In the dim moonlight, he spotted the queen, Lydia, Tashi, and the pet snow leopard by the central fire pit, which was now a heap of wet ashes. Winifred and Freya emerged from the storeroom, their arms filled with dry firewood and kindling. They dropped their load onto the fire pit.
It seemed obvious they were going to start a new fire. And probably cook breakfast. Zoltan glanced over at the cave entrance. This was his best chance to go inside.
Just as he was about to teleport, a figure ran from the cave. Zoltan stiffened with surprise. It was a boy. In Beyul-La? Weren’t males forbidden here?
The queen greeted the boy with a smile and a hug. What the hell? Why was this boy welcome here, when Minerva’s son had been given away?
The women discussed something in Tibetan. Zoltan couldn’t understand, but it was clear they were giving the boy encouraging words and smiles. He nodded, then closed his eyes as if he was concentrating. He took a few deep breaths, then opened his eyes and mouth. A streak of fire shot from his mouth, striking the firewood and setting it ablaze.
Zoltan gasped. Luckily, the sound wasn’t heard. The women were too busy clapping and congratulating the boy. The queen gave him another hug.
What the bloody hell? Zoltan pressed back against the stone wall, his mind racing. Who was this boy? Did he live in the cave? Didn’t the leopard tell him that males weren’t allowed in the cave?
Human males. Shit! Of course the boy wasn’t human. What human could breathe fire?
The first tug of death-sleep pulled at Zoltan. That meant he had about seven minutes before sunrise. He could figure this mess out later. For now, he’d better take his chance at getting inside the cave.
He teleported to the entrance and peered inside. No one in sight. The giant room was lit with a few torches slid into brackets on the cave walls. Light flickered over the glistening pink- and-cream-colored stalactites that extended from the high ceiling.
He eased inside. Far to the left, he spotted a stash of weapons and armor. The new swords and arrows he’d given them were there. In the center, a large throne chair sat. Toward the back, he noted the dark, glimmering pool. The Living Water trickled from a fissure in the rock wall, then fell into the pool below.
He squatted beside the pool and filled his bottle. As he screwed the top back on, he heard a voice outside. The queen. Was she bringing the mysterious boy back?
He looked around, wondering where the boy lived. There, on the far side of the pool, a narrow corridor led into the heart of the mountain.
With vampire speed, he rushed down the corridor. It grew darker, but with his superior night vision, he could see the sudden turn to his left, then another to the right.
He stopped, his mouth dropping open. The room before him was dimly lit with a few torches. And it was huge. The size of several soccer fields. So many stalactites were growing across the wide expanse of the ceiling that it resembled a giant upside-down forest.
He eased inside. Was this where the boy lived? Zoltan circled to the right, staying close to the wall and hiding behind the stalagmites that lined the perimeter of the huge cavern. Apparently, any other stalagmites had been knocked down, for the vast expanse of the floor was smooth.
The queen’s voice echoed in the narrow corridor. Zoltan looked around for the likeliest place to hide, then teleported to the stalactite forest overhead. As soon as he materialized, he levitated to keep himself hovering close to the ceiling. Most of the stalactites were twelve feet or more in length, so he was well hidden in the dark recesses between them.
The queen entered the giant room with the boy, who skipped happily over to the wall on the left. There, Zoltan spotted a row of pallets. The boy settled in one, drawing a blanket up to his chest.
The queen hunched down beside him, and with a smile, she tucked him in. Two more children sat up, and she glanced their way. No words were spoken, but Zoltan could sense there was a conversation going on.
Queen Nima hurried over to them and gave them reassuring hugs. The children clung to her as if she were their mother.
Zoltan frowned, not sure he could believe his eyes. This was the coldhearted bitch who was always threatening to kill him? The grandmother who had ruthlessly given away Minerva’s son? Why was she here, mothering these children with such tenderness?
As far as he could tell, there were two boys and one girl. The boy who had breathed fire looked about twelve, while the other two appeared about half his age. There were more pallets in the row, but they were empty. The queen settled on the first and largest pallet, and they all went to sleep.
Another tug of death-sleep pulled at Zoltan and his levitation slipped, dropping him down a few inches. He shook himself. He’d have to teleport back to Neona’s house soon. He pivoted, scanning the large cavern to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.
There, behind some stalagmites, was another corridor with a light inside. He teleported to the corridor and eased quietly down the narrow path.
Another room lay before him. A much smaller room with only one torch. He passed by a heap of hay, hollowed out in the center like a giant nest. It was empty. A second one was also empty. He came to a stop. There were three more nests. And inside were eggs. Large eggs. Two in the third nest. Three in the next one, and two more in the final one.
Death-sleep tugged at him once more, but he shook it off and stepped closer to the eggs. No bird was this big. What the hell was going on?
He glanced at the two empty nests. Had the sleeping children come from those nests? No, that couldn’t be right. Since when did children come out of eggs?
Confused, he teleported back to Neona’s house. He only had a minute or so left, and he still needed to spike his blood supply with the Living Water. There were six bottles in the ice chest. One empty, and another half empty. He opened all six, then poured blood from the full ones into the other two. Soon he had six bottles about three-quarters full. He topped them off with the Living Water, then shook each bottle and put them back into the ice chest.
With that job done, his thoughts returned to the children in the cave. Clearly, they weren’t normal. Or even human. The oldest one could breathe fire. And they all seemed to communicate silently with the queen. What was her gift? The special gift that allowed her to be queen and made Winifred the heir to the throne. An ability to communicate with . . . birds?
Death-sleep pulled at him harder, and he stumbled toward Neona’s bed. What was the term she had used? Not birds.
Winged creatures.
He glanced at the fireplace that was lined with the odd black tiles. A scale, Milan had called it. A cross between a turtle shell and a reptile scale. But too large. Much too large for an iguana.
A winged creature. With scales. That could breathe fire?
He inhaled sharply. It couldn’t be.
Death-sleep gripped him, and he collapsed onto Neona’s bed. “Neona, wake up.” He shook her shoulder.
She moaned. “Not another climax . . .”
“Not that.” Death-sleep crept over him, making it difficult to talk. Or even think. “The big secret . . . the pact you made . . . are you protecting . . . dragons?”
With another moan, she rolled over.
An intense pain struck Zoltan in the chest. The pain of death. So close to Neona. He reeled away from her, falling off the bed and landing with a thud on the floor.
The pain subsided as he fell into a pit of darkness.
Chapter Twenty
When Neona woke, she stretched lazily in bed as memories of Zoltan’s lovemaking meandered through her mind. She rolled over to look at him.
He wasn’t in her bed. Or Minerva’s. She sat up and gasped at the sight of him on the floor. What was he doing? She stiffened as another memory flitted through her mind.
Dragons! He’d asked her about dragons. She’d been half asleep when he’d asked her, but then the room
had become quiet again and she’d fallen back asleep.
“How did you find out?” she whispered.
No answer.
“Why are you on the floor?”
No answer.
She tried lifting him, but he was like a rock. Giving up, she slipped a pillow under his head. He was fully dressed, so he must have gone out while she was sleeping.
“Did you sneak inside the cave?”
No answer.
With a sigh, she brushed his hair back from his brow. “Too smart for your own good. And too handsome.” She smiled to herself, remembering how she’d once called him seemingly intelligent. “The queen will be upset that you know, but I think it’s just as well. If you and your friends are going to protect our valley and our secrets, then you have the right to know what you’re protecting.”
After dressing, Neona removed the flask of Living Water from her chest. Then she opened Zoltan’s box and removed his bottles of blood. Carefully, she cracked open a window, making sure no sunlight hit Zoltan’s body. She peered outside. No one in sight.
She poured a little from each bottle out the window, then topped them off with Living Water. “There.” She gave him a wry look. “You’re not the only one sneaking around, breaking the rules.”
She hurried to the outhouse, then washed up in the stream before joining the other women at the fire pit. They were all there, except Winifred. Freddie was probably in the cave. Since she could also communicate with winged creatures, she took turns with the queen, watching over the young ones.
The women were sitting on straw mats, since the ground was still damp from last night’s rain. Their voices hushed as Neona approached and took a seat. She bowed her head in greeting, waiting for the queen to speak first. The women were all staring at her.
Finally, Queen Nima cleared her throat. “You’re late. You missed breakfast and the midday meal.”
“We saved you some food.” Freya ladled soup into a bowl.
“Thank you.” Neona accepted the bowl and a wooden spoon. She ate, aware that the women were still staring.
Nima’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t see any bite marks on her.”
Tashi snorted. “I guess he bit her where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Neona choked on her food. “Excuse me?”
“Didn’t that monster bite you?” Lydia asked.
Tashi leaned forward. “Did he finally get it up?”
“Of course,” Neona started.
“He bit you?” the queen shouted. “I should kill him!”
“He didn’t bite me!” Neona set her bowl aside. “He doesn’t bite anyone. He drinks fake blood out of bottles.”
“Fake blood?” Lydia asked.
“Yes, he brought some here from his castle in Transylvania.”
“He has a castle?” Freya’s eyes lit up. “How exciting!”
“Don’t be so easily swayed,” Nima grumbled at her.
“He and his friends want to help us,” Neona insisted. “I don’t see how we can defeat Liao without their help.”
Lydia shuddered. “I hate the thought of working with those monsters.”
Nima nodded. “I hate it, too, but sometimes it takes one monster to kill another. We will accept their help but watch them carefully for any sign of betrayal.”
Lydia sighed. “Very well. I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“True,” Nima agreed. “It is always dangerous when we’re at the beginning of a new cycle. The young ones and the remaining eggs are defenseless. We must do everything in our power to protect them until they reach maturity. It is our sacred duty.”
Everyone murmured their agreement. Once the young ones were old enough to shift into dragon form, they would be able to protect themselves. But for now, they were entirely dependent on the warrior women of Beyul-La.
Neona picked up her bowl of soup and resumed eating. “When Zoltan wakes up, I’ll tell him we have accepted his offer of assistance.”
“As long as he understands our position,” the queen added. “Once our valley is safe again, the monsters need to go away and leave us alone. Your affair with Dohna’s son will be over.”
Neona took a few more bites of soup, then set the bowl down again. Steeling her nerves, she faced her mother. “I’m not giving Zoltan up. And if I have a son with him, I’m not giving him up, either.”
A series of gasps echoed around the fire.
The queen’s golden eyes burned hot as she stared at Neona. “You would knowingly defy our laws?”
“I question the validity of our laws.”
Nima stiffened, her face flushing with anger. “If you cannot abide by them, you must leave.”
“I understand how important our sacred duty is,” Neona said. “But I also believe we should be open to change. I see no reason why I cannot live with Zoltan and my children in the next valley. And since I’m the only healer, you should be willing—”
“You think to coerce me?” Nima cursed under her breath. “I knew we couldn’t trust that vampire. He’s been corrupting you—”
“I made this decision on my own,” Neona insisted. “I haven’t even discussed it with him.”
Nima snorted. “You know the man for a week, and now you wish to reject a way of life that is over three thousand years old?”
Neona shook her head. “You cannot blame this on Zoltan. I’ve been coming to this conclusion for a long time.”
Tashi cleared her throat. “I’ve been thinking about getting married, too.”
“What?” her mother gasped.
“I’m in love with a farmer from the village—” Tashi started.
“A farmer?” Lydia looked aghast.
“We want to marry and have children,” Tashi continued quickly. “And you could live with us, Mother. We could have normal lives.”
“We are the immortal women of Beyul-La!” Nima shouted. “Why would you want a normal life with a lowly farmer?”
Tashi gritted her teeth. “You don’t need me here. I can’t communicate with the dragons like you. Or Winifred.”
Nima huffed. “You ungrateful child. You’ve been blessed with a gift, and you will remain here, where it can be put to good use.”
“Child?” Tashi yelled. “I’m almost five hundred years old! And as for my precious gift, all I do here is occasionally fuss at the donkey for being lazy or tell Neona what her pet cat wants for dinner! If I have to live like that for another hundred years, I’ll go crazy!”
“Then leave!” Nima rose to her feet. “If you are so useless to us, go!”
Lydia leaned close to her daughter and whispered, “Apologize!”
Tashi remained silent, but tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m not abandoning our sacred duty. My sisters died to protect this valley, and I won’t leave until it is safe. And when I do leave, I’ll be only fifteen miles away. If you send your owl to me, I will know I am needed, and I will come.”
Nima scoffed.
Freya reached over and touched Tashi’s arm. “I never thought you were useless. You make beautiful pottery. You tell great stories, and you have such a pretty voice. The young ones love it when you sing. So do I.”
“I’m grateful you told me about Zoltan being gifted,” Neona said. She stood and faced her mother. “I’m going to the monastery tonight to find Minerva’s son. And if I can, I’m bringing him back to his rightful home.”
Another series of gasps went around the fire.
Nima’s eyes narrowed. “You wish to defy me at every turn?”
“I wish to do what I know to be right.”
“I decide what is right!”
Neona lifted her chin. “We should put aside our disagreements for now. Liao is coming, and our first priority must be to protect this valley.”
“Now you’re telling me my j
ob?” Nima snorted. “I know we have to work with those monsters to save our valley and the young ones who depend on us. I also know those monsters will seek to destroy our way of life. And you seem content to help them.” She stalked off toward the cave.
When Zoltan woke, he sat up, wondering why he was on the floor. Then it came back to him. Dragons. He’d been asking Neona about them when he’d fallen into his death-sleep.
He headed straight to the ice chest and grabbed a bottle of blood. It was a shade lighter than normal, probably from the Living Water he’d added.
“It can’t kill you,” he whispered to himself and drank the bottle down.
“You’re awake!” Neona entered the house and smiled as he turned toward her. “I have good news. The queen will accept you and your friends. That is, for the time it takes to defeat our common foe.”
“That’s a relief.” He stuffed the empty bottle back into the ice chest. As far as he could tell, he wasn’t having any sort of reaction to the Living Water. But he was still hungry. One bottle wasn’t filling him up. He pulled out a second bottle.
“Are you all right?” She glanced warily at the ice chest.
“I guess I’m extra hungry tonight.” Probably from all the sex. Just thinking about last night made his groin tighten. Made him want more. He guzzled down the second bottle, wondering how much time he would have before Emma called.
“Are we going to the monastery tonight?”
“Yes. After my friends arrive, we should be able to go while they get settled in.”
“All right. I—” Neona shifted her weight. “I need to ask you something. I’m not sure if I dreamed it. I was so tired last night—”
“From all the sex?”
She nodded. “I think you—”
“I gave you three more climaxes.”
“Yes, but then later, you came—”
“I came, yes. Biggest damned orgasm—”
“You came back to bed and asked me—”
“You want to have sex?”
She blinked. “That’s not what you asked. You wanted to know if our secret pact was with—”
“Oh, the dragons. Right.” He adjusted his jeans. They were already too confining against his groin.