Chapter 20
Alex didn’t know why he’d been so open with Dorian; he wasn’t the sort to volunteer information about himself, but it had felt natural to talk to him, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d received a hug that had no sexual impetus behind it.
The interaction had made him want to help Dorian even more.
After several texts and calls with Debi, Alex and Karl were now waiting for Trevir to arrive at Dorian’s LA home.
Karl had placed a muting charm around them so Trevir wouldn’t realise they were there, and another spell to stop him disappearing into a portal if he decided to scarper after being cornered.
The mage known as Trevir stepped into the reception room they were waiting in, and Alex tried hard not to react to his long, black beard, purple velvet suit, and awful footwear. He saw Karl’s eye twitch; he must have been seriously disturbed.
Trevir looked confused. “Debi, who are these gentlemen?”
She didn’t answer and instead excused herself, and Alex decided he would make his own introductions.
“My name is Alex Reynolds, and this is my colleague, Karl Vinter. We are both in the employ of the Dark Earl of Crofton. We have some questions regarding the work you’ve undertaken for Dorian Marsten. ”
Trevir’s eyes widened, and he tried to open a portal, failing; he tried again. “You can’t keep me here. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Then you’ll be happy to answer our questions,” Karl said.
“Where’s Dorian?” Trevir demanded. “I’m working for him, not some British ponce of a vampire.”
“Brave words when His Lordship isn’t present,” Alex said. “But Dorian is at Crofton Hall. You were aware he was attending an event there, and he has remained a guest after an incident that is linked to what you were employed to do.”
“Why would he still be there?” Trevir’s face lit up. “Did it work? Did he free Robin from his husband, and now Dorian is enjoying the spoils?”
Trevir’s reaction was either genuine or he was an excellent actor. “Spoils is not how I’d describe Dorian’s residency at Crofton Hall,” Alex said.
“Then what’s going on?”
“Dorian was caught in an inappropriate embrace with Mr Flint by Prince Simon,” Karl began. “He was forced into his dragon form after an altercation and is currently unable to shift back.”
“No, no, no. That can’t be right. My trackers would have told me if something like that had happened.”
“The enchantment and potion you created worked as an interception charm, but not between Prince Simon and his husband, but on Dorian’s ability to shift.”
Trevir shook his head. “No, Prince Simon must’ve done something. There’s no way that could’ve been the reaction.”
“I assure you, Prince Simon is not the responsible party,” Alex said. “And by that, I mean he did attack Dorian, but not with the type of magic that could’ve caused Dorian’s current predicament. I was there, I know what I saw and felt.”
He decided not to say the only reason Dorian wasn’t toast was that Chris had intervened as Trevir was already too keen for Alex’s liking to push the blame to Simon.
Trevir frowned. “But that makes no sense. The spells and potions were working to unlock the influence Robin was under. They weren’t targeted towards Dorian, apart from Robin being more susceptible to his thrall.”
“Robin Flint is not under the influence of his husband,” Karl said.
“Come on. Are you trying to tell me that a man like Robin Flint settled down almost overnight?” Trevir snorted. “Prince Simon might be a fae, but this is no fairy tale.”
“Haven’t you heard of the vampire concept of Eternals?” Karl asked, sounding incredulous.
“Yes, but it’s nonsense.” Trevir’s face fell. “Wait, are you serious?”
“As serious as Dorian being trapped as a dragon,” Alex said. “Now, I know Prince Simon’s magic was not the root cause, and as I don’t believe in coincidence, that leaves you as the main suspect.”
Trevir must have realised the level of shit he was in, as his eyes had widened and he looked to be trying to form words. “No,” he finally replied.
“No, what?”
“I am not responsible for this. I was acting in good faith. My subcontractors are all certified and held over by trust bonds. There is no way I can be held accountable for whatever happened to Dorian.”
Karl raised an eyebrow. “Subcontractors? We had thought you might be working with someone else, but are you saying you have people on the payroll?”
“Of course. I’m running a business, and I have many clients. Too many for one man.”
Alex was certain Dorian wasn’t aware of Trevir’s business practices. “Dorian thought you were a one-man band.”
“I’m not explicit on all the details of my support network,” Trevir said carefully. “And despite having confidentiality oaths in place, people can get worried about too many others being involved.”
Alex was beginning to believe that while Trevir was an excellent Sentry Mage, the rest of his magic wasn’t as impressive. “Do you subcontract because you couldn’t do the complex spellcraft some of your clients request?”
“I don’t like your tone.”
“And I don’t like having to babysit a fucking dragon, but here we are.”
Sentry Mages could hide their signature, but there would always be something about them when encountered in person, and Alex realised there was none of the crackle or fizz he usually felt amongst other magic users.
Trevir wasn’t the powerhouse he’d been selling himself as.
“Now, you’re great at covering your tracks, and probably a good salesman and project manager, but you’re no amazing warlock.
So, either you tell me who you were working with, or I’ll let my demon friend here find a way to make you talk. ”
Threatening him with Karl was the easy option, and Karl would have no qualms loosening Trevir’s tongue.
“I have done nothing wrong,” Trevir insisted, but he was sweating.
“Then you should have no problem telling me what I want to know.”
“I have confidentiality agreements in place; it’s not as simple as just dropping a name. There’ll be consequences.”
Alex suspected as much, but there were ways and means to deal with them, and they would have boundaries that, if overstepped, would nullify them.
“I appreciate that you will have stipulations in place. I assume the oaths governing confidentiality aspects are the reason for all the messages relating to your interactions disappearing from Dorian’s mobile device. ”
“What? No! I’ve never had those sorts of charms in place. They’re bloody dangerous, could wipe out a whole network if used wrong.” Several human cyberattacks had been attributed to such spells, not that the average victim knew about it.
“Then, if you are using legally binding confidentiality charms, you are within your right to break them in the event of questioning by law enforcement, their original scope of the agreement has been breached, or you are in fear for your life. As I’m not a police officer, clauses two or three are your defence. ”
Trevir huffed. “Fine.”
He clicked his finger, and a scroll appeared.
He handed it to Alex. “That contains the information of the magic that was crafted for Dorian. One was a contact transfer dust to increase the impact of his thrall, and it was tuned to Robin. The potion, ingredients and method are included and are of similar design and developed to work in tandem with the dust. I used a contractor to do that, and as you can see, there’s nothing terrible involved or would cause an issue to Dorian’s dragon physiology.
I knew he was a shifter; he provided samples of his scales, so all those variables were factored in. ”
Alex scanned the scroll. While some of the work was clever, it wasn’t groundbreaking or likely to have caused the amount of harm they had. “Did you do a quality check of the goods you handed over?”
“Of course. They were as expected, which is a high standard I demand for all projects I take on. I pay well, so I get the best.”
“You noticed nothing out of the ordinary?” Karl pushed.
“No, delivered as ordered. I still have samples I can provide to you.”
Karl conjured the cologne bottle. “Is this the one you handed over?”
“Looks like one of mine.” He took hold of it and scowled. “This did not feel like this when it was given to Dorian. Who else had access to it?”
“As far as we are aware, no one. When I retrieved the bottle from Dorian’s possessions, it already had this signature.”
Trevir glowered at the bottle and unscrewed the lid, staring at the spray plunger. He pressed it a couple of times and swore under his breath. “I think I know what happened. This trigger device was rigged. I think there was another charm placed to go off after a certain number of depressions.”
Karl took the plunger and closed his hand around it. “I see what you mean. It was superbly camouflaged.”
“The pointy-eared fucker!” Trevir spat, then looked at Alex. “No offence.”
At least Trevir’s outburst narrowed down the species of his accomplice. Alex didn’t react; he’d been called far worse. “Are you saying that the charm either changed the nature of the potion or hid what it really was?”
“Mostly like the second. It’d have been more difficult to craft another spell to interact with the potion to deliver the result of what’s happened to Dorian.” Trevir wrinkled his nose. “I hate to say it, this isn’t a coincidence, and I’m not willing to be put on the hook for it.”
Alex was pleased Trevir had come to the right conclusion.
“Wise decision. You don’t want to be on Robin Flint’s shit list, as that means you’re fair game for the House of Hewel.
And as well as his fae connection, Prince Simon is the Dark Viscount of MacLove, which brings the House of Cartwright into the mix. ”
“I’m happy to help get to the bottom of this. If it were to get out, it could seriously damage my business. But to do that, I need to access my files, so can you lift the blocking field?”
“How do we know you won’t just open a portal and leave?” Karl asked.