"All this time you've been holding out," Ash said. "Not cool, guys." He looked at Katie. "And you knew?"
She nodded. "I found out by accident. But I was sworn to secrecy." Her green eyes regarded him, traces of hurt or disappointment still evident.
"We had our reasons to keep it quiet." Elyssa gave them pointed looks. "Maybe you'll agree once we're done explaining."
We gave them the short version, taking turns, from the time I'd discovered my incubus abilities, to Elyssa's duties as an undercover Templar, sent to apprehend vampires preying on unsuspecting noms at our high school. It was hard to believe all we'd been through in the past few months.
Ash and Nyte looked absolutely flummoxed.
"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Ash said, a horrified look on his face. "Are you saying we joined the bad guys?"
Nyte's eyes grew worried. "Did we go to the dark side?"
"How did Maximus turn you?" I said, my heart chilled at the thought the rogue vampire might have infected them with the vampling curse.
"We injected ourselves." Ash pulled out two vials of a clear red substance with a bluish glow. "The recruiter told us we'd made the final cut and gave us vials like this. He had a bundle of them, so Nyte distracted him while I stole a couple, thinking we'd give them to you guys." He shrugged. "Obviously, you don't even need them."
I took one of the vials and examined it in the dim light. "Why is it glowing blue?"
"Oh, god," Elyssa said. "Maximus had time to make a batch with your blood, Justin." She peered at Nyte's eyes. "I knew something was off. Look at their irises."
I leaned in and spotted the anomaly right away. Although his and Ash's eyes had the standard red irises of vampires, they were edged by a soft blue tint. "Let me see your hand," I told Nyte.
He raised an eyebrow, but held it out. His hand was warm. I motioned for Elyssa to touch it.
She gasped. "Most vampires have a low body temperature. They're not cold, but they definitely aren't warm." Her eyes met mine. "But they aren't like dhampyrs either. This would explain why we didn't sense them as vampires."
"Dhampyrs have violet eyes?" Ash said. "And I always thought you were wearing contacts."
Elyssa squeezed his hand. "Have you had human blood yet?"
Ash and Nyte looked warily at each other.
"This is important, guys," she said. "Have you drunk blood from a human?"
Nyte winced. "Well, not exactly from a human. We drank from some blood packs right after, because the recruiter didn't want us jumping any classmates. We were supposed to go to an orientation tonight where they'd teach us how to hunt properly, you know, without killing people."
"Oh, and how to control blood urges, and what to do if we get the munchies," Ash added.
"How does daylight feel?" Elyssa asked.
"Uh, normal." Ash shrugged. "The recruiter told us we'd feel sluggish and tired in daylight, but he was wrong."
Nyte nodded. "I'm just glad I don't have to worry about bursting into flames or having a hot girl stab me in the chest with a stake."
"So they're not normal vampires?" Katie said, looking somewhat relieved.
"Not entirely," Elyssa said. She asked them several more questions, probably straight out of the Templar handbook for identifying vampires, and mulled over their answers before asking one last question. "And how many vials did you say this guy has?"
"Probably thirty or forty," Ash said. "No telling how many others he's already juiced with the stuff."
Elyssa stood and brushed the dust off her jeans. "We've got to get those vials."
"The orientation is at the same place they took your dad," Ash said, looking at me. "The dude gave us a pass phrase to get in the front door. Supposedly, we're gonna meet Maximus, too."
"Has he added any security?" I asked.
"We only went one time before," Nyte said, an apologetic look on his face. "The recruiter took us in to meet a British guy. We didn't think to look for cameras or anything."
"We didn't even know they were vampires," Ash said. "They told us the meeting was about finding new meaning or some crap like that. The British guy asked us a lot of questions."
Nyte shuddered. "And he shook our hands in a really creepy way, too."
"Did he have a monocle and an oiled mustache?" I asked.
Nyte gave a vigorous nod. "Yeah, exactly. Accent like Sherlock Holmes."
"The Master," I said. "Maximus's sire."
"Didn't you say Felicia needs Maximus's blood?" Nyte said.