She halted, recalling Darafer’s claim that her tracking device had been removed. Why should she believe a demon? She pushed her sweater up to her elbow to examine her forearm. It was hard to see well in the dim light, but she couldn’t spot any recent incisions. She smoothed her fingers over the spot where the device had been inserted just below the skin. Smooth. The slight bump was gone.
Her heart sank. Darafer had told the truth. What other truths had he thrown at her? You’re just a replacement.
With a shake of her head, she shoved that thought aside. Darafer was simply trying to mess her up, make her give up hope, so she would join him.
She strode to the back wall to examine it. A flimsy screen woven of straw sectioned off a small space that contained a chamber pot. Lovely. She wrinkled her nose. At least she wouldn’t have to relieve herself in full view of her surly neighbor.
Guang had wrapped himself in his blanket to go to sleep. Was he naturally tired, or had the porridge been drugged? She sighed. There was no way to be sure.
She resumed her examination of the back wall, pushing at each stone. A replacement. A cheap copy. Easy to find and easy to replace. She shook her head. Don’t think about it. But she had fallen into bed with Dougal easily. She’d known him less than a month when they’d first made love at her apartment.
Her hands stilled. What had Dougal said that night? I’ll never lose you again. And just last night in the palace at Tiger Town, Rajiv’s grandfather had asked him if he’d found love again. Dougal had said yes.
She paced across the cell. Dougal was centuries old. Of course he’d had other girlfriends. Did she really expect to be his first?
He had his first and only love almost three hundred years ago, Darafer’s words came back to her. His first and only?
I’ve waited so long for you. How many times had Dougal told her that? He’d even admitted that he’d waited almost three hundred years.
A replacement. A cheap copy.
She grasped the jade dragon. Dougal loved her. She had to believe in him. This was nothing more than Darafer’s preferred method of torture. How could she believe anything a demon told her?
Her eyes burned. Then why did Dougal’s own words condemn him? I’ll never lose you again.
She hunched down, hugging her knees. Don’t panic. Darafer wants you to panic.
Her mind raced, trying to remember everything Marielle had told her. She had free will, so Darafer couldn’t force her. Of course that didn’t mean he wouldn’t torture her or feed her to vampires.
She took deep breaths. Don’t give up hope. There had to be a way.
With a start, she recalled something Marielle had said. She jumped to her feet and looked around. “Josephine?”
No response.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see her guardian angel. “Josephine? You’re there, aren’t you? Can you help me?”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Guang muttered in Chinese.
She slumped. There was no sign of an angel.
“Shut up, bitch. I’m trying to sleep.”
“Miss. Wake up, miss.”
Leah blinked, coming fully awake. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but eventually she’d grown tired enough to lie down on her blanket. Even then, she’d been too tense to fall into a deep sleep.
“Miss.” The insistent whispering continued in Chinese.
She sat up, her hand automatically going to the jade necklace. Guang was snoring in his cell. A dark figure was crouched in front of her cell.
She scrambled closer, but not too close in case he tried to grab her through the bars like Guang had tried earlier.
“Are you Doctor Chin?” the figure whispered. He had a male voice and was dressed in black with a hood covering the upper half his face.
“Yes. I’m Leah Chin.”
“You saved the people at the demon herb village.”
It seemed more like a statement than a question, but Leah responded, “Yes.”
“My sister and her family live there. Yu Jie says they would have died if you hadn’t saved them.”
“You know Yu Jie?”
“She’s my niece.” The figure backed away.
“Wait.” Leah moved forward. “Can you help me? Can you get me out of here?”
The man dashed up the stairs.
“Wait,” Leah called louder.
The door creaked shut.
“I need help!”
“Shut up, bitch,” Guang snarled. “I’m trying to sleep.”
At sunset, Dougal woke with a jolt. He breathed deeply, and Leah’s scent of jasmine filled his senses.
I’ll find you, Leah. I willna fail you.
After a quick breakfast bottle, the Vamps teleported to their assigned sites. Dougal crept around the camp, listening in on conversations. No mention of a lady prisoner or Darafer. She wasn’t here.
He left the rest of his unit behind and teleported to more sites, one after another. No sign of her. Angus called to fuss at him for not following orders. Dougal hung up on him and continued to check all the camps.
Two hours later, he called Angus on his sat phone. “She’s no’ at any of these camps!”
“They may be keeping her hidden,” Angus replied.
“I’m telling you she’s somewhere else! Some place we doona know about. I say we gather our forces and attack one of the camps. Take the commander hostage and make him tell us where they’re hiding her.”
“I’d rather no’ attack a camp,” Angus grumbled. “We would end up killing the soldiers, and the whole purpose of this mission was to avoid killing them.”
“Ye think I care!”
Angus materialized beside him and took hold of his shoulder. “Get a grip, Dougal.”
His eyes burned. “I canna fail her. Do ye understand?”
“Aye. I know how ye feel. I was ready to die to save Emma. We’ll get through this. Ye must have faith.”
Dougal snorted, punching the off button on his sat phone. “I’d rather use my sword right now.”
“I understand.”
Dougal took a deep breath. “They have camps we doona know about.” They needed more information. Intelligence. “We need spies.”
Angus tilted his head, considering. “They would have to be local. Maybe some of the were-tigers could infiltrate?”
“Or some of the people we saved from the zombie village,” Dougal suggested.
Angus nodded. “Let’s go back to Tiger Town to make plans.”
The creaking sound of the door woke Leah. She sat up, grasping her jade necklace. Her heart pounded as she waited for the dark figures on the stairs to venture into the torchlight.
They were women. Servants, she guessed by the way they remained bent over, their heads down. Each one carried a tray, which they slipped between the bars of the two occupied cells.
“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.”
“Great!” Dougal strode toward them. “Let’s go. We need to rescue Leah.”
Briathos held up a hand to stop him, then turned to Angus. “You will gather your forces here so we can attack.”
“Right.” Angus retrieved his sat phone from his sporran. “Rajiv, go wake up the shifters.”
Rajiv dashed off to the guesthouses, while Angus quickly made some calls.
The Vamps teleported in, and after listening to Angus’s quick explanation, they gawked at the angelic newcomers. Dougal studied them, too. The more he stared at them, the more solid they became, and the more detailed. Briathos had blue eyes and golden brown hair. The others behind him had hair ranging from blond to black.
What Dougal found strange was that if he looked away, then glanced back, their images seemed to shimmer for a few seconds before sharpening into focus once again. It was as if they were there, but not really there. He tried to recall everything Marielle had said about them. Most likely, they wouldn’t kill Darafer but send him back to hell. That was fine with Dougal, as long as Leah was safe.
Connor approached him, smiling. “We’ll be able to find Leah now.”
Dougal nodded, then stepped toward the angels. “How is she? How is Leah?”
Briathos hesitated. The Epsilons behind him exchanged looks, then their leader finally answered, “Her guardian angel is in contact with us. She is . . . alive.”
Dougal’s heart stuttered. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. “If you’re able to get involved, then that means Darafer has broken a rule?”
“The decree of free will has been violated,” Briathos said quietly. “A child of God has been forced into evil.”