Sexiest Vampire Alive(99)
Darafer crossed his arms and heaved a resigned sigh. “Wu Shen.”
“Yes, my lord.” The tall soldier bowed again.
“You know how much I hate human error.”
The tall soldier turned pale. “Yes, my lord.”
“And yet you try my patience. And I have no patience.”
Wu Shen bowed. “A thousand pardons, my lord.”
Darafer gestured toward Howard. “This one is a were-bear. He could shift and rip your head off.”
Wu Shen’s eyes widened. He spoke quickly to the soldiers with the black lacquered box. They rushed over to Howard and snapped silver bands around his wrists behind his back. When they moved in front of him to cuff his ankles, he growled at them, and they jumped back.
Darafer chuckled. “Don’t be afraid. The bear cannot shift now.” His eyes glowed like polished emeralds. “Even if he could, he would be no match for me.”
Abigail sucked in a deep breath while the soldiers snapped the cuffs around Howard’s ankles. Darafer could defeat a Kodiak bear? He had weird eyes, too, and the soldiers seemed to fear him. She had a sick feeling in her gut that he wasn’t human. Then what was he? It was daylight, so he couldn’t be a vampire.
He paced toward the back of the cave, then sauntered toward the entrance. “Sawat.”
“Yes, my lord.” Sawat came in and bowed.
“I count five prisoners.”
Sawat grew pale. “Yes, my lord.”
“And yet your report claimed there were six sleeping bags at the other cave. And I count six here. Is someone missing?”
Sawat shifted his feet. “The were-tiger may have escaped.”
“Over the Leaping Tiger Gorge?” Darafer chuckled. “That’s rich.”
Sawat looked relieved. “Yes, my lord.”
Darafer’s face turned grim. “You screwed up. Go look for him in the gorge.” He extended a hand, and a blast of air blew Sawat off his feet, through the air, and over the cliff. His scream echoed in the canyon, then abruptly cut off.
A chill skittered down Abigail’s back. Her gut was correct. Darafer was not human.
He turned to the tall soldier and smiled. “Good news, Wu Shen. You’ve just been promoted.”
Wu Shen bowed, his face ashen. “You are most kind, my lord.”
“Don’t mention it.” Darafer gazed about the cave, his green eyes twinkling with amusement. “So . . . we have a shifter who can’t shift, three vampires who can’t teleport, and . . .” His gaze fell on Abigail. “And a loving daughter who can’t save her mother.”
She flinched.
He strolled toward her. “How desperate are you, Abigail Tucker? I could save her, you know. It might be fun to have your father indebted to me.”
“Don’t talk to him,” Howard growled.
Darafer glanced at him and smiled. “The bear knows who I am.” His gaze shifted back to Abigail and his eyes hardened. “You have something that belongs to me.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never met you before.”
He smirked. “I was there six years ago at your father’s rally when a man sneaked in with a handgun. Unfortunately he had to brag about it and get himself caught. I hate human error.” His eyes suddenly turned black, and she gasped.
He extended a hand toward her backpack. It unzipped on its own, and the plastic bag containing the Demon Herb flew into his hand.
He chuckled, his eyes returning to green. “They don’t call it the Demon Herb for nothing.”
Demon. She clenched her fists to keep from shaking. How could they escape from a demon? He seemed to know everything. He’d known instantly who Howard was. Who she was. Her chest tightened. He’d tried to use a man to kill her father six years ago.
Darafer removed the Demon Herb and sniffed it. “Best stuff I ever created.” He shrugged. “I know. You’re thinking only the Big Kahuna can create. That’s true to a certain extent.”
He twirled the branch of Demon Herb between his thumb and forefinger. “But I can take something He made and distort it, corrupt it. For centuries, I had a jolly good time mutating things into diseases and plagues. Then it occurred to me, instead of making humans weak and useless, why not do the opposite? Why not make something that actually turns humans into supermen? That I control, of course.”
He stuffed the Demon Herb into his coat pocket. “Imagine how much pain and despair I can wreak upon the world when I control an army of supermen?”
“I thought it was Master Han’s army,” Howard grumbled.
“He provides the men. I . . . enhance them. The potion I make with the Demon Herb gives them super powers and a remarkable ability to heal.” He waved a dismissive hand. “But I grow bored with the mundane details of gathering and training an army. I leave that to Master Han. You would be amazed how many humans are willing to trade their souls for the chance to be Superman.”