other Arcane twirled her wand. Ash winced as a globule of blood squeezed from a pore. The blood whirled rapidly, separating into plasma and other fluids. Meghan directed her wand at the plasma and made a swishing motion. A gentle blue glow surrounded the plasma. "The serum," she said in a wondering voice. "It used Justin's blood. The spell must have removed the vampirism, but left some incubus enhancements."
"I can seduce women?" Ash said, a hopeful look in his eyes.
Nyte's mouth dropped open, and I could practically see his head filling with the possibilities.
Meghan shook her head. "No, I don't think so. You would have shown signs of it before now. Aside from the obvious strength you've gained, I can't be sure until I run more tests."
Ash backed away a step. "Tests?"
Bella grinned, holding her wand in a tight grip. "Oh yes. And anal probes."
Nyte and Ash went white as ghosts.
Meghan rolled her eyes. "Really now, Bella. Why would I use something small as my wand for anal probes? I use my staff for that."
I wanted to laugh and enjoy the feel-good moment, but I couldn't. Felicia weighed far too heavily on my mind. I pulled Meghan aside. "The ring. It didn't light up around Barclay or Maximus." Her grin vanished. "But who else could it be?"
I looked up and saw Adam coming our way, his face daring to express hope. My heart sank at the thought of dashing his fragile hope to pieces. A buzzing in my pocket startled me from my thoughts. I pulled out my phone and saw Unknown Caller flashing on my screen. I answered.
"I see you're staying on task, Justin," said a very creepy, very familiar voice.
My body went rigid. I held up a finger to the others, and walked closer to the booming speakers. "What do you want, Underborn?"
"First, congratulations. Yet again, you've proven yourself quite worthy, young man." I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Get to the point. Elyssa told me all about your offer to her, and how you backed out."
"Yes, well, I gave her certain conditions, and she couldn't meet them in time. I'm sure you understand."
"And you dragged Katie into this mess?" I huffed out a disgusted breath. "Used her feelings for Ash and Nyte to get her to spy for you? And then you didn't even lift a finger to help. You're a slimeball. A cowardly piece of sh—"
"Now, now, Justin," he said, the amusement gone from his voice, replaced by a calm, cold tone. "Perhaps you've forgotten the key."
"You didn't mean for Elyssa to get that," I replied. "And when she did, you lied about it."
"Actually, I knew if I gave it to her, she would be suspicious of the gift."
"Damned right."
"But my reasons were not entirely selfless, I must admit." Underborn chuckled, as if he'd just cracked an amusing joke. "You see, the Relics of Juranthemon sense each other. They're drawn to each other. But they also have minds of their own, it seems. Though I knew another of the relics was near, the key refused to draw me any closer. I suspected you had found another Relic. The one I have been hoping to find for years. You have the map."
I almost laughed into the phone, and pulled a "Nyah nyah, you can't have it" on him, but miraculously stopped myself. "The only map I have is from Triple-A. I know which map you're talking about, though. Elyssa told me all about your little conversation." It occurred to me that Underborn hadn't just made idle conversation about the map. He had known it might be nearby thanks to the key. That bastard did everything for a reason.
Underborn sighed. "Justin, I know you have the map. And even if you have another of the relics instead, they will lead me to the map eventually." He paused. "I would like the ey back and the map."
This time, I did laugh. "Screw you. You gave Elyssa the key. She's keeping it."
"I propose an exchange."
"Can I have my life back?" I asked. "Or how about a scholarship to MIT?"
He chuckled. "The second could easily be arranged, though I doubt you'd have much time to enjoy a higher education. No, I have something far more valuable, but time is ticking away before the value of this gift expires."
"Did you buy me an ice cream cone?"
"As usual, young man, I have something far more valuable. Information. But this time, I went a step further. The item my information would have led