blood potion. I don't know where he got it, but it turns people into vampires."
Chapter 6
Elyssa and I stared at each other, stunned by Felicia's words.
"Are you sure?" I asked, praying the signal didn't break up again.
"Oh, thank god you're still there." She paused, her breathing fast and panicked. "I don't have long," she hissed. "I'm positive about it. He showed it to one of his top guys. I've been sleeping with him to get information."
I felt my face blanch at the thought of her casual use of sex as a tool. "Felicia, you need to get out of there and go back to your brother."
"Is—is Adam doing okay?" she said, sounding like a little girl. "Will you tell him I love him and miss him?"
"He's very proud of you, Felicia, but you're putting yourself in danger."
"I know. But you, of all people, know I owe some good karma back to the universe."
"Where's Maximus now?" Elyssa said.
"Down here," Felicia said, as if that should be clear to us.
"No, I mean what city?"
"Bogota. He's been using the arch at La Casona to travel, to where, I don't know. Ever since I came back, he hasn't given me a second glance. He has new girlfriends."
"Does he have my sister, Ivy?" I asked, almost face-palming for not having asked that immediately.
"Your sister?" She paused. "I have no idea. So many people come in and out of here all the time, it's impossible to keep up." A noise sounded, like someone knocking on a door. "Crap," she hissed. "Just a minute, hot stuff," she said in a loud voice. "I'm in the bathroom."
"Who is that?" I asked.
"Alvin, the guy I'm sleeping with," she said in a whisper. "Tell the Templars they need to stop Maximus. I don't know who's making the potion, but it doesn't take much to turn a nom into a vampire. Right now, his quantities are limited, but if he figures out how to mass produce it, there won't be anything left in Bogota except a bunch of high school and college-aged vampires who live to serve Maximus. An army."
"We'll stop him," Elyssa said, giving me a look.
"Alvin said it doesn't always work. Sometimes, it turns them into vamplings."
I shuddered. "Oh, crap." Vamplings were part zombie and part vampire, and carried a highly contagious magical virus. One bite could turn a person into a member of the walking dead. I'd seen it happen before, and it wasn't pretty.
"Tell Adam I love him," Felicia said. I'll try to find out about your sister too. Bye, Justin." The connection went dead.
Elyssa pulled out her phone, tapped in a number, and put it to her ear. After a few seconds, she made a face and hung up.
"Who are you calling?"
"Michael. He needs to know about this."
"What about your father?"
Her nose wrinkled. "I'd prefer Michael gave him the news."
"Why? You think your dad won't listen to you?"
Elyssa shrugged. "After mind-wiping me and nearly exiling me to Europe, I don't think I'm the one he'll listen to. And with Jack dead—" She trailed off as a lone tear trickled down her cheek.
I wiped it away with my thumb and caressed her cheek. "You're the best of them," I said. "Talk to him. He'll believe you."
She looked at me, her eyes wet and rimmed with red. "Maybe so, but, ever since Nightliss restored my memories, I've felt so angry at him. Angry and hurt and worthless."
"You're not worthless, Elyssa." I gripped her shoulders and narrowed my eyes. "How could you say that? I mean, you're always so strong-willed about everything. Like the time you nearly took off my head."
A small smile lit her face. "When I found out you were spawn?"
I nodded. "I thought I was a goner."
"I was pissed. Hurt."
"Kind of like now?"
She shook her head. "Now, it's different." She clenched her hands tight and wiped away another tear with the back of her hand. "Anyway, you're right. I'll tell Father. Looks like we have more than one reason to finish Maximus now."
Shelton and Bella walked around the corner, steaming cups of tea in their hands. Bella's eyes looked bright and happy as she spoke to him. Shelton held his arcphone in one hand, studying it, nodding absentmindedly while Bella chattered away.
"Looks like the recording was made this morning around three a.m." He flicked his fingers across the phone and the screen expanded until it was about a foot across. "I also found the location information."
Hope surged in my chest. "You know where they were keeping