Conspirators, unhappy with the young king's policies, assassinate the royal coup

le in Khayman's house while they were attempting to exorcise Amel, who had been
tormenting Khayman. While the king and queen lie dying, the evil spirit sees its
chance to ensnare the soul of the dying queen and pulls it back into her body.
The spirit combines itself with the flesh and blood of the queen, transforming h
er into a vampire. Akasha allows the king to drink her blood, which saves his li
fe. They then order Khayman to find the witches and bring them back to Egypt so
that they could use their knowledge of spirits to help them, as they feel guilty
because of their thirst for blood. However, when the witches admit that they ca
nnot help the monarchs, Akasha orders the mutilation of the witches: Maharet los
es her eyes and Mekare her tongue. Afterward, Khayman, who had been turned into
a vampire by Akasha, comes to the witches' cell and turns them too. The three fl
ee together, but are caught by Akasha's soldiers. Khayman escapes, but Maharet a
nd Mekare are further punished. The witches are put into two separate coffins wh
ich are then set afloat on two separate bodies of water. They are only reunited
near the end of the novel Queen of the Damned.
In Mekare's absence, Maharet returns to watch over her daughter and her descenda
nts. Maharet's descendants become what she calls the Great Family. A maternal li
ne, the Great Family includes every culture, religion, ethnicity, and race. The
Great Family represents all humanity and shows the vampires what Akasha would de
stroy with the creation of her New World Order.
As the source of all vampires, Akasha is connected to all vampires by the blood
and spirit they collectively share. In an experiment by the first Keeper, Akasha
and Enkil are exposed to sunlight when they are several thousand years old. Thi
s merely darkens their skin. However, the result on all other vampires is extrem
e, and many of the weakest vampires die, thus confirming the legend that anythin
g that harms Akasha will also directly affect all of her progeny.