He ran up to her, grinning. “I was wondering when you would come. I missed you.”
She set down the tray and hugged him. “I was up all night, so I slept late. How are you?”
“Great!” He wrapped an arm around Xiao Fang’s shoulders. “I have a brother now who’s a dragon!”
“I see that.” Neona motioned to the tray. “Are you brothers hungry?”
Norjee and Xiao Fang sat, side by side, and ate. They kept glancing at each other, so Neona figured they must be communicating. The other two dragon children, Huo and Chu, ate their soup while casting forlorn looks at Xiao Fang. Neona suspected they were feeling left out.
“Can I take Xiao Fang outside to play?” Norjee asked.
Lydia shook her head. “The queen prefers for the dragon children to remain safe inside the cave.”
“Why?” Norjee asked.
Lydia sighed. “Because we have to keep them safe. They are the only dragons left.”
“But Xiao Fang wants to be free,” Norjee argued.
“He can be free when he grows up,” Lydia said. “Finish your meal.”
Norjee frowned, then ate more soup.
As Neona ate, she became aware that Norjee and Xiao Fang were exchanging sly glances. The two were definitely planning something. “When was the last time you bathed, Norjee?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Neona gave him a sharp look. “Did you know that dragons have highly sensitive noses? They can smell prey from miles away. Or dirty little boys.”
Norjee looked at Xiao Fang, who wrinkled his nose, then grinned. Norjee glanced at the other two dragon children and winced. “They say I’m stinky.”
Neona nodded. “There’s a place close by where we dammed up part of the stream to make a small pool. I’ll take you there so you can bathe. And if Xiao Fang wants to come along, he’s welcome.”
Norjee sat up, grinning. “Really?”
“Your mother won’t approve,” Lydia mumbled.
“They’ll be safe. I’ll watch over them.” Neona stood.
Norjee jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you, Mama!”
Her heart lurched, and she froze for a moment while the word Mama reverberated in her head. Tears sprang to her eyes.
Norjee linked arms with Xiao Fang. “Let’s go!”
“Help me carry the dishes back to the storeroom.” Neona leaned over to retrieve the bowls, but Norjee beat her to it, gathering all five bowls onto a tray, then picking it up.
With a smile, she motioned toward the narrow entrance. “This way. And be quiet so you don’t wake up the queen.”
When they dropped off the dirty dishes in the storeroom, Neona grabbed two towels, two clean sets of clothes, and some soap. The boys scampered ahead of her, following her instructions to find the pool a short way upstream. By the time she arrived, they’d already stripped and were bouncing around the pool, splashing each other.
She glanced at the burial mounds situated far up the hillside. “He’s here, Minerva. Your son is home.”
When the sun was lowering in the sky, she walked the two freshly scrubbed boys back to the cave. “You understand about tonight?”
Norjee nodded. “The queen explained it to us. You have to go fight the bad men.”
“Yes, we’ll be busy all night. Take turns watching over the eggs. The queen’s owl will be with you. And my pet leopard, Zhan. If anything happens, send them to the next valley to alert us. We’ll come immediately.”
“Xiao Fang says not to worry. We’ll be fine.” Norjee gave her a worried look. “But you might be in danger.”
She hugged him. “I’ll be fine, too. I’ll be with three vampires and three guys who shift into giant bears!”
Norjee’s eyes lit up. “This place is a lot more fun than the monastery!”
“Is everyone ready?” Angus asked.
Neona checked her weapons once again. Her sword was sheathed, her quiver was full of arrows, her bow rested on her shoulder, and her knife was strapped to her calf. Wedged under her tight sword belt was her dart gun, and the pouch nearby was stuffed full of darts. She was dressed in plain brown linen, topped with a Kevlar vest, and her hair was pulled back into a tight braid.
Angus checked his watch. “The calls will start coming in soon. We need to take out as many as possible tonight. Once Lord Liao realizes his men are disappearing, he will retaliate. That’s when the shit will hit the fan. Be prepared.”
Neona gave Zoltan a worried glance, and he smiled and squeezed her hand. It was dark, since no fires were allowed, but in the moonlight, she managed to spot Winifred with her team. She was standing close to Jin Long Wang. Their team had three werewolves. Freya was on the team that had were-tigers.
A phone buzzed, and Emma answered it. “Got it.” She hung up. “That was Russell. He’s located Liao and the major part of the army. After you’ve neutralized your target, teleport your scout back to Russell so he can follow another search party. Then we’ll start round two.”
Everyone murmured their agreement, then waited.
Next to Neona, the were-bear Jesse shifted his weight back and forth. “Come on, Jimmy, call.”
A phone buzzed, and everyone looked around.
“It’s mine,” Mikhail announced, and answered it. “Carlos? We’re ready. Keep talking.” He and another vampire grabbed hold of two shifters. Pamela took hold of Queen Nima, and the team of six teleported away.
Neona took a deep breath and sent out a silent prayer for her mother’s safe return.
Howard’s phone buzzed.
“Yes!” Jesse punched the air with his fist. “It’s Jimmy!”
Howard gave his nephew a stern look. “Don’t make a sound when we arrive.” He answered the phone, then held it out.
Dougal stepped close so he could hear Jimmy’s whispered voice. He grabbed Jesse and vanished. Zoltan held Neona tight, and everything went black.
She landed in the middle of a dark forest. Zoltan squeezed her shoulders, then let go. Dougal was close by. Jesse pretended he was going to slap hands with his twin, but they stopped with their hands an inch away and grinned at each other.
A twinge pricked at her heart. She’d had that sort of relationship with her twin.
Jack and Howard materialized beside them.
Jimmy lifted his hands, indicating with his fingers that there were eight in the search party. He pointed in their direction.
Howard motioned for Zoltan and Neona to follow him, and they veered off to the left. The rest of the team went right. Silently, they moved forward till they spotted the enemy.
The eight men were strolling along, talking with each other, totally oblivious that they were being followed. Howard took his dart gun from his belt and moved silently to the front of the search party. Zoltan positioned himself in the middle, and Neona took the rear. Hidden behind a tree, and with her heart pounding, she drew her pistol and selected a target.
On the far side, a twig snapped. The eight men stopped and looked to the right. Instantly, four of them were shot with darts. Two more jerked when Howard and Zoltan fired their guns.
Neona shot her target. He stumbled back, then shook his head and drew his sword. She quickly loaded another dart. Zoltan had warned her that some of the supersoldiers were so strong that it would take more than one dart to knock them out. The soldier lifted his sword and weaved toward her. She shot again. He swayed on his feet, dropped his sword, then fell on his face.
After all eight of the search party had fallen, the team moved in to tie up their arms and legs.
“Are you all right?” Zoltan asked Neona.
“Yes.” She reloaded her gun. “It seemed fairly easy.”
He smiled. “It’ll get harder as the night goes on and we lose the element of surprise.”
Jack and Dougal each picked up a soldier and teleported away.
Zoltan’s smile faded. “This is the part of the plan that I don’t like.”
“I’ll be fine,” Neona assured him. “I have three bears with me. And I was able to beat you, remember?”
He kissed her brow. “I’ll be back as quick as I can.” He picked up the nearest soldier and vanished.
Neona helped Howard gather swords and weapons from the downed soldiers while the twins devoured some donuts. She wondered how the other women were doing. And how the children were faring in the cave. They’d promised to keep a close watch on the eggs. She glanced at her sparkly kitty watch. After five minutes, the vampires reappeared.