Vikirnoff took a breath and let it out. The scene cleared and completely focused. Color swept up his neck and flooded his face.
«I believe you just got spanked,» Gregori said. «And by a girl.»
«Terad keje-get scorched, Gregori,» Vikirnoff snapped. «It is an illusion,» he called to the others. «She is good with magic. A delaying tactic only. They know we follow them.»
The fighting slowed and then halted as the hunters slowly realized they'd been duped. Around them, snowmen lay fallen, slashed, heads rolling with grinning faces laughing up at them.
«I cannot believe we fell for this,» Tariq said. «She is better than I gave her credit for. I did not, for one moment, feel a surge of energy.»
The hunters looked at one another. It was Lojos, renowned for being a great warrior, who voiced his appreciation. «Not only was there no surge of energy, the illusion was absolutely seamless. This is no amateur. Even the skill of the snowmen fighting was superb.» If he could have felt admiration it would have been in his voice, but his emotions had long since faded and all he could do was voice his acknowledgment of the expertise.
«Pick up the trail, Vikirnoff,» Mataias said with relentless purpose. «There is not even a faint trace left behind. We will have to use the call of your blood to track them.»
Gregori smirked a bit. «Yes, Vikirnoff. You use that. I am certain you will have no problems finding them.» The snow was coming down so hard that he almost failed to see Vikirnoff's face, but it was well worth the extra effort to see the hunter's exasperated expression.
«If your lifemate had been duped repeatedly by someone, you would not be so quick to trust him, Gregori,» Vikirnoff accused.
«Perhaps not, but I would trust my prince.»
Vikirnoff stalked away, leading the group of hunters across the meadow thick with snowmen and back into the forest. The scent was so faint, even with the call of his own blood, as if somehow it had been diluted. Wary of traps now, they had to move much more slowly, spread out in a standard search pattern, all senses alert. There were no tracks, no visible signs of Razvan and Ivory's passage. Twice Vikirnoff had to back-track and wind his way deeper into the forest where the trees were taller and closer together.
The canopy wove an umbrella overhead, blocking the worst of the snow so that the layers on the ground weren't quite as deep, although the branches overhead were piled high and every open space had high drifts.
Tariq clawed a spiderweb from his face as they infiltrated the darker recesses of the forest. The webs here were much more abundant, as often happened in less-traveled areas.
«It does not appear they came this way,» he cautioned. «The webs are intact.»
The hunters halted, maintaining at least a five-foot distance between one another. They inspected the numerous spiderwebs that stretched from tree to tree. Sparkling like diamonds from the ice crystals coating the intricate strands, the webs actually draped over many of the trees and stretched between them in labyrinths of artfully connected roadways. They had seen the ice spiders' elaborate webs before, mostly in caves deep beneath the ground, but once in a while they were treated to the rare sight during a prolonged cold winter.
«These webs have been undisturbed for many weeks,» Andre added, stepping close to one of the larger ones to study the insects trapped there. Even a few hapless lizards and birds had been snared by the strong webs. «I doubt they passed this way.»
«Perhaps as mist?» Mataias suggested. «They might have slipped through.»
«Not an ice spiderweb,» Lojos objected. «Everyone knows you cannot simply slip through.»
«Ice spiders are small, but ferocious,» Tomas reminded. «If you stumble upon a colony in the caves you had better fear for your life. This looks like a colony.»
«Without a doubt,» Nicolae agreed. «If we go into the middle of that, we had better be prepared to burn them out. Even with everything wet, we could destroy this forest.»
Vikirnoff glanced uneasily at Gregori. The healer made no suggestions, he simply stood off to the side and watched them puzzling out the trail. There was no expression on his face, no indication of what he might be thinking.
«Watch out for an ambush,» Nicolae cautioned, «but look around. They had to have come through here. If they found a passage, so can we.»
«Do not disturb the webs,» Vikirnoff cautioned as the hunters began to cast for signs.
The blood spoor was faint, and Vikirnoff was certain the couple had come through the ice spiders' territory. The webs appeared to encompass several miles of forest, a thick barrier stretching like fences through the trees. If the couple had skirted around rather than going through the colony, it would have taken them much longer, and the blood scent didn't lead that way. To avoid trouble with the dangerous and very aggressive spiders, they would have had to find a way to go through the area without tearing the webs. The spoor was so faint already, he was afraid if they chose the longer route, they'd lose the couple altogether.
«I believe I've figured out what they've done.» Lojos said. «They had to have repaired all damage to the webs as they passed through. If they could weave quickly enough and keep each web intact enough not to rouse the ire of the spiders, they might have made it through without a battle.»
Tariq nodded. «That is the only logical explanation. Spread out. No one is good enough to repair an ice spider's web exactly as the spider weaves it. They will have left signs.»
Vikirnoff sent an elated look toward Gregori, who merely shrugged, which irritated the hunter even more. The seven ancients spread out through the trees, stepping close to the webs, almost pressing their noses against them in an attempt to find any signs of ragged edges where the crystals clung to the silken strands.
Vikirnoff glanced at Nicolae, his frown deepening. «I do not see anything here, but no one passes through the heart of ice spiderwebs. They can go on for miles and it would be far too perilous. Not only is it too dangerous, the caution they would have taken would certainly have slowed them down.»
Looking at his brother, he moved from the outer trees toward the center of the forest. He took a step and his foot sunk about four inches into the snow in spite of making his body light. At once silken strands whipped up and around him, enclosing him in a net that sprang from the ground high into the air, the web tight, without the tiny holes allowing vapor to pass through.
Vikirnoff struggled, but as with all ice spider traps, the web tightened the more he struggled, rolling him until he was trussed up like a turkey. He forced himself to go still, fury eating at his usual calm. He found himself high in the canopy, dangling several hundred feet up in the air. His brother glared back at him from the net where he was wrapped like a mummy and trapped within the silken, crystalline net. Around them the other hunters had met the same fate.
Vikirnoff didn't dare look at Gregori. «Get us down,» he bit out.
Gregori sighed. «If I move, Vikirnoff, I may step into one of the numerous traps laid out. I have to study the situation first. It will do no good for me to wind up the same way.»
«Spiders could never do this,» Lojos said. «Magic is at work here.»
«You think?» Nicolae was sarcastic. «We are being made fools of.»
«Or perhaps you are simply being fools,» Gregori offered.
Vikirnoff snarled at him. «Say what you like, Gregori, but if they have nothing to hide, they would not have gone to such lengths to hide from us.»
As he spoke the branches overhead stirred, flakes raining down as spiders scurried along the intricate webbing. One began to lower itself toward Vikirnoff, drawn by his voice.