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CHAPTER TWENTY

G wil tapped out a text to Hyax. Hyax had mentioned going to see his mother, and Gwil knew that he would have to face the music once the case was over.

Will: How was your day? How was your mum?

He waited for a reply, and it seemed forever before his phone buzzed.

Mal: Her usual self. When you finally dump R you’ll have to meet her. I’m sure she’ll have a lot to say.

He groaned, he didn’t want to be talked at by Queen Talia but he doubted he’d be able to escape. The new twist with her suspicions of the Elementa meant he might have other ways of ingratiating himself, and maybe that was what she wanted.

The door opened and Jack let himself into Gwil’s room, carrying a stack of towels. “How’s your day been?”

He’d managed to do a fair bit of reconnaissance. As suspected, the staff didn’t seem too bothered about him. “I scoped out some of the grounds, nothing obvious, and none of the patients gave me any reason to think they weren’t here for anything other than to be treated. I checked those places you thought might work to open a portal but those were on the grounds, I’m not sure about the ones in the house yet. I’m intending to get to those tonight, but I’ve a good grasp of the layout of the house in general.”

“The more info we can collect the better, the smallest detail might be key.”

Gwil pointed to the bundle Jack was carrying. “You just here to drop off my towels?”

Jack laughed. “I thought Robin would be here looking for you. I wanted to get the lowdown on what he found out after his stroll with Simon.”

As if Jack’s words had summoned him, Robin arrived.

“The wanderer returns,” Jack drawled. “I take it you’ve managed to speak to Simon.”

Robin looked stricken, his agitation beyond anything Gwil had seen up until now. “Yes, we always planned to get him out of here as soon as possible but Mettle is working on a new treatment, and Simon thinks he’s planning to wipe his memory… no doubt irrevocably. For now, he starting to recall things, but until we get those cuffs off, we’re going to have issues.”

“No surprise there, we’re going to probably have to extract Simon and keep him in some sort of protective shield until we can remove them,” Jack said.

Hyax had explained that they thought the golden cuffs were key to how they were keeping him prisoner and, if Hyax’s suspicions were confirmed, they would either have to find a way to remove them before they left or they needed to make sure they couldn’t be used to get him back.

“We have a couple of potential locations where we can set up the portal,” Gwil said. “But we’ll have minutes before we’re caught, Jack might not even have time to cast the protection charms.”

Gwil knew he didn’t sound keen about travelling by portal and Robin must’ve picked up on his unease, despite some of the precautions they would take, Jack had a theory that his magic being different to the fae’s might make things easier.

“You said they could cause issues, what we looking at?” Robin asked.

Gwil thought Robin should be made aware of what he could be facing, as his vampire physiology would not make portal transport easy. “I felt like I was being boiled alive when I used a fae portal, but Jack thinks his magic might not be as brutal.”

“I’ve been travelling by portal under the casting James and Simon did, so I might have some residual protection,” Robin said, unfazed.

Gwil wished he had Robin’s confidence.

Jack nodded. “Possibly, but Gwil and Catlin won’t have that. We’ll have healers and blood stocks on hand based on how Gwil was affected previously. The trouble is, we will just have to take the opportunity as soon as we can, once the portal is open, they’ll know and we will have to leave.”

“Is there an option that Gwil leaves with Catlin using an alternative exit strategy?” Robin asked. “I don’t think Mettle cares about her in the same way.”

“I don’t know, it depends on the cuff she’s wearing,” Jack said. “If I can get a closer look and determine if it’s the same as Simon’s, then we can make a better evaluation. Potentially we could magic bomb the ward long enough for them to step through the barrier if her cuff won’t cause an issue.”

Gwil shook his head. They would need to be sensible. “It’s not worth the risk, the portal will get us away from the facility. Us stepping outside of the wards means we have to find a way back by road.”

He didn’t see a way of doing that without being caught unless there was a car left in a designated place, but they’d have to get to it and hope it hadn’t been nicked in the interim. It wasn’t viable as far as he was concerned.

“True.” Jack huffed. “Portals it is. I’m going to do a scout of a different area after the second dinner service when I have my break.”

Gwil had known it was a possibility they would have to do an emergency portal extraction. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to it, but at least if he did end up toasted he’d then be in the hands of several healers and have access to the best blood stocks, rather than the generic packs he used while waiting out the cycles of extreme sweats and chills to abate when at home.

“Picking up any sense people are getting suspicious?” Robin asked.

Jack shook his head. “No, I gathered they get through lots of orderlies so as long as I don’t do anything too odd, I’m pretty much background furniture, talking to the other staff members, the hours are long and the pay’s shit. I imagine part of the leaving package is a bit of memory manipulation.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Robin asked.

“I’ve found a couple of areas that would be possible locations, if you can, I suggest getting a look at them properly. We shouldn’t waste any time in being able to get there so you knowing the access would be beneficial.”

Jack sketched out the back of the house on a piece of paper towel. “Memorise this and then flush it down the toilet. No one can accidentally find it then.”

“We can’t risk being found skulking about,” Gwil said, feeling he had to get this through to Robin, who could break rank and do something stupid. It was one thing to strut about in the areas they were allowed, being out of bounds too obviously would put them under the scrutiny they didn’t want. “Not sure how we’d justify us being caught mooching around down there.”

“You two are meant to be boyfriends, you’re being kept apart. Me finding Robin in here with you is perfect as I can be seen escorting him away, so now you have an excuse if caught.”

“It’ll make me feel like I’m useful,” Robin said, Gwil sensing he was feeling a bit of a spare part at the moment. “I spoke to Simon and he’s insisting we bring Catlin with us, so she needs to be informed of the plan.”

“She’s aware,” Jack said, he must have had the chance to talk to Catlin. Him being brought in as a member of staff had been an excellent piece of strategy. “The hardest part will be the coordination. I have access to the appointment register with the doctors. If we can be ready the day after tomorrow, Dr Mettle has a clinic and I can see if Simon is one of the four down for a slot.”

“We want to act before then, if he’s been successful in his research then he could be aiming to administer it to Simon,” Robin insisted.

Jack scowled. “I had thought we’d plan for leaving after his appointment. As far as I can tell he’s not scheduled for anything earlier.”

“I don’t think we can wait.”

“Fine. Give me until you wake up tomorrow. I’ll have a plan and a timeline… I’ll contact the relevant people and see if it’s possible.”

“It has to be.”

Jack squeezed his shoulder. “I can’t pretend I know what you’re going through, I’ve never had anyone mean as much to me as he does to you, but if we go too quickly, we could ruin everything. Bringing Simon home is one side of the story, we also need to put a stop to what the lich is doing. None of his dealings have been sanctioned. He’s effectively been taking people prisoner and experimenting on them for who knows how long. We have to stop it.”

“If you say so. Do you know how to kill a lich?”

“The plan is when we go through the portal Hyax and Ashley will come the other way, bind him and bring him to Crofton Hall. He should have his phylactery on him, and we need to destroy it. Then we can kill him.”

“His what?” Robin asked, and Gwil was also in the dark.

“It’s a protective amulet that links him back to this realm. We can in theory kill him, but if we don’t destroy the amulet that encases his anchoring spells, then he can come back, and start again and we won’t know where.”

Gwil knew they would have to prevent that at all costs. If the lich were to return, it wouldn’t just be Simon in danger, and Gwil didn’t think the Vampire Council would be happy with that outcome.

“Do we know what it looks like?” Robin asked.

Jack shook his head. “Not exactly, it’s likely to be some sort of jewellery that he can keep on him at all times. I haven’t seen anything obvious, so I suspect it’s on a chain under his clothes.”

“Should I tell Simon? I haven’t said anything about Mettle being a lich, just that he’s the one who is behind him being here.”

“I don’t think it would help. Simon’s memory is already fragmented, it might be better to explain it as an after-effect rather than give him something else he’s supposed to be keeping secret,” Jack said.

“But he might have seen the amulet,” Gwil said, he thought it likely if it had been used on him, but he might not have to clear a memory. “If we know where it is, surely that’s an advantage?”

“He would have used the amulet for certain spells, so Simon might have seen it, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”

“I don’t think I should ask him. Let’s assume Mettle has it on him.”

“Agreed.” Jack headed to the door. “Now, get out of here. And I’ll try and find a way for us to talk tomorrow.”