"Lad, ye need blood." Angus extended a hand so Mikhail could pass him another bottle.
"You're crazy!" Russell shouted. "I'm not drinking - Agh!" He slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Those are yer fangs coming in," Angus told him.
Russell's eyes widened with horror.
"I know it is hard to believe," Angus said softly. "Ye were attacked by a vampire thirty-nine years ago. He put you into a vampire coma and abandoned you here. We revived you, but yer life will be different from now on. Ye'll have extraordinary strength and speed. Yer senses will be extra sharp. Even now ye can see amazingly well in this dark cave, can ye no'?"
Russell nodded, his hand still covering his mouth.
"Ye can hear our heartbeats," Angus continued. "Ye can smell the blood running down the wall over there. And it smells good to you, does it no'?"
Russell nodded. He opened his mouth and felt his elongated fangs. "Is this for real?"
"Aye, ye're a vampire." Angus passed him another bottle of blood. "The pain in yer belly will go away if ye drink."
Russell took the bottle and gave it a dubious look. "A vampire? I didn't think they existed." He winced and rubbed his stomach. "Aren't vampires evil?"
"Do ye feel evil?" Robby asked.
Russell shook his head. "I feel the same."
"Exactly." Angus patted him on the shoulder. "Death canna change yer true nature. Now, drink."
Russell took a sip from the bottle and grimaced. "It's cold."
"Do you see a microwave around here?" Zoltan asked dryly.
"A what?" Russell took another sip.
Zoltan chuckled. "Why don't you come stay at my house for a while? Robby and I can show you how to be a proper vampire."
"You guys are vampires, too?" Russell drank more blood.
"Aye," Robby said. "We're the good Vamps."
"Cool." Russell drank more blood. "This actually tastes good." He downed the rest of the bottle.
Angus introduced everyone, then Zoltan and Robby teleported back to Budapest, taking the new Vamp with them.
"I will leave for Tokyo now." Kyo bowed. "And I will begin investigation of Master Han." He teleported away.
Angus turned to Carlos. "And what about you two? Do ye want to hitch a ride to Moscow?"
"We need to go back to the village," Carlos said. "Our stuff is there, and our guide left a car nearby. We'll leave in the morning and head east of Chiang Mai. We've heard there's a group of panthers close to Laos."
"Verra well," Angus said. "Keep in touch." He and Mikhail teleported them back to the Akha village, then went on to Moscow.
The next morning, Carlos and Caitlyn wished everyone farewell in the Akha village, then hiked back to the main road where Tanit had left the rental car. A few times, Carlos heard a twig snap in the jungle. He suspected one of the tigers had come to see them off.
They reached the main road, and he dropped his backpack on the trunk of the car so he could fish out the second set of keys.
Caitlyn leaned against the car and sighed. "I am so looking forward to a real hotel room with a real toilet and a real bathtub."
Carlos straightened suddenly and sniffed the air. Sweat and tobacco. There were mortals close by. He glanced across the road at the dense jungle and spotted the glint of a rifle barrel. He considered handing Caitlyn the car keys and urging her to drive away, but what if the car had been tampered with?
"Catalina," he whispered. "Go back to the trail, then run to the village."
Her eyes widened. "Why?"
"We've walked into a trap."
Chapter Twenty-six
Caitlyn stiffened just as gunshots were fired behind them.
Carlos pulled her down, using the car as a shield. He glanced over his shoulder. "I've been shot. Some kind of dart."
She yanked it out. "What is this?"
"Tranquilizer." He drew his pistol. "When I start shooting, run for the trail. Don't stop. Don't look back."
A chill skittered down her spine. "I'm not leaving you."
"Hurry!" a voice yelled behind them. "Get him!"
The shout had been in Thai, Caitlyn realized. And it sounded like the professor, Pat, from Chula. She eased up a few inches to peer through the car windows.
Ten men armed with rifles charged from the jungle. One of them was the professor. An old army truck crashed through the underbrush onto the road, and three more armed men jumped out.
"Run!" Carlos yelled at Caitlyn, then aimed his weapon over the car trunk. With rapid fire he took down four armed men before the others began shooting back.
"Careful!" Pat shouted. "We have to take him alive!"
Carlos ducked down and glared at Caitlyn. "I told you to run."
She shook her head and pulled the knife from her belt. Her hand was trembling, so she gripped the handle harder.
Three armed men came around the end of the car. Carlos shot the first one, and the other two leaped back out of range.
"Look at his arm," Caitlyn whispered. The dead man had the same tattoo as Tanit and the professor.
Gunfire rang out, and she jerked at the sudden pain in her rump.
Carlos winced, then rose to his knees. "They shot darts under the car." He pulled darts from her bottom.
She yanked three darts from his rump. He suddenly pushed her head down and fired his weapon. She glanced toward the hood of the car and saw another man fall. How many were left now? Seven? She and Carlos were still badly outnumbered.
More shots were fired, and Carlos jerked. She gasped at the sight of five more darts in his back. One of the thugs had rounded the end of the car while Carlos was busy killing the one by the front.
"Stop that!" She threw her knife.
It hit the man in his gut and he fell back.
"Bitch." He pulled a gun. "We don't need you alive."
"No!" Carlos threw himself in front of Caitlyn just as the shots were fired.
Caitlyn screamed as his body jerked with the impact of real bullets.
"Dammit!" Pat ran toward them. "I told you we needed him alive!"
The man writhed in pain, his hands gripping the knife in his gut. "I was aiming at the bitch. She deserves to die."
"You deserve to die. You failed the Master." Pat drew a weapon and shot the man in the head.
Caitlyn gasped and held onto Carlos tight. Blood oozed from two bullet holes in his chest. His breathing was shallow, but she wasn't sure if it was because he was dying or just tranquilized.
Pat and the remaining five men fanned out, their rifles aimed at her.
"Hurry, load them into the truck," Pat ordered. "Maybe we can still save him."
The men advanced toward her.
"No!" She pulled a knife from Carlos's belt.
Gunshots rang out as they sprayed her with a dozen tranquilizer darts.
With a huge roar, a tiger sprang from the jungle and leaped on the nearest man. Lethal claws ripped the screaming man apart.
Caitlyn pulled darts out of her arms, but she couldn't reach those that had hit her on the back. Her sight blurred as she watched the tiger attack another man. Her ears rang with the din of multiple gunshots, all aimed at the tiger.
"No," she moaned as the tiger slumped onto the ground, drugged by too many darts.
The tiger shimmered, then shifted into human form.
"Rajiv," she whispered.
The men gasped, then shouted with victory.
"Another cat shifter!" Pat exclaimed. "The Master will be pleased."
Dots swirled before her eyes and their voices sounded very far away.
"Load them up," Pat ordered.
She collapsed on top of Carlos as everything went black.
Caitlyn slowly came to, her mind in a fuzzy haze. Memories of the ambush flitted through her head, and she sat up with a gasp. Where was she? A single lightbulb on the ceiling dimly illuminated the small room. The one window had been boarded up from the outside. There was a table against a wall. She was sitting on a hard pallet covered with a white sheet.
Her heart lurched. Where was Carlos?
A noise across the room made her jump. She peered into the dark corner.
"Miss Cait?" Rajiv pulled some of the white sheet covering his pallet into his lap to cover his nudity. "I apologize for my appearance."
"It's not your fault," she answered in his language. "I'm sorry you were dragged into this."