“No.” J.L. stuffed his clothes into his backpack. “We need all three Vamps in order to teleport the others.”
“Master Han is close,” Russell insisted. “We have to take him out.”
“We’re not risking Abigail’s life so you can avenge yourself,” Gregori said.
“What about the whole village he’s enslaved?” Russell asked.
“We’ll come back later,” J.L. said.
“I want him now!” Russell shouted. “That bastard stole thirty-nine years of my life! By the time I made it home, my parents were dead, my brother was dead, and my wife had declared me dead and remarried.”
Abigail winced. “I’m so sorry.”
He dragged a hand through his short hair. “My daughter, she was just a baby when I left for Vietnam. She died two years ago at the age of forty from breast cancer. I never got to see her. So yes, I want revenge. When I get my hands on Master Han, I’m going to rip his heart out and stuff it down his throat!”
“Hey,” Howard called through the bamboo door. “You guys need to see this.”
They filed outside.
Fires from torches lit the south side of the lake.
“Is it the villagers?” Abigail asked.
“I don’t think so.” Gregori watched as the newcomers planted the torches into the ground. “They’re all young men. And they got here too fast.”
“How did they know where to find us?” she asked.
“Good question,” Howard grumbled.
More and more torches were planted along the beach till the south side of the lake was well illuminated. Firelight gleamed off the gray karsts, making them gleam like silver daggers pointed at the sky. The men were dressed in white uniforms with red sashes around their waists and across their brows.
“I think they’re soldiers from Master Han,” Russell said.
Abigail sidled up close to Gregori, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “They didn’t bring any boats, so we’re safe for the moment.”
“We’re not staying.” J.L. moved toward the cave entrance, then froze. “What the—”
Abigail gasped.
A group of soldiers leaped high in the air and landed, each one perched on top of a karst. More soldiers advanced toward the lake, leaping from one karst to another. Their leaps were high enough that some did somersaults in the air before landing on top of the stone stalagmites. Some of the karsts were pointed on top, and the soldiers balanced on them with ease.
She pressed a hand to her chest. “That doesn’t seem humanly possible.”
“Chiang-shih,” Rajiv whispered.
“Vampires,” J.L. translated.
They were all vampires? Gregori swallowed hard. There had to be a hundred of them.
“That explains how they found us,” Russell muttered. “They’re able to hear our beacon.”
“I don’t hear anything,” Abigail said.
“Only vampires can hear this frequency.” Russell yanked the electronic gadget from its hiding place near the cave entrance and stomped his boot on it.
More of the chiang-shih hopped from stone to stone, then they leaped even higher, flying through the air to perch on top of the bamboo trees on the east side of the lake. The bamboo stalks swayed back and forth like pendulums, arcs ever widening until they dipped down to the water and deposited the soldiers on the surface of the lake.
They didn’t sink.
“Oh shit.” Gregori steered Abigail toward the cave. “Get your backpack. We’re going.”
“They walk on water?” Rajiv asked.
“I think they’re levitating,” J.L. said. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Inside the cave, Gregori slipped on his backpack while Abigail put on hers. He’d never been to the other base, so he would have to rely on the beacon. He wrapped his arms around her, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
“Do you hear it?” J.L. asked. “It’s two fast beeps, then a long one.”
“Got it.” He gave Abigail a squeeze. “We’ll be all right, sweetheart.”
She nodded and linked her fingers behind his neck.
Everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-six
Abigail didn’t let go of Gregori even though they had arrived. The place was pitch-black and cold, and her nerves were frazzled. How could everything go so wrong so fast? For goodness’ sake, she was only looking for a few plants. But instead, she’d found a whole village of mind-controlled slaves and a whole army of acrobatic kung fu vampires.
She shuddered, and Gregori’s arms tightened around her. It was so dark, she couldn’t even make out his facial features.
“We’re okay,” he whispered.