CHAPTER SIXTEEN

J ust because he was dead didn’t mean Gwil didn’t need sleep, but the last few days had been gruelling mentally, and he knew it was far from over. Hyax was happy with the plan and the preparations, or as happy as he could be given Gwil going undercover, especially since they had no idea of how long he would be away.

They were all gathered in one of the outhouses at Crofton Hall waiting for Ashley to add the final ingredient to a potion he, Alex and Hyax would drink so they could combine their magic and cast a spell in order to change Gwil and Robin’s appearance, before adapting the spell for Jack, who needed a tweaked version to account for his magic.

“Nearly there,” Ashley said throwing a sprig of something woody into the cauldron.

Alex peered at the liquid. “Looks good, nice shimmer.”

Hyax nodded, his boyfriend loved a good potion, pity he’d yet to persuade Hyax to turn his brewing skills to cooking him dinner. Three glasses had been placed onto a lab bench and Ashley decanted a measure into each and handed one to Alex and Hyax and kept the third for himself.

“Down in one and then we’ll turn Gwil into a pox-infested vamp fuckboi and Robin into his cock slut,” Ashley said, grinning.

“I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the exact backstory,” Gwil said.

Ashley snorted. “Gwil, I’m sure you can tell them what we’ve prepared, but you’re going to have to accept that your alter-ego is going to be thought of like that. It’s not real.”

Hyax rolled his eyes. “Let’s get on with this,” Hyax said. “Once we’ve cast it, Robin and Gwil need to get on their way. Then we can do Jack, and I’ll go with him to abduct the staff member he’ll replace who is meant to be starting a new job.”

Gwil hadn’t spoken much to Jack, but Hyax had spent a brief time with him earlier and he didn’t have an issue about of becoming a porter in the facility. He’d done all sorts of jobs for the Warlock Ruling Committee and the Vampire Council over the four-hundred-odd years he’d been alive.

“Things have moved on a great deal since I was party to a metamorphosis casting,” Jack said.

Gwil hadn’t a clue what he meant by that but he decided he didn’t need to as he had enough to be worrying about. Alex was first to knock back the potion. He didn’t appear to be overly bothered by the taste but both Ashley and Hyax gagged.

“Time to get this going.” Hyax stroked Gwil’s cheek. “I know you won’t be talked out of this, but you have to promise me you’ll be careful. I won’t be held responsible for my actions if anything happens to you.”

Gwil smiled. He was hopelessly smitten with Hyax, any fool could see it. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. We just need to get selected and then find Simon. Easy-peasy.”

Although Hyax mentioned not being talked out of taking part, Solivatus had been pretty clear with his and Sebastian’s expectations, and though it might put him at odds with Hyax, Gwil would have never said no, even if he’d wanted to, the hierarchy of vampire society was too rigid for him to have done otherwise.

“I don’t think I’ve thanked you for agreeing to help,” Robin said. “I have considerable influence, and you should never worry about asking me to exert it in your favour.”

Gwil hadn’t expected Robin to have said anything in front of anyone else. “I’m happy to help.”

Alex patted one of a pair of chairs. “Time to take your seats. The potion’s done its job. Let’s get our Cinderellas ready for the ball.”

“I’ll go first—you’ll be unsurprised to hear this isn’t my first multi-person session,” Robin said, smirking. “Do I need a safe word?”

“Ha, ha.” Ashley snarked. “You’ll be safe from me doing anything to you other than throwing magic at you.”

Gwil watched with interest. Hyax had warned him the procedure wouldn’t be pain-free, and he’d been in two minds about whether he wanted to go first and not know what might hit him or get a clue and follow Robin. Like many things in his life, the decision was made for him.

Ashley, Alex and Hyax stood in a triangle around them. “This might tickle at first,” Alex warned. “Then it’s going to hurt like a bastard.”

“What?” Robin said.

“We’re reshaping your anatomy, Robin. It’s not a glamour, the wards would strip that away before you got a few feet, this is the only way.”

Gwil guessed Robin hadn’t made the connection. Ashley held out a strip of leather. “You might want to bite down on that. We added some numbing elements, but we can’t do too much as it’d be counterproductive.”

“Is it likely to be on the level of when I was turned?” Robin asked.

“On a par but condensed into a shortened timespan,” Alex explained. “We’ll be done in minutes not days… this isn’t permanent, and you’ll have a similar reaction when it’s reversed.”

Robin bit down on the strip of leather. Initially, he seemed to be coping well. It was strange to watch how his features shifted under the influence of the spell. Then the mood changed and Robin keened in pain, rocking backwards and forwards, his jaw was clamped shut with the leather strip taking the brunt.

“Nearly there,” Hyax called.

Robin slumped in the chair as the spell came to an end.

“I think the ginger hair is a nice touch,” Ashley said. He grabbed Robin’s chin and inspected their work.

Alex conjured a hand held mirror and handed it to Robin. “Spelled for vampire use.”

Robin’s face was now much squarer and his nose flat and broad. Gwil didn’t think him bad-looking but not as attractive as his normal self. “I wouldn’t recognise me, so it worked.”

Then it was Gwil’s turn. The casting started with a gentle tickle, three waves of magic circled his body, dancing across him almost playfully. He was used to Hyax’s magic but the other two were different, and when all three waves combined, they were no longer gentle but like thousands of pinpricks and getting deeper and fiercer with every second. His pain threshold must’ve been lower than Robin’s because he couldn’t hold in the howl as his bones and ligaments shifted and his skin stretched. It might have been seconds but it felt like an eternity, and as the magic dissipated, the relief flooded him and swept away the nausea from the pain with it.

They moved on to Jack, but Gwil was still too frazzled to pay much attention and a few minutes later a blond with a round face had replaced the black-haired man with a square jaw. Jack hadn’t appeared to have suffered in the same way and Gwil wondered if it was his magic that had cushioned him from the pain.

Alex handed out new clothing. After changing into jeans, a T-shirt and a sweater that were certainly not the designer clothing Robin preferred, Ashley handed them their mobile phones which he had taken earlier. “These are now adapted to your new identity—your old information is still in there but hidden, but you can access it through the calculator app.”

Gwil slipped his into a pocket. “Do you think they’ll work in the facility?”

“I’ve developed a spell, I hope it will work, but it might not and I would limit the use of phones as much as possible—best kept for emergencies.”

Gwil followed Robin and Alex outside where a sleek, black Mercedes was waiting. Hyax pulled Gwil to the side as Robin got into the car.

Hyax cupped his face. “You don’t look right. I already miss your curls.”

His face was sharper, his hair straight and lighter. “I’ll be in touch when I can.”

“I meant it when I said to be careful. There’s not a force in this realm that will hold me back if something happens to you, understand?”

“I love you too.”

Hyax kissed him, and Gwil clung to him for a moment, but he had to leave. He stepped away. Gwil didn’t want to go, but he had to and he’d be counting the hours before he was back with Hyax. He would need to be careful, this wasn’t a simple mission, and he could get in real trouble if he lost his concentration. With a final kiss, he got into the car.