Without Markos there to lead the army, the soldiers would probably hesitate to attack Tiger Town. They might even desert. From what Russell had seen from the guards last night, their morale was low. They no longer wanted to die for Han and risk going to hell.
Once he and Markos were alone, they would decide the outcome of the battle. There was no need to put anyone else in danger. Russell sighed, not wanting to think about that final confrontation. Would Markos surrender and give up his plan to rule the world? Somehow Russell had to convince him to stop. If not, he would be forced to kill him.
His heart constricted in his chest. God, help me. Spare me from that pain. Hadn’t he been through enough?
There was a rustling sound from the bed. Jia was waking. She blinked at him sleepily, and his heart squeezed again. Was he going to lose her, too?
“I’ll go topside for a few minutes to give you privacy.” He grabbed a sword and the sat phone, then teleported out to do a perimeter check. Nothing but a few small animals that ran away as he approached.
He wondered how preparations were going at Tiger Town, but he didn’t dare call one of the Vamps, since they might teleport to him and learn the location of his hideout. So he called Howard in Transylvania.
“Guess who’s here,” Howard said. “Last night, Angus had Neona, Norjee, and Xiao Fang teleported here. Neona agreed not to take part in the battle, since she’s expecting.”
“That’s good. How is Xiao Fang?”
“He’s coming along,” Howard replied. “Neona has healed his injuries, and he’s talking to Norjee quite a bit. He hasn’t said much about his captivity, though. He keeps asking if Jia is all right. He says she was stabbed.”
“Tell him she’s fine. Her wound is completely healed.”
“That’s a relief. The poor kid is afraid to be happy. He’s worried that Darafer will find him.”
Russell winced. That was a possibility. “Is there any way to get rid of Darafer?”
“We’re not able to kill him,” Howard grumbled. “As far as I know, only the Heavenly Father and archangels can destroy him. The God Warriors can banish him back to hell, but it takes seven of them. And they can only do it if he breaks the decree of free will.”
Russell sighed. Even if he solved the situation with his brother, Darafer would remain a problem. “What’s going on at Tiger Town?”
“Angus has gathered an army of two hundred. As soon as the sun sets here, Mikhail is supposed to teleport me there.”
“Any sign of Han’s army?” Russell asked. “Do I need to spend tonight tracking them?”
“No. You can relax. Queen Nima’s owl is watching the army and having other birds report to Winifred, so Angus knows where the army is. He expects them to arrive at the Mekong River tomorrow afternoon. We figure they won’t attack until after sunset, when Han shows up.”
“Tell Angus that as soon as I spot Han, I’m kidnapping him. That should keep the army from attacking.”
There was a pause, then Howard said, “You should stand down, Russell. Don’t get involved. He’s your brother—”
“That’s why I have to do this. I can’t allow him to kill another person.”
Howard groaned. “I get that, but I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret. You’ll have to live with the consequences forever.”
“I know. Later.” Russell hung up and stood still as despair threatened to engulf him. Did he have to lose everyone he ever loved?
With a heavy heart, he teleported back into the cave.
Jia was sitting on the bed, dressed in her second set of clothes and braiding her hair. “Hi.” She smiled at him, then glanced away, her cheeks turning pink.
Great. Things were going to be awkward. “How do you feel? You look . . . beautiful, but then, you always do.”
Her blush deepened. “I’m fine.”
“Do you have enough food here to eat? When the sun sets in Transylvania, I could steal some of Howard’s donuts for you.”
That made her smile. “I’m fine, really. Just . . . embarrassed.”
“There’s no need to feel bad.” Having sex with him was embarrassing? Dammit. He plugged the sat phone in to recharge. If she apologized or called it an accident, he might lose it.
“It was my first time to die and come back.” She slipped off the bed and wandered toward the table. “I wasn’t sure what exactly would happen. I didn’t expect to shift.”
“No big deal.” He grabbed another bottle of blood from the ice chest and wrenched off the top. Not that he was hungry, but he had to keep busy or he might rip something apart. “You’re a were-tiger. You shift. No need to apologize for it.” Not when I love you the way you are.
“I . . . hope I didn’t scare you.”
He shrugged and took a sip of cold blood.
She winced. “Rajiv warned me I might behave . . . strangely.”
“You mean like a sex goddess?”
Her mouth fell open. “No! I mean, he said I might feel an overwhelming desire to mate, but I’d never mated before, so I didn’t think—”
“You knew?” He plunked the bottle down on the table. “You knew that would happen?”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t—”
“Don’t—” He clenched his fists. “Don’t apologize.”
“I didn’t think anything would happen!” She stepped toward him. “I’m sure it was shocking for you, but it seems to be a completely normal occurrence for were-cats. Think of it as a cultural thing.”