She extended her fangs, and touched one. "I guess the spell didn't affect dhampyrs."
I breathed a huge sigh of relief, having completely overlooked that major detail. Even so, the terrible image of losing Elyssa washed over me. The cure to that awful thought was another kiss.
"Haven't we done this all before, love?" said a sultry voice from the doorway.
I turned to see Stacey, a wicked smile lighting her face. "It feels like it, doesn't it?" I shook my head, feeling like everything had come full circle. But I knew we were a long way from the end of all this. I thought of Mom, and my heart nearly burst with the desire to tell everyone. Now wasn't the time. "Ash and Nyte?" I asked Elyssa.
"They tried to run, but the other vampires pinned them down." Her gaze flicked about the large room. "I barely got out to warn the others." She saw something and raced toward the speakers near the huge television. Knelt beside a limp form.
A groan sounded nearby, and one of the vampires—former vampires—sat up, a dazed expression on her face, and looked at me. She sprang to her feet and promptly face-planted against a divider when her legs betrayed her. "Wha—what's going on?"
Seeing her reminded me of the task I'd come here to complete. I ran to Elyssa. Ash and Nyte were slowly coming to, confused expressions on their faces. "Elyssa, can I have the ring?"
She gasped. "In all the excitement, I completely forgot!" Pulled the ring off her finger and tossed it to me.
"What's the problem, darling?" Stacey asked as I ran back for the door to the crypt.
"Uh, keep an eye on these people," I said. "I'll be right back." I flitted down the stairs and back to the corpse of Simon Barclay. My stomach tried to turn inside out at the gruesome scene. Half his head was obliterated, and I didn't even want to think about the bits and pieces lying around. I took out the ring. Held it over him. It didn't so much as flicker.
"No," I said, horror swelling in my chest. "Who else could it be?" I took out one of the diamond-fiber vials Meghan had given me and held it beneath the dripping wound. I heaved. Felt bile climbing up my throat. I'd seen so much horror, it surprised me I still felt this repulsed by a gaping head wound. Then again, maybe that was something I should be happy about.
The vial sealed itself automatically after filling, and I tucked it in my pocket. Wiped excess blood off my hand onto a clean part of Barclay's suit.
Racing back upstairs, my mind hunted for answers. If Barclay wasn't Felicia's sire, who was? I found Maximus's unconscious body lying where I'd left him. Held the ring over him. Nothing. This couldn't be right. I staggered upright, looking about the room, feeling disoriented and clueless. As far as I knew, there weren't any other vampires in Maximus's rebellion who were capable of siring vampires.
Black-suited Templars appeared along with a team of Custodians. Within an hour they had all of the former vampires lined up in the middle of the room. The human security force was taken elsewhere, probably to find out how much they knew about the Overworld.
Ash and Nyte looked unharmed, though their eyes were back to a normal hue, and their fangs, like everyone else's were gone.
Nyte dropped into a chair and propped his chin on his hands, face glum. "Man, this sucks."
"Tell me about it," Ash said, and slumped on a couch.
Someone grunted.
Ash jumped up in surprise as a man burst from his hiding place beneath the sofa cushions and raced for the exit. Nyte bounced to his feet, grabbed the man by the arm, and flung him skidding thirty feet down the center of the room. His eyes went wide as he regarded his hand.
"What the—" He punched a hole in a divider.
Ash tested his strength on another divider. They both hooted with joy.
I looked at the former vampires, a terrible realization hitting me. The spell must have only temporarily taken away their powers.
Bella stopped what she was doing and approached the two of them. "Come here, young man."
Ash gave her an uneasy look, but did as she asked. "You're not going to take it away are you?"
She ran her wand up and down. Her forehead scrunched in confusion. "How odd." She motioned for Meghan to join her. "Can you scan him and tell me what you see?"