Angus’s smile faded. “Is Emma all right?”
“She’s well. Did you know she can communicate with the dragon children?”
“Aye. What has happened, man? Tell me.”
“The babies hatched and bonded with Emma. They believe she is their mother.”
Angus blinked. “They . . . adopted Emma?”
“Yes. And she adopted them. A boy and a girl.”
Angus blinked again. “We have . . . bairns?”
Zoltan nodded. “But they took ill suddenly. They couldn’t breathe. Emma teleported them to Tiger Town.”
“Bloody hell,” Angus whispered. “The bairns canna breathe?” He shook himself. “I have to go. Tell Robby he’s in charge.” He vanished.
Zoltan walked over to Robby MacKay to break the news that the MacKay family now included two dragon shifter babies. While everyone was drinking a toast to the new parents, Zoltan teleported back to Neona’s house.
She was there, na**d and washing herself from a bowl of water.
“Wow,” he breathed as she gathered her hair up and wiped the back of her neck with a washcloth.
She spun around to face him. “You’re back.”
“Just in time.” He grabbed a bottle of spiked blood and guzzled it down.
With a smile, she watched him drink. “I wonder if your seed is reviving itself.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” His gaze drifted over her sweet body, then settled on the bandage on her arm. “How are you feeling? Are you in pain?”
“A little bit.” She walked over to the bed and crooked a finger at him. “I expect cl**ax number seven will take my mind off it.”
She turned pink as his eyes glowed red. “I expect you’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-five
It was late afternoon when Neona woke up. She glanced over at Zoltan. After cl**ax number seven, she’d fallen fast asleep. He must have teleported home then, for his clothes were clean and his face shaven. She peeked into the box where he kept his blood bottles. Six new bottles and a half-full bottle of Living Water. While everyone was sleeping, he must have sneaked into the cave to get more Living Water to mix with his blood.
The women of Beyul-La drank only a small cup of it once a month in order to keep from aging. Zoltan was ingesting more than that every night. So far, he claimed there was no effect.
Neona looked him over. Gorgeous as always. It might take a week or more for any changes to be noticeable. Or it could be that his vampire healing abilities were erasing any changes during his death-sleep.
She dressed and hurried to the outhouse. While she was washing up in the stream, the alarm sounded. Someone was striking the old cowbell by the cave entrance.
The women rushed to the cave.
“They’re gone!” Winifred announced. “Xiao Fang and Norjee are missing.”
“What?” Nima shouted. “You were supposed to be watching them. How did you—”
“I’m sorry,” Freddie cried. “I was so tired, I dozed off.”
“Of course you were tired.” Freya came to her defense. “We were up all night.”
“They’re probably in the valley somewhere,” Neona said. “Maybe the pond where they bathed yesterday. They loved it there.”
“I’ll check.” Lydia ran upstream.
“I’ll see if the other children know anything.” Nima rushed into the cave.
Freddie leaned close to Neona and lowered her voice. “Huo and Chu won’t tell the queen anything. They’re afraid of her temper. But they confessed to me.”
Neona swallowed hard. “What did they do?”
“They were jealous that Xiao Fang and Norjee were getting so close. So they told Norjee that he wasn’t wanted here. That his own grandmother had given him away because he was a nobody.”
Neona winced.
“That was cruel,” Freya whispered.
Tashi touched her stomach. “If I have a son, I’m not giving him away.”
“They told Norjee that we keep only special children here, like the dragon shifters,” Freddie continued. “They saw him slip out while I was sleeping. Then Xiao Fang got upset and followed him.”
Lydia came back. “They’re not at the pond.”
“We’ll have to check the entire valley,” Tashi said.
Neona sighed. “I’m afraid Norjee will try to return to the only other home he knows.”
“The monastery?” Freddie made a face. “That’s thirty miles away!”
“I know. But he knows he was loved there.” Neona blinked away tears. She should have let the boy know how much she loved him. “I should have spent more time with him.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Lydia said. “We’re at war.”
Tashi winced. “There are still fifty soldiers out there.”
Neona nodded. “We have to find the boys. Lydia and Tashi, can you check the valley? Freddie and Freya, will you come with me? I’m going to head toward the monastery.”
Freddie nodded. “There will be shifters in the next valley. We could ask for their help.”
“Yes!” Freya’s eyes lit up. “Rajiv and his friends will help us.”
The three women went into the cave to grab their bows and arrows, swords, and knives.
“Where are you going?” Nima demanded.
“I think the boys may be headed toward the monastery,” Neona explained. “We’ll bring them back.”
Nima’s eyes narrowed. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t brought that boy back here.”
“That boy?” Neona’s hands clenched with a sudden surge of rage. “That boy is your grandson! This wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t abandoned him! Or made him feel worthless!”
She strode from the cave with Freddie and Freya. At the top of the rock wall, they discovered that the rope ladder had been let down, a sure sign that the boys had left the valley.
The three women scrambled down the ladder. Neona spotted Howard in the distance and dashed toward him.
“Have you seen two boys?” she asked. “Norjee and the oldest dragon boy have run away.”
Howard winced. “We haven’t been watching the entrance to your valley. You guys are our allies. We’ve been guarding the perimeter of this valley in case any of Liao’s men come along.”
Neona sighed. No doubt Norjee was an expert at escaping. He’d done it regularly at the monastery. “Can you spare us a few shifters? We have to find the boys. I think they’re headed west, toward the Buddhist monastery.”
Howard waved some shifters over. “Rajiv, bring your men.”
Freya smiled at Rajiv as he sauntered over with two were-tigers.
“How good are you at tracking?” Howard asked.
Rajiv glanced at Freya and lifted his chin. “We’re the best.”
“Grab some weapons,” Howard told them. “And some hiking gear. You’re going with these three women. Bring them back safely with the two missing boys.”
“Two boys are missing?” Rajiv asked.
Howard nodded. “And one of them is a dragon shifter. We can’t let the enemy find him.”
An hour later, the path they had followed westward forked into two paths. The two older were-tigers divided up, one going north and the other south, while the rest waited for them to report back.
Rajiv opened his backpack and handed Freya a bottle of water. Since the other were-tigers knew only Chinese, they had all switched to that language. “Rinzen and Tenzen will figure it out. They’re the best trackers I know.”
“I can’t remember which one is which.” Freya sipped some water, then passed the bottle to her sister. “They look so much alike.”
Rajiv smiled. “They’re twins. It’s common for were-tigers.”
Freddie drank some water, then passed the bottle on to Neona. “So which one of them is the Grand Tiger?”
Rajiv winced. “That . . . well, it’s—”
“I don’t think they went this way,” Rinzen called out as he jogged back.
“Let’s check the GPS.” Rajiv pulled out his sat phone. “The southern path leads to the monastery. The boys must have gone that way.”
Tenzen came back, shaking his head. “I can’t see any sign of them.”
“Would Norjee even know which way to go?” Freya asked. “He’s never traveled from Beyul-La to the monastery before. Except when he was a baby.”
“That’s true.” Freddie motioned toward the northern path. “He could have easily taken a wrong turn.”
“You’re right,” Rajiv agreed. “He doesn’t have a GPS.”
“No, but he has something just as good.” Neona looked up at the sky. “He could be asking the birds which way to go. And what would they tell him?” Her gaze lowered to the hillside in front of them.
“They would tell him the most direct route,” Freddie said. “As the crow flies.”
Neona nodded. “You can divide up and take the paths going north and south. I’m going straight west.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tenzen said.
“I’ll take the southern route,” Freddie offered. “Rinzen can come with me.”
“Then Freya and I will go north.” Rajiv checked his watch. “If we see no sign of the boys in an hour, we’ll return here.”
After forty minutes of rocky and hilly terrain, Neona’s legs were aching. This route might be fast for a bird, but it was tough for people.
“Are we going in the right direction?” she asked Tenzen once again.
He checked his GPS. “Yes. Do you need water?” He removed his backpack and handed her a bottle.
“Thank you.” She took a sip, then screwed the cap back on. They had reached the rocky summit of a hill. Going down would be much easier.
As they scrambled downhill, she caught the sound of rushing water. There must be a stream in the valley.
They cleared the forest, and she stopped in dismay. It was more than a stream; it was a wide, rushing river.
Tenzen wiped sweat from his brow. “The path that went south probably has a bridge.”
She approached the riverbank, weaving around stones and fallen trees. A month ago, when the snows had melted, the river must have plowed through here with enough force to move large boulders and rip trees from the ground. The river was lower now, but it was still moving fast. Her nerves tensed at the thought of the boys trying to cross.
“I found something,” Tenzen called from downstream.
She rushed over. A fresh footprint by the muddy shore. A small foot. “They came this way?”
He nodded and pointed at another set of footprints.
She heaved a sigh of relief. “They’re going downstream.”
Tenzen motioned for her to follow. “They’re probably looking for a safe place to cross.”
After ten minutes, the narrow valley flattened out into a wide pasture. The river slowed down and widened till it was only a foot deep.
“There!” Tenzen pointed.
Her heart swelled. Farther downstream, Norjee and Xiao Fang were wading across the river. The water lapped against their legs.
Neona ran toward them. “Norjee! Xiao Fang!”
They stopped and looked back.
“Norjee!” She stepped into the river. “Please come with me. Come home.”
He hung his head. “Nobody wants me there.”
“I do! Lots of us want you there.” Tears filled her eyes. “I love you! Would I have come all this way to find you if I didn’t love you?”
Norjee’s chin trembled. Xiao Fang rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Come back home.” She waded toward him, then stopped with a gasp. On the far riverbank in the forest, something metallic had reflected the light from the lowering sun. Swords. There were soldiers in the forest.
Tenzen muttered a curse behind her.
“Hurry!” she shouted at the boys.
A troop of soldiers on horseback burst from the forest onto the far riverbank.
The boys ran toward her, splashing through the water. Her heart froze. How could she and the boys outrun mounted soldiers? When the boys reached her, she grabbed their hands and sprinted toward Tenzen.
“Keep running.” Tenzen handed her his backpack and drew his sword. “I’ll hold them off.”
One man against a troop? Neona glanced back as she swung his backpack over her shoulder. A dozen horsemen were charging across the river.
She dashed with the boys to the forest. Maybe she could hide them in the trees while she led the horsemen away. She looked around frantically for a tree the boys could climb.
The sound of clashing swords came from the riverbank.
She spotted a good tree. “This way.” She grabbed the boys.
Norjee’s gasp made her glance at the river. Tenzen was down. Four soldiers lay dead next to him. With a bloodied hand, he pulled a knife from his chest, then his hand fell lifeless by his side.
She swallowed hard. The poor man hadn’t had a chance. The eight remaining horsemen headed straight for the forest.
“Hurry.” She tugged at the boys, leading them toward the tree she’d selected. “I want you to hide up here.” She lifted Norjee so he could catch the lowest branch.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Norjee protested.
“I’ll be fine.” She gave Xiao Fang a boost, then dug through the backpack. The sat phone wasn’t there. Tenzen must have kept it.
She handed the backpack to Norjee. “There’s food and drink in there. Hide behind the leaves. Don’t come out till it’s safe.”