featured a fearsome picture of a man with the head of a jackal on the cover. She flipped it open, and pointed to a page of symbols. The page depicted a sketched symbol of a wavy, serpentine line, with a curving upturned arc for the head. “It’s called the Horned Viper, in Egyptian hieratic script. The serpentine ideographic meaning is clear, but it’s phonetically equivalent to the letter F in our language.”
Anya placed the picture beside it. The figures were the same. Now she could see the sinuous curve of the serpent’s spine, that the curve of the horns indicated a head. “That backs up my suspicion that it was a ritualistic crime. Do you know of any uses this might have in ceremonial magick?”
Katie shook her head. “Egyptian magickal systems aren’t my specialty, but I’ve never heard of this particular symbol being in common use. Its purpose would depend upon the other objects in the environment and the specifics of the ritual.”
“If there were any other items used, most of them would have been obliterated.” Anya frowned. “I asked the lab to take a casting of the symbol, to see if they can find any tool marks. I want to know how this mark got impressed in the concrete.”
Katie turned the photograph around in her hands. “The viper’s head,” she said suddenly.
“Do you remember what direction it faced? The direction the viper was crawling?”
Anya ran through the building’s orientation in her mind, remembered the sun rising over the building. She thought a moment more. “South. It pointed south.”
“That’s the cardinal direction associated with fire.”
Anya cupped her chin in her hand. “I’m going to have a hell of a time trying to explain this to my superiors. Magick and forensic science don’t play well together.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” said Katie. “Those things don’t sit neatly behind their lines, never touching.”
But I need them to be , Anya thought. I need the balance between the known and unknown worlds. And the unknown is leaking too far over.
“Deep breath.”
Anya lay on the floor in Katie’s spare bedroom, surrounded by books and the saffron glow of candles. An exhausted Sparky was curled around Anya’s feet, tail spilling over to one side. She could feel his warmth on her bare feet, and she wiggled her toes. Vern lazily licked his tail, while Fay had fallen asleep with her paws around one of Sparky’s gill-fronds. The familiars enjoyed Katie’s Reiki treatments as much as Anya did. Though the goal of the treatments was to balance and smooth the wrinkles out of Anya’s energy, the critters enjoyed lapping at the edges.
Anya closed her eyes. She felt Katie press her fingers lightly over her face, the heels of her hands resting on Anya’s brow. Katie’s slow, regular breathing, the crackle-pop of the candle flames, and the occasional contented sigh from a familiar were the only sounds in the room. She was conscious of a warm buzz in Katie’s hands.
Anya let her mind drift, drinking it in. She was tempted to let herself fall asleep while Katie worked. Usually, she was able to stay awake, but she felt herself pulled slowly down, down into the warm darkness of the dream she’d abandoned this morning.
Heat shimmered from the floor of the ice cave, moving in lazy transparent curtains from one side of the ice cave to the other. Anya could feel the heat washing over her skin, drawing sweat from her pores. Beside her, Sparky paced. His tongue probed the darkness, tasting. It seemed that, in this warmth, he moved even more fluidly. Amber light played over the speckles of his skin in a hypnotic swirl.
Anya looked down to see the Horned Viper sigil she’d seen at the arson scenes engraved on the slick floor. Her eyes picked out another. . . and another. Dozens peppered her path. Like an army of snakes, they were sketched in the ice, horns pointing toward the blackness. In the seething light, they seemed to squirm, to
Anya placed the picture beside it. The figures were the same. Now she could see the sinuous curve of the serpent’s spine, that the curve of the horns indicated a head. “That backs up my suspicion that it was a ritualistic crime. Do you know of any uses this might have in ceremonial magick?”
Katie shook her head. “Egyptian magickal systems aren’t my specialty, but I’ve never heard of this particular symbol being in common use. Its purpose would depend upon the other objects in the environment and the specifics of the ritual.”
“If there were any other items used, most of them would have been obliterated.” Anya frowned. “I asked the lab to take a casting of the symbol, to see if they can find any tool marks. I want to know how this mark got impressed in the concrete.”
Katie turned the photograph around in her hands. “The viper’s head,” she said suddenly.
“Do you remember what direction it faced? The direction the viper was crawling?”
Anya ran through the building’s orientation in her mind, remembered the sun rising over the building. She thought a moment more. “South. It pointed south.”
“That’s the cardinal direction associated with fire.”
Anya cupped her chin in her hand. “I’m going to have a hell of a time trying to explain this to my superiors. Magick and forensic science don’t play well together.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” said Katie. “Those things don’t sit neatly behind their lines, never touching.”
But I need them to be , Anya thought. I need the balance between the known and unknown worlds. And the unknown is leaking too far over.
“Deep breath.”
Anya lay on the floor in Katie’s spare bedroom, surrounded by books and the saffron glow of candles. An exhausted Sparky was curled around Anya’s feet, tail spilling over to one side. She could feel his warmth on her bare feet, and she wiggled her toes. Vern lazily licked his tail, while Fay had fallen asleep with her paws around one of Sparky’s gill-fronds. The familiars enjoyed Katie’s Reiki treatments as much as Anya did. Though the goal of the treatments was to balance and smooth the wrinkles out of Anya’s energy, the critters enjoyed lapping at the edges.
Anya closed her eyes. She felt Katie press her fingers lightly over her face, the heels of her hands resting on Anya’s brow. Katie’s slow, regular breathing, the crackle-pop of the candle flames, and the occasional contented sigh from a familiar were the only sounds in the room. She was conscious of a warm buzz in Katie’s hands.
Anya let her mind drift, drinking it in. She was tempted to let herself fall asleep while Katie worked. Usually, she was able to stay awake, but she felt herself pulled slowly down, down into the warm darkness of the dream she’d abandoned this morning.
Heat shimmered from the floor of the ice cave, moving in lazy transparent curtains from one side of the ice cave to the other. Anya could feel the heat washing over her skin, drawing sweat from her pores. Beside her, Sparky paced. His tongue probed the darkness, tasting. It seemed that, in this warmth, he moved even more fluidly. Amber light played over the speckles of his skin in a hypnotic swirl.
Anya looked down to see the Horned Viper sigil she’d seen at the arson scenes engraved on the slick floor. Her eyes picked out another. . . and another. Dozens peppered her path. Like an army of snakes, they were sketched in the ice, horns pointing toward the blackness. In the seething light, they seemed to squirm, to
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