Chapter Twenty-six
As the following day progressed, Leah felt an odd mixture of satisfaction and disgust. Satisfaction that the plan was working so well, but disgust at how the villagers had been forced to live. In their drugged state, they had done nothing but sleep all day and work in the field all night, so the village itself had become a filthy pigsty.
Vegetables and fruit lay in rotten heaps. The lack of sanitation had rendered the place uninhabitable and dangerous. Poor Yu Jie had burst into tears when she'd seen the shambles that had once been her home, and her family lying on the dirty floor, unconscious. Leah had hugged her and reminded her that her family's slavery was coming to an end that day.
Instilled with new hope, Yu Jie proved to be an excellent assistant. As soon as the shifters brought down the medical supplies from the top of the ridge, she helped Leah go from one hut to another until everyone in the village was hooked up with an IV and had been injected with Abby's mental power boosting drug.
Leah estimated it would take about five hours for the healthiest of the villagers to wake up from their zombielike state. There were two elderly women she found who were in serious decline and would have to be carried to the fishing boats. She hoped the two women could be driven to a hospital once they arrived in Tiger Town.
Meanwhile, the shifters brought down the food supplies and two big stockpots. They set up an outdoor kitchen with the pots set on grates over a fire. According to Rajiv, the menu would be chicken noodle soup and rice. Once they had the food cooking, Rajiv was left to watch over it, while Howard and Phil attacked the field of demon herb. They whacked down the plants with machetes and piled them in the center.
By noon, half the village, the youngest and healthiest half, was awake and eating. Leah unhooked their IVs while Yu Jie explained what had happened. By one in the afternoon, the elderly and weaker half had wakened, and some of the healthier villagers helped wash and feed the two women who were in serious trouble.
With their minds alert and their stomachs full, the villagers gathered in the central meeting area close to the cooking fire. The women, disgusted at the filth, were drawing water from the well and insisting everyone wash up. The elderly men started arguing.
"How dare you interfere with our village!" One of the elderly men pointed a gnarly finger at Leah.
Before Leah could respond, Yu Jie yelled back, "How dare you agree to turn us all into slaves!"
Most villagers shouted their approval, shaking their fists at the elderly man. He yelled back, joined by another old man. Leah figured they were the village elders.
"Calm down!" she shouted in Chinese, but no one listened.
Rajiv let out a piercing whistle that silenced everyone. He motioned to Leah. "You should listen to the doctor who saved your lives."
"She has destroyed our village." The first elder motioned to the field where Howard and Phil were cutting down plants. "When Darafer finds out you've destroyed his field, he will kill us all!"
Several women screamed and grabbed their children.
Howard and Phil came running.
"Listen to me!" Leah shouted. "Darafer enslaved you with a drug that was slowly killing you. Two of your women are close to death. In another year's time, you would have all died."
Murmurs went through the small crowd. Most nodded in agreement.
"Twenty months have gone by," Leah continued. "That's almost two years stolen from your lives."
The women started crying and hugging their children.
"Darafer will come back to kill us!" the second elder shouted.
"That's why we're leaving." Rajiv pointed to a group of five men who were approaching the village. "Those are fishermen from my village who will take you all to safety."
"You can't force us to leave our home!" the first elder yelled.
"Look at your home," Leah replied. "Living in this filth without proper nutrition is killing you. If you want to live, you have to leave."
"You have no right to tell us what to do," the second elder insisted.
"Oh, shut up, old men!" An elderly woman shook a fist at them. "You're the ones who agreed to have us work for Darafer. Look what it's done to us! Look at our children!"
"They didn't even pay us the money they promised," another woman added.
"We should kill Darafer for what he's done to us!" a third woman shouted.
"If you want to hurt Darafer," Rajiv said, "the best way is to destroy his crop."
With a cry of revenge, half the villagers grabbed broken planks off doors and fences, then lit them in the cooking fire. Howard and Phil ran with them to the field to make sure the fire didn't get out of control.
While the field was burning, Rajiv's were-tiger friends made two stretchers for carrying the ill women. Leah and Yu Jie elicited help from the remaining villagers, and soon all the medical and cooking supplies had been safely stashed back into the cave on the ridge. Howard and Phil made a quick run through of the village to make sure no clues had been left behind as to who had interfered with the zombies.
It took about thirty minutes to walk to the Mekong River where five more were-tigers were standing guard over the ten fishing boats. Once everyone was aboard, they headed upriver to Tiger Town.
Leah waved at Yu Jie, who was in a neighboring boat with her family. She grinned and waved back.
In two hours they arrived at Tiger Town. The were-tigers had prepared tubs filled with hot water so the villagers could bathe, then they offered them fresh clothes.
"That's very kind of your people," Leah told Rajiv in English.
He grinned. "They're doing it for themselves, too. Tigers have a very strong sense of smell and can't stand stinky people."
Howard wrinkled his nose. "It's been rough on me and Phil, too."
Tiger Town had several jeeps, and they offered to take the villagers to a nearby town the next day. Most of the villagers had relatives in other towns, so they were eager to reunite with their families.
Rajiv led Leah and the shifters up the stairs to the courtyard. "I have arranged for you to have private rooms and baths."
"Oh, thank you." Leah would be relieved to wash off the stench of the zombie village.
"I'll have a servant wash your clothes, too," Rajiv added. "We'll give you something clean to wear."
"Thanks," Phil said as he looked around the courtyard. "This place is awesome."
Leah nodded, admiring the palace. "Absolutely beautiful."
"You tigers are living good," Howard said.
Rajiv grinned. "Wait till tonight. It'll be so much fun!"
"What's tonight?" Leah asked.
"We celebrate! There will be a feast and music and dancing." Rajiv punched the air with his fist. "It'll be great!"
Phil chuckled. "You sound like Tony the Tiger saying it'll be great."
"I don't know Tony," Rajiv said.
Howard snorted. "I'll drink and eat, but don't expect me to dance."
"Oh, come on." Rajiv nudged him. "I want to see Pooh Bear do the Tiger Dance."
Leah smiled, although inside she was feeling an increasing amount of fear. The daytime part of the plan had succeeded without a hitch, but as soon as the sun set, the Vamps would have to handle the fallout when Master Han's soldiers discovered an empty village and a field of demon herb burned to the ground. Dougal might end up fighting for his life.
Dougal crouched, hidden behind some bushes with Angus and J.L. on one side of the burned field, while Kyo and his friends positioned themselves on the other side. Smoke curled up into the night sky from the smoldering ashes of demon herb.
Angus had passed out tranquilizer darts to everyone with the instructions to capture the soldiers if possible. Then they would teleport them back to the school.
Earlier, J.L. had received a text from Rajiv that they had safely transported the villagers to Tiger Town, so Dougal was looking forward to seeing Leah soon.
"Darafer's going to be pissed," a voice said quietly behind them, and Dougal glanced over his shoulder to find Russell standing about ten feet away.
"Glad ye could join us." Angus stood and extended a hand, which Russell ignored, keeping his distance.
"You shouldn't anger Darafer," he muttered. "He's more powerful than us, and he will retaliate."
"That's why we're here." J.L. motioned for Russell to hunch down. "We're going to stop the soldiers from reporting in."
Russell squatted. "That will only buy you one night at the most."
Angus hunched down. "We've developed a process that will turn Master Han's soldiers back to normal. We've established a clinic on a remote Japanese island so we can treat them."
Russell snorted. "They're the enemy. Just kill them."
"Their souls will go to hell," Dougal said.
"We're in hell," Russell muttered. "Besides, it was their choice."
"Shh." J.L. lifted a hand. "I hear a motor."
"Take them alive if possible," Angus whispered.
Two jeeps pulled up at the end of the field, and armed guards jumped out. After their initial shock, they divided into two groups. One group examined the field while the others ran to the village.
Angus motioned for his men to follow him toward the village. They remained hidden behind bushes and trees till they were just above the village, then they moved downhill and divided up.
The soldiers were ducking in and out of huts. Dougal positioned himself next to a door, and when a soldier exited, he slapped a tranquilizer in his neck, then another one for good measure. When the soldier slumped over, Dougal hefted him over his shoulder and carried him into the central meeting area. Angus was there with another unconscious soldier, and J.L. was bringing in a third.
"Where's Russell?" Angus asked as they deposited the soldiers in a heap.
A cry of pain sounded close by, and they ran to investigate. Two dead soldiers lay at Russell's feet, and blood dripped off his sword.
"The devil take it." Angus glared at him. "I told you we wanted them alive."
"You asked for my help." Russell wiped his sword on a soldier's uniform. "You got it." He vanished.
With a muttered curse, Angus headed back to the three tranquilized soldiers.
J.L. sighed. "Russell's been living among the enemy for too long."
Dougal nodded as he trudged back with J.L. He understood how harsh a person could get when just trying to survive. During his four years of slavery, he'd seen so many other slaves whipped and tortured that he'd grown cold and unfeeling inside. Only his music had kept his soul alive. And his music had brought Li Lei into his life. If she hadn't saved him, he probably would have died a slave. But it had been Li Lei who had died young.
Forgive me. He would earn her forgiveness by keeping Leah safe and happy for centuries to come.
Kyo dashed over at vampire speed. "We had to kill one, but we have three knocked out."
"Let's get them back to the school," Angus said.
In a few minutes they were dropping the captive soldiers on stretchers in the clinic. Abby and Laszlo quickly put them into stasis, while Gregori reported that all had remained quiet at the school.
Dougal was eager to see Leah, but first they had to teleport back all the supplies left hidden on the ridge. They didn't want to leave any clues as to what had happened. Even the three dead soldiers were teleported to the island, where they would be given a proper burial.
Finally done with the mission, Dougal showered and changed into a kilt and white shirt. Then he grabbed his Uilleann pipes. He'd keep his promise to the Grand Tiger, then spend the rest of the night with Leah.