How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) (23 page)

Emma’s expression was still stunned. “You say they’re fast and fierce?”

“They destroyed my village,” Zoltan muttered.

“And they can fly incredibly fast,” Neona added. “I suppose that’s one of the reasons why we’ve always enjoyed being their guardians. You cannot imagine how exhilarating it is to soar through the sky on the back of a dragon.”

“It does sound exciting.” Emma nodded slowly. “Could it be the dragons that Liao is after? Are there rumors that he might have heard?”

Neona winced. “That is possible. The dragons are hunters by nature. We always urge them to hunt in the wild, but over the years, there have been a few occasions when they’ve stolen cows or sheep from farmers. Fortunately, they know to do that only if they’re hundreds of miles away, so that it’s hard to trace them back here.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “Imagine Master Han’s supersoldiers attacking villages on fire-breathing dragons. I have to let Angus know about this.” She ran off to find her husband.

Neona glanced at her mother, who was still at the top of the rock wall, waiting to climb down the rope ladder. “I’m going to have to tell her that the secret is out. She will not be happy.”

Zoltan wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, let me introduce you to some of the guys.”

He led her to the nearest group.

“Way to go, Zoltan!” Phineas waved at him. “When I heard you’d found some Amazon women, I wasn’t expecting them to be hot.”

Gregori gave Zoltan a thumbs-up. “J.L. was betting us that they would look like abominable snowwomen. Big, mean, and hairy.”

“Aye.” Dougal nudged J.L. “Ye owe me ten pounds.”

J.L. Wang didn’t respond. With his mouth dropped open, he focused on the women climbing down the rope ladder.

“J.L.?” Howard waved a hand in front of his face. “Wangster, are you still with us?”

Dougal snorted. “I think he’s smitten.”

“Oh, yeah,” Phineas agreed. “Trapped in a tractor beam of hotness. Quick!” He spun J.L. around. “We’ve got to break the connection before he’s a goner.”

Dougal opened a flask of Blissky and waved it under J.L.’s nose. “Come back to us, lad.”

J.L. blinked, then whispered, “She’s a goddess.”

Zoltan glanced back at the warrior women, wondering which one had affected J.L. “Let me introduce you to Neona, my future wife.”

She gave him a wry look. “When did I agree to that?”

The guys laughed and shook hands with her.

Howard smirked at Zoltan. “No wonder you were letting her beat the crap out of you.”

Zoltan laughed, then led Neona away so they could talk in private. “We’d better go to the monastery before practice begins.”

She nodded. “As soon as it’s safe, I want to bring Minerva’s son back here so I can be his mother.”

Zoltan took her in his arms. “Then he’ll gain a father, too.”

Her eyes gleamed with tears. “Have I told you that I love you?”

“Yes. Climax number five, I believe it was.”

She snorted. “You’re always thinking about sex.”

“And you.” He kissed her brow. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty-two

N
eona peered inside the open gate of the monastery. The courtyard was empty. The soothing sound of chanting male voices drifted from the small temple in the center. A stone wall topped with clay shingles ran along all four sides of the square-shaped compound. A line of one-story buildings ran along the wall to the right. Private rooms, she figured, by the number of doors. To the left, there was a row of low tables with baskets containing rice and vegetables. A few chickens pecked at the ground.

Zoltan gave the chain by the gate a yank, and the bell overhead clanged. The chanting in the temple stopped.

Neona winced. The monks might think they were rude to interrupt.

Two monks, bald and dressed in dark red robes, emerged from the temple. They pressed their hands together and bowed.

Neona bowed back.

The eldest-looking monk descended the two steps and slid his feet into slides made of woven reeds. As he approached, his sharp gaze shifted between her and Zoltan. The chanting began once again in the temple.

“How may I help you?” he asked in Tibetan.

Neona bowed once again. “Venerable Father, I apologize for interrupting your meditations.”

The monk smiled gently. “We are usually asleep by now, but one of our younger brothers is gifted with the sight and has had a vision.” He glanced back, his smile fading. “A vision of evil approaching.”

Neona wondered if the younger monk had sensed that Lord Liao was coming. She gave Zoltan a worried glance, then realized he had no idea what was being said in Tibetan. She’d have to fill him in later.

The elderly monk tilted his head, studying her, then Zoltan. “I do not sense any evil in you.” His gaze returned to her. “But there is a great sadness in your heart.”

Was it that easy to see? Neona steeled her nerves so she wouldn’t cry. “Yes. I lost my twin sister three weeks ago. And she lost her son seven years ago. It was a terrible blow to her, and she never truly recovered. The boy was brought here . . .”

“Ah.” The monk nodded. “You speak of Norjee.”

His name was Norjee. In spite of her best effort, Neona’s eyes still filled with tears. “Is he all right? May I see him?”

“Of course.” The elderly monk gestured to the buildings on the right. “Come this way.” Halfway to the buildings, he paused to speak to the second monk, who still stood on the temple steps. “Will you bring us tea and the child Norjee?”

The second monk bowed, then descended the steps.

The first monk led them to the first door of the buildings, left his slides on the first step, then ascended a second step to open the door.

Neona removed her slippers. Zoltan, who was watching everything, kicked off his shoes and followed her inside.

It was a small room with a pallet rolled up and stashed against the wall next to a bookcase holding old scrolls. In the center was a short table. The monk sat cross-legged behind the table and motioned for them to join him.

After they sat, the monk took a deep breath. “Am I to understand that the boy’s mother did not wish to give him to our care?”

Neona shook her head. “It was our mother who brought the baby here.”

The monk glanced at Zoltan. “Is this man the boy’s father?”

“No.” Neona took Zoltan’s hand in hers. “He is my betrothed. When I told him I wanted to find my sister’s son and raise him as my own, he agreed to help me.”

The monk nodded approvingly.

The second monk entered with a tray containing a teapot and three small cups. He set the tray on the table. “I will bring the boy now.” He bowed and left.

The elderly monk poured three cups of tea. “I will not lie to you. Raising Norjee has been . . . a bit of a challenge.” He smiled. “There are only a dozen of us brothers here, and there are times when Norjee seems to have more energy than all of us put together.”

Neona winced inwardly. “Has he been difficult?”

The monk gave her a sympathetic look. “Please do not misunderstand. We love the boy. And he loves us. But we are a group of old men. We spend our days working our small rice field or tending the animals. In our free time, we like to read, meditate, or pray. These are not interesting pastimes for a boy like Norjee, who is so full of life.”

“I see.” Neona drank some tea.

The monk took a sip. “He has been both a challenge and a blessing. A challenge, for we have trouble convincing him to do his chores. But a blessing, for he sees the world as a wondrous place, as if every small event is a miracle to behold, and we have treasured those moments. He is a joy to us.” The monk sighed. “A joy we do not know how to control. Indeed, it seemed wrong to even attempt it. For he is a child with a special gift.”

Neona’s heart stilled. “What kind of gift?”

“He can communicate with the birds of the air.”

She inhaled sharply. He’d inherited Minerva’s gift! He’d be able to communicate with the dragons.

“Even when he was a baby, birds would come to his windowsill and chirp,” the monk continued. “It wasn’t until he was older and could talk to us that we understood what was happening. He was only three years old the first time he tried to run away. He claimed the birds were free to fly away, and he should be like them. We had a terrible time convincing him to stay here. When it was time to do his chores, he’d run off to spend the afternoon talking to a family of eagles. The mother eagle would ask him about his parents, and then he would return to question us. Why was he not living with a mother and father like the baby eagles?”

The door opened, and the second monk announced, “He’s not in his room. We cannot find him in the compound.”

Neona jumped to her feet. “He’s run away?”

“Do not worry.” The first monk stood slowly. “Norjee does this at least once a week. He will come back when he’s hungry.”

“He’s wandering the forest by himself?” Neona asked. “He’s only seven years old!”

Zoltan stood and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

“He’s in the forest somewhere,” she replied in English.

“He is never alone,” the monk assured her. “Not when he can talk to the birds. Come. We will call him.”

They hurried to the gate, and the monk rang the bell.

She looked around. Beyond the rice field, the woods appeared ominously dark. “I don’t like this. There are wolves, bears, and wildcats.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Zoltan told her.

The clanging of the bell brought more monks to the gate. When they learned Norjee was missing, they returned to the temple to pray.

After a few agonizing minutes, Neona spotted movement at the edge of the forest.

“That’s him.” Zoltan pointed.

Soon she could see him in the moonlight. A family of foxes was leading him back, while several small birds circled overhead. Every now and then, a bird would dive down to peck at a fox’s head, and the furry red creature would jump and hiss. The boy laughed as he skipped along beside them.

Neona turned to Zoltan. “Did you contact the foxes?”

He nodded, smiling.

The monk stepped forward. “Norjee, you left again without permission.”

The boy bowed. “I am sorry, Venerable Father. The birds were calling to me.” His gaze landed on Neona and Zoltan, and his eyes widened.

Neona blinked away tears. He looked so much like her sister. And he had her golden eyes.

The monk motioned to her. “She has come for you, Norjee.”

The boy approached her slowly, a hopeful look on his face. “Are you . . . ?”

It made her heart ache to disappoint him. “I’m your aunt. Your mother was my twin sister.”

His chin trembled. “Was?”

“She passed away.” A tear rolled down Neona’s cheek. “But she always loved you.”

“I-I always wondered.” Norjee sniffed. “The eagle mama told me I had to have a mother and father. She says I must have fallen out of the nest.”

Neona smiled through her tears. “I’m afraid you did. But I’d like to take you back.” She hunched down. “If you’ll accept me, I would be honored to be your mother.”

He ran toward her and threw his arms around her neck. She held him tight as more tears flowed.
I’ll be a good mother to him, Minerva, I promise.

Norjee glanced up at Zoltan. “Will he be my papa?”

“Yes.” Neona brushed the boy’s long hair back from his brow. “He doesn’t know Tibetan, so it will be a while before you can talk to each other. But he can talk to animals. He’s the one who sent the foxes after you.”

Norjee’s eyes lit up and he grinned. “That’s great!”

Zoltan smiled and said in English, “I guess I’ve been accepted.” He leaned over and tousled the boy’s hair.

“We will have his belongings packed for you,” the monk said.

Neona stood. “I’m afraid it’s not safe for us to take him tonight. Our valley may come under attack soon.”

The monk nodded. “We know the evil ones are coming. We’ve been praying that the boy would be delivered from danger. You must take Norjee tonight.”

“But—”

The monk held up a hand to stop her. “Our brother’s visions are never wrong. The evil is coming here. I will try to convince my brothers to evacuate tomorrow.”

The second monk arrived with a canvas bag. With a bow, he handed it to Neona.

“What’s happening?” Zoltan asked.

“They want us to take Norjee tonight.” She cast a worried look at the boy. “I guess he would be safe with the young ones in the cave.”

“All right. I’ll teleport him to Beyul-La, then come right back for you.” Zoltan reached for Norjee, but the boy slipped past him and ran toward the monks.

With tears in their eyes, they held him tight, then nudged him toward Zoltan. “Peace be with you, Norjee.”

“And you, Venerable Fathers,” he whispered.

Zoltan took hold of the boy’s shoulders and vanished.

The monks gasped.

“What manner of man is he?” The elderly monk shook his head in disbelief. “I could tell he was different, but I never sensed anything unholy about him.”

“He’s a vampire, but a good man,” Neona explained. “He and some other good vampires are helping us. There’s an evil vampire, Lord Liao, who is marching this way with an army of two hundred men.”

The monks exchanged grim, resigned looks.

“Our Venerable Brother warned us there is great evil approaching,” the elderly monk said. “We feared we would not be able to protect Norjee. You have answered our prayers by coming tonight.”

Neona sighed. “I’m afraid I’m still taking him into danger.”

The monk gave her a sad smile. “Your good vampire will protect him much better than we ever could.”

Zoltan reappeared by her side. “Ready?”

“Almost.” She bowed to the monks. “Thank you, Venerable Fathers, for raising Norjee and giving him love and kindness.”

The monks pressed their hands together and bowed. “Peace be with you.”

“When it is safe again, I’ll bring him back every now and then to visit,” she offered. The sadness in the monks’ faces made her wonder just how bad the brother’s vision had been.

Zoltan grabbed hold of her, and everything went black.

I
n Neona’s house, Zoltan guzzled down a bottle of blood. He’d left Neona and Norjee by the central fire pit, where they were having a bowl of soup with Tashi and Lydia. He hadn’t wanted to drink blood in front of the boy in case it frightened him.

A son. Zoltan finished the bottle and started on a second one. A week ago he’d set off to solve an old murder, and now he had a woman he intended to marry and a son. He’d protected hundreds of mortals over the centuries, so taking on this new responsibility didn’t disturb him. Quite the contrary. Instead of countless faces, he finally had the chance to love and protect two people who would be special to him. He smiled to himself. If he could be half the father Istvan had been to him, then Norjee would do fine.

He eyed the second bottle, now empty. It must be because of the Living Water he’d added, for he’d had four bottles tonight and he still felt hungry. There were only two left in the ice chest. So far he hadn’t noticed any effect other than hunger. It could be that it took time. Or perhaps his body undid any changes during his death-sleep.

He removed the bottles, then teleported to the kitchen in his castle with the ice chest. At vampire speed, he refilled the chest. Then, back in Neona’s house, he poured a small portion of each new bottle into an empty one, then topped them all off with his supply of stolen Living Water.

He drank another bottle, then joined the others at the fire pit. Winifred and Freya had just arrived from target practice in the adjoining valley. The queen was with the dragon children in the cave.

Lydia was cooking flatbread over the fire and laughing at how fast Norjee could eat them. Freddie and Freya both hugged the boy and welcomed him home.

With a blush, he scooted up close to Zoltan and mumbled something.

Neona smiled. “He’s not used to being around so many women.”

Tashi passed Freddie and Freya each a bowl of soup. “You two were at target practice for a long time.”

Freya exchanged a smile with her sister. “We’ve never seen so many fine warrior men before.”

Freddie snorted. “Men? It was the tigers you wanted to meet.”

Freya shrugged. “I thought the youngest were-tiger was very handsome. Rajiv is his name.”

“I see you managed to get onto their team,” Freddie said.

“And what about you?” Freya nudged her sister. “You’re on the team with the man who calls you a goddess.”

“We’re being assigned to teams?” Neona asked.

“Don’t worry,” Zoltan told her. “We’ll be on the same one.”

Lydia passed Freya a hot loaf of bread. “I thought the dart gun was rather easy to use.”

“It is.” Freya tore the loaf in half and passed a piece to her sister. “But I insisted on practicing a lot.”

Freddie snorted. “You didn’t want to leave your pet tiger.”

“Do not dare call him a pet.” Freya grinned. “He claims to be ferocious.”

Lydia shook her head. “We’re preparing for battle, and all you can think about is men?”

Freya sighed. “I know. I’m blaming it on Zoltan.”

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“You gave us those books to read,” Freddie explained. “Now we have romance on our minds.”