Chapter 27

Robin had never travelled on a minibus and if he had his way he would never do so again. His idea of mass transportation was sharing a ride with a client, so being trapped inside a small metal box on wheels with other people was awful. That some of them tried to speak to him, and he was supposed to not mind was interminable. Gwil didn't have a problem, so he let his pretend boyfriend do the talking and fell back into his persona of a submissive and somewhat meek partner in order to remain unengaged.

His mobile buzzed, he had a text from Dad. They were meant to keep contact to a minimum so it must be important.

Dad: Hope the treatment goes well. Maybe when you get back we can get you a new cat, I know you were upset when the other one disappeared.

Robin had no clue what Sebastian was on about. He showed it to Gwil. "I guess we should be searching for a new moggie."

Gwil hummed. "I guess so. Not sure we're best suited for pets."

"Let's see what happens, eh? We might find that a few days at the facility gives us a new perspective on things."

The minibus ride had taken a couple of hours, which was longer than he'd expected, as the area Copperpipe had identified should have been closer, but he wouldn't have put it past the lich to make their destination less obvious. They headed into the countryside, where again the roads were too narrow for two cars to pass, or weren't more than bridleways in some places, but not once did they meet anyone coming in the other direction.

A high wall came into view, it was at least ten feet tall, and solid brick, but there was nothing else in the vicinity. They followed the wall for a little while and two large black gates guarded the entrance. The minibus slowed but didn't halt as the gates opened. Robin saw the house, it had been built in the Georgian style, but it didn't have any age to it, no weathering, almost gleaming, even though the sky was overcast. The house was just another creation, something else to ensure the lich met their end goal.

Robin wasn't surprised they weren't taken to the front entrance, but instead were driven around to the side to where a more modern-looking extension had been built, and into a garage where a team of people wearing white uniforms were waiting. During their briefing before they'd left the hotel, they were told that when they arrived they would be met by an assigned staff member as part of the admissions process.

As the minibus came to a halt, Nurse Helm stood to address them. "Please make your way off the bus, your luggage will be delivered to your rooms and you will be reunited once your registration is complete. If Rob and Will could disembark last, you'll be with me."

They seemed to be keeping them together for now, but Robin didn't think it would last and they waited for the others to get off the bus before stepping down. "I was worried we might be outside for a bit, we're not good in daylight," Robin said, a smooth lie about himself but he'd gathered it was true for Gwil.

"Your best interests are at the heart of everything we do here, Rob," Nurse Helm said.

He smiled but didn't reply, not wanting to risk saying anything derogatory as he was meant to believe their bullshit.

They were led inside, Gwil holding his hand again. They were now in the main house, the walls were white and the floors grey, and despite this being a hospital the building was even more sterile than he was expecting. As they entered a small reception room another nurse was waiting, she had sharp features, black hair and eyes that were electric blue.

"This is Nurse Teller, one of the senior staff, she's going to look after Rob and I'll take care of Gwil."

"You're splitting us up?" Gwil asked, sounding surprised and a little aggrieved. He was a good actor, and Robin thought that he'd be able to get him set up in Hollywood if he wanted.

"You are individuals and medical care has to consider the individual, not the couple. We don't have couples quarters here, but you'll not be permanently separated."

Robin bit his bottom lip. "I'd rather do this together."

"After the initial consultation, you'll be reunited."

"Fine," Gwil snapped. "Make sure you don't forget to tell them all the important stuff."

Gwil was escorted into a room farther down the corridor, leaving Robin with Nurse Teller who smiled and ushered him into a room where Dr Mettle was waiting.

Robin had killed plenty of people, some in more inventive ways than others, but he'd never wanted to kill someone as much as Ralph Mettle. He would play along, he was as good as any professional actor, until he found Simon and extracted him, then he would enjoy torturing this fucker with a long drawn-out death.

"No need to look so apprehensive, Mr Black—Rob—we're here to help."

"I didn't expect to see you, or at least so soon. I thought you'd be looking after the more important patients."

"I assure you, everyone is important here, and you have a condition that fascinates me."

"I don't think anyone has ever said anything about me is fascinating." He would play this up. If he could make Ralph feel sorry for him then maybe he could get him to drop his guard further and would be even less likely to uncover who he really was.

"I'm sure your partner wouldn't agree. Now I've some questions that will help with getting to the bottom of your problem and I'll have the nurse take some bloodwork."

"Okay."

Ralph consulted a clipboard. "From the notes I have, you have a mutated version of the Nosferatu virus, where the virus particle has somehow become spectrally enhanced."

"That's right, I… erm… well, my partner convinced me to take part in a special…" He squirmed in his seat. This was so far away from his usual attitude to sex it was ridiculous. "…event where we… erm…"

"I can see this is highly delicate, but I do need to know what's going on. Am I right in saying that you two were having an intimate moment under the influence of a dark spell?"

"Yes, it sounds so sordid now. But at the time I didn't mind, and I kind of enjoyed it after a fashion."

Ralph squeezed his hand and Robin would swear he felt a whisper of static fly across his skin and he saw Ralph's pupils dilate. "You can be honest with me, Rob, did you feel pressured into doing this?"

He looked at the ceiling as if he didn't want to meet Ralph's eye. "I didn't want to upset Will. I know some people think he's not the right choice for me, and I should be using my investments better but I care about him very much."

"We do all sorts of terrible things for love, and some of those we do to ourselves." Ralph patted Robin's knee.

Robin wanted to punch him. "It's amazing what I would do for love. Do you think you can help us?"

"I believe so, but it's a matter of treating you independently."

"But we were infected by the same spell at the same time, doesn't that change how you would treat us?"

Ralph shook his head and stood. He put on a pair of gloves and collected a phlebotomy kit from a counter at the side of the room. "Not in your case, he infected you with the Nosferatu disease before it was spectrally enhanced. So your body may have caused differences and because of that, while a similar treatment plan could be used for you both, it won't be identical."

"I suppose that makes sense. The nurse said we wouldn't be housed together."

"While we don't have facilities for couples, there is nothing to stop you visiting each other, but I must insist you return to your separate rooms to sleep."

If he had been in a relationship with Gwil he would have been annoyed, but this was preferable and Gwil wouldn't have to contend with a grumpy Hyax. "I understand. Can the nurse tell Will? I don't want to be the one to do it."

"Of course."

Robin watched Ralph set up a needle and syringe. Ashley had said he'd expect samples to be taken, and he'd put the spell in place to mimic the results to show the virus was present. Vampire blood was viscous and it took a specialist to get a decent sample. By the way Ralph handled the blood withdrawal he was an expert. Robin would bet Simon had been collected from several times and Robin intended to drain Ralph almost dry before returning him to full health then he'd kill him.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Ralph said as he removed the needle. "Although you might be used to it."

"I've had lots of blood taken. Apart from the first time that helped confirm what I had, it's never led to anything."

Ralph wiped the puncture wound with a swab, no need for a bandage, his blood wasn't what could be described as free-flowing.

"Well, that's not the case this time." He smiled. "Nurse Teller will call for an orderly to escort you to your room and then I think dinner and rest is in order. I know you're nocturnal but a nap would do you good after dinner, then someone will show you the facilities."

"And I can meet back with Gwil?"

"Absolutely, in fact, I'll get to him as soon as I can so you can be reunited, but I do have several people to see."

"I'll send him a text."

"You can keep your phones but they won't work here. The magic used has a dampening effect."

They'd expected that. It would give them the opportunity to test the spell Jack had been working on to see if they could circumvent the wards, if not, they would have another issue.

Nurse Teller slipped out of the room and returned with an orderly, Jack. Maybe he was lucky after all. "I've set Mr Black up on the second floor, Dr Mettle."

"Perfect—one of the nicer views, from recollection. You'll see right across the grounds. Rob, this is Jack, he's new too but the patients love him already."

Jack held the door open. "This way, Mr Black, your bags are waiting."

They walked down the corridor, both of them doing an amazing job of not looking as if they knew each other. "I think you'll like the second floor, there's a couple of long-term residents who I'm sure you'll mesh well with."

"A couple?" He was expecting Simon, not anyone in addition.

"Yeah, but not in the romantic sense. Nomis is one, nice guy, and he plays chess with a lass called Kitty. Both their memories are a little Swiss-cheesy, if you know what I mean."

He wasn't sure where Jack was going with this as they took the stairs, but then Sebastian had also mentioned a cat. The rest of the house was as stark as the corridor with the consulting rooms, and Robin thought it was a crime against architecture.

"I look forward to meeting them."

Jack led him into a bedroom with its own bathroom. It was small and sparsely furnished. He'd bailed clients out of better LAPD cells.

The door shut behind them. "I've not long as I'm shuttling the new intake to their rooms," Jack said. He checked the room, Robin noticing he wasn't using his magic.

"Have you seen Simon?"

"Yes, he's starting to remember things, and he definitely doesn't trust Ralph. But the cuffs he's got on are a problem. Definitely elvish in construction—we're going to need Alex's help to get them off. He'll need to brew a very specialised potion, that might take a while."

"I take it we can't cut them off then."

"Not without Simon's head exploding, but I thought that wouldn't be your preference."

"Twat." He tutted. "What's all this about a cat and the Kitty woman."

"Catlin Redbourn. Also amnesiac, don't have her back story yet."

"Are you sure?" Ben would be delighted, and Sebastian would have another reason to tear the lich limb from limb.

"Yes. They've dyed her hair black and called her Kitty, in a similar way they made Simon, Nomis, I think it's so their brains don't rebel as there's something familiar about the name."

"Clever. Fucking bastard, I'm going to enjoy ending his existence."

"Easier said than done. There's some serious wards around this place, and I'm sure he will have emergency portals set up. My biggest concern is that the cuffs will transport Simon somewhere before we can stop Mettle."

"Then we need to get them off."

"Or at least dampened. I have to go." He headed to the door. "You'll be shown to dinner in about twenty minutes, if I can, I'll suggest our two favourite residents do the same."

"Hopefully, Gwil will be seen by then."

"I doubt it, he's last on the list. I've instructions to encourage you to keep apart." Jack grinned. "No pretend rumpy-pumpy for you and your fuck boi."

"Fuck off."

Jack laughed. "In all seriousness, there's a definite divide-and-conquer vibe. You're seen as vulnerable, which I took as code for exploitable, which is ironic given you've made a career out of doing the same to others."

"I have made a lot of people who they are today, most are too stupid to realise the truth, or too greedy to give a shit."

"And those that are neither?"

"Who the fuck cares? I don't. I'm a vampire, the only bleeding heart you'll get from me is in the body I'm feeding from."

Jack snorted. "On that note, I'll leave you to it. There're clothes to change into, the patients all wear the same. Try texting me later, give it a few hours after dinner as I'll be busy helping the nurses. We'll see if the plan worked."

Left alone, Robin changed into the soft grey trousers and long-sleeved T-shirt. He hated them, they were cheap and casual, made to make people anonymous and remove their individuality. He might go as far to take them with him when he left and conduct a ritualistic burning. There was also a pair of slippers, but he would not wear those.

A nurse he'd not met before arrived and introduced themselves as Nurse Kin. She seemed distracted and the conversation was minimal beyond the odd direction of where various rooms were and that he'd soon find his way around. He got the distinct impression he was not considered that important, and wondered if there was a grading system, not that he wanted to be under closer scrutiny but to understand if others were.

"According to the forms you completed, you are able to digest food but you need a blood component of your diet, so you get bottle blood in addition to your meals."

He'd filled in the form on the minibus ride and had tried not to go over the top to make himself sound too fussy. "Perfect."

She held open a door to what he surmised was the dining room.

"I have certain preferences for the blood I consume."

"We'll do our best to accommodate but we stock limited options as most of our clients have different dietary requirements.

He took that to mean he'd get what he get. The dining room was an orangery, with several tables filled with patients. He scanned the room but didn't see anyone of interest, not Simon or Catlin.

For now he was in no mood to pretend to be sociable and as there were empty tables he chose the one farthest from the door, which would give him the best vantage point. The other patients were a mix of species, which would make sense as they would each give the lich something different. He was served a watery soup, and his blood in a glass hiding its contents. He drank the blood, it was cheap and weedy, but better than nothing, the soup he left untouched.

Gwil was still a no show, and Robin didn't think he could hang around much longer as the others began to leave, he was about to give up and return to his room when Simon arrived. It had been too long, and as much as he wanted to run over and sweep him into his arms, he needed not to give the game away. At his darkest moments he wondered if he'd imagined how much he loved Simon, but seeing him brought back a flood of memories and it reconfirmed his need to bring Simon home.

Simon stared at him, and almost as if he was on autopilot he began to walk towards him, and he realised that being this close must be helping the bond become stronger. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Please do."

Simon's hair was red—he'd seen it in the mirror charm but in person it was far brighter and Robin wanted to paint it black. "I've not seen you here before, but I feel like I know you."

"You do?"

Simon sat. "I can't remember much from before my time here, but I can't shake that I should know you, not your face but you feel… right."

Robin smiled, the joy of being here with Simon indescribable. He glanced around. "We can't talk here. But I do know you."

Simon bit his lip, then the realisation crept across his face and he rubbed at the cuff on his left wrist. "I believe you. What's your name?"

"Call me Rob, I'm here because I attended Dr Mettle's meeting."

"Rob? As in?—"

"Let's say a little bird told you so." No one seemed interested in their conversation, but it was too dangerous to talk openly. "But Jack the orderly said you might be worth getting to know."

Simon nodded. "He mentioned we were having new guests. I think it would be nice of me to help you settle. Are you here on your own?"

He didn't want to give Simon the wrong impression but his cover was him being involved with Gwil and he couldn't risk giving himself away either. "No, with someone, he's called Will."

Simon looked crestfallen. "Oh, I think I may have thought you were someone else."

"No, I can't explain it now. How about tomorrow you show me the grounds? We can watch the sunset. I can tolerate the sun for long enough."

Simon smiled and Robin wanted to kiss him, but he would have to wait. "I'll meet you at the doors to the south gardens, at five."

Tomorrow, he would have Simon back in his arms. He needed to make sure he didn't put them at risk, and they would need to be careful. The most important thing now was to get Simon home.