Sexiest Vampire Alive(95)
In the distance, she could hear the low roar of rushing water. “Where are we?”
“A cave in northwest Yunnan,” J.L. answered her. A match flickered and he lit a kerosene lamp. “Everyone here?”
“Yes.” Russell yanked the electronic beacon off a rock ledge, dropped it on the cave floor, and crushed it under the heel of his boot.
J.L. gave him a wry look. “You could have just turned it off.”
Russell scowled at him. “I felt like smashing something.”
J.L. retrieved a different phone from his backpack. “We have to use the satellite phone out here.” He headed for the entrance of the cave. “I’ll call Angus and tell him what happened.”
Howard lit the second kerosene lamp. “I hope my donuts are all right.” He opened a metal trunk and withdrew a pastry box.
Abigail released her death grip on Gregori and lowered her backpack to the floor so she could get out her sweater. “It’s chilly here.” She took off her jacket, put the sweater on, then the jacket back on.
“We’re close to Tibet.” Russell removed a sweatshirt from his backpack. “And we’re at a much higher altitude.”
“A couple of thousand feet up a damned mountain,” Howard grumbled, then bit into a bear claw.
“At least we found a cave that faces south.” Russell pulled on his sweatshirt. “We’re sheltered from the colder winds.”
“And direct sunlight,” Gregori added as he retrieved a sweater from his backpack.
“What about all those vampires?” Abigail asked.
“We’re over two hundred miles away from them.” Russell smirked. “And our beacon is experiencing technical difficulties.”
“I keep wondering why they came after us,” she said. “Is it because we found that village? And all those plants? Why is Master Han collecting so much Demon Herb?”
“Because he’s up to something nasty,” Russell growled. “The sooner I kill him, the better off we’ll all be.”
“Just remember our mission right now is to keep Abigail safe,” Gregori told him as he pulled on his sweater.
“Damn, it’s cold out there.” J.L. rushed back inside and pocketed his phone. “Angus wants us to call every two hours. And he wants us to teleport to Japan no later than tomorrow night, whether we find the third plant or not.”
“Then we’d better get to work,” Gregori said.
J.L. turned to Abigail. “What can you tell us about it?”
She took a photo from the outside pocket of her backpack. “The name translates as Flower of the Golden Sands. It’s a flowering bush that grows on the south side of mountains near the Yangtze River. People here call it the River of Golden Sands.”
“Jinsha Jiang,” J.L. murmured as he studied the photo, then passed it to Rajiv.
“We look for it now?” Rajiv asked.
“Yes.” J.L. pulled a sweater from his backpack. “The terrain is rough outside. And the wind really rips through the canyons. We’re on a gorge above the Yangtze River.”
Rajiv smiled. “It’s the Leaping Tiger Gorge.” He passed the photo on to Russell.
“That’s the Yangtze River I hear?” Abigail asked.
“Yes.” J.L. put on his sweater. “We need you to stay here, Abby. It’s too dark outside.”
She stiffened. “I’ll be fine. I’ll use a flashlight.”
J.L. shook his head. “The wind is so strong, it could knock you off your feet. One slip, and you could fall a few thousand feet into the gorge.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay. I’ll look for it during the day then.”
“Hopefully we’ll find it before sunrise, so we can get the hell out of here,” J.L. said. “Howard, will you stay here with Abby?”
“Sure.” He offered her the pastry box. “Want a donut?”
She sighed. “No.”
Gregori pulled her toward the back of the cave. “I know how you hate not being allowed to do things, but your time will come. Once we get home, you’ll be doing all the work with the plants.”
She nodded and gave him a weary smile. “You’re right. It would be crazy for me to scramble around a mountain in the dark.”
“Okay.” He kissed her brow. “Wish us luck, so we can go home.”
“Good luck.” She hugged him tight.
The Vamps and Rajiv bundled up, retrieved some flashlights from a metal box, then headed out.
She ventured outside a few steps and watched the flashlight beams swing back and forth as the men searched the south side of the mountain. The edge of the cliff was barely visible to her, but she could hear the loud roar of the river far below.