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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

H yax had never understood vampires, Gwil was an anomaly and he was glad of it because he couldn’t understand why a man who appeared to be intelligent and attractive on the surface would be happy to take part in their request after he’d been roofied and kidnapped.

“It’s an honour to be able to help the Houses of Hewel and Cartwright.” The vamp was almost panting with excitement. His grey eyes were shining and he sat upright in a chair, eager to help.

Ashley didn’t seem surprised, but his father was head of the Invigilators and he was banging the Dark Earl of Crofton so he had insights Hyax would never have nor want. “Thank you, Daniel. Your support will, of course, be seen in a beneficial light and Mr Reynolds,” Ashley pointed to Alex, “will ensure after we are done, that suitable remuneration will be arranged.”

Hyax doubted Daniel would want money—he was dressed in designer clothes and his watch was easily a high five-figure model.

Alex stepped forwards. “As explained to you by our agent, we’re conducting some valuable research, I assure you that the initial rounds have been completed successfully and we wanted a final run-through.”

“I’ve no issue. Magical transformation I believe was the phrase used. I have a high pain threshold.”

Hyax thought that it was a good job he could tolerate pain as the spell wasn’t a glamour. It would physically change the shape and appearance of the subject, and Hyax would warn Gwil about the potential pain level he’d need to endure once he’d seen it in action on a vampire.

“Excellent. You’ve also consented to keeping everything confidential,” Alex said. He had a device in his hand that could have been a normal tablet but it was giving off elf vibes so it must have been adapted in some way, which made Alex even more impressive, as tinkering with electronics wasn’t easy.

“Yes, I know how to keep my mouth shut. I would not dishonour my sire.”

“For my records, who is your sire?” Alex asked.

“Maurice Osbourne.”

“One of the Duke of Pembroke’s named successors?” Alex confirmed.

“Correct, I would be grateful if he could be informed of my service, even though I appreciate the details couldn’t be shared.”

Vampires were always looking for a way to curry favour and in this case, Hyax thought Daniel deserved it.

“The House of Langley is known for its Chiropteran tendencies, did you receive those when you were turned?” Alex asked.

“Yes, hence the high pain threshold. And why I’m not concerned about you lot testing a morphism spell on me.”

Gwil couldn’t turn into a bat, he’d mentioned it was because he’d not received that gift from his sire, but Hyax hadn’t realised it was a specific attribute associated with one House.

Ashley rubbed his chin. “Do we think Daniel’s fledermaus ability an issue?”

Hyax didn’t think so. “No, it would have been an issue if the other final recipient was so blessed and we hadn’t tested, to me this is a worse-case position. A piece of luck Daniel was selected.”

“Agreed,” Alex said. He turned the device around to show a photo of someone Hyax didn’t recognise. Fluffy blond hair, squared-jawed, with a wide forehead. “Gentleman, I generated this image, as you can see Daniel is very different. His face is long, with high cheekbones, and he has straight black hair, therefore a true test of our skill.”

Daniel rocked the quintessential vampire vibe, pale and brooding, and clever enough to spot an opportunity when it presented itself, even if it were in an unorthodox manner.

“Let’s get on with it.” Ashley walked up to Daniel and handed him a strip of leather. “Bite down on that. I know you have a high pain tolerance but you’re the first vampire we’re testing so I’d not want to risk you biting through your tongue. Do you want the straps?”

Hyax hadn’t noticed but the chair Daniel was in had restraints for both the arms and legs.

Daniel took the piece of leather. “No, if it’s super bad I’ll probably turn into a bat so no point tying me down as I’ll fly out.”

Alex conjured three hip flasks and handed one each to Ashley and Hyax. “This is a carrier potion. I collected a sample of Daniel’s blood to key it to him.”

Hyax unscrewed the lid, it had a sweet aroma and he didn’t linger on the ingredients, just knocked back the potion, gagging at the unexpected sourness. Hyax knew Alex would have liked to have dabbled with it further and had another two slightly different versions brewing but it should be sufficient for their needs now.

Alex gave instructions for where he wanted Ashley and Hyax to stand. Working with Alex and Ashley had been far easier than he’d expected, and it was a different type of experience from casting on his own. The spell combined their energy and the output was unique and gave him a deep satisfaction that would be difficult to explain to a non-magic user. His magic danced in a choreography he hadn’t tried before, the technical pursuit as pleasing as the result.

Daniel writhed in his chair. The spell was working and the bones moving under his skin to reshape his face, shortening his hair and turning it blond. He keened loudly, and Hyax was impressed by how well he was tolerating the pain and the spell. It was working. Moments later Alex gave the order to stop. There sat Daniel, not that anyone would recognise him. He spat out the piece of leather and waggled his jaw from side to side.

“I guess it worked,” Daniel said, stroking his chin. “Pity I can’t use a mirror to see.”

Alex snapped a picture with his device and showed Daniel. “You’re a new man.”

Daniel sniffed. “I preferred the old me. I assume you can turn me back?”

“Simple reversal. We’d like to monitor you for at least twenty-four hours to confirm the stability of the spell, then we’d return you to your original state.”

Daniel nodded. “Fine by me.”

They didn’t have twenty-four hours to wait to try this on Gwil and Robin, but Hyax still wanted to double-check a couple of things before Daniel was dismissed. “I’d like to use a surface probe, nothing terrible.”

“You can do whatever you like to me, Your Highness,” Daniel said with a smirk.

Daniel had mentioned he was connected to the House of Langley so he wasn’t a bottom feeder, Hyax should have realised he’d have recognised him. It was a vampire’s second nature to flirt, Hyax wouldn’t rise to it, as Daniel had taken Gwil’s place, albeit unknowingly, and that would save him for now.

He placed his fingers on the side of Daniel’s head, he could feel the interwoven layers, they weren’t going away without intervention. He could also gauge whether the measures to hide their signatures had worked, and if he hadn’t known what he was looking for, he wouldn’t have spotted anything.

“Well?” Ashley asked as Hyax stepped back.

“Good, I think we’re there.”

Alex snapped his fingers and Karl appeared. “Mr Daniel Morten will require a room and monitoring as previously discussed. He’s been very helpful so I’m sure we’ll want to show him our best hospitality.”

“I have everything ready,” Karl said. He bowed to Daniel. “If you’d follow me, I’ll show you to your suite.”

Daniel was grinning as he was led away—he had good reason to as he would be well-rewarded.

“What’s the next step?” Hyax asked. “Are you going to tinker with the potion?”

“A little, I’m going to add clementine and asphodel to the base. I think Daniel’s bat form helped but Robin and Gwil won’t have that. I would have liked more time to experiment and the chance to monitor Daniel and turn him back, but we don’t have that luxury. I’m pretty confident nothing will pop up afterwards but we’ll have the data for when Robin and Gwil return.”

Hyax was hit by a tang of salt as someone stepped out of the shadows. He had long black hair, not unattractive, but ordinary-looking, the sort of person he’d not have given a second glance to, but then there was a wash of magic and Hyax knew he was special.

“Jack!” Ashley called. “How long have you been watching? Sneaky bastard.”

This must be Jack Webb, he’d heard him mentioned several times, he was some legal whiz but there was a lot more to him than statutes and torts. Jack gave Ashley a brief hug—there was a definite history between them. “Not long. I think that spell will work on me, with a little tweak on the third-level resonance, but the potion will need a bit more.”

Alex stiffened, his expertise being challenged. “I would have thought the base would be fine.”

“Base, yes, but you’ll need more than my blood to key to me.” From his top pocket, he handed Alex what resembled a large green fish scale. “Add that, while hitting the side of the cauldron with a tuning fork. You’ll need the sonic frequency.”

For a second Hyax was confused but then he realised—Jack was part-siren, how much he wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t something he’d mentioned freely, his kind were treated pretty poorly by most other creatures. To have risen to his rank he must’ve been a gifted warlock, but also have high-level backers who could bury uncomfortable information.

Jack extended his hand in Hyax’s direction. “Prince Hyax, I’m Jack Webb. A pleasure to meet you.”

They shook hands. Jack’s magic tasted like salted caramel and roast acorns with an underlying slate that was unique. Hyax would not underestimate this man, and he was happy he would be part of the infiltration. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I must say, now I’ve met you I’m more comfortable about Gwil going undercover.”

“My intent is to bring Prince Simon home, but I won’t lose sight of those helping me to do so. I’ll look after the Prince’s Beloved for you.”

Alex clapped his hands together. “I suggest we get some rest for an hour or so. I’ll monitor our new guest and, unless anything changes, we should be ready to put the plan in motion.”

While part of Hyax was delighted they’d been able to make the spell work, it meant he’d now have to let Gwil go out into the world with a strange face and Robin Flint as a boyfriend. He trusted Gwil, and to some extent Robin. It wasn’t that side of things that worried him but the fact they were going to be under the scrutiny of a suspected lich powerful enough to kidnap a fae prince from under the nose of his vampire husband and hide him from the world. If Gwil didn’t come back alive his vengeance would know no bounds and everyone who’d been part of the plan would pay.