“He plans to lead the attack in four nights,” Russell replied. “This isn’t like Beyul-La, in the middle of the Himalayas. There are roads here, and his army has transport trucks, so they’ll be moving faster.”
Angus nodded. “I’ll call in reinforcements. About a hundred of the soldiers we saved over the last year have promised to help.” He turned to J.L. and Dougal. “Can ye contact them?”
Dougal nodded. “My wife kept a record of all their names and villages.”
“If we divide the villages up, we can reach most of the soldiers tonight,” J.L. said, and the two Vamps dashed to the clinic.
“We have three nights to get prepared,” Russell said. “Wu Shen said they would be mutating new recruits tomorrow.”
“Any idea how many?” When Russell shook his head, Angus continued, “Over the last six months, we’ve taken eighty soldiers prisoner. Thirty more last night. We figure Han has close to three hundred.”
Russell frowned. Even with the hundred rescued soldiers, Angus could pull together a force of less than two hundred. “You should continue attacking Han’s camps for the next three nights. We need to deplete his army as much as possible.”
“Agreed,” Angus said. “We’ll start after we evacuate the women and children.”
Something nagged at the back of Russell’s mind. He was forgetting something. Something Wu Shen had said.
Angus turned to Rajiv. “How quickly can ye coordinate the evacuation? I’ll lend you as many Vamps as I can for teleporting.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Rajiv bounded halfway up the stairs in front of the palace and called in Chinese for the villagers’ attention. They gathered around the base of the stairs, complaining.
“We don’t want to leave!” an elderly man shouted.
Rajiv lifted his hands, but the grumbling increased.
“You can’t make us leave our homes!”
Jia rushed up the stairs to be by her cousin’s side. When Russell followed her, he was jostled by angry were-tigers.
“You all heard the news,” Rajiv announced. “Han’s army is coming here.”
“It’s those vampires’ fault,” an old woman yelled, glaring at Russell. “They came here, and now we’re in trouble.”
Another woman pointed at Russell. “Why was this vampire with our princess? I thought she was with Your Eminence’s brother in Thailand.”
Rajiv exchanged a worried look with Jia.
“She was!” Russell replied. “But when I learned that Tiger Town was in danger, I picked her up on the way here. I knew she would want to be with you.”
Jia slanted him a grateful look before addressing the crowd. “I will do everything I can to help.”
“Then send the vampires away!” the old woman shouted. “If they leave, Master Han will leave us alone.”
“That’s not true,” Rajiv said. “Han and his vampire lords have plagued us for many years, long before we met the good Vamps.”
“There’s no such thing as a good Vamp!” An elderly man shook his fist.
“My grandfather, the Grand Tiger, lost three of his sons to Han and his evil vampire lords.” Rajiv motioned to his cousin beside him. “Lady Jia and I both lost our parents to vampires. How many of you have suffered and lost loved ones because of Master Han?”
The were-tigers grumbled.
“Since we met the good Vamps, all three of Han’s evil vampire lords have been vanquished,” Rajiv continued. “Russell here killed Lord Ming. With help from Jin Long, Jia and I were able to kill Lord Qing. The captive dragon shifter killed Lord Liao. Han is the only one left. We are so close to being free from them forever! Bear with us just a little longer.”
“But we have to leave our homes,” a woman whined.
“Yes,” Rajiv told her. “It is the best way to keep you and your children safe.”
“It shouldn’t be more than a week,” Jia added. “Most of you have relatives in the other colonies. Just spend a few days with them until it’s safe to come back. Think of it as a small vacation.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” another woman muttered. “You haven’t met my mother-in-law.”
Everyone chuckled.
Rajiv smiled. “You have my word. Han will soon be dead, and the vampire menace that has plagued our people for forty years will be over!”
The villagers cheered.
“All men with fighting experience should remain to defend our town,” Rajiv told them. “The rest of you, pack only what you need for a few days, then come to the palace. Lady Jia and I will help you get sorted into groups, according to which colony you wish to go to. Then the good Vamps will take you there.”
The villagers rushed off to their homes to pack.
The warrior women, Neona and Winifred, rushed up the stairs. “Can we help?”
“Yes, thank you.” Jia took the two women into the palace.
“You did well,” Russell told Rajiv.
He snorted. “I never expected to become the Grand Tiger.” With a sigh, he headed up the stairs. “I hope I don’t let them down.”
“You won’t.” Russell followed him. “I never realized until now how much some of the were-tigers dislike vampires.”
“Yeah, we had a bad history with them before you guys came along.” Rajiv gave him an embarrassed look. “I apologize for accusing you of kidnapping Jia. I know she probably begged you to take her. She’s lived for revenge for so long. I kept procrastinating, hoping she would get over it.”