Zoltan sighed. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“I do worry. Ye’re no’ going into the cave with the rest of us.”
“Angus—”
“I mean it, lad.” Angus scowled at him. “If ye’re off a few feet, you could materialize into solid rock.” He turned to look at the rest of the Vamps. “Jack, ye’ll take his place.”
With vampire speed, Robby carried a large duffel bag from the forest and handed out earplugs and gas masks with eye protection to Angus, J.L., Dougal, and Jack. He kept one set for himself, then passed out the stun grenades.
Zoltan cursed inwardly as the five men got ready to teleport without him.
Russell cursed out loud. “I didn’t see Han with the army. Did anyone spot him? He always has that stupid gold mask on his face.”
“I was looking for Xiao Fang.” Freya sighed. “But I didn’t see him.”
Down below, the shifters returned to the forest to turn back into their human form. Dressed once again, they ran toward the burial mounds to join the others.
Ian materialized beside them. “The trapdoor is down! They’re all inside.”
The five Vamps vanished. Zoltan knew exactly what they were doing, since he was supposed to be with them. They would teleport close to the ceiling, levitate instantly to keep from falling, then drop the stun grenades and teleport out.
Neona gasped. “Someone’s appearing!” She pointed toward the fire pit.
Zoltan whirled around to look. Master Han had materialized in the valley, and he was holding Xiao Fang. Either they were escaping the cave, or they had just arrived.
“Han!” Russell teleported downhill and drew a pistol.
Zoltan zoomed down the hillside.
Han turned to face Russell, holding the boy in front of him as a shield.
Zoltan ran up behind him, cursing silently that the only weapons on him were a dart gun and a knife. He shot a dart at Han, then threw his knife.
Han stiffened as both struck his body, then he vanished, taking Xiao Fang with him.
“Dammit!” Russell shook clenched fists at the sky.
Angus and the other four Vamps materialized by the fire pit. As they removed their gas masks, a series of loud bangs sounded inside the mountain. The stun grenades were going off.
“Han was just here with Xiao Fang,” Zoltan told them. “He’s injured, but he escaped.”
Angus sighed.
“Poor Xiao Fang,” Freddie whispered. “He must be so afraid.”
J.L. patted her shoulder. “We’ll get him back.”
The bangs inside the mountain stopped.
“Ready?” Angus asked the four other Vamps. “We shoot as many soldiers with darts as possible. If they look like they’re recovering from the stun grenades, we toss in more tear gas. And shoot some more.”
A loud explosion shook the ground. The mountain rumbled.
“What the hell?” Zoltan asked.
“The fools!” Angus shouted. “They’re trying to blast their way out of the mountain.”
More explosions sounded as the disoriented and frantic soldiers detonated more grenades. The mountain shook. Rocks tumbled down.
“Run!” Zoltan picked up Neona and zoomed toward the burial mounds at vampire speed. Beside him, other Vamps were carrying women. The shifters were right behind them. The ground trembled under their feet.
Zoltan stopped close to the forest and set Neona down. They looked back at the rumbling mountain. With a huge creaking sound, the mountain imploded, the top part caving into the giant cavern, crushing the men inside. The impact was strong enough to shake the ground where they stood.
Zoltan grabbed Neona as she stumbled beside him. Smoke and debris rose into the air, clouding their vision, yet they all continued to stare, stunned by a mountain that was suddenly half the size it used to be.
“The devil take it,” Angus whispered.
“The devil will take them,” Robby said. “I doona think any of them survived.”
“Bloody hell.” Angus ripped off his gas mask and threw it down. “We were trying to save them.”
“Our . . . our Living Water,” Lydia whispered. “It’s gone. We cannot get to it.”
“Oh, my God!” Freya cried. “We’ll grow old now!”
“The dragons can never come back,” Freddie added. “Their home is gone. And our homes are gone.”
Zoltan winced as he saw the tears on their faces.
“What will we do?” Freya sniffed.
Lydia heaved a forlorn sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to live with Tashi and that farmer of hers.”
“But we’ll be separated,” Freddie protested.
“It is the end of Beyul-La,” Neona whispered.
Zoltan closed his eyes briefly. What had he done to these women?
“And we didn’t even save Xiao Fang,” Freddie mumbled.
“But he’s still alive,” J.L. told her. “We’re all still alive. And we beat the bad guys.”
“We creamed them!” Jimmy shouted.
“Yeah!” Jesse yelled.
“They creamed themselves, the puir bastards,” Angus muttered, looking at the crumbled mountain.
“We’ve lost everything.” Lydia collapsed on the ground by the burial mounds where her mother and two of her daughters were interred. “What did they die for? After three thousand years, it’s over.”
Neona sniffed as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
Zoltan’s heart twisted in his chest. It had been his idea to trap the soldiers in the mountain. Now the dragons had lost their home. His beloved Neona had lost her home. All the women of Beyul-La had lost their homes and their Living Water.
Queen Nima had been right all along. He had destroyed their world.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Three days later
Neona woke with a jerk and sat up on her pallet in the guesthouse at Tiger Town. She’d fallen asleep again? Ever since the battle at Beyul-La, she couldn’t seem to lie down without falling fast asleep. She suspected it was her mind’s way of escaping a reality she was having a hard time accepting.
The life she’d lived for two thousand years was over. Jia, the were-tigress, had been very kind when Neona and the other women had arrived three days earlier. Jia had said they were welcome to stay in Tiger Town as long as they wished.
Neona stood and wandered over to the window. The sun would be setting soon. Where was Zoltan doing his death-sleep? At his castle? When night fell there and he woke up, would he teleport back here?
She hadn’t seen him the last two nights. After dropping her off in Tiger Town, he’d gone back with the other Vamps to collect soldiers. There were some unconscious ones in Frederic’s valley. Zoltan had returned to the guesthouse shortly before dawn with a grim look on his face.
“I love you,” was all he’d said before falling into his death-sleep. She’d taken Norjee to breakfast, then to the school. She’d helped Emma with the dragon babies, then that afternoon, she’d fallen asleep. When she woke up, it was past sunset, and Zoltan was gone. He’d left a note.
I never quit a job till it’s done to my satisfaction. I will fix things. Remember I love you.
What did he mean by fixing things? She’d read the note over and over, trying to decipher its meaning. Had he gone to his castle to fix things there? Was he planning for her and Norjee to live there with him? Or was he arranging things there so he could live here in Tiger Town? Why hadn’t she heard from him?
She paced about the small room. She should have kept one of those sat phones so she could call him. Tashi had taken one with her when the Vamps had teleported her and her mother to the village, where her farmer lived.
Freddie and Freya were still in Tiger Town. They were helping Emma with the dragon babies, since Emma fell into her death-sleep during the day.
Neona leaned over to roll up Norjee’s pallet. He seemed happy enough. He was going to the Tiger Town school with the other children and learning self-defense and archery. At night, he still cried, worrying about his friend Xiao Fang. She knew he wanted to stay here so he could be close to the action and the ongoing search for Xiao Fang.
It was interesting here in Tiger Town, but after centuries of taking care of herself, Neona grated at the thought of living off the were-tigers’ charity. Jia assured her she would be earning her keep as a healer, but Neona still felt uneasy. She was used to mountains and valleys for as far as she could see. Rushing streams and crisp, cool mountain air. For days on end, she would roam the forests, hunting, with her pet leopard at her side.
Her heart twinged with worry for Zhan. When they’d teleported away from Beyul-La, she’d called and called for him. He hadn’t come. Was he all right? Was he finding food to eat?
And where the hell was Zoltan? She could hear her mother’s voice announcing with glee that she’d known all along he couldn’t be trusted. He had abandoned her.
No! She shook that thought away and left the guesthouse.
As she approached the large courtyard, she spotted Norjee with two dozen other boys, learning martial arts from Rinzen and Tenzen. Norjee waved at her, grinning. She smiled back, then chuckled when Tenzen tapped the boy’s head for not paying attention.
She wandered over to the top of the stairs that led downhill. Before her lay the Mekong River and the village of were-tiger houses built on stilts along the river’s edge. The sky lit up with shades of pink and orange as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away, irritated by how emotional she’d been lately. She was homesick, that was all. She missed her sister, her valley, her pet leopard, her house, her way of life. How soon would she start aging now? Would she have to become a vampire like Zoltan in order to live with him forever? Would she have to lose the ability to be alive during the day? Would she lose the sun, too?
As if to twist the thorn in her side, the last of the sunlight disappeared, and she was left in darkness. A tear rolled down her cheek. How much would she have to lose? Hadn’t she lost enough?
Were-tigers bustled around her, lighting torches. And she stood still, wondering if Zoltan had awakened somewhere. Where was he? Was she losing him, too?
“There you are!” Leah called to her.
Neona quickly wiped her face and turned toward the doctor.
Leah smiled as she approached. “I went to the guesthouse to look for you, but you were gone.”
“Is something wrong?”
Leah shook her head. “We’ve been so busy lately with the clinic overflowing that it took me several days to get your blood work done.” She took a deep breath. “I have news for you. You’re pregnant.”
Neona blinked. “What?”
“No mistake.”
Neona inhaled sharply and pressed a hand to her stomach. “I’m with child?”
“Yes.” Leah lowered her voice. “I wanted to tell you in private. I assume Zoltan isn’t the father.”
“But he is.”
Leah’s mouth dropped open. “How? His sperm is dead.”
“He was drinking the Living Water.” Neona grinned. “Oh, my God! It worked!”
Leah stepped closer. “Where is this Living Water? Can I get a sample of it?”
“It is gone. Buried beneath a mountain of rubble.” Neona’s breath caught. Was that what Zoltan was trying to fix? He could get himself killed! “Excuse me.”
She ran to Emma’s room. Pregnant! No wonder she was falling asleep so much and getting emotional all the time. She was going to have a baby! She needed to find Zoltan fast.
She burst into Emma’s room. “I need—”
“Guess what?” Freya pulled her into the room. “When Emma woke up, she invited Freddie and me to live with her and Angus at their townhouse in London!”
“And their castle in Scotland!” Freddie added.
Emma finished a bottle of synthetic blood. “I’m desperate. I need help. Angus does what he can, but we’re both awake only at night.”
Freya laughed. “You should have seen it, Neona. Last night, Angus was lifting the little boy in the air, and he threw up all over Angus’s head. The look on his face was so funny!”
“Who?” Freddie asked, grinning. “Angus or the baby?”
“Both!” Freya turned back to Neona. “And while we’re in England, we can see our brother, Frankie!”
“And our family there,” Freddie nodded.
“That’s wonderful,” Neona said. “Emma, I—”
“Oh, dear.” Emma turned toward the crib. “Aiden is crying again.” She picked the male baby up. His mouth was open, but only a small wheezing sound came out.
“They named the babies Aiden and Amy,” Freya told Neona.
“We’ll pay you an excellent salary.” Emma settled in a chair and stuck a baby bottle in Aiden’s mouth. “And Angus will help you get identification papers.”
“Emma,” Neona tried again.
“And guess what?” Freya said. “Tashi called on her sat phone and invited us all to her wedding!”
“Zoltan is missing!” Neona shouted, and everyone hushed.
Emma frowned. “I thought he went to his castle.”
“That was two nights ago! I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Here.” Emma passed the baby and bottle to Freddie, then picked up her phone. “I’ll call Howard. He’s working security there.” She punched some numbers and waited. “Howard, is Zoltan there?” She paused to listen, and Neona grabbed the phone.
“Howard, I haven’t heard from Zoltan for two nights. Where is he?”