He dragged in a hissing breath. He needed to feed. Soon.
“I will lay my hands on you to heal you,” Neona whispered. “It will stop the bleeding and take away the pain.”
He opened his eyes to frown at her. “You will not.”
Her gaze lifted till her eyes met his. “There is no need for you to be in pain.”
“I will not have you take my pain upon yourself.”
“Interesting.” Winifred stepped in front of him, regarding him curiously. “I think he likes you, Neona.”
“I promised her I would bring her no harm,” Zoltan said quietly.
Neona looked away, but her eyes glistened with tears.
“That’s so . . . sweet.” Winifred exchanged an amused look with her sister.
The queen scoffed. “And so it begins. He will deceive you with his pretense to care, and he’ll wheedle his way into your affections with his lies. I should kill him before he corrupts you all.”
Zoltan eyed the queen. How had she managed to remain so hateful over the millennia? You would think a person would mellow out after a few thousand years. “You won’t have to kill me. I’ll bleed to death soon enough.”
“I’ll fetch some bandages and medicine.” Neona ran inside a nearby building.
Winifred crossed her arms, studying him. “So how did you meet Neona?”
“We met five nights ago.” He attempted a bow, but the rope around his neck stopped him. “How do you do? My name is Zoltan.”
“I’m Freddie, and this is my sis—”
“Hush!” The queen glared at Winifred. “He already knows too much.”
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you all,” Zoltan continued as if this was a social event. “I brought gifts for you. They’re in the cabin in the next valley. A set of hunting knives and other weapons. Some books—”
“Weapons?” Winifred asked.
“Books?” Freya’s eyes lit up.
“Enough!” Nima glared at the two girls. “Do you not realize what he is doing? Flattery, manipulation, and deception. He seeks to destroy us.”
“I want to help you,” he insisted. “You’re in danger from Master Han and Lord—”
“I knew it!” The queen drew her sword and pointed it at his heart. “You’re a spy from Lord Liao.”
“No. I’m on your side.”
“You lie.” She pressed the point of her sword against his jacket.
The queen was going to be hard to convince. Zoltan decided it was time to pull out a trump card. “You can trust me. This place is in my blood. I am Dohna’s son.”
With a gasp, the queen stumbled back. The sword fell from her hand, hitting the ground with a thud.
Winifred and Freya exchanged shocked looks, then turned back to stare at him.
Meanwhile, the leopard ran into the clearing. Oh, no! You got caught? I told you not to get caught. Why are you covered with blood?
Zoltan gritted his teeth. I got shot.
What can we do? Zhan ran in a circle around him. I know! I’ll bite the queen on the ankle. Then you make a run for it. Neona can live with us in the forest, and we’ll go hunting for rabbit every day! It’ll be great!
Cat, I’m tied to a frickin’ pole.
Oh. That’s a problem. Zhan attempted to climb the pole, but halfway up, he fell to the ground. Don’t worry! I’ll get you loose. He attacked the pole, clawing furiously.
Zoltan snorted. At this rate, the cat might have him free in twelve hours. He’d have to teleport before then to avoid the sun. And if he didn’t eat soon—
“You lie!” Queen Nima emerged from her shock to yell at him.
“It is the truth,” Zoltan said. “My father was the Count of Czakvar in Transylvania. He brought home a new wife from the East, and they called her Donna Maria. When the Mongols invaded in 1241, most of the village was slaughtered. Those who survived blamed Donna Maria and declared her a witch. My father had just lost his eldest son in battle, and in his despair—”
“Are you excusing him? That monster?” Nima’s face turned red with rage.
Zoltan swallowed hard. He had a sick feeling in his gut that Neona’s mother had killed his father. Dammit. After eight hundred years of wanting to know the truth, he now found himself reluctant to ask the question.
“Your majesty.” Winifred pulled the queen back. “Don’t let him upset you. He must be lying.”
“Right,” Freya agreed. “How could he be alive in 1241?”
The three women huddled together, speaking Tibetan and glancing furtively at him.
Cat, what are they saying? Zoltan asked.
Zhan stopped clawing to listen. They wonder how you could be centuries old. The queen is very upset. She thinks Dohna may have taken some of the Living Water with her and given it to you. It’s not supposed to be given to a male.
Living Water? So that was their fountain of youth. Zoltan looked around. Is it the stream that runs through the valley?
No, it’s the pool inside the cave. Never go inside there. If they catch you, they’ll kill you for sure.
Neona emerged from the building, her arms full of supplies. “Sorry it took me so long.” She hurried toward Zoltan. “I had to make some more bandages. We used up most of them three weeks ago after the battle.”
Zhan trotted up to her and rubbed against her legs. “Good kitty,” she whispered as she set down a bowl and pitcher of water near Zoltan’s feet. Inside a basket, there were torn strips of white linen and a pottery jar. She removed the knife from the sheath on her leg and sawed through the ropes tying his hands together.
“Neona,” he whispered. “Thank you.”
She ignored him, focusing on his hands.
“What are you doing, Neona?” The queen grabbed the sword she’d dropped earlier.
“I need his hands free so I can take off his jacket.” Neona sheathed her knife, then removed his jacket and tossed it aside. The leopard ran over to sniff at it.
The queen sheathed her sword. “You missed his latest lie. He claims to be the son of Dohna.”
Neona gasped and her eyes met his. “How can that be?”
“That’s what we’re wondering,” Nima muttered, glancing back at Winifred and Freya. “How could he have lived so long?”
Neona’s face turned pale.
Was she remembering the fangs she’d seen? Zoltan watched her intently, wondering if she was going to tell everyone he was a vampire.
She grabbed her knife, and, with trembling hands, she cut his T-shirt and ripped it open. “We don’t know if Dohna had a son.”
“So you agree he is lying?” Nima asked.
“I don’t know what to think of him,” Neona said softly. She poured water into the bowl, then wet a cloth and wiped the blood from the small stab wound on his ribs.
“I am still the same,” Zoltan whispered.
She ignored him and opened the pottery jar to smear some salve on the small wound.
“How would he even know about Dohna?” the queen demanded. “Did you tell him about her?”
Neona winced.
The queen scoffed. “You see how he twists your words to deceive us.”
Neona didn’t answer. She grabbed a strip of linen and wrapped it around his torso to cover up the small wound.
“I am telling the truth,” Zoltan said. “How else would I know that my mother could communicate with both birds and animals? The villagers thought she was a witch and that she had caused the Mongols to attack us.”
“And then your so-called father let them kill her?” Nima shouted. “If you are who you claim to be, then you are the son of the man who betrayed us!”
Neona gave him a wary look as she tied off the bandage.
“I blame my father, too,” Zoltan said. “I tried to save my mother. They were throwing stones at her, and I blocked them. And when they threw a torch, I jumped onto the kindling to keep it from catching fire. It burned my back—”
Neona cried out and stumbled back. “You—oh my God, you’re the boy?”
“You were there?” Zoltan asked. It seemed clear now that the women of Beyul-La had attacked his village, but his stomach clenched at the thought of Neona going on a killing rampage.
“You remember him?” Nima asked her daughter.