The soldiers had knocked Howard on the head so hard, blood had run down his face as he slumped over unconscious. They'd removed his silver cuffs, then Lord Liao had returned to teleport him away.
Lord Ming had returned for her. He'd grasped her arms with his nasty yellow nails, and his breath had smelled foul as he'd pulled her close.
Even now, she shuddered when she recalled it and reached for the soap to lather up her body for the fifth time. Lord Ming had teleported her to a courtyard where about thirty soldiers were practicing martial arts by torchlight. Wu Shen and his hundred soldiers were still by the Yangtze River, she assumed, since they couldn't teleport. Hopefully it would take them a while to travel back to Master Han's compound.
When Master Han materialized in the courtyard, the small group of soldiers stopped and prostrated themselves on the ground. He said nothing, just turned and walked up the steps into what looked like a Buddhist temple.
Lord Ming dragged her inside a one-story building that ran the length of the compound. He steered her down a hall, then shoved her into a room where a group of three women resided. A harem, she figured, since the women were all young and pretty and had bite marks on their necks.
They fussed over her, and although she didn't want to cooperate, the lure of a hot bath was too tempting after a night in a chilly cave.
"You done?" one of the young women approached her, the only one who knew some English.
"Five more minutes." Abigail held up her hand to show five.
"No. We must make ready." The young woman gestured to the other women who came toward her, carrying beautiful teal-colored silk robes and embroidered slippers.
"You will wear these tonight for Lord Ming," the woman explained.
Abigail climbed out of the tub and grabbed a nearby towel. "Look, uh . . . what's your name?"
"I am Mei Li."
"Mei Li, I'm Abby."
"Abby." The ladies all bowed and murmured her name.
"Pleased to meet you. Look, I'll get dressed since I don't want to escape from this place naked. But there's no way I'm going to let that creep bite me."
Mei Li looked confused. "It is an honor to feed Master Han and the vampire lords."
"I think it would be more honorable to let them starve."
Mei Li's eyes widened. "It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords."
Abigail sighed. "They've done a number on your head, haven't they?"
Mei Li motioned to the silk robes once again. "Come, we help you dress."
Abigail slipped on the white silk slip, then wrapped the teal-colored robe around her and tied the sash. Her mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle this.
"Do not fear." Mei Li adjusted her sash. "Lord Ming will be kind. He does not take as much blood as Master Han."
"You've been with Lord Ming before?"
Mei Li nodded. "But tonight I will go with Ping and Genji. We will feed the American chiang-shih."
Abigail's fists clenched. One of these pretty women was going to offer her neck to Gregori? Over her dead body. "To tell you the truth, one of those American chiang-shih is my boyfriend. We're in love."
Mei Li tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. "Boy . . . friend?"
"Yes. Lovers. We love each other very much."
Mei Li's eyes took on a distant look. "I . . . remember."
"You had a boyfriend?"
Mei Li nodded slowly. "In Kunming. But I went home to village to see family, and whole village now work in fields for Master Han."
"I've seen that village," Abigail said.
"They bring me here." She stiffened, and her face went blank. "It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords."
Abigail groaned. Just when she'd thought she was making progress with Mei Li, the vampire mind control had snatched her right back. "Don't you want to escape from here? See your boyfriend again?"
"It is an honor to serve Master Han and the vampire lords."
"Okay. Then why don't you serve the vampire lord? We'll trade places. You can feed Lord Ming and I'll feed the American vampire."
Mei Li hesitated. "Lord Ming will know I am not you."
"Yes, but it is an honor to be bitten by him, right? No honor at all in being bitten by an American." Abigail wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Mei Li shuddered. "I do not wish to feed one of them."
"Great! Then we'll switch places." Abigail felt a twinge of guilt at manipulating someone who wasn't thinking clearly. She was using poor Mei Li as much as the creepy vampires were. But she was desperate to avoid Lord Ming and his nasty nails and fangs. And she had to find Gregori and the guys. They needed to stick together so they could escape.
Five minutes later, Abigail, Ping, and Genji all filed out of the room, dressed in similar robes with identical veils over their heads. Mei Li stayed behind, wearing her robe and veil, awaiting the summons from Lord Ming.
Ping led the way down one hallway after another, then finally emerged outside. Abigail noted they were behind the Buddhist temple now. They crossed to a low building lined with heavy metal doors where three armed soldiers stood in front. The jailhouse, she figured.
Ping spoke to one of the guards. He slid a small window open on the first door, then nodded with a grunt. He unlocked the door and Ping went inside. Abigail caught a glimpse of Russell lying unconscious on a mat before the door was shut and locked.
The guard opened the next door. Abigail spotted J.L. and stepped back so Genji would enter.
The guard unlocked the third door, and Abigail slipped inside. The door slammed behind her.
She hurried over to see if Gregori was all right. He was still unconscious, but his heart was beating strong. The silver cuffs were gone. His boots were missing, since the soldiers had removed them, so his feet were covered with thick woolen socks. His sweater and jacket were still on. He was lying in the middle of the room on a thin mat. There was no floor, just hard dirt.
She straightened to take a look around her. A rectangular fluorescent light fixture glared overhead, making the smooth, metallic walls gleam. Stainless steel? She looked closer. Silver. Of course. It was probably the only way to imprison a vampire. Even the ceiling was silver.
Gregori moaned and lifted a hand to his forehead. Then he sat up abruptly and looked around.
His eyes narrowed on her. "Get out. I'm not interested."
Her heart soared at his faithfulness. "Are you sure?" She pulled the veil off her head.
"Abby," he breathed, then leaped toward her and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, thank God, you're all right. And you're with me. I was afraid that ass**le Ming would try to get his claws on you."
"I was supposed to go to him, but I talked Mei Li into switching places with me."
"Oh, Scholar, you are so brilliant." Gregori kissed her brow.
"It wasn't all brains, believe me. When I thought about you being locked up with the beautiful Mei Li, I was ready to rip this compound apart with my bare hands."
He laughed and hugged her close.
She gazed up at him and brushed his hair back from his brow. "I'm not sure if Lord Ming is going to accept the trade, since he appears to have a thing for unmarked necks."
"Virgin necks," Gregori muttered. "Creepy bastard."
"Well, under the circumstances, I think we'd better get rid of my neck virginity really quick."
His eyes widened. "You mean . . ."
"Yes. I need you to bite me before Lord Ming realizes I pulled a switcheroo on him."
"Abby." Gregori released her and stepped back. "No."
"You have my permission."
"No! We'll just escape from here." His form wavered then solidified again. "Shit. I can't teleport." He paced around the perimeter of the room and examined the walls closely.
"It's solid silver," she said.
He touched the door and jerked his hand back with a grimace. "Even the door is silver."
"We're not getting out of here for a while, and if Lord Ming still wants a virgin - "
"Abby, how can I return you to your family with fang marks on your neck?"
Tears stung her eyes at the thought of her family. For the hundredth time, she hoped her mother was all right. "At this point, I'll be glad to return at all."
"I'll get you out of here. Somehow."
She dragged in a shaky breath. "Gregori, it was terrible. The demon said he could make my mother better if my dad was willing to work with him. I told him to go to hell, and he said he was going to see my mother and make her worse!"