The monks murmured their disapproval.
"We rose up to avenge our master," Pat continued. "We burned the village to the ground and slaughtered all that lived there!"
The monks cheered.
"We brought the Master here to San Francisco, where Dr. Chou is known to have the greatest knowledge of ancient folklore and herbal remedies. For five years we have tried to revive our master." Pat motioned to one of the monks. "Dr. Chou has long been convinced there is only one way to resurrect our master."
The monk stood and pushed back his hood to reveal thin, graying hair. "Ancient texts tell us that a corpse can be brought back to life if a cat jumps over it. Not any cat will do. It must be a magical cat of great power."
"And now we have the most powerful cats in the world!" Pat exclaimed as he gestured toward Carlos and Rajiv.
Caitlyn snorted. That was why they'd been kidnapped? So Carlos could shift and jump over an unconscious vampire? She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
He frowned and shook his head slightly.
And then she realized why he didn't see the humor in the situation. If he jumped over Master Han, and it didn't magically cure the vampire, they could be blamed for the scheme's failure to work. They would probably be executed. And if they fought, they were terribly outnumbered.
Pat pointed at Carlos. "It is time! You will shift and jump over our master!"
Carlos stood slowly, looked around the room, then shook his head. "No, thanks."
The monks gasped.
Pat flinched. "You do not deny the Master." He motioned for the six thugs armed with swords to approach the dais.
One of the monks, the one who had moved slower than the others, suddenly jumped to his feet and zoomed toward them at vampire speed. His hood slipped back as he jumped onto the dais, and Caitlyn thought she detected a glint of recognition in Carlos's eyes.
The vampire monk seized her from behind and pressed a knife to her neck. Her blood chilled with fear.
"You will jump over our master," Pat ordered Carlos. "Or you will see your wife die."
Caitlyn's breath hitched when Carlos hesitated.
He exchanged a look with her captor, then with a shrug, he turned toward Pat. "Go ahead. I'm tired of her."
She gasped.
Pat's eyes bulged. "What?"
Carlos waved a dismissive hand. "She's lousy in bed. She just lays there and makes me do all the work."
Caitlyn gasped again. Was he serious? Her heart plummeted when she saw all the monks murmuring and nodding their heads in commiseration with Carlos.
"Do not harm her!" Rajiv cried in his language. He ran toward the altar and shifted into a tiger as he leaped over Master Han.
"No!" Carlos shouted.
Monks jumped to their feet.
Rajiv landed on the other side of the altar and shifted back to a human. His pants had remained on, and were now ripped to shreds.
A collective gasp spread over the room as Master Han's body began to twitch. The monks jumped up and down, shouting in celebration. Master Han floated up in the air, then stood on the altar. His face was covered with a golden mask.
"Oh, shit," the monk who held Caitlyn muttered in English. He pressed a button on his wristwatch. "Angus, get over here now!"
"What?" Caitlyn turned her head to look at her captor.
He winked. "J.L. Wang at your service." He handed her the knife, then drew two swords from underneath his robe. He tossed one to Carlos.
Carlos and J.L. leaped from the dais, running toward the thugs. Caitlyn winced at the sound of clashing swords. Some of the monks fled toward the doors, but before they could escape, Angus materialized by the entrance with a group of Vamps. Caitlyn recognized Emma, Phineas, Connor, Ian, Roman, and, to her amazement, her father.
Screams reverberated around the temple as those who challenged the Vamps were quickly killed. Rajiv ran back to Caitlyn, and on the way, he grabbed the brass stand, letting the incense burner fall onto the floor. He stood next to her, holding the brass stand like a weapon.
Sawat jumped onto the dais, his face twisted with rage as he stalked toward her and Rajiv. "I'll kill you both." He lifted his sword and charged.
She threw the knife J.L. had given her.
Sawat screamed as the knife plunged into his groin.
She winced. Rajiv gave her a wary look and stepped back.
"I was aiming for his chest," she assured him. "Really."
"Master Han!" Pat shouted. "You must flee to safety."
"No!" Carlos ran toward the dais to stop Master Han. J.L. was close behind.
Pat jumped in front of the altar, pulling a knife from his robe so he could protect his master. Carlos swiped Pat with his blade, and he fell to the side, wounded. Carlos stabbed at Master Han, but he vanished.
"No!" Carlos charged toward the three vampires. One zoomed over to the wounded Pat, grabbed him, then teleported away.
"Take me!" Sawat screamed, his hands covering his bloody crotch. He glared at Caitlyn. "I will not forget you, bitch." He disappeared as one of the vampires teleported away with him.
The third vampire teleported away with Dr. Chou. The battle came to an end with all the remaining monks and thugs either dead or surrendering.
Carlos rushed toward Caitlyn. "Are you all right?"
She folded her arms and glared at him. "You're tired of me? I just lay there, and you have to do all the work?"
He snorted. "I was just buying time, sweetheart. I knew the instant I saw J.L. that help was on the way."
"You know him?"
"Sure." Carlos slapped J.L. on the back. "He works for MacKay. I knew he wasn't going to hurt you."
J.L. nodded. "Sorry about scaring you. I knew I'd better put a knife to your throat before any of the other guys could."
"How did you find us?" Caitlyn asked.
"When your sister claimed you were in San Francisco, I went undercover in Chinatown," J.L. explained. "Angus and the guys teleported to the coven house nearby and waited for me to call."
"And since J.L.'s a Vamp, he has a homing beacon inserted underneath his skin," Carlos continued. "I knew Angus and the others would come."
Caitlyn let out a deep breath. Shanna had received the images. "Thank God." She hugged J.L. "Thank you. I was so afraid Carlos would try to fight everyone by himself and get killed again."
Carlos frowned. "I had a plan. I was going to grab that brass stand and leap onto the altar and threaten to ram it through Master Han's heart if they didn't put down their weapons and let you and Rajiv go."
J.L. nodded. "Not a bad plan."
"And what would have happened then?" Caitlyn asked. "How were you going to escape?"
Carlos shifted his weight. "I didn't have that part figured out yet."
She didn't know whether to scream or cry. He always put her safety before his own. "I love you so much."
He grinned and pulled her into his arms.
"It is over then?" Rajiv asked Caitlyn in his language.
"Yes." She turned toward him. "We can take you home if you like. Or if you'd rather, you could probably work for the same company as these other guys. They work for MacKay Security and Investigation, and they go around catching bad guys."
"Like Master Han?" Rajiv asked. "I would like to work with them." He hung his head. "It is my fault that Master Han rose again. I only did it because I thought they were going to kill you."
She hugged the young were-tiger. "No one blames you, Rajiv. You have proven yourself the bravest of warriors."
"What's going on?" Carlos asked.
"I think Rajiv would like to work for Angus," she replied.
"I'll introduce him." J.L. motioned for Rajiv to follow him. He turned and nearly skidded in the pool of blood left by Sawat. "Damn. He left his balls in San Francisco."
Carlos laughed and gathered her back into his arms. "Are you really okay?"
"Yes." She leaned her head against his chest. "But I'm ready for a nice long break."
His arms tightened around her but he remained silent. She could guess what he was thinking. Her break would not last long. In two weeks she would shift for the first time. And she might not survive it.
As soon as they teleported back to Romatech, Carlos asked Sean Whelan for his daughter's hand in marriage. Afterward, when Carlos's nose stopped bleeding, he called Father Andrew to make the arrangements.