The soldiers untied them and left, closing the door behind them. She huddled against the far wall and gathered the two boys close to her. Their trembling bodies made her heart ache.
The door opened, and the leader sauntered inside. As he looked them over, she lowered her gaze. “So you must be one of the legendary warrior women who guards the dragons.” He scoffed. “Did you think it was a secret? How can you keep a bunch of flying dragons a secret? Did you think your meaningless threats would keep the peasants quiet?”
He hunched down in front of her so he could make eye contact. “The peasants are much more afraid of us. When we threaten death, we deliver.”
She remained quiet and squeezed the boys’ shoulders.
“Which one is the dragon?” the leader asked softly.
The boys buried their faces against her.
“There are no dragons,” she replied. “It’s a silly folktale that villagers tell to frighten their children into behaving.”
The leader’s mouth thinned as he straightened. “We saw the fire. One of those boys breathed fire.”
“That soldier was going to rape me. The gods shot fire down at him to punish him.”
The leader snorted. “Very funny.” He turned away, then suddenly drew his sword and pointed it at her chest.
She pressed back against the wall. The boys clung to her, both breathing hard.
“Which one is the dragon?” the leader shouted.
She swallowed hard.
“Not afraid to die, are you?” He sheathed his sword. “Very well. Maybe you’ll be more motivated if we put the boys in danger.”
Her heart lurched.
The leader glanced at his watch. “Lord Liao will awaken in thirty minutes. At that time, both boys will be executed.”
The boys stiffened, and she squeezed their shoulders hard.
The leader sighed. “But I’m feeling charitable tonight. I’ll let you save one of them. It will be your choice. See you in thirty minutes.” He strode from the room and shut the door.
She breathed deeply to calm her racing heart. The soldier must be assuming she would choose to save the dragon.
“Are we going to die?” Norjee whispered.
“No.” She took each boy’s hand. “We’re going to make it through this. Do you understand?” She looked at one, then the other.
“They killed the Venerable Fathers.” Norjee’s eyes filled with tears. “They want to kill us.”
“I will not let them harm you.”
Norjee pulled his hand away and stumbled to the far corner. “You can only save one. You’ll have to save Xiao Fang, because he’s special.” Norjee fell to the floor and burst into tears. “I have to die! I’m a nobody!”
“No!” Neona ran to him and pulled him to her in a tight embrace. “You are special to me, Norjee. You’re my sweet, beautiful boy. You’re the son of my beloved sister. You are the son my heart always wished for.”
Norjee clung to her, sniffling.
“I love you, Norjee.” She rubbed his back and kissed his head. “I will always love you.”
Xiao Fang squatted beside them and hugged them both.
Norjee made a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a whimper. “Xiao Fang says he loves me, too.”
“There, you see.” Neona wiped the tears from Norjee’s face. “Even the dragons know you’re special.”
Taking a deep breath, she looked around. They had thirty minutes to escape. There was one door, and no doubt it was being guarded. Her gaze landed on the window. It was covered with a decorative wooden grate.
She dashed over to it, curled her fingers through the grate, and pushed hard. It wouldn’t give. There was a heavy bar across the outside. Even if she destroyed the grate, the bar would remain solid, and it divided the window into two tiny spaces, too small to escape through.
The sky was darkening as the sun lowered on the horizon. Lord Liao would wake soon, but so would all the good vampires.
Her breath caught with a sudden thought. “Norjee, come here.”
He ran to her. “Yes, Mama?”
“You’re so special, you’re going to be the one who saves us.”
“I am?”
“You know the birds who live around here, right?”
He nodded. “They’re my friends. Especially the family of eagles.”
“Call them.” She moved the short table under the window and set Norjee on top so he was level with the windowsill. “Call the eagles. Call all your bird friends. Tell them to fly to the valley of the dragons and tell the people there that we are prisoners here at the monastery. We’re in grave danger, and they must rescue us.”
Norjee grinned. “I can do that!”
She smiled and patted his back. Xiao Fang stood next to the table and gave him an encouraging smile.
Neona watched the sky darken. Their fate would be decided now in less than thirty minutes.
Chapter Twenty-six
Neona paced across the floor as the small room grew darker. Norjee had assured her that the eagles were on their way to Beyul-La. He and Xiao Fang sat side by side against a wall, exchanging looks.
She squatted down in front of them. “Are you talking to each other?”
Norjee nodded. “I told him I was sorry I ran away and caused all this trouble. He said he’s sorry the queen and the other children are mean to me. I told him he shouldn’t have followed me, but he says he wants to be with me.”
She smiled. “You’ve brought joy into his life. I never heard him laugh before you came.”
Norjee’s eyes filled with tears. “He says we’re brothers because we’re so much alike. He hates the way the queen makes him stay hidden in the cave. The same way I hated being stuck here in the monastery all the time. We both want to be free. I was trapped here with a bunch of old men, and he’s trapped there with a bunch of old women.”
“Excuse me?”
Norjee winced. “Well, you’re . . . a little bit old.”
With a snort, she tousled Norjee’s hair, then tousled Xiao Fang’s hair, too. “You two rascals.”
A tear rolled down Norjee’s cheek. “If anything happens to you or Xiao Fang because of me—”
“We’re going to be fine.” She wiped away his tear. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She stood and looked around the room for something that could be used as a weapon. Her gaze landed on the short table under the window. She turned it on its side, planted a foot on one of the table legs, and yanked hard at another leg. It ripped off with a jagged edge that ended with a point. With enough force, it could pierce a soldier. Or Lord Liao. She slid it into her tunic so that it rested against the sash tied around her waist.
The door opened, and a dozen soldiers marched in. Too many for her to attack. They tied her hands in front, then hauled her and the boys outside. Only a sliver of sunlight remained, so torches had been lit in the courtyard. The two dead monks had been stacked to the side like refuse. Flies buzzed around them and the pools of blood that stained the hard ground.
The soldiers pushed her and the boys up the stairs to the temple. It was dark inside except for the lit candles on the low altar in front of a dais where a four-foot brass statue of Buddha rested. The room was a large square, the high ceiling held up by round wooden pillars painted red.
They were shoved against the far right wall.
“Sit,” the leader ordered.
She sat, and the boys settled on each side of her. The door to the temple was still open, and the air that wafted in became cooler as night fell.
A few whimpers emanated from across the room. She narrowed her eyes and detected some people against the far wall. Other prisoners.
The dozen soldiers knelt in front of the altar. A gasp sounded behind the dais that held the Buddha statue, the sound similar to the gasp she heard at sunset when Zoltan woke from his death-sleep.
A red silk robe came into view as Lord Liao stepped around the Buddha. He was thin, his face sallow, his hair a long braid down his back. He faced the soldiers, and they bowed down till their foreheads touched the floor.
“We are hungry, Ding.” He motioned with his hand to the leader.
Neona cringed at the sight of Liao’s long yellow fingernails, which curled like vicious claws. Zoltan is awake, too, she reminded herself. The Vamps would be coming soon.