With vampire speed, Russell filled his coat pockets with ammo. Then he set the box of arrows on the table and pried off the lid.
Footsteps pounded down the spiral staircase. “Russell.” Howard ducked to keep from knocking his head on the low stone archway.
“Howard.” Russell grabbed a handful of arrows and stuffed them into the quiver.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” Howard said as he approached. “You usually wait two full weeks before returning.”
Russell shrugged and added more arrows to his quiver.
Howard planted his hands on the table, leaning toward him. “I heard you saw the dragon shifter, Xiao Fang, last night.”
Russell paused, then put the lid back on the arrow box. No doubt J.L. had reported immediately to his boss, and it hadn’t taken Angus long to spread the word.
“How was he?” Howard asked.
“He looked okay.” Russell returned the box to its place on a shelf. “Han was giving him an archery lesson. Patting him on the back like a proud papa.”
“Sick creep,” Howard muttered.
“Exactly.”
“Look, the next time you see Xiao Fang, give J.L. or Mikhail a call. They’ll come instantly and bring some shifters with them. We’ll help you get the boy out of there.”
“I work alone.”
Howard gave him an annoyed look. “I know you want to kill Han all by yourself, and you’re welcome to it, but this is a young boy we’re talking about. From what I hear, he could start shifting any day now. We need to get him away from Han as quickly as possible.”
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.”