a source of blood for their master’s minor magics.”
“This doesn’t feel minor.”
“No.” He thrust back to his feet. “This man’s soul has already risen, so it must have been his time.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re a spirit talker?
“Not as such. I can sense souls, but I’m not at all proficient when it comes to talking to them.” He walked on toward the circle. “Whatever he was doing, it was a nasty piece of work.”
That was evident from the force of his spell. I shivered and rubbed my arms. “Is there evidence of blood usage within the circle?”
He hesitated, his gaze scanning the ground ahead. “There’s a large area of staining near the middle of the circle, but I’d need to get inside to know what it is. And I can’t get inside until it’s deactivated.”
“What?”
He glanced at me. “The circle’s still active, and there are live threads moving within it.”
My stomach twisted. A protective circle in which dark magic had been performed was bad enough, but one with a still active spell was akin to a ticking time bomb. Especially when we had no idea why it was still alive or what the spell was.
I forced myself closer, though I took a somewhat large detour around the body. I stopped on the opposite side of the circle to Ashworth and crossed my arms. After a moment, I saw what he meant. The spell threads were barely visible wisps of pale green smoke, and moved around the confines of the circle in a manner that suggested they were guarding it. I had no idea what sort of spell it was, as I’d never seen threads like it—not entirely surprising given we’d left Canberra well before we could get into the study of darker spells and how to deactivate them.
“You’ve really no idea what sort of spell it is?” I asked.
“No, but if our dead man was responsible for it, then it should have died when he did.”
“Could it be a counter against whoever was here with him—a means of retribution if they betrayed him?”
“If he mistrusted his partners, he wouldn’t have left the safety of his circle.” Ashworth grimaced. “You’d better call the rangers. I’ll see if I can uncover a bit more about the threads inside this thing.”
I nodded and dug out my phone. Belle, any luck with the motorbike?
Nope. It hasn’t come out roadside as far as I can tell.
I swore softly, even though it had always been a vague hope at best given this area contained a whole lot of nothing into which evil could easily disappear. You might as well head back home, then. You’ve a date to get ready for, remember.
Indeed I do. Catch you later.
I hit the number for the ranger station. Normally I’d ring Aiden direct, but I knew he was at the doc’s right now.