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"A demon?" J. L. asked.
"His name is Darafer. He's mutating the Demon Herb to make a potion that gives humans supernatural powers. "
"So a nasty vampire villain has teamed up with a demon. " Gregori gulped down more blood. "We're in deep shit. "
"Could be worse," J. L. mumbled.
"How do you figure that?" Gregori asked, his eyes narrowed on the soldiers.
J. L. shrugged. "We could be dead. "
"He's right. " Russell pulled his hands apart, testing the chain. "As long as we're alive, we can fight. "
"Exactly. " Gregori finished the last of his blood, then tossed the bottle aside. "It's a shame they took all of our weapons. " He gave the other Vamps a pointed look.
Russell and J. L. nodded and set their bottles down.
"And a shame they tied up Howard," Gregori said, his voice loud. "He's liable to get really pissed. "
Howard roared, rising to his knees, and all the soldiers looked his way. With vampire speed, Gregori, Russell, and J. L. whipped knives out from beneath their sleeping bags. Before Abigail could even see what was happening, three guards were dead on the ground with knives in their chests, and the Vamps had claimed their swords.
"Drop them or he's dead!" Wu Shen held a pistol aimed at Howard's face. The other two guards poked the tips of their swords into his back.
The Vamps froze. When Wu Shen cocked his pistol, they tossed their swords onto the ground.
He gave them a disgusted look. "You think you can escape by killing three guards? I have a hundred more outside. And every one of us considers it an honor to die for Master Han. "
"Well said, Wu Shen," a muffled voice announced outside the cave.
"Master Han. " He stepped back and inclined his head. "We have the prisoners you wanted. "
Chapter Twenty-eight
Shit. He'd killed a man.
Gregori's gaze drifted to the dead body and his knife protruding from the man's chest. Ian had warned him when he'd first begun his lessons in fencing and martial arts. Once you engage in combat, you have to kill to survive.
Over the years, Gregori had mentally prepared himself. If a battle occurred with the Malcontents, he wanted to be able to fight alongside his friends. And that meant killing Malcontents. He'd accepted that. After all, Malcontents were vicious vampires who had a long track record of torturing and killing humans. They deserved to die. Skewering them through the heart just made them disintegrate into a pile of dust. One strong gust of wind, and the dust was gone.
No body. No guilt. No remorse.
It had never occurred to him that he might have to kill a human. This body wasn't going to disappear. The dead man lay there in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, staring but not seeing.
Gregori clenched his fists and looked away. You're a warrior now. Deal with it. He needed to protect Abigail, get her home safely, get them all home safely.
Their first attempt had failed, but he would stay alert and prepared for the next opportunity.
A new group of soldiers dashed inside the cave and retrieved the swords he, Russell, and J. L. had dropped. They even yanked the knives from the dead men's chests, in case Gregori and his friends were tempted to use them again.
Abigail was pale, her hands gripped together, so he gave her an encouraging look. They still had a few aces up their sleeve. Rajiv had escaped. If he made it to his grandfather's tribe, there would be a group of were-tigers ready for battle. Rajiv would manage to call Angus, or the check-in call would be missed - either way, Angus would know they were in trouble. And he could locate them with the tracking chips embedded in their arms.
The soldiers went into a scraping and bowing routine, then moved aside so Master Han could advance into the cave.
He was tall. And slim. That was all Gregori could make out, for his body was covered with black silk robes and topped with a hooded robe of red silk, embroidered in gold. Deep inside the shadow of the hood, his face was hidden behind a mask of gold. No wonder his voice had sounded tinny and muffled.
"Master Han, and the three vampire lords," Wu Shen announced. "Lord Ming, Lord Qing, and Lord Liao. "
Three Asian vampires followed Master Han. They were also dressed in flowing silk robes, but their heads were uncovered. Their hair, long and braided, dangled down their backs. Each one clasped his hands together at the waist. Gregori figured they didn't use their hands much, not with fingernails that were about six inches long, curved and yellow.
Gross. From the look on Abigail's face, he could tell she agreed.
It was hard to tell what Master Han was thinking or feeling with the stupid gold mask on his face, but Gregori could see his brown eyes studying Howard before moving slowly toward the back of the cave. His gaze passed over Gregori, lingered on Abigail, then moved on to J. L. and Russell. He stiffened.
"Bastard," Russell muttered.
Lord Ming said something in Chinese, and Lord Qing appeared to agree.
"They want to kill us," J. L. whispered.
"Lords Ming, Qing, and Dingaling can take a flying leap," Russell growled.
Master Han lifted a black-gloved hand and pointed at Russell. "This one is mine. He bears my mark. "
The three vampire lords murmured in disbelief.
"Show your mark," Master Han demanded in his muffled voice. "Show you belong to me. "
Russell glared back, not moving.
A soldier came forward to grab his right arm, but he pulled away. Master Han motioned to Howard, and a soldier grasped Howard's hair to yank back his head while he pressed a knife to his throat.
"Now, slave. " Master Han turned back to Russell. "Show me your mark. "
Russell jerked back his sleeve to reveal his tattoo. "It means nothing, asshole. "
"On the contrary, it means I will keep you alive until I can reclaim what is mine. " Master Han removed three syringes from an embroidered pouch tied to his waist by silken cords. He passed them to a soldier and gave him directions in Chinese.
The soldier came toward them with the syringes.
Gregori assumed a martial arts position, and beside him, Russell and J. L. did the same, although their movements were severely hindered by the damned cuffs.
"Stay behind us," he whispered to Abigail.
Master Han lifted a hand. "Calm yourselves. You must be sedated so we can remove the cuffs and teleport you. "
"We don't have to do a damned thing for you," Gregori growled.
"The sedative will not harm you," Master Han replied. "But your refusal will cause your friend great harm. " He motioned toward Howard. "I do not care if this one lives. "
Gregori fisted his hands. Shit. What choice did they have but to cooperate? They needed to keep Howard alive. And they needed to stall for time. Without the ability to teleport, there was no way to escape this cave, not with that crowd of soldiers out front. But if they allowed Master Han to move them to another location, it might be an easier place to escape. And with their imbedded homing devices, Angus would still be able to track them down.
One of the vampire lords murmured in Chinese to Master Han.
"You. " Master Han pointed at Abigail. "You will come closer. "
Abigail stiffened and gave Gregori an alarmed look.
He turned to Master Han. "Leave her alone, and we'll cooperate. "
"You'll cooperate, or we'll kill this one. " Master Han gestured to Howard.
Gregori glared back. "If you harm her, I will kill you. "
Master Han chuckled, the sound echoing eerily behind his mask. "I have no interest in her. It is Lord Ming who wants her. "
Lord Ming said something in Chinese, and Gregori shot a questioning look at J. L.
"He says she has a virgin neck," J. L. whispered. "He wants to be the first to bite her. "
"You asshole. " Gregori lunged toward Lord Ming at vampire speed, stretched his hands an
d cuffs apart, and rammed the silver chain against Lord Ming's neck. The silver sizzled against his skin.
Lord Ming jumped back, crying out in pain, while two soldiers knocked Gregori down and pointed their swords at his chest.
Master Han leaned over him. "You do not bear my mark. I would not regret killing you. "
"The feeling is mutual," Gregori gritted out, wishing he could rip the golden Frisbee off Han's face and cram it down his throat.
"Gregori. " Abigail rushed toward him with tears in her eyes. "Please - "
A soldier grabbed her and pressed a knife to her neck.
"Excellent. I believe everyone will be in a more cooperative mood now. " Master Han turned to the soldier with the syringes and gave him an order in Chinese.
The soldier approached Russell and J. L. and motioned for them to sit. After they sat, he stabbed the syringes in their necks, and they both slumped over.
Gregori's eyes met Abigail's. His chest tightened. She looked so pale and scared.
"I love you," he whispered as the syringe plunged into his neck. The cave spun around him, then went black.
Abigail sank up to her chin in the tub of hot water. Maybe if she was real quiet, they would forget about her.
She'd been at Master Han's compound about twenty minutes, she estimated. The three vampire lords had teleported Russell, J. L. , and Gregori away after the silver cuffs had been removed from their unconscious bodies. She had no idea where the guys were. She closed her eyes and pictured Gregori's face, remembering the love he had whispered and the worry in his eyes.
The soldiers had knocked Howard on the head so hard, blood had run down his face as he slumped over unconscious. They'd removed his silver cuffs, then Lord Liao had returned to teleport him away.
Lord Ming had returned for her. He'd grasped her arms with his nasty yellow nails, and his breath had smelled foul as he'd pulled her close.
Even now, she shuddered when she recalled it and reached for the soap to lather up her body for the fifth time. Lord Ming had teleported her to a courtyard where about thirty soldiers were practicing martial arts by torchlight. Wu Shen and his hundred soldiers were still by the Yangtze River, she assumed, since they couldn't teleport. Hopefully it would take them a while to travel back to Master Han's compound.
When Master Han materialized in the courtyard, the small group of soldiers stopped and prostrated themselves on the ground. He said nothing, just turned and walked up the steps into what looked like a Buddhist temple.
Lord Ming dragged her inside a one-story building that ran the length of the compound. He steered her down a hall, then shoved her into a room where a group of three women resided. A harem, she figured, since the women were all young and pretty and had bite marks on their necks.
They fussed over her, and although she didn't want to cooperate, the lure of a hot bath was too tempting after a night in a chilly cave.
"You done?" one of the young women approached her, the only one who knew some English.
"Five more minutes. " Abigail held up her hand to show five.
"No. We must make ready. " The young woman gestured to the other women who came toward her, carrying beautiful teal-colored silk robes and embroidered slippers.
"You will wear these tonight for Lord Ming," the woman explained.
Abigail climbed out of the tub and grabbed a nearby towel. "Look, uh . . . what's your name?"
"I am Mei Li. "
"Mei Li, I'm Abby. "
"Abby. " The ladies all bowed and murmured her name.
"Pleased to meet you. Look, I'll get dressed since I don't want to escape from this place naked. But there's no way I'm going to let that creep bite me. "
Mei Li looked confused. "It is an honor to feed Master Han and the vampire lords. "
"I think it would be more honorable to let them starve. "
Mei Li's eyes widened. "It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords. "
Abigail sighed. "They've done a number on your head, haven't they?"
Mei Li motioned to the silk robes once again. "Come, we help you dress. "
Abigail slipped on the white silk slip, then wrapped the teal-colored robe around her and tied the sash. Her mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle this.
"Do not fear. " Mei Li adjusted her sash. "Lord Ming will be kind. He does not take as much blood as Master Han. "
"You've been with Lord Ming before?"
Mei Li nodded. "But tonight I will go with Ping and Genji. We will feed the American chiang-shih. "
Abigail's fists clenched. One of these pretty women was going to offer her neck to Gregori? Over her dead body. "To tell you the truth, one of those American chiang-shih is my boyfriend. We're in love. "
Mei Li tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. "Boy . . . friend?"
"Yes. Lovers. We love each other very much. "
Mei Li's eyes took on a distant look. "I . . . remember. "
"You had a boyfriend?"
Mei Li nodded slowly. "In Kunming. But I went home to village to see family, and whole village now work in fields for Master Han. "
"I've seen that village," Abigail said.
"They bring me here. " She stiffened, and her face went blank. "It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords. "
Abigail groaned. Just when she'd thought she was making progress with Mei Li, the vampire mind control had snatched her right back. "Don't you want to escape from here? See your boyfriend again?"
"It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords. "
"Okay. Then why don't you serve the vampire lord? We'll trade places. You can feed Lord Ming and I'll feed the American vampire. "
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