Khaat had taken another heavy dose of Rob's potion, and she felt calm again. It was the only thing that silenced her mind and numbed all the agony in her spirit. She closed her eyes, laying the book on her chest, allowing the potion to sink in.
Meanwhile, Archangel returned from his errand and landed on the kitchen windowsill just as Angus was pouring cocoa into mugs. Angus opened the window and the bird dropped something onto the windowsill from his mouth. It was covered in snow. "What'd you find, Boy?" Angus asked. He gave the bird a treat and picked up the snowy present the eagle had dropped. He brushed the snow off and saw it was a potions bottle made of delicate lavender art glass. It was small--only to hold a dose or two at most. He had no question in his mind whos it was. He just knew--instantly. He opened the bottle and the rank smell of the potion rolled out at him. Revolted instantly, he stopped up the bottle at once. Angus kept a great many potions in stock on the yacht for the various ills of passengers. But this was something so vile he'd never ever smelled it before. How on earth was she getting it past her nose, much less drinking it? Was this the answer to what was going on with her? He seriously doubted Robert was giving it to her. Robert would have worked out the problem with the smell that was a lot like formaldehyde and rotting flesh. This was, clearly, an illegal potion in a dressed up bottle.
"Brian!" he called. There was no easy way to break this to him. Brian came in. "What's up?" he asked.
"Archangel just brought this to me. What the hell is this rot?" Angus handed the bottle to him.
Brian frowned. His mind flashed. He'd seen a glimpse of this bottle once in Khaat's purse. He took the bottle, uncapped it, and the smell rolled up in his face like smoke. It was so strong and so disgusting that he threw his head back out of the way of its odor while he quickly recappped it. "Good god!" he said, trying to catch his breath. "What the hell? Essence of rotting zombie?" he asked. He searched the bottle for a label. There was none.
"Is this what's going on with her?" Angus asked.
"I doubt it. Who the helll could drink that?" He asked. "But we need to ask Robert for certain." He went into the living room, to the fireplace, and summoned Robert. In a moment, Robert apparated in.
"What's up?" he asked Brian.
"What is this?" he handed the bottle to Robert. Robert looked at the bottle. "Expensive bottle. Handmade. Pretty. No label--thats not good. Where'd you get it?"
"Archangel brought it in from the yard," Brian said as Robert uncapped it. He smelled the potion, barely changing his expression.
"Well, this explains everything," Robert said gravely, recapping the bottle. "It's a lethal illegal potion that Rob Dent brews and sells. I really was hoping we wouldn't ever revisit this crap. This is Rob's version of a mind numbing potion. Khaat was briefly addicted to it by accident when she was living with Rob. It nearly killed her then. She knows that the exhange for the temporary peace of mind it gives is that it destroys. Kills the bodily systems over time. This explains why her ankles haven't healed, why no amount of good nutrition does her any good, why she's just getting progressively weaker and thinner. It explains it all. She can't be buying this from Rob. Rob would never sell this to her. Not willingly. My guess is that she's been stealing it from him. Despite the fact that he makes illegals, he does love her. He would never let her within a drop of this again. He had to work too hard to save her from it the first time." He sat down and looked at them all. "Understand what this means. She's addicted again. Clearly. But my guess is that she just can't cope with whatever happened to her during her second go around with Barker. It was ugly, I'll give her that. But its more than she knows how to cope with. And I'll wager she's realizing that she's dying, and she's feeling scared and trapped. Its becoming a cycle for her. The more she takes it, the more it kills her, but without it, she can't cope with the trauma Barker put her through. Nor can she cope with what the potion is doing to her. Its one hell of a hideous trap. Alright. All of you--search every single inch of this property. Bring every bottle of potion you find. If I know Khaat, there isn't any here, or no more than perhaps one more. She won't keep it here because of the kids. But look anyway."
"Robert," Brian said. "You said 'dying.' Did you mean that literally?"
"I did. It wasnt' a joke. We can turn her around, but if we do, the next 3 days are going to be hideous. If we don't, she dies. Its just that simple."