Should she take him to Frederic’s old cabin? It wasn’t far from here. The women had used the cabin two weeks ago to house the vampire, Russell, when he was injured. They had felt honor-bound to take care of him after he’d saved Queen Nima’s life during battle.
Neona figured the cabin was a more suitable place for mating than the woods. She would have to take fresh sheets and some supplies from Beyul-La without anyone noticing. And she would need to bathe and wash her hair.
She pressed a hand against her chest, where her heart continued to pound. This was exciting! Be careful, an inner voice warned her. You could lose your heart to him. She pushed those thoughts away. She’d lived with gloom and despair for two weeks. It was time to think more positively. This had to be for the best. Because for the first time since losing her sister, she felt alive.
After waking from his death-sleep in the bedroom of his castle, Zoltan’s thoughts immediately turned to Neona. Would she be waiting for him at their meeting place? Had the leopard helped her find the note?
His excitement grew as he showered and dressed. This time he wore more suitable clothes—jeans, brown T-shirt, hiking boots, and a green hooded jacket with zippered compartments. He teleported down to the kitchen for a quick meal.
“There you are,” Howard said as he materialized.
“Good evening.” Zoltan nodded at the were-bear and his wife, who were seated at the kitchen table, sharing a bowl of ice cream.
“We thought we’d find you here after sunset,” Howard said, his gaze drifting down to Zoltan’s hiking boots. “Going somewhere?”
Ignoring him, Zoltan took a bottle of AB negative out of the fridge, twisted off the top, and set it in the microwave.
“We heard you were taking a vacation,” Elsa said.
“Yes.” Zoltan rummaged through the fridge till he found some bagged blood. He zipped it into one of the large pockets on his jacket. Emergency rations, just in case.
“Milan is in shock,” Elsa continued. “He said you haven’t taken a night off in five years.”
“Guess I’m overdue.” The microwave dinged, so Zoltan removed the bottle and poured the warmed-up blood into a glass.
Howard spooned some ice cream into his mouth. “Let’s get to the point, okay? I need to know where you’re going.”
Zoltan gave him an annoyed look. “I’ll take a sat phone with me this time.”
“So you’re going back to Tibet?” Howard set down his spoon. “You’re going to see the Amazon warrior again?”
“Maybe.” Zoltan upended his glass, guzzling down the blood.
“Why do you want to see a woman who beat the crap out of you?”
Zoltan swallowed so hard that his eyes watered. “She didn’t beat the— Look. Whomever I choose to see is none of your business.”
“It is my business when it affects security,” Howard argued. “From what I can tell, you have no regard whatsoever for your personal safety. There are no guards here. No working surveillance cameras. You let strangers roam about the castle that you publicize as a vampire castle, and you let everyone in the vicinity know you’re a Vamp.”
Zoltan shrugged and drank more blood.
Howard sat back, folding his arms across his chest. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think I know what’s going on here.”
“Really?” Elsa’s eyes widened as she ate more ice cream. “What?”
Howard leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “Gregori explained it to me. When a Vamp reaches his five hundredth birthday, he normally falls into a state of deep depression.”
“Oh no.” Elsa gave Zoltan a worried look.
He snorted and drank more blood.
“And Zoltan here is about eight hundred years old,” Howard continued. “So he could be seriously depressed.”
Elsa winced. “The poor man.”
Zoltan gritted his teeth. “I’m not so old that my hearing is gone.”
Howard leaned closer to his wife. “It explains everything. Why he’s so careless about his own safety. Why he’s no longer interested in his job. Why he insists on seeing a woman who beat the crap out—”
“She didn’t beat the crap—” Zoltan took a deep breath. “This is ridiculous. I’m not depressed.”
Elsa gave him a sympathetic look. “You won’t be able to get better until you admit the problem.”
“I’m fine!” Zoltan tossed the empty bottle in the recycle bin so hard that it shattered. He winced. Sometimes he forgot how strong he was.
Howard and Elsa exchanged a knowing look.
Zoltan groaned. “I’m not depressed. I’m just . . . tired.” And lonely. “I’m going now.”
“Wait!” Howard jumped to his feet. “You can’t leave without a sat phone. And you shouldn’t face the Amazon warrior without some weapons. You’ll need a knife, a sword, and a handgun.”
“I can’t go on a date fully armed!”
Elsa’s eyes lit up. “This is a date?”
Zoltan winced. Now he’d said more than he had intended to. “Maybe.”
Elsa looked at her husband. “This is a good sign. If he’s dating, maybe he’s not so depressed after all.”
“But if he were thinking clearly,” Howard whispered back, “he wouldn’t date a woman who beat the crap out—”
“She didn’t beat me!” Zoltan strode toward the door. “I’m getting the sat phone, then leaving.”
“Wait!” Elsa rushed toward him. “You shouldn’t go on a date empty-handed. Do you have flowers or something?”
Zoltan paused. Elsa might have a point. “What should I bring?”
Elsa frowned, considering, then her face brightened. “I have a box of chocolates I haven’t opened.”
Howard stiffened. “That was my gift for you.”
“You can get me some more.” Elsa squeezed her husband’s arm. “This is an emergency. Zoltan needs something now.”
Zoltan nodded. “Chocolate might be good. I doubt she gets much of it.”
“Maybe it’ll keep her from beating the crap—” Howard stopped when Zoltan glared at him.
“The box is in our bedroom.” Elsa started out the door. “I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll be in the armory,” Howard called after her.
Zoltan made his way quickly to the armory with Howard right behind him, asking questions along the way.
“What’s her name? Where does she live? Does she look like Xena, the warrior princess? Why did she beat you up?”
Zoltan ignored him and selected a sat phone off a shelf in the armory.
“Let me see that.” Howard grabbed it and started pushing buttons. “Okay. It’s charged up and working well. I’m putting in my number and Angus’s and Mikhail’s. If anything goes wrong, I want you to call. Either Angus or Mikhail should be able to teleport to you right away.”
“I understand.” Zoltan reached for the phone, but Howard kept pushing buttons.
When Howard’s cell phone went off, he smiled. “Okay, now I have your number.” He handed the sat phone to Zoltan. “I recommend you take at least one knife.”
“I’ll be fine.” Zoltan dropped the sat phone into a pants pocket. “If I’m really in trouble, I’ll just teleport back here.”
“Does she know you’re a Vamp?”
Zoltan shook his head. “I don’t think so.” Although her cat knew he wasn’t normal. Fortunately, she wasn’t able to communicate with her pet.
“Does she know about Vamps?”
“Probably. They were fighting Lord Liao and some of Master Han’s army two weeks ago.”
Howard’s eyes narrowed. “What does Lord Liao have against them?”
“I don’t know.” Zoltan shrugged. “There’s a lot I don’t know. That’s one reason I want to go back.”
Howard nodded. “They might turn out to be good allies against Master Han.”
“Hello?” Elsa’s voice carried down the spiral staircase, then she appeared in the entrance to the armory. With a smile, she handed a gold foil box to Zoltan. “Here you go.”