Page 42 of Searching for the Prince
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, thehierarchy 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.
