"Thank you," Leah said in Chinese. She smiled at her servant, but the woman refused to look at her.
"Can you tell me what time it is?" Leah asked. "Is it nighttime yet?"
No answer. The women scurried up the stairs, and the door creaked shut.
Leah tasted the water, then gulped some down. The porridge was hot, so she ate a few bites. In the cell next to her, Guang was wolfing down his porridge. Darafer had claimed he couldn't fix Guang, since he was out of demon herb. If that was true, then the porridge was probably safe. At any rate, she was hungry, so she ate.
Was it nighttime? She had no idea how many hours had passed. If the sun had set, then Dougal would be looking for her. All the Vamps would be awake and searching for her. But then Lord Qing would be awake, too.
She shoved that thought aside. There was no sense in frightening herself. Things were scary enough-
The door creaked open.
She moved back, taking the spoon with her. Her search of the cell earlier had yielded no weapons, unless she knocked someone out with the chamber pot.
Two figures descended the stairs. One was dressed all in black. Darafer. The other: he wore a robe of embroidered red silk. His long black hair was braided down his back, and his long yellowish fingernails curled like claws.
Darafer reached the base of the stairs and turned toward her, his mouth twisting with a smirk. "Suppertime!"
Guang snickered.
"Allow me to introduce your dinner partner." Darafer motioned to the man beside him. "Lord Qing."
The vampire looked her over and smiled, revealing yellow pointed teeth.
Leah stepped back, sliding the spoon up the sleeve of her sweater. Maybe if she struck with enough force, she could stake the vampire with the spoon handle.
Lord Qing teleported into her cell and advanced toward her slowly.
"I could stop him, you know." Darafer leaned his forearms on some horizontal bars. "All you have to do is join me."
Leah steeled her nerves, preparing herself for the impending attack. Dougal would be so disappointed if she didn't do a kickass job of defending herself.
Lord Qing zoomed forward, and she whipped out the spoon, aiming at his chest. Suddenly, she was tossed back onto her rear, and the spoon went flying through the air. Shocked, she watched it shoot straight into Darafer's hand.
He laughed, showing her the spoon. "You were going to defeat me with this?"
She scrambled to her feet.
Darafer's smile disappeared, replaced with a cold, harsh glare. "You will be attacked. The only way to stop it is to join me."
Lord Qing pounced on her with vampire speed, pushing her back onto the ground. She struggled, but his superior strength kept her pinned down. His fangs popped out, long, lethal, and sharp.
Guang giggled. "Bite her, bite her!"
Leah shook her head, but Lord Qing pressed down on her and held her head still.
She gritted her teeth. This wouldn't kill her. Think of it as a blood donation. She'd donated before. It was no big deal.
"I can stop him," Darafer whispered. "You know what to do."
She bit her lip. Darafer wasn't going to let her die. He wanted her alive.
The fangs scraped her neck.
"Stop," Darafer said.
Lord Qing hissed, opening his mouth to bite.
"I said stop." Suddenly Darafer was inside her cell, and with a flick of his hand, Lord Qing fell back.
Darafer gave her an annoyed look. "You won't join me to save yourself?"
Lord Qing stood, his eyes glowing. "You promised me blood," he hissed with his fangs still protruding.
Darafer motioned to the next cell. "Feed on him. Drain him dry if you want."
Guang gasped, then screamed when Lord Qing teleported into his cell. "No! Save me, master!"
The vampire leaped on him and sank his fangs into his neck.
With a sick churning in her stomach, Leah looked away. But she could still hear the sucking noises.
"He's going to die, you know." Darafer crossed his arms. "Since you refuse to save yourself, maybe you'll save someone else. I'll stop the vampire if you ask me to. If you agree to join me."
Leah squeezed her eyes shut. How could she agree to be evil?
"It's hopeless, you know," Darafer whispered. "If you let him die, I'll just bring in more to kill. Maybe a few children could change your mind."
"Stop."
"Hmm. It might be too late for Guang. I think he's a goner."
"Stop!" She rose to her feet.
Darafer smiled. "Are you agreeing to join me?"
"I will not let you kill anyone." She lifted her chin. "But get this straight, demon. You might force me to do evil, but I will never agree to it. I have free will, and you can't take that away from me."
Darafer's eyes narrowed. "You think so?" His face grew harsh and ugly. "You think you can outsmart me with your precious free will? I'll show you how weak and pathetic you are!"
He morphed into a large black wolf with glowing red eyes. With a snarl, he advanced toward her.
Leah ran, but there was nowhere to go. Soon he had her cornered. God help me, she thought just as he pounced.
She cried out when his jaws clamped down on her shoulder.
Chapter Thirty
Dougal paced impatiently in the courtyard at Tiger Town. The were-tiger men had agreed to help them attack one of Master Han's camps, but the idea of spying didn't appeal to them. None of them wanted to be separated from their families for the months the job might require. Only Rajiv's cousin Jia had volunteered.
"Absolutely not!" Rajiv fussed at her in Chinese. "It's too dangerous."
"I'm going!" Jia ascended a step on the staircase leading to the palace so she could stand eye to eye with her cousin. "My parents were slaughtered by Master Han, so I have every right to seek revenge. Just as much as you!"
Rajiv planted his hands on his hips. "You're too young and pretty. The vampire lords will want to feed on you."
"Let them try." Jia drew a dagger from her belt.
"They're stronger than you!" Rajiv yelled. "They'll force you into being a concubine."
She turned pale.
Dougal groaned. As desperate as he was to find Leah, he couldn't allow an innocent girl to endanger herself.
"Jia," a voice called from the palace. The Grand Tiger descended the steps. "You will not go. I will."
"Grandfather, no!" Rajiv shouted.
The Grand Tiger gave him a stern look. "I will go. They will not suspect an old man who begs to be their servant."
"But Your Eminence-," Rajiv started, but his grandfather waved him into silence.
"I grow tired of sitting on the throne all day," the Grand Tiger said. "I wish to end my days doing something useful for my people." He turned to Dougal and motioned toward Angus. "Tell your leader that I will infiltrate Master Han's camp and spy for you."
"What's going on?" Angus asked in English.
"His Eminence wants to spy for us." Dougal clenched his prosthetic hand. "This isn't going to work. It could take days to get a spy established in a camp and weeks before he could learn anything useful. We need to act now!"
"I understand yer-" Angus halted when bright lights suddenly lit up the sky. "What the hell?"
"It's a sign from the heavens!" the Grand Tiger exclaimed. He rushed down the remaining steps and knelt in the courtyard.
Rajiv rushed to his grandfather's side, and Jia took the other side, her dagger still drawn.
Dougal held a hand over his eyes as the light grew stronger and closer.
On the riverbank, were-tigers gathered, pointing at the sky.
The light divided into seven balls of fire that zoomed down to the courtyard, then hovered just inches above the stone pavement. Each fireball took on the shape of a man. Tall men, each one holding a sword extended toward the sky. Their figures flickered in the heat of the flames, then with a whooshing sound, the flames receded, rushing up their bodies and down their extended arms, till only their swords were left ablaze.
They wore pants and sleeveless tunics of royal blue. Gold bands circled their upper arms and wrists, and their chests were armored with breastplates of gleaming gold. Each one had shoulder-length hair, held back with a slender gold circlet that crossed their foreheads.
One stood in front of the other six, and when he turned his sword of fire, pointing it down to the ground, the others followed suit. They all lowered their arms, and when the tips of their swords tapped the pavement, the fires extinguished with another swoosh.
Rajiv and Jia fell to their knees beside their grandfather, and all three bowed.
Dougal leaned close and whispered in Chinese, "Does this happen here often?"
Rajiv shook his head. "Never."
"We are blessed," the Grand Tiger whispered.
Angus cleared his throat. "Welcome."
The leader gave them a curious look. "Fear not, dear souls. The Heavenly Father loves you greatly."
Dougal exchanged a look with Angus. "They must be angels."
The leader bowed his head. "You are correct. I am Briathos, commander of the Epsilons, fifth unit of the God Warriors."
A surge of hope swelled in Dougal's chest. "Then you've come to help us?"
Briathos sheathed his sword. "Our mission concerns the demon, Darafer."