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Elektra let her magic slip free and brush against the wards around the property. There was an electric snap back, and she swore.
"They don't have the average wards around this place," she said and studied the house more closely.
Vanth nodded. "They feel like…"
"Bone wards," they said at the same time.
Elektra's mouth twitched. "Animal?"
"Definitely. You take the front corners of the property, and I'll do the back?" Vanth suggested.
"Deal. Watch your ass," she said, and he blew her a kiss. He would be fine.
Elektra went to the very edge of the property's wards on the left side. She whispered a shielding spell over her hands and dug about in the earth.
Underneath the perfectly manicured turf, she came across bones. She took a calming breath and began to disable them. The trick was to be able to do it without waking up whoever had cast them.
She threaded her magic through strands of power, holding the ward energy to the sacrificed life of the animal. She hated the dirty feel of the magic against hers. Nothing made her angrier than the sacrifice of an innocent life for magical gain. She released the shade of the animal with a quick flick of her magic, and the ward powered down.
Elektra quickly hurried to the right side of the property and began on the next ward. Vanth appeared through the gardens just as she broke it. He had a pissed-off look in his eye.
"What is it?" she asked, brushing the dirt from her hands.
"I found something you better have a look at," he said. She followed him into the darkness. There was a large greenhouse and a refrigerated van at the back of the property. A pretty decal on the side of the vehicle said, 'Bright Light Blooms' in fluro pink. Elektra wasn't sure what had gotten Vanth riled up until she stood in the garden around the greenhouse. Death and decay pulsed up from the ground beneath her boots, the dark, sticky feeling of magic making her gag.
"They have been using human blood and bone," Vanth growled softly. "I found ground barrels of it behind the greenhouse."
"Fuck. This is…" Elektra didn't have the words. She cleared her throat. "Why not add the reapers to the mix? Why take them to Andres to be burned?"
"Maybe they have had too many bodies to dispose of," Vanth replied. He nodded at the greenhouse doors. "You ready?"
Elektra slid one of her sickles out from her thigh holster. She left the blade locked in but needed a weapon in her hand to steady herself. "Ready."
Vanth took the lead and opened the door. No alarms screamed or lights went on, so they slipped inside the moist heat like shadows. There were rows and rows of flowers growing in pots. There was a lit-up room at the far end that had hydroponic lights burning. They each took one row and walked the full length of the greenhouse. Nothing seemed out of place except for the thick haze of death from the blood and bone.
Vanth walked in front of her into the hydroponics area and held out a hand for her to stop walking. "Well, well, looks like these florists have more than one side hustle," he said. He examined the plants under the strange blue lights.
"Weed?" Elektra guessed.
"Magic weed. Not a big crop, so it could be their private stash or used in rituals or potions."
Elektra moved around him, her intuition tingling at the back of her head. She went to a potting table at the back of the room where the lights weren't hanging. Blood magic burned on her tongue, and she gagged. "Help me move this table?"
"Maybe we don't need to," Vanth said, feeling about underneath it. Something clicked, and the potting counter slid away to reveal a large metal trap door. A complex sigil was carved into it.
"To keep people out? Or to keep something in?" Elektra asked, peering down at it, her mind already trying to unravel it.
Vanth squatted down and, with a quick burst of his magic, dissolved the sigil. It was one of the sexiest things Elektra had ever seen. He hadn't even had to think about it.
"Wow," she whispered and cringed when she realized she had said it out loud. Vanth waggled his brows at her and lifted up the trap door. It was a pit of darkness that smelled of rotting meat, blood magic, and bleach.
"I don't suppose I could convince you to go first?" Elektra asked.
"All right, but you're going to be washing the stench out of my hair for me later," Vanth replied.
She leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his surprised lips. "Deal."
Vanth's eyes narrowed playfully. "I should warn you, using your feminine wiles on me will get you everywhere," he said and dropped down into the darkness.
