The mortals murmur yes.
“I should warn you that disobedience will be severely punished,” Darafer says, and he turns his head toward Wu Shen. “Is that not true, Officer?”
Wu Shen stiffens. His face grows pale. “Yes, my lord.”
“How is it that the Vamps and shifters know of our impending attack on the were-tiger village?” Darafer asks.
Wu Shen steps away from me. “They have been attacking our camps in order to lure Master Han out of hiding. If they are preparing for a retaliatory strike, it simply means they believe their strategy will work.”
“Is that so?” Darafer’s eyes take on a greenish glow, and I fear for Wu Shen.
I step toward him, but Wu Shen lifts a hand to stop me. With a sad look in his eyes, he shakes his head slightly.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?” Darafer shouts. “This is what happens to those who betray me!” He shoots an arc of lightning at Wu Shen, who is instantly engulfed in flames.
I stumble back. I close my eyes to block out the sight, but I can still hear Wu Shen’s cry of agony. I can still smell the stench of burning flesh. My stomach roils, and I fall to my knees. I make wheezing sounds as I gasp for breath.
“That brings me to the second requirement,” Darafer says calmly.
I open my eyes and see that the mortals are upset and mumbling among themselves. Wu Shen’s body is no longer on fire, but it lays there black and lifeless.
“Silence!” Master Han shouts, and the mortals grow quiet. Their eyes are wide with fear.
Darafer lifts the chalice high. “Once you drink of my potion, you will become powerful. And your soul will belong to me. Are you willing?”
The mortals hesitate.
Behind them, the soldiers draw their swords.
“I am willing!” one cries and runs toward the stage. “I will serve you, my lord.”
Others rise and edge toward the stage.
I cannot bear it. There will be more soldiers who will follow the evil commands of Han and Darafer. More men who will go to hell when they die, their souls forever bound to a demon. I look at Wu Shen’s dead body, and rage ignites inside me. Fire burns in my belly and races up my chest to my throat.
No more! My thoughts scream in my head. Even if it costs my life, no more!
I spring to my feet and dash wildly toward the field of demon herb. Fire erupts from my throat, and soon the field is ablaze.
“No!” Darafer shouts, and with a wave of his arm, the fire dies out.
But it is too late. The bushes are black and dead like Wu Shen.
In an instant, Darafer is in front of me. His eyes are glowing, his face harsh. He strikes me so hard that I fly back and land on a burned bush.
“Don’t kill him.” Han zooms toward us and yanks me up by the arm. “We need him. If a village dares to defy us, he can burn it to the ground like he did this field. He’ll be our weapon of terror.”
They expect me to kill for them. I try to pull away, but Han slaps me, then grabs me in an iron grip.
“You will suffer for this,” he growls and teleports me away.
Chapter Sixteen
“It looks deserted,” Jia said as she peered around the boulder. Russell had brought her back to the camp where he’d talked to Wu Shen the night before. “You think Han is hiding around here somewhere?”
“I’m sure of it.” Russell was crouched beside her. “I’ll check the camp out. You stay here and do your sniffing, okay?”
She nodded, and he teleported into a dark shadow beside the camp’s wooden barricade. He levitated to peer over the wall, then climbed over.
Jia closed her eyes a moment to concentrate on her sense of smell. No vampires or humans in the vicinity. Only the scent of Russell nearby. While she waited for him to return, her thoughts shifted to Tiger Town and the impending battle.
A great deal had been accomplished last night. All the women, children, and elderly had been evacuated. After the Vamps had finished teleporting the evacuees, they’d started bringing in Han’s cured ex-soldiers, who had offered to help. Over a hundred of them were now in Tiger Town. After being changed back to normal, they were no longer supersoldiers. They knew they were at a disadvantage fighting Han’s army, but they were determined to rid their homeland of Han once and for all.
Meanwhile, the call had gone out to more Vamps and shifters around the world. They would be arriving tonight. Angus MacKay hoped to gather an army of two hundred.
Russell had remained in Tiger Town to help, even though Jia had known he was anxious to get back to tracking Han. As dawn had approached, Rajiv had convinced her to spend the day in Tiger Town, partly to help with all the work and partly to keep her reputation intact. Too many were-tigers were watching. Russell had understood and, after promising to return for her this evening, he’d teleported back to the bat cave for his death-sleep.
She’d missed him. And she’d been so relieved when he’d arrived at her house a few minutes after sunset. His excitement had been contagious. Tonight, he claimed, they would complete their mission. Han was hiding somewhere near this camp. An eighty-mile radius, Russell insisted. He and Jia had a chance to prevent the battle of Tiger Town from ever happening, for tonight they would find Han and kill him.
After teleporting her to the bat cave, Russell had quickly explained the plan to her. With gloves on his hands to keep from getting burned, he’d given her a thick silver chain. “When we find Han, loop this chain around him to keep him from teleporting away. Then I’ll stake the bastard.”
At first Jia had objected. For thirteen years, she’d envisioned herself as the one to plant the stake in Han. Why should Russell have the honor?
“My need is greater,” he’d replied.
“Greater than losing my family?”
“I don’t explain myself.” When she’d raised a hand to swat him, he’d continued, “We’ll be killing him together, so half the honor will go to you.”
She made a noise of frustration now as she waited behind the boulder. Why did Russell want revenge so badly? Last night, in anger, he’d admitted that Han had put him in a coma for thirty-nine years. She suspected there was a lot more to the story than that.
Russell materialized beside her. “The camp is completely deserted.”
“Didn’t Wu Shen say something about a ceremony tonight to change more soldiers? What if Han is there?”
“I have no idea where the ceremony will take place. I do know Han’s hideout is around here. Once we find it, we can wait till he returns.”
Jia frowned. “It could be hours before he returns.”
“It could be hours before we find his hideout.” Russell patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Once we find his hideout, we’ve got him. If he doesn’t show up tonight, we’ll kill him tomorrow night.”
Jia nodded, her heart pounding. Thirteen years of planning and training, and it was finally happening. Not only would she have her revenge but killing Han now would also keep him from attacking Tiger Town. She could save all her friends and family there. But why was it so important to Russell?
“We’ll teleport five miles out and do a loop around the camp. Ready?” He grabbed her shoulders.
“Wait. I—” She took a deep breath. “If I’m going to help you kill someone, I deserve to know why.”
Russell gave her an impatient look. “You know why. He killed your family.”
“Yes, but what did he do to you?”
“You’re wasting our time.”
“He put you in a coma for thirty-nine years. What else happened?”
Russell gritted his teeth. “I don’t explain.”
She swatted his shoulder just before he teleported her away. When they arrived, they looked around. Dirt, rocks, a few scraggly, parched trees.
“Can you smell anything?” he asked.
She couldn’t but didn’t want to tell him. “I’m going on strike until you talk to me.”
He groaned. “We don’t have time for this. We have a lot of territory to cover.”
“Then you’d better start talking.”
He scowled at her. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“Ha! You’ve been driving me crazy for a week!”
“You’ve known me for only a week.”
“Exactly.”
He crossed his arms, glaring at her.