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“Excuse me.” He hurried back to Neona’s house and took the folder from his duffel bag. When he returned to the fire pit, Tashi was taking Pamela to the next valley so Pamela could call in the troops.
He sat next between Neona and her mother. “Your majesty, I have a gift for you.” He handed her the folder. “This is the land deed for Beyul-La and the surrounding area. Legal proof that the land is yours.”
The queen’s eyes widened as she opened the folder.
“Thank you.” Neona squeezed his arm and smiled at him.
“Who is this?” Nima pointed at Rajiv’s name.
“He’s a friend and a Chinese citizen. I had to buy the land through him.”
The queen shut the folder, frowning. “How can we trust him? He might steal the valley from us.”
“He won’t,” Zoltan assured her. “He’s the Grand Tiger of Tiger Town. He’s on our side.”
“That’s true,” Emma added. “The were-tigers are our biggest ally against Master Han.”
“Were-tigers?” Freya’s eyes lit up. “You mean there are men who turn into tigers?”
Emma smiled. “Yes. We have a number of shifters on our side. Wolves, bears, tigers, and panthers. You needn’t be concerned about your Living Water where they’re concerned. They can all live five hundred years or more.”
Zoltan noticed how the women exchanged glances. Were they expecting to keep their were-dragons a secret?
Nima shot him an angry look. “You told her about our Living Water?”
“They’re going to risk their lives for you.” Zoltan gave her a pointed look. “They have a right to know all the secrets they are protecting.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“We understand why you keep the Living Water a secret,” Emma said. “We can’t let Liao or Han find it. They would use it to gain power over the entire planet.”
Nima nodded stiffly. “That is true.”
“I need to show you these.” Emma unzipped her backpack and removed a pistol. “I brought one for each of you.”
“We’ve never used guns before,” Freddie said.
“Don’t worry. We’ll train you.” Emma removed a box of darts from her backpack. “These are actually dart guns. And practice darts. When we attack a search party, we’ll use the real darts and shoot as many of the soldiers as possible. The darts will knock them out.”
The queen crossed her arms. “We are accustomed to bows and arrows. Or swords.”
Emma nodded. “You will have your usual weapons with you in case you need them. But remember, Han’s soldiers are super fast and strong. The minute you engage in close combat, you will be at a disadvantage.”
“We know,” Freddie muttered. “They killed five of us three weeks ago.”
“We’re determined not to lose any of you,” Emma assured her. “The best way to deal with the supersoldiers is a surprise attack, knocking them unconscious with a dart before they even know we’re there.”
“And then we kill them?” the queen asked.
Emma shook her head. “Remember how I said that we’ve changed a hundred of the soldiers back to normal? That is our goal. We’ll teleport the unconscious soldiers to our clinic in Japan or the new one we’re setting up in Tiger Town, and there we’ll be able to save them.”
“Why are we bothering to save them?” Lydia asked.
“They’re mortal,” Emma explained. “And it has always been our mission as Vamps to protect mortals. The soldiers are under Master Han’s mental control. And they’ve been changed by Darafer, the demon. Once we change them back and break Han’s control over them, they’re happy to be free.”
“If they die in battle, their souls belong to Darafer,” Zoltan added. “They’ll go straight to hell.”
The women winced.
“So we try to rescue as many as we can. It pays off in the end because the rescued soldiers usually agree to help us defeat Han. Since we’re so outnumbered, we’ll need them someday.” Emma pulled a tablet from her backpack. “Before we head to the next valley, I have one more thing to share with you. Well, with Winifred and Freya, to be precise.”
“Yes?” Freddie and Freya sat up.
“A few nights ago, Zoltan asked my husband, Angus, to search for your father,” Emma explained. When the girls’ faces lit up, she quickly added, “I’m afraid I have sad news for you. Frederic passed away about sixty years ago during a bombing raid in World War II.”
“Oh,” Freya whispered. “Poor Papa.”
Freddie sighed. “I always wondered what happened. He said he would come back.”
“I’m sorry.” Emma turned on her tablet and touched some buttons. “Angus was able to locate your younger brother, Franklin—”
“Frankie?” Freya gasped. “He’s alive?”
Freddie grinned. “How is he?”
“You can see for yourself.” Emma handed Freya the tablet. “Angus recorded this for you.”
Freddie and Freya squealed when a man’s voice emanated from the tablet.
“Oh, my God!” Freya dropped the tablet.
Freddie poked at it with a finger. “What is this thing? Is that Frankie?”
“I want to see him!” Neona scurried around the fire pit, then hunched behind the two women, looking over their shoulders.
Freddie leaned closer. “He looks so old!”
Freya looked aghast. “If we didn’t have the Living Water, we would look even older!”
Neona winced. “I helped deliver him. And I used to change his nappies.”
“Did you?” Freya glanced back at her.
Neona snorted. “I changed your nappies, too.”
“You probably remember him better than we do,” Freddie murmured. “We were so young.”
“I remember him.” Lydia scooted closer so she could see.
“He’s talking!” Freya picked up the tablet. “And we’re missing it.”
“I’ll start it over for you.” Emma reached over to touch some buttons.
The four women hunched over the tablet to watch the video. Zoltan smiled at the joy on their faces. Too bad the queen was still sitting there like a grumpy toad.
“Hi, Freddie! Hello, Freya!” Frankie’s voice began.
“Hello?” Freya whispered hesitantly.
“It’s recorded,” Emma explained. “He can’t hear you.”
“Hush.” Freddie nudged her sister.
“Angus assures me that you’ll see this,” Frankie continued. “What a thrill it was to hear that you’re still alive and well in Beyul-La. I was very sorry to hear about Mum. I suppose you heard about Papa. He died during an air raid sixty years ago. I know he promised to come back to you, and he truly meant to, but when the war started, travel was impossible, and then he didn’t survive the war.”
“He never meant to abandon us,” Freya whispered.
“I was only six when we left,” Frankie said, “but Papa always talked about Beyul-La, so I have all of his memories. I know that Freddie used to suck two of her fingers and Freya was late learning how to walk because she loved making Papa carry her everywhere.”
“That’s true,” Freddie muttered. “You were such a big baby.”
“Hush.” Freya nudged her sister.
“Papa and I talked about you all the time. It was our own secret.” Frankie sighed. “I still miss him. I always wanted to come back to see you, but I didn’t know where you are exactly. And I didn’t want to hire anyone to find you when you’re supposed to remain hidden. And then I was always busy. I’m the head gardener at a huge estate here in England. I’ve always been able to grow things.”
Freya gasped. “He has the same gift that I do!”
Another son who had inherited a gift. Zoltan glanced over at the queen, who was scowling. Did she realize the world she’d controlled for centuries was changing? Hopefully, she’d learn to trust him someday. He intended to do all he could to safeguard the valley.
“And my family keeps me busy,” Frankie continued. “I have a wife, three children, and five grandchildren.”
