Russell slipped the quiver over his shoulder and reached for the ice chest.
“Wait.” Howard strode over to the shelf where he kept the sat phones. “Take a new phone with you so you can call.”
“I have a phone.”
“I gave you that one two months ago.” Howard selected a new phone. “Take this one. It’s fully charged.”
“So is mine.”
“What?” Howard blinked. “How—”
“I’m going to the kitchen now—”
“Wait!” Howard stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “I noticed something odd when Mikhail and I went back to Beyul-La to pick up the supplies. One of the solar-powered generators was missing. And a microwave.” He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head with a wry look. “Any idea what happened to those items?”
Russell returned his wry look. “Not a clue.” He teleported to the castle’s kitchen.
He unloaded the empty bottles from the ice chest and tossed them into the recycle bin. Then he helped himself to a Bleer from the fridge. He was halfway through the mixture of beer and synthetic blood when Howard charged into the kitchen and screeched to a halt.
Russell glanced at his watch. “It took you longer than usual. Been eating too many donuts?”
Howard glared at him. “I’ll take your hasty departure as a sign of guilt. I always suspected it was you, so I never reported the missing stuff to Angus.”
Surprised, Russell set his Bleer bottle on the counter. “I appreciate that.”
“We would have never defeated Lord Liao or won that last battle without your help.” Howard gave him a frustrated look. “Whether you like it or not, we’re on the same side.”
“I work alone.” Russell turned to open the refrigerator.
With a sigh, Howard lumbered toward the kitchen table. “I was alone for years, and it sucked.”
A vision of Jia flashed across Russell’s mind, but he pushed it aside and started loading his ice chest with bottles of synthetic blood. “Is Zoltan here?”
“Mikhail teleported him to his townhouse in Budapest.” Howard sat at the kitchen table and reached for his box of donuts. “The monthly coven meeting started about twenty minutes ago. It may be awhile before they get back.”
Russell paused with the ice chest half full. “Why would Zoltan go to a vampire coven meeting?”
Howard bit into a donut. “He’s still Coven Master of Eastern Europe.”
“But he’s no longer a vampire.”
Howard shrugged. “As far as I can tell, no one wants to believe it. The villagers went ballistic when he broke the news to them. That’s why I’m still here doing security. Zoltan’s in the weird position now where someone might try to kill him for not being a vampire.”
Russell frowned as he finished loading the ice chest. “Why can’t people be happy for him? It took the guy eight hundred years to get some joy in his life.”
“I know.” Howard took another bite from his donut. “But the villagers are dependent on the tours that come twice a week. Busloads of people come here to see a real vampire castle and spend money in town. If rumor spreads that Zoltan isn’t really a vampire—”
“They could lose their cash cow,” Russell concluded.
Howard snorted. “You could put it that way.” He stuffed the last of his donut into his mouth. “At last month’s coven meeting, Zoltan broke the news to all the Vamps and told them they would have to vote on a new Coven Master this month.”
“Makes sense.” Russell piled some ice on top of the bottles in the chest, then closed the lid. “I’ll be on my way then.”
Howard sat up abruptly. “They’re back. That was fast.”
Zoltan materialized close to the kitchen counter with Mikhail, an old vampire friend from Russia. The sour look on Zoltan’s face brightened when he saw Russell. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.” Russell shook hands with the only Vamp he called friend. “Thank you for keeping the fridge full of synthetic blood. I know you don’t need it anymore.” He handed a Bleer to Mikhail and a regular beer to Zoltan.
“Thanks.” Zoltan’s frown returned as he wrenched the top off the bottle. “I need a drink.”
“The coven meeting was over fast,” Howard observed. “What happened?”
“Don’t ask.” Zoltan collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table and gulped down some beer.
“What’s wrong?” Howard pushed the box of donuts toward Zoltan. “Didn’t they vote for a new Coven Master?”
Zoltan shot an annoyed look at Mikhail. “The vote was unanimous.”
Mikhail scowled back. “Don’t blame me. I can’t be Coven Master of Eastern Europe. I live in Russia.”
“Close enough,” Zoltan muttered. “You could have volunteered.”
Mikhail snorted. “I have no patience for all the whining that goes on at Coven Court. I would declare everyone guilty and fine them a million euros for wasting my time.”
Zoltan sighed and reached for a donut.
“So who is the new Coven Master?” Howard asked.
Zoltan took a bite and mumbled, “They voted for me again.”
Russell scoffed. “But you’re not a vampire.”
“They don’t care!” Zoltan waved the donut in the air. “They know I could still live forever, so apparently I’m stuck with the job for all eternity!”
Howard grimaced. “They’re willing to let a non-vampire judge them at Coven Court?”
Zoltan groaned. “Lazy bastards. I should do like Mikhail said and fine them all a million euros.” He gave the Russian a wry look. “You’re not off the hook. I’ll need someone to teleport me to all the meetings.”
Mikhail grunted, then gulped down some Bleer. “Why don’t you just let me turn you back into a vampire? Don’t you miss being able to teleport?”
“I do miss that.” Zoltan nodded. “But not enough to give up the days I can have with my wife and family. And stuff like this—” He eyed the donut in his hand. “This is damned good.” He popped the rest into his mouth.
Howard sat back with a smirk. “Now you’re talking.”
Mikhail shook his head. “If we’re done for the night, I should get back to Moscow. Pam’s working—”
“I need a lift back to Tiger Town,” Zoltan interrupted him.
Mikhail gave him an annoyed look. “What am I, your taxi service?”
Zoltan shrugged. “You wouldn’t have to cart me around if you’d taken the Coven Master job.”
Mikhail groaned and drank more Bleer.
“I’ll take you.” As soon as the words were out of Russell’s mouth, he flinched. What the hell was he doing?
Even Zoltan looked surprised. “Oh. Thanks, Russell.”
“I’m out of here then.” Mikhail vanished, taking his bottle of Bleer with him.
Russell swallowed hard. He couldn’t back out now. He was going to Tiger Town. The thought of seeing Jia again made his heart beat faster. Dammit. What was wrong with him? It wasn’t like the princess would be happy to see him. She’d probably slap him again.
Zoltan stood. “Can you give me a few minutes? I need to grab my bag from upstairs.”
“That’s fine.” Russell picked up the loaded ice chest. “I need to take my supplies home first.”
“Home?” Howard eyed him curiously. “You’ve never mentioned a home before. Where is it?”
Shit. Now he was saying too much. Without another word, Russell teleported back to the bat cave. Using vampire speed, he put away his new supplies. The faster he moved, the faster his heart pounded. Since it was a warm August night, he decided to leave his coat behind. He put on a clean T-shirt, then quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair.
What the hell are you doing? This wasn’t a date. He was just going to check in on Jia to see how she was faring. That was all. It was well after midnight in Tiger Town, so she was probably asleep. Or she might not even be there. She might have already escaped.
The thought of her trekking through the forest in the middle of the night made his chest tighten. He quickly teleported back to pick up Zoltan, then took him to Tiger Town. Zoltan had called his wife to let her know he was on his way, so she was waiting for him in the courtyard.