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Elsa swatted his arm and whispered, “Don’t make fun.” She turned to Zoltan. “I’m so sorry your mother suffered like that. I’m sure she was a lovely woman.”
“Yeah.” Howard shifted his weight, wincing. “Sorry about calling her creepy.”
“Repeatedly.” Zoltan gave him a wry look. “I should be going now.”
Howard nodded. “I brought the duffel bag. It’s just outside the door.”
“Thanks.” Zoltan glanced one more time at his mother. He was ninety-nine percent sure that she had come from Beyul-La. It would explain her odd gift. And her secrecy about her past.
Had Neona come with the other women to avenge his mother’s death? Did the arrow on the wall in the armory belong to Neona? Innocent or killer?
He swallowed hard. For the first time in centuries he was falling for a woman. He needed to gain her trust, but she was convinced that men couldn’t be trusted. Was she basing that assumption on what had happened to his mother? For there was no doubt in his mind that his father had betrayed his mother in the cruelest way. When she’d needed her husband the most, he’d turned his back on her. Abandoned her to a horrific death.
That was the main reason why Zoltan had never wanted to avenge his father’s death. He’d always figured the count had gotten what he deserved. But still, he wanted answers.
What had happened that day in 1241? He’d tried to protect his mother, standing in front of her and taking some of the stones meant for her, even some of the flames. But somehow he’d awakened the next day a few miles away from the burned village with no memory of how he’d gotten there. Would Neona know?
But how could he ask her without revealing who he was? Would she ever trust him if she knew he was the son of the betrayer? And a vampire, too.
For the first time, he realized that his courtship of Neona was not going to be easy. It wasn’t a simple matter of seducing her with kisses and chocolate. To choose him, she would have to overcome a mind-set that had been firmly etched in stone for centuries.
With a troubled heart, he picked up the duffel bag and teleported close to Frederic’s cabin.
She was nowhere in sight. Zoltan set the heavy duffel bag on the floor of the cabin and wondered what to do. The strategy he’d used the night before wouldn’t work again.
The worried feeling in his heart grew heavier. What if she was in trouble? How far would the queen go to make sure Neona didn’t leave Beyul-La? He gritted his teeth. He would not give up on her. Once he set his mind on a task, he never quit.
A sound outside drew his attention. Was the cabin being watched? He teleported out and took cover behind some trees. Soon he realized what was making the noise. The snow leopard was wallowing in a pile of fallen leaves.
Cat! he called. Where’s Neona?
Leave me alone. Zhan rolled onto his back. It’s the end of the world.
What? Zoltan ran toward him. Is Neona in trouble?
Doomed. I’m doomed. You might never see me again.
Why? Has something happened to Neona?
They won’t let her leave the valley. So she didn’t hunt today. The cat flopped over and let out a howl of despair. My food bowl is empty!
Zoltan scoffed. That’s what you’re worried about? You’re a leopard, you big wuss. Go kill your own rabbit.
Zhan shuddered, his fur bristling. It might fight back and bite me.
You big baby. Zoltan planted his hands on his hips. Don’t you know you’re supposed to be a mighty hunter?
I am? Zhan gave him a wide-eyed look. Will you show me how?
Not now. I’m worried about Neona. Do you know where she is?
The cat huffed. How can I answer when I’m starving to death?
I’ll bring you some food.
Zhan sat up. Really?
Zoltan teleported back to the kitchen and emptied three cans of tuna into a plastic bowl. Since he might have to search for Neona, he stuffed some plastic containers of blood into a jacket pocket, then teleported back.
Wow! The leopard jumped back a foot. How did you do that? Did you bring the food?
Here. Zoltan set the bowl in front of the leopard, and it immediately started eating. Is Neona all right?
Zhan looked up between bites. The last time I saw her she was by the burial mounds.
I know where that is.
Don’t go up the rope ladder. Or near the waterfall. There’s a guard at the top of the wall. She’ll see you and shoot you full of arrows.
I’ll be fine. An idea sprang into Zoltan’s mind as he watched the leopard eat. He pulled out his sat phone and called Milan. “Any news about the land in Tibet?”
“I’m afraid it’s bad news, sir,” Milan answered. “The land belongs to the Chinese government, and they refuse to sell to a foreigner.”
“I understand. Let’s try this approach. We set the land apart as a wildlife sanctuary for snow leopards. Call Howard Barr at the castle.”
“The were-bear? What can he do?”
“He can put you in touch with Rajiv in Tiger Town. Rajiv’s the head tiger there, and he has Chinese citizenship. If he’ll agree to be our front man, we can channel the money through him.”
There was a pause, then Milan said, “So I call the bear to contact a tiger to save some fictional leopards?”
Zoltan snorted. “The leopard is real.”
“Is he a shifter, too?”
“No, thank God. Let me know how it goes.” Zoltan pocketed the sat phone and patted the jacket pocket containing the watch. Cat, I’m going now. Hide the bowl when you’re done.
Okay. Zhan looked up at him. She cried last night.
Zoltan dragged in a hissing breath.
Don’t get caught.
I don’t plan to. He teleported close to the burial mounds.
Chapter Twelve
Was he waiting for her again at the cabin? With a sigh, Neona settled on the grass next to her sister’s grave. It was impossible to see him tonight. Her mother suspected her, so she had ordered the other women to take turns guarding the rock wall where they kept the rope ladder stashed.
Neona had sent her pet leopard to the cabin with instructions not to let Zoltan approach the rock wall where he might be seen, but she couldn’t be sure Zhan had understood. Even so, he had scampered off in the right direction. She hadn’t dared attach a note to him, since whoever was standing guard might spot it and it would serve as proof that she was indeed meeting someone secretly.
The night before she’d had to endure yet another lecture from her mother on the unworthiness of men. They could never be trusted. They wanted only sex and power. And they could get both from the women of Beyul-La.
The pool of Living Water in the cave’s throne room had enabled the women to fulfill their sacred duty over the course of many centuries. Men would never accept their dedication to duty. All they would see was a way to live forever as the richest and most powerful men in the world. So any man who learned their secret had to be executed. It was harsh, the queen admitted, but it worked. The secret had remained intact.
Over the centuries there’d been only one exception to the rule. Frederic. He’d been near death when Calliope had found him in the mountains. She’d erected a makeshift shelter for them, and in the days it had taken her to heal him, they’d fallen in love. She’d begged Nima to allow him to live in the neighboring valley, and Frederic had managed to convince them that he could help them. The outside world was changing quickly, he’d said, and they would be helpless to deal with it if caught unprepared.
Nima had been doubtful at first, but after Winifred was born and exhibited the gift of communicating with winged creatures, the queen had changed her mind. Freya was born a year later, and she possessed another useful gift—the ability to make crops flourish. Meanwhile, Frederic taught them English and all he could about the outside world. His love for his wife and daughters was so great that he’d been happy to accept his exile from his homeland. But that had changed after the birth of his son. The prison he’d accepted for himself, he could not accept for the boy. When Franklin had turned six, old enough to start school, his father had taken him back to England.
Nima had taken his desertion as proof that all men were alike. Ultimately, they could not be trusted.
But Zoltan insisted that Frederic had kept their secret. He’d remained faithful. Neona wanted to believe that some men could be trusted, for she hoped Zoltan was one of them. He knew too much. She could only pray that he would remain trustworthy and silent.
