Sexiest Vampire Alive

“I thought it was Master Han’s army,” Howard grumbled.

“He provides the men. I . . . enhance them. The potion I make with the Demon Herb gives them super powers and a remarkable ability to heal.” He waved a dismissive hand. “But I grow bored with the mundane details of gathering and training an army. I leave that to Master Han. You would be amazed how many humans are willing to trade their souls for the chance to be Superman.”

He walked over to Howard. “How about you? Want to switch to the winning side?”

“Go back to hell,” Howard growled.

Darafer smirked. “Who’s going to make me?” He glanced back at Wu Shen. “Master Han can decide what to do with them.”

“Yes, my lord.” Wu Shen bowed.

“But keep the girl alive. She has good connections.” Darafer smiled at Abigail. “Let me know if your father wants to make a deal. I could save your mother.”

She lifted her chin, determined to be as brave as Howard. “Go back to hell.”

He chuckled. “Actually, I think I’ll go visit your mother. Such a shame she’s about to take a turn for the worse.” He vanished.

Abigail’s heart plummeted into her stomach. Would he really hurt her mother? Of course he would. Wasn’t that what demons did?

“He killed Sawat,” Howard said quietly, looking at Wu Shen. “Next time he gets angry, it could be your turn.”

Wu Shen’s mouth thinned. “You think to sway me? Our bodies are Master Han’s to command. It is an honor to serve and die for him.”

“And the demon?” Howard asked.

Wu Shen looked away. “He owns our souls.”

Howard snorted. “Then you had better hope you never die.”

Wu Shen strode outside and stood on the ledge.

Abigail exchanged a look with Howard and nodded slightly. They might be able to get through to Wu Shen. She sent up a silent prayer that they would all survive. Including her mother.

Wu Shen walked back into the cave. “The sun is setting. The chiang-shih will need blood.”

“There’s bottled blood in the ice chest.” She motioned to it. “I could give it to them.”

He nodded. “That will be for the best. They would not attempt to attack you.”

She hurried to the ice chest and removed three bottles. Then she settled on her sleeping bag next to Gregori.

As the last rays of the sun faded away, torches were set ablaze outside the entrance to the cave. Wu Shen lit the kerosene lamps as he gave more orders. Three soldiers unsheathed their swords and formed a line in front of the Vamps. Two more watched Howard.

The Vamps jerked and their chests suddenly expanded with a gasp for air. Their eyes opened.

“Listen,” Abigail whispered.

Gregori reached for her, but the chain pulled tight on his cuffs. “What the—” He sat up, an alarmed look on his face.

J.L. and Russell sat up, and all three Vamps cursed under their breath and pulled at their restraints.

“We’ve been captured.” Abigail unscrewed the top off Gregori’s bottle and placed it into his hands. “Master Han’s army arrived during the day.”

“How?” J.L. asked, eyeing the soldiers.

“They’re mortal.” Abigail unscrewed J.L.’s bottle and handed it to him. “But with superhuman powers. They may have enhanced hearing,” she added quietly, so the guys would be careful what they said.

“Shit,” Gregori whispered, then guzzled down some blood.

“Howard has been captured, too.” Abigail passed a bottle to Russell. “They have all five of us.”

The guys were silent, but she could see a gleam of satisfaction in their eyes that Rajiv had escaped.

“They took all your weapons and put silver cuffs on you so you can’t teleport. And Howard can’t shift.” She glanced at the soldiers. They didn’t seem to mind that she was talking. “Master Han isn’t working alone. He has a demon helping him.”

“A demon?” J.L. asked.

“His name is Darafer. He’s mutating the Demon Herb to make a potion that gives humans supernatural powers.”

“So a nasty vampire villain has teamed up with a demon.” Gregori gulped down more blood. “We’re in deep shit.”

“Could be worse,” J.L. mumbled.

“How do you figure that?” Gregori asked, his eyes narrowed on the soldiers.

J.L. shrugged. “We could be dead.”

“He’s right.” Russell pulled his hands apart, testing the chain. “As long as we’re alive, we can fight.”

“Exactly.” Gregori finished the last of his blood, then tossed the bottle aside. “It’s a shame they took all of our weapons.” He gave the other Vamps a pointed look.

Russell and J.L. nodded and set their bottles down.

“And a shame they tied up Howard,” Gregori said, his voice loud. “He’s liable to get really pissed.”

Howard roared, rising to his knees, and all the soldiers looked his way. With vampire speed, Gregori, Russell, and J.L. whipped knives out from beneath their sleeping bags. Before Abigail could even see what was happening, three guards were dead on the ground with knives in their chests, and the Vamps had claimed their swords.

“Drop them or he’s dead!” Wu Shen held a pistol aimed at Howard’s face. The other two guards poked the tips of their swords into his back.

The Vamps froze. When Wu Shen cocked his pistol, they tossed their swords onto the ground.

He gave them a disgusted look. “You think you can escape by killing three guards? I have a hundred more outside. And every one of us considers it an honor to die for Master Han.”

“Well said, Wu Shen,” a muffled voice announced outside the cave.

“Master Han.” He stepped back and inclined his head. “We have the prisoners you wanted.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Shit. He’d killed a man.

Gregori’s gaze drifted to the dead body and his knife protruding from the man’s chest. Ian had warned him when he’d first begun his lessons in fencing and martial arts. Once you engage in combat, you have to kill to survive.

Over the years, Gregori had mentally prepared himself. If a battle occurred with the Malcontents, he wanted to be able to fight alongside his friends. And that meant killing Malcontents. He’d accepted that. After all, Malcontents were vicious vampires who had a long track record of torturing and killing humans. They deserved to die. Skewering them through the heart just made them disintegrate into a pile of dust. One strong gust of wind, and the dust was gone.

No body. No guilt. No remorse.

It had never occurred to him that he might have to kill a human. This body wasn’t going to disappear. The dead man lay there in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, staring but not seeing.

Gregori clenched his fists and looked away. You’re a warrior now. Deal with it. He needed to protect Abigail, get her home safely, get them all home safely.

Their first attempt had failed, but he would stay alert and prepared for the next opportunity.

A new group of soldiers dashed inside the cave and retrieved the swords he, Russell, and J.L. had dropped. They even yanked the knives from the dead men’s chests, in case Gregori and his friends were tempted to use them again.