She settled in behind the brush, peeking through a break in the foliage. If Flicker had done his job, the other two parchments were widely separated on the opposite side of the river, making a triangle that stretched all the way across. When Alice Read the spell, anything magical inside that triangle would be trapped. Assuming it works properly this time.

She let a couple of turtles pass by, headed downstream, and waited for one that was going in their desired direction fairly close to the bank where Flicker and Erdrodr were hiding. It was an especially large specimen, with dark green swirls in its shell. Alice opened the parchment and Read.

She felt the magic spring into being, pulling energy from her, but it was nothing like the terrifyingly rapid drain when they’d fought the bluechill. A white-walled triangle enclosed a sizable section of river, steadily becoming more solid and opaque. The turtle, oblivious at first, swam on until it ran into the upstream side of the ward. It hit the wall with a crackle of magic and raised its head from the water.

“I say!” the turtle exclaimed. “What’s going on here?”

The wards contracted. The turtle swam back and forth, brushing the walls with its flippers, but it didn’t thrash against them as the bluechill had. It wouldn’t have mattered in any case: This time, the spell was working. Alice allowed herself a triumphant smile.

Leaving the parchment where it was, she jogged down to the river, turned back into the devilfish, and, careful to enter the river downstream of the turtle, swam across. She pulled herself out behind a rock, hidden from the turtle, and wandered up the bank with a casual air, as though she’d only been stretching her legs.

“This is intolerable!” the turtle said. “Help. I say, help!”

The ward had reached its smallest size, a triangle barely larger than the turtle itself. The big creature was thrashing its fins, churning the surface of the water to a froth to no avail.

Another turtle, gliding downstream, raised its head from the water and looked at the prisoner.

“What’s going on?” it said.

“I’m stuck!” said the first turtle. “Help me out of here, would you?”

“Tough luck,” the second turtle said. “You should have been smart enough not to get trapped in the first place.”

It swam off as Alice walked up. The ward was still translucent enough to see through, but the turtle was so agitated, it took a few moments to notice her.

“I say, human!” it said, thrashing to turn around and face her in its tight confinement. “Something’s got me trapped!”

“It looks that way,” Alice said sympathetically.

“Get me out of here at once!” the turtle said.

“Not to be too blunt,” Alice said, “but why should I? I’m not feeling especially well-disposed toward you turtles at the moment. You’ve been insulting us all day.”