The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo

Chapter Twenty-nine

No rescue? And she would be fed to a vampire? Leah sank to the floor, shivering as she hugged her knees.

Get a grip, she told herself. Don’t panic. Darafer wants you to panic.

She took deep breaths to calm herself. She would think about this logically. Rationally. Darafer wasn’t going to kill her. He wanted her alive so he could use her. And he wanted her to panic so she would be easy to manipulate. Be smart about this. Stay focused.

She rose to her feet and strode toward the front of her cell. Starting on the left, she tried each horizontal and vertical bar.

Snickering came from the cell to her right. “You think you can escape, bitch?”

Maybe not, but she would be prepared for all possibilities. She tested the lock on the door. It was firm. She didn’t dare get close to her neighbor, so she checked the wooden grid on the left by the empty cell.

Marielle had been right. Darafer knew which wounds to pick at and which fears to manipulate. Surprisingly enough, his digs about her family and so-called college friends hadn’t bothered her at all. It was a good sign if those wounds were healed. She’d grown stronger and more confident since she’d started her new job with the Vamps.

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.