“This won’t last much longer,” Zoltan warned her. “By now, Lord Liao has to know that his search parties are not reporting in.”
Emma announced that the count was now up to a hundred and three. They had managed to cut Lord Liao’s army in half.
The camp grew quiet as the teams waited for their scouts to call and round three to begin.
Neona drew Zoltan off to the shelter of the nearby forest. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”
“That you love me?”
She smiled. “I’ve already told you that.”
“Not tonight.” He pulled her behind a tree and whispered in her ear, “Are you thinking about climax number seven?”
“Are you still keeping count?”
“I promised you ten, and I always deliver.”
She stepped back. “This is important.”
“So it is about sex?”
She snorted. The man was insatiable. “I have a confession to make. About your bottles of blood.” Wincing, she steeled her nerves. “I’ve been sneaking some of our Living Water into your bottles. I’m afraid that’s why you’re hungry—”
“What?” He gave her an incredulous look. “You’ve been spiking my blood supply?”
She nodded. “It was wrong of me. I should have told you. I’ll understand if you’re angry—”
He laughed.
She blinked. “You’re not angry?”
“Sweetheart, I’ve been spiking my bottles, too. Good God, no wonder I’ve been so hungry.”
“Y-you added Living Water? Where did you get it?”
“I stole it. Sneaked into the cave and took some.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I’ll understand if you’re angry.”
“I-I’m stunned. We’ve both been doing it?”
He gave her a curious look. “Why did you do it?”
“Why did you?”
“I asked you first.”
She sighed. “You said your seed was dead. I thought the Living Water might revive it.”
“Ah.” He reached for her. “You want to make babies.”
“Not now.” She gave him a playful shove. “What was your reason?”
“We wanted to know what happens to a vampire if he ingests the Living Water. In case Liao or Han get their hands on it, we wanted to know what to expect.”
“I see.” She tilted her head, studying him. “How do you feel?”
He shrugged. “About the same. I’m just hungry all the time.”
She nodded. “It’s only been two nights. It may take some time before the effects show up.”
Howard whistled to get their attention. “Jesse called. It’s time to move out.”
They teleported to Jesse, who indicated a party of five ahead of them and ten behind them.
“Two groups?” Howard whispered.
Jesse nodded, a panicked look on his face. “They’re armed with AK-47s.”
Neona didn’t know what that was, but from the looks on the men’s faces, it was bad news.
“These men are no’ searching for Beyul-La,” Dougal muttered. “They’re hunting us.”
Howard nodded. “The first group is bait, and when we bite, the second group will move in for the kill.”
Jesse gulped. “What do we do? Should we leave?”
Howard gave him an annoyed look.
“Oh, right.” Jesse squared his shoulders. “Let’s kick some ass.”
Zoltan gave Neona a worried look, but before he could say anything, she shook her head. “I’m staying.”
He grimaced. “We should pair up so the Vamps can teleport their partner away from the gunfire. I’ll take Neona.”
“Good plan,” Howard said. “Jimmy, stick with Jack. Jesse, go with Dougal.”
“What about you?” Jimmy asked.
“I’ll manage.” Howard patted his nephew on the back. “We should take the group of ten first.”
Everyone agreed, and they moved quietly through the forest till they caught a glimpse of the group of ten.
Neona’s breath caught. These supersoldiers were armed to the teeth. Not only swords and knives but they were also carrying the biggest rifles she’d ever seen.
“Those are automatic assault weapons,” Zoltan whispered in her ear. “Stay close to me so I can teleport you.”
She inched forward with him, keeping behind the cover of bushes and rocks. When Howard’s birdcall whistled through the air, she was behind a bush with Zoltan. All six of their team shot their dart guns. Neona hit her target, and immediately Zoltan teleported her behind a huge boulder.
Rapid fire responded. Her hands shook as she reloaded her dart gun. She’d never heard such a terrible weapon before. Zoltan fired his dart gun again, then teleported her up into a tree. With a gasp, she grabbed onto the trunk. Down below, bullets were ricocheting off the boulder. The bush she and Zoltan had hidden behind was now ripped to shreds.
Only two soldiers remained standing, but they were shooting their assault weapons in a wide circle. Neona shot one with a dart just as four more on her team shot their guns. The soldiers stopped shooting to rip out the darts, but more darts came at them. Slowly, they slumped down to the ground.
“Hurry! Get their weapons,” Howard shouted.
Zoltan teleported her down to the ground. The team rushed in to gather the weapons. As Neona approached a soldier, he grasped her ankle, yanked her off her feet, and raised his arm, his knife ready to strike. She grabbed his arm, but he was stronger than she was. Just as the knife sliced into her arm, Zoltan seized the man by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground.
“Bastard!” Zoltan shook him.
“Take cover!” Howard shouted, and he and the were-bear twins ducked behind unconscious soldiers.
Rapid fire exploded from the nearby forest. The group of five had arrived. With vampire speed, Zoltan spun around, placing the soldier between him and the bullets. The soldier jerked and shuddered as bullets riddled his body.
Jack and Dougal teleported behind two of the soldiers, ripped the weapons from their hands, and manually stabbed them with a cluster of three darts. The men slumped to the ground.
Three were still shooting. Hidden behind Zoltan, Neona drew her knife and threw it at one, striking his arm so he dropped his weapon. Then she shot him with her dart gun. Meanwhile Jack and Dougal teleported behind the remaining two soldiers, disarmed them, and knocked them out.
The forest was silent for a moment before Jimmy jumped to his feet and yelled, “That was awesome!”
“I know, right?” Jesse slapped hands with his twin.
Zoltan dropped the dead soldier and helped Neona to her feet. “Are you all right?”
“You were awesome, warrior princess!” Jimmy lifted a hand, waiting for her to slap it.
She lifted her arm, and it was covered with blood.
“Shit,” Zoltan whispered. “I’ll take you to the doctor in Tiger Town.”
“It’s a small cut. I’ll be fine if you take me to the storeroom where I keep my medical supplies.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, then he glanced at the other guys. “We need to go.”
“We’ll be fine.” Howard waved him on. “Go on.”
He teleported her to the fire pit in Beyul-La, then led her inside the storeroom where she kept her medical supplies. He opened a window so the moonlight would shine in.
She gave him instructions, and he washed her arm, applied the salve, and wrapped it tight with a strip of fresh linen.
“Are you sure about this?” He gave her arm a dubious look.
“The salve works,” she assured him. “It stopped the bleeding on your wound, remember? And kept it clean.”
“But I heal during my death-sleep. You don’t.” He escorted her from the storeroom. “We could go to the next valley. Mikhail has his medical kit there.”
“I’ve been healing wounds here for close to two thousand years.”
“At least take something for the pain.” He pulled her close. “I can’t b
ear to think of you hurting.”
She turned when she heard a shouting noise. Norjee and Zhan were running from the cave. The owl flew out, headed for the next valley. Zhan raced after it.
“What’s wrong?” she yelled in Tibetan.
Norjee came to a halt in front her, breathing hard. “The eggs . . . two eggs are hatching.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“What’s wrong?” Zoltan asked.
Neona told him in English, “Two eggs are hatching. Can you go to the next valley and bring back Nima or Winifred?”
“You can’t take care of the eggs?”
She shook her head. “The hatchlings bond with the first person they see. It has to be someone who can communicate with them. Hurry! We’ll be waiting for you.” She grabbed Norjee’s hand, and they ran toward the cave.
Zoltan teleported to Frederic’s valley. It was mostly empty, since five of the teams were out working. Emma was there, coordinating all the missions. A few shifters had remained behind on guard duty. Tashi was sitting nearby, looking pale.
“Emma!” Zoltan ran up to her. “Where are Nima and Winifred?”
“Winifred just left,” Emma said.
The owl landed on a rock next to Tashi, and she jumped up. “Is something wrong in the cave?”
“Two eggs are hatching,” Zoltan told her.
“Oh no!” Tashi gasped. “We need Nima or Freddie.”
Emma winced. “I tried my best to make sure one of them was always here. Nima’s team is due back any second now. I wouldn’t have let Freddie go otherwise.”
“Nima has to come back now!” Tashi insisted.
“I’ll call her team.” Emma punched some numbers on her sat phone.
Tashi moaned. “This is all my fault. It was my turn to go, but I started throwing up, so Winifred went instead.”
“You couldn’t help that,” Emma told her. “And if you’re pregnant like we suspect, you shouldn’t be out there fighting.” She tilted her head toward the phone. “Mikhail? We need Nima back immediately. Okay. Thanks.”
She hung up. “Mikhail and Pamela are in Tiger Town, delivering the last of their soldiers. They should have Nima here in a few minutes.”
Tashi turned toward the rock wall. Neona’s pet leopard was pacing along the edge. Zoltan heard the leopard’s thoughts, too.
No time! The eggs are hatching now!
“We don’t have a few minutes,” Zoltan said. “The hatchlings bond with the first person they see, and it has to be someone they can communicate with.”
“That’s true!” Tashi grimaced as she rubbed her stomach. “They have to bond quickly, or they lose the ability. One time an egg hatched unexpectedly when my mother was there. The baby bonded with her, but when she couldn’t communicate with him, his ability faded away. He couldn’t hear Nima at all. Then all his senses shut down. The poor thing just lay there and died!”
Emma drew in a long breath. “All right. I’ll do it.”
“But you can’t—” Tashi gasped when Emma vanished. “What is she doing? The babies will die if she—”
“She can communicate with them,” Zoltan said.
Tashi’s eyes widened. “She can?”
Zoltan glanced around and spotted Phil with some of the younger werewolf trainees. “Phil, take charge till Angus gets back.”
Phil ran toward him. “What’s going on?”
“Emma has to help two dragon babies hatch.”
“What?” Phil looked stunned.
Zoltan imagined Emma’s husband would look even more stunned when he learned the consequences. “Let’s go.” He grabbed Tashi and teleported her to the entrance of the cave.
“Go ahead.” She rubbed her stomach. “I’ll follow you soon. I need to be still for a moment.”
He zoomed down the narrow corridor into the huge cavern where the dragon children lived. Norjee and the three dragon shifters sat on Nima’s larger pallet, looking worried.
Norjee jumped to his feet. “Nima?”
“She’ll be here soon,” Zoltan replied, frustrated because he knew the boy couldn’t understand him. He gave the children a reassuring smile, then hurried down the narrow tunnel to the cave room that housed the eggs.
Neona was hovering at the entrance, partially hidden behind a wall of stone. She glanced back at him.
“Nima will be here soon.”
Neona winced. “She might be too late.”
He peered into the room, dimly lit by a single torch. Emma was kneeling in front of a nest that contained two eggs. Both were covered with cracks and rocking slightly with movement.
He blinked when a foot suddenly burst through a shell. A tiny leg extended from the egg and kicked about.
Emma gasped. “It looks so human.” She shot Neona a frantic look. “What do I do?”
“When the heads come out, make sure they see you,” Neona said. “Look them in the eyes and communicate with them.”
Another leg burst out, and the egg started to shake. Two arms broke free, the tiny hands fisted.
“Look at you.” Emma took hold of one of the tiny hands. “You’re doing great.”
The little hand opened and curled around Emma’s thumb.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
The egg thrashed about, and pieces of shell fell away from the baby’s head. With her free hand, Emma cleared shell away from its face.
Neona pulled Zoltan back behind the stone wall. “We can’t risk the baby seeing us.”
He waited, then heard a tearful whimper come from Emma.
“I can hear him crying.” She sniffed. “He’s a boy. A beautiful boy.”
Neona exhaled with relief and smiled. “They’re bonding. Thank God.”
Zoltan peeked into the room. Emma was clearing away the last of the shell from a baby boy. His arms and legs were flailing about, but his eyes were entirely focused on her. She smiled at him, tears running down her cheeks.
A leg burst from the second shell.
“Your twin is coming,” Emma whispered.
When a fisted hand broke free, she took hold of it. The egg shook violently, and the head appeared.
Zoltan stepped back behind the stone wall and waited.
Emma laughed. “I have a baby girl.”
Neona’s pet leopard ran up to her and Zoltan.
“Zhan.” Neona patted his head. “Good kitty. Thank you for watching over the children.”
He rubbed against her leg, then looked at Zoltan. The queen has arrived. They’re trying to call you.
Thanks. “I’ll be right back.” He teleported to the cave entrance. His phone buzzed, and he answered it.
“I have Nima with me,” Mikhail said. “I’ve been trying to convince her that she’ll get home faster if I teleport her. Keep talking.”
“Okay. I’m here at the cave entrance,” Zoltan told Mikhail. “Waiting for you . . .”
Mikhail appeared with Nima, and she immediately ran into the cave. When Zoltan and Mikhail followed her, she turned around and glared at them. “Men are not allowed here. Go!”
Mikhail snorted, then vanished.
Zoltan followed her as she dashed down the narrow corridor into the larger cavern. Tashi was there, minding the children. Zhan was lounging on a pallet, letting Norjee and Xiao Fang pet him.
“The babies are fine,” Zoltan told the queen.
She spun around to face him. “They hatched? With no one there to bond with them?”
“Emma did it.”
“What? A vampire bonded with my dragons!” Nima drew her sword. “You let a monster steal my babies? I should kill you all. You are destroying our world!”
“Enough!” Neona ran into the large cavern. “Put away the sword, Mother.” She tilted her head toward the children, who had huddled together with frightened expressions. “Don’t do this here.”
Glaring at Zoltan, Nima sheathed her sword.
“Don’t blame the vampires,” Tashi said as she hugged the two younger children. “Freddie had
to leave early because I was sick. There was only a short time when both you and Freddie were gone.”
“Enough time for those monsters to steal our babies,” Nima hissed.
“Emma saved the babies.” Neona motioned toward the egg room. “Come and see.”
Zoltan followed Nima and Neona down the narrow tunnel into the egg room.
Emma had transferred the babies to a clean nest. “Shouldn’t I bathe them? And put nappies on them? What do you feed them?”
Nima scoffed. “Do you think we’ll let you take our dragon babies away?”
Emma looked up at her. “I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’m their mother now.”
Nima huffed. “How can you possibly care for them? You’re dead half the time.”
“I’ll help you,” Neona offered. “The babies like goat milk. We have a few goats here in the valley. I’ll go milk them.”
“Thank you.” Emma suddenly stiffened and looked back at her babies. “What’s wrong? I can hear them crying!”
Everyone crowded around.
“They can’t breathe!” Emma shouted. “Oh, God, they’re turning blue.”
Neona reached for one. “Maybe I can—”
“No!” Nima yanked her back. “This is what happened to Xiao Fang’s sister. When Calliope tried to help her, they both died.”
Neona grimaced. “We can’t just let them die.”
Emma gasped. “I have to save them.”
“There is nothing we can do,” Nima cried. “Oh, God, we’re going to lose them both!”
“No!” Emma picked up one baby, then struggled to pick up the other. Zoltan leaned over to help her.
“I’ll take them to a doctor.” Emma stood. “Leah knows how to treat shifters.”
“You cannot remove the dragons from their home!” Nima shouted.
“Watch me.” Emma vanished, taking both babies with her.
Nima huffed. “She dares to steal them from us! Where is she taking them?”
“To Tiger Town,” Zoltan explained. “That’s where Leah is. She’s a brilliant doctor and geneticist. She can figure out what’s going wrong.” He eyed the five nests. Only two remained with eggs. “I would guess it’s a case of too much inbreeding.”
Neona nodded. “We’ve been worried about that, but I don’t know what can be done. These are the only dragons left in the world.”