Her mother turned to face her. “Hypocrisy does not suit you. We are warriors.” She stepped closer. “How many men have you killed, Neona?”
“In the heat of battle, it is self-defense. We must kill in order to survive.”
Nima’s mouth twisted with a wry smile. “And what makes you think your father didn’t fight back?”
Neona’s gut churned. Killing men in battle was one thing, but killing a man after mating with him?
The queen patted Neona on the cheek. “Pull yourself together. Nothing matters except fulfilling our sacred duty.”
“Minerva mattered.”
Nima closed her eyes briefly with a pained look. “In the end, she was weak. Don’t let that happen to you.” She turned and walked down the path into the valley.
Neona remained behind with tears stinging her eyes. Zhan butted his head against her leg, and she crouched down beside him.
“Sacred duty,” she muttered. All her life, she’d heard that nothing mattered except keeping the valley and its secrets safe. “Minerva mattered. Her son mattered.”
And Zoltan mattered. Even though it hurt like hell, she could not see him again. He was venturing far too close to Beyul-La. Not only was her heart at risk. His life would be over if he was caught.
She hugged Zhan. “Love matters.”
Chapter Eight
When Zoltan teleported into the kitchen, he found Russell seated at the table with Howard. There was a tense silence between the ex-Marine and were-bear. A large box of donuts rested on the table, and Howard was working his way through them. In front of Russell, there was an open bottle of Blissky, a mixture of synthetic blood and whisky.
“Oh, there you are. I hope you don’t mind, but I helped myself.” Russell filled his glass and poured another one for Zoltan.
“What’s going on?” Zoltan sat across from Russell.
“Do you want him to hear this?” Russell tilted his head toward Howard.
“I’m not leaving.” Howard reached for a donut.
“Hear what?” Zoltan asked. “I was in the middle of something, so this had better—”
“It’s important,” Russell said. “Howard told me you were meeting an Amazon warrior tonight. So you found the women who made the arrow you took from me?”
“Yes.” Zoltan leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “What can you tell me about them?”
“Not much. They’re a secretive bunch.” Russell downed his glass of Blissky. “They’re in danger from Master Han.”
“Why?” Zoltan and Howard asked at the same time.
“I don’t know.” Russell poured himself another glass. “I’ve been spying on Lord Liao for a while now. I can learn more from his camp because he and his soldiers complain to each other. At Master Han’s camp, I can’t get near him. He’s too heavily guarded, and no one says anything there for fear that Han will kill them.”
“Great guy,” Howard muttered.
Russell nodded. “I overheard Lord Liao talking to his minions, and he’s getting frantic. Apparently, Master Han said he doesn’t miss the two vampire lords who were killed. And he bragged that he doesn’t need the demon Darafer in order to take over the world. He says he can do it all by himself. So Liao is worried that his days are numbered if he can’t prove his worth to Master Han.”
“And he can prove his worth by attacking the women of Beyul-La?” Zoltan asked.
Russell’s eyes widened. “Is that who they are? They wouldn’t even tell me that much.”
“Beyul-La?” Howard asked as he retrieved a cell phone from his pocket. “How do you spell it?”
“You won’t find it online,” Zoltan told him. “I already looked. It’s a hidden valley in the Himalayas. I don’t know why, but no men are allowed there. When I first approached the place, one of the women tried to kill me.”
“Sheesh,” Howard breathed. “What are they hiding there?”
Zoltan shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Whatever it is,” Russell said, “Master Han wants it. And Liao is determined to get it for him.”
Zoltan winced. “There are only six of them now. They can’t fight off an army of supersoldiers.”
Russell nodded. “That’s why I’m here. To see what we can do.” He gave Howard an annoyed look. “I guess you’d better let Angus know about it.”
“We could send a group to make first contact with them,” Howard suggested. “Angus would go with—”
“They’ll try to kill any man who approaches,” Zoltan interrupted. “They don’t believe men can be trusted.”
Howard sat back, frowning. “But you’ve been meeting one of them?”
Zoltan nodded. “Neona.”
“The healer?” Russell asked.
A spurt of anger jabbed at Zoltan, surprising him with its intensity. Damn. He was jealous that Russell had met her first. “How do you know her?”
“I hardly know her at all, so you can relax.” Russell gave him a wry look.
Was he that obvious? Zoltan sat back, affecting a nonchalant look. “How did you meet her?”
“I spent a few months following Lord Liao around Tibet. He was asking villagers where he could find the hidden valley of warrior women. I guess the news got back to the women, because they attacked. They were outnumbered but were fighting so fiercely that I joined in to help.” Russell downed his glass of Blissky and slammed it on the table. “I was so close to killing Liao, but the bastard teleported away. Then the rest of his army fled. I was wounded and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in a cabin. Frederic’s cabin, they called it.”
Zoltan nodded. “I know the place.”
“I found out later that I had saved their queen’s life, so they felt honor-bound to nurse me back to health,” Russell continued. “They had borrowed some horses from a nearby village, and they used them to carry me and their dead back. I was unconscious in the cabin when the sun rose, so I started sizzling. They realized I was a vampire and shuttered all the windows.”
Zoltan winced. “How did they feel about you being a Vamp?”
“When I woke up, they were staring at me like I was some kind of monster. Then they gave me a bowl of blood to drink.” Russell grimaced. “It tasted awful. They’d gotten it from a donkey.”
Howard chuckled.
Zoltan smiled to himself. The damned donkey was good for something.
Russell poured himself another glass. “They were amazed that my body had healed itself. The wounds from the battle and the burns from the sunlight had all disappeared, and their healer hadn’t needed to do anything.”
Zoltan nodded, relieved that Neona hadn’t been forced to feel Russell’s pain.
“They were shocked that I had taken their side in the battle.” Russell swallowed some Blissky. “They know about vampires, but they thought we were all evil. I tried to explain that there’s a group of good Vamps in the world who make it their goal to protect mortals. And I told them I was determined to kill Master Han myself. They liked that idea and thought I would be better suited for the task than them, since I’m also undead. So after I promised not to tell anyone about them, they let me go. I would have kept my word, but I’m worried about them being in danger.”
“You did right by telling us,” Zoltan assured him. “I’m worried about them, too.”
“That arrow you wanted to know about—” Russell poured the last of the Blissky into his glass. “The healer gave it to me. Lord Liao killed her sister, so she asked me to use her arrow to kill him.” He sipped from his glass. “If you still have the arrow, I’d like it back.”
“I’ll get it for you.” As far as Zoltan knew, it was still stuck in the tree branch where he’d pinned the note.
Howard reached for a donut. “I think the warrior women will make good allies against Master Han.”
Zoltan nodded. “I’ll keep seeing Neona so I can gain her trust. And I’ll convince the women that we’re on their side. They’re so outnumbered that they’re going to need our help to defeat Lord Liao and Master Han.”
“Sounds good.” Howard bit into his donut. “And Russell needs to find out more information. We’ve got to know what Han and Liao want from these women.”