Chapter 20

Ben scoured the shelves of the potion supply room, he had everything he needed for the two different potions they intended to brew before they were adapted, or combined, in some way. He had set up a crucible to examine the black scales and it was heating under a containment field. He’d sent Karl to collect his references on siren physiology that he’d used when he’d researched the scale drop potion to see if he could find anything in addition, although Jack wasn’t pure siren and his warlock side would add a different element, but sirens weren’t well-catered for, so he’d doubted there be much else available.

He returned to the lab where Ashley was diligently preparing the ingredients. Ben was delighted to see his technique was as good as his own. “I’m going to set up the cauldrons. Can you take care of the potion we’ll use as a carrier, but instead of the salsify, add the kelp you suggested, plus two ground barnacle shells?”

“What are the shells for?”

“Looking at Jack’s healthy scales, I think it’ll be good to have an additional marine element. I’m going to do something similar to the other potion, plus some algae, which I hope will help.”

Ben checked the black scales and apart from the presence of the lingering dark, they didn’t appear to be much different from the teal ones, if he could get the lingering dark potion to a state Jack could tolerate, then they would have a reasonable chance of success. He wasn’t used to brewing with company, and he could tell Ashley was similar, they worked in silence, both needing to concentrate.

He stepped back as the potion entered its first stage of steeping. Ashley’s potion at an equivalent stage, he came over to join him. “I have to ask, why is there apple in the mix? I’m not sure it’s needed,” Ashley said, tapping the list of ingredients.

“I’m fond of apples. They’re a versatile ingredient, and you need the tart variety for this as the acidity balances the mix at a crucial point.”

Ashley worried his lip. “Given the balance, have you thought about cranberries instead? Or rosehip for the topical application benefit?”

Ben picked up a pencil and jotted down some thoughts before replying. “How about reducing the apple content by half and adding rosehip instead? I’m loath to leave it out completely.”

“Agreed.” The timer on Ashley’s potion pinged. “No rest for the wicked.”

“Is that a dig?”

Ashley smirked. “For a vampire you’re pretty decent.”

“High praise, indeed.”

His own potion was ready for the next steps and he added the ingredients in the prescribed order, including the apple and rosehip, he waited for the colour change from pink to gold—he would have to rethink matters if that didn’t happen. The addition of rosehip had delayed the reaction but he was relieved to see the potion shimmer as expected. He needed to work fast now, decant and cool while Ashley was busy transferring his batch into a clean cauldron at a lower temperature to be ready to combine.

“Ready when you are,” Ashley called.

Ben picked up the beaker containing the gold potion. The combination was an unknown parameter. In theory it should work, but it was untested. “Can you stir slowly while I pour? We’re probably looking at a forty-sixty split.”

If he still had breath, he’d have held it as he added the first of the lingering dark potion, it was sticky and the base was less viscous. Ashley increased the stirring speed without needing to be told and the potions began to combine. “I think you need to slow down the addition,” Ashley said. “It’s like making mayonnaise, we need to get the homogenisation bang on or it’ll split as soon as I stop stirring.”

Ashley was right and although it seemed to take an age, they managed to produce a perfectly combined potion of the right consistency. Ben grabbed a number of glass jars he’d prepared and scooped the mixture into them. He held them out for Ashley to take.

“I know this might not work, but are you certain it won’t do any further harm in the long run?”

“As certain as I can be. Jack’s genetics are pretty rare, we’ve done everything we can to make it as safe as possible, but there’s always an element of risk with an untested potion.”

Ashley clutched the jars tighter. “Then it’s the best we’ve got for now.”

Ben paused at the door of the potion room, it must be getting on for early afternoon and he wasn’t dressed for sunshine, he could survive direct exposure but it was better if he didn’t. He grabbed a parasol from next to the door.

“Are you going to be all right in the sun?” Ashley asked.

“Yes, but no dawdling.”

He’d thought about adding a covered walkway or tunnel back to the hall, but it was a rarity he’d need it, and it seemed an inordinate faff for something he wouldn’t use often. Ashley was faster but he was almost running, and Ben hurried to keep up arriving at Jack’s room behind Ashley.

Alex stood as they entered.

“How’s he been?” Ashley asked.

“The poultice has given some relief and I’ve been able to entice him to sleep for a few hours, but an enchanted rest is never as good as the real thing.”

“I ain’t dead—yet,” Jack said with a groan, but he didn’t look over. “I can speak for myself. I feel fucking awful, and Alex has been a bloody angel.”

Ben hadn’t heard many people say such a thing about Alex, him being an elf tended to lead to mean comments, even when they’d been on the receiving end of his positive gifts.

“We’ve the potion,” Ashley said. “It might sting a bit when it goes on.”

Ben thought Ashley was the master of understatement and was about to step in to warn Jack when Alex wrinkled his nose, and said, “I think it’ll do more than sting, and I think Ashley should probably hold Jack to give him some comfort while I apply it.”

Ashley scrambled onto the bed and Jack moved so he sprawled across him, head on his chest and shoulder accessible. The black scales had spread further and Ben hoped they’d been successful. As much as he understood Ashley needing to support Jack, the sight of them curled together, knowing that at one point they’d been much more than friends, gave Ben a case of bile. He’d never been a jealous man, but it appeared Ashley Niven had changed that about him too.

Alex conjured himself a pair of surgical gloves and set about smearing a thick layer of the potion over the affected area. Jack hissed and Ashley yelped as he was subjected to Jack’s fierce grip. The potion began to bubble and give off a yellow gas, which was expected, having no reaction would have been a bigger concern. At first the smell made him gag, it was acrid and caught at the back of his throat. Ashley’s eyes were watering but he held Jack tighter, who in turn clung back and whimpered. Alex cleared away the smoke and the scent of the sea hit Ben, fresh and salty, as if Jack’s biology was trying to fight back, his scales were changing colour, the black receding in front of his eyes.

“It’s working,” said Alex. “I’d recommend applying a second dose in a few hours to be certain and then the lotion he had before.”

Ashley was stroking Jack’s hair as he sobbed with relief. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“Thanks, Ashley.” Jack turned to look at him. “You too, Ben. I thought I was going mad, and I was imagining they were getting worse.”

Ben didn’t like this had happened at Crofton Hall, if it had just been a new patch of lingering dark he may have put it down to bad luck, but the hex bag proved it was deliberate. He would get to the bottom of this.

“Alex and Karl have taken additional precautions to ensure that there is no chance of a reoccurrence, and I want to assure you I’m going to find the culprit and drain them dry.”

Jack gasped. “What? It might not have been meant to kill me.”

“I don’t care. This is my house, or will be in a few months when I become the earl, and I will exact the punishment for any crime committed on the premises.”

Alex nodded. “I would only think it fitting. But the problem will be finding the guilty party, I have to say they have been impressive in covering their tracks.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Ben would not let this drop. “I consider this a slight to me as much as an attempted murder of Jack, and I will take it very seriously. But first I’m going to get some more sleep.”

“I would suggest the same for Jack,” Alex said. “I’ll pop back to check on him.”

“No need, I’ll stay with him.” Ashley smiled at Jack and Ben’s bile returned. “I can apply another dose as well.”

He had no right to feel this way about Ashley, it had only been a week and a half since they’d first had sex, and while they’d come to an agreement there was more to it than just a physical attraction, Ben could hardly claim Ashley to be his, not yet. As it stood, he didn’t want anybody else, the idea of continuing the stream of fun but not meaningful flings didn’t appeal, not when he could have Ashley. Fuck.

Ben excused himself, Jack thanking him again for his help as he left. He returned to his private rooms but was in no mood to go back to sleep. The thoughts of Ashley and Jack cuddled up annoyed him, and the fact he was annoyed at all made it worse. He had close friends, he’d kill for Robin and they’d be intimate several times, but he couldn’t imagine cradling the fellow in his arms for reassurance, and Robin would probably try to stake him if he tried.

“I brought you some refreshment, my lord.”

He hadn’t noticed Karl arrive, which was another warning signal as he was usually acutely aware of his surroundings. He saw a selection of fruit and a decanter of blood. “Thanks, what have you got for me?”

“Jordanian 18.”

“Oh, not had one of those in a while.”

“When I saw it was available I ordered half a case—it is on the pricy side.”

He knocked back his first glass, the blood a welcome comfort, even though he wasn’t hungry. Which reminded him that while bottled blood was fine, and did the job nutritionally, it was lacking in the beauty of the delivery of drinking direct from the source. “We’re probably due for a live feed.”

“I was thinking when Mr Flint visits, I believe he’s arriving the night after tomorrow.”

Robin was coming to iron out the plan for his fake accuser and often when he stayed at the hall they’d share a couple of locals for dinner. Ashley would be in the hall, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t know Ben was a vampire. “Excellent idea. Although a later sitting, to not worry our non-vampiric guests.”

“Talking of our guests, I wondered if I could have a word. I’ve been thinking about the lingering dark and the hex bag.”

Ben hadn’t cleared the headspace to deal with that yet, the brewing had been a blur of activity but he intended to deliver his promise to deal with the situation. “You know I value your opinion on these matters. Speak freely.”

Karl looked uncomfortable, which suggested he would be touching on a topic Ben might be more sensitive over. “As you know the hall has a couple of lingering dark patches, but they are in the main contained and myself and Alex monitor them frequently. I went to check on them this afternoon, given the current situation, and found evidence that one had been tampered with.”

“I would think you’d have something in place that would warn you of that.”

“We do, and not just for the lingering dark but in a general sense across the hall. Although nothing is infallible, and warlocks of Mr Webb and Mr Niven’s standing would be able to circumvent them.”

Ben frowned. “Are you thinking one of them tampered with the lingering dark?”

“No, not at all. But they did ward their rooms to their requirements and Mr Webb’s wards extended further out than just his room, into the recess where one of the patches of lingering dark persists. We caught it a few days later but I didn’t think to check the lingering dark.”

“So during that time someone took a sample?”

“A top layer of plaster has been removed, it was done carefully and, if I wasn’t specifically looking for a change, it could have been easily overlooked.”

Ben rubbed his chin, he needed a shave and he was groggy. He couldn’t think clearly. “We haven’t had many guests while Ashley and Jack have been here so it limits who did it. Is there any indication why they targeted Jack?”

“Might not have been the initial plan to target him, but with his ancestry any repercussion would be less than going after the son of the Head of the Invigilators. I don’t think anyone would have predicted the full impact, Mr Webb’s scales are not a permanent feature.”

“But why do it at all? To either Jack or Ashley?”

“To get them out of the hall quicker?” Karl suggested. “I overheard Mr Webb saying he was having trouble with the water, so add in the lingering dark, they might have thought it would have him leave. Perhaps abandon the investigation or speed it up?”

“Those two options would have different motives. If the investigation was abandoned I wouldn’t be allowed to be earl, if it was sped up and the right conclusion reached I would be the earl sooner.”

“Or sped up and the wrong conclusion made.” Karl cleared his throat. “My personal opinion is this was a deliberate attempt to derail the investigation that should show you are capable and even throw suspicion on to you that you endangered your guests.”

He trusted Karl’s instincts but there were few people who were in the position to have pulled this off. “Based on what you’ve said you don’t believe Ashley or Jack to be responsible for this but then that would mean it is either…”

“Mr Harry or Miss Catlin, my lord.”

“Harry’s never been my biggest fan, but Catlin hasn’t been an issue.” Catlin was generally unproblematic, spent much of her time visiting others, and was supportive of whatever Charles required of her. “In fact she’s been away for several days, so it looks like Harry’s our man.”

“It does seem that way on the surface, but I have to point out that once the hex bag was placed there would be no need for the perpetrator to be present and Miss Catlin has far more acquaintances with a magical bent than Mr Harry. And given Mr Harry’s relation to Lord Charles, he would know he was not in line.”

“He may not know that, though. It’s never been the way of our succession but it was only recently Alex came across the rule that the House of Hewel strictly forbade it—I didn’t tell either of them as it’s usually knowledge of the incumbent.”

Charles had said several times that Harry wasn’t suitable but had never given his blood relation as reasoning, and before Ben had seen what was uncovered in the documents, he’d thought Charles had the potential to change his mind if pushed, no matter the rhetoric he was spouting.

“I am of the opinion he does know, my lord. His attitude towards you has changed over the last few months. He’s less hostile.”

Karl had a point. Harry had seemed less malevolent. “So you think it’s Catlin?”

“Yes, my lord. I don’t know her motive, it could be she was trying to help and it went wrong.”

He hoped that was the case, but how well did he really know her? She wasn’t his real sister and spent as much time away from the hall as in it. Unlike Harry, she had made herself useful to the Vampire Council and Charles, and had said he’d have her support once he became earl. “Whatever the reason it’ll need to be dealt with. I want something concrete before I talk to her as she’s good at turning on the waterworks and making herself out to be a victim.”

“I’ll discuss it with Alex.”

Left alone, Ben sipped his blood. If he hadn’t known who’d reported him to the Invigilators then Harry or Catlin would have been prime suspects. Ashley and Jack had asked him if he thought they could be responsible, and Catlin had even told Ashley she suspected Harry. Why Catlin had offered up that information he wasn’t sure, but she could be trying to ensure blame wouldn’t stick to her. He would press Ashley about what else she might have said, but he was probably governed by some aspects of confidentiality.

The lingering dark issue was different, either Catlin or Harry could have been behind that.

While Karl’s instincts were usually spot-on, Ben could still see Harry doing it somehow. Although he wasn’t convinced he’d be that bothered, and Harry had hardly visited the hall since Ashley and Jack’s arrival.

Harry might not have done anything to help Ben, but he wasn’t beyond doing something to cast doubt. Even that, by itself, didn’t make sense though. Harry had nothing to gain from Ben not becoming Earl. If anything, the change in circumstance if he didn’t, could make his situation more difficult.

Best bet was to talk to Ashley once Jack had recovered. Now Ashley was in his confidence he could bounce some ideas off him, and tackle the other questions he had about the direction their relationship might take.