The_Vampire_With_the_Dragon_Tattoo (Love at Stake #14) Page 0,84
going to the sword on his hip.
Angus lifted his hands to show they were bare. "Russell, we're no' here to capture you."
So this was the Marine major who had gone AWOL over a year ago. Dougal noted he was a large man, dressed like a peasant, although he had a sword and rifle half hidden beneath his shabby coat. His hair had grown long enough that he now tied it back in a ponytail. He clutched the burlap sack with one hand, while his other hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm not going back until I've killed Master Han," he said in a voice that sounded stilted and rusty, as if he hadn't talked to another person in months.
"Ye doona have to come back with us." Angus inched forward. "But we could use yer help tomorrow night."
"We're rescuing the people in the zombie village," J.L. explained. "Tomorrow night, we take on the guards. There could be ten of them, so we're a little outnumbered."
Russell frowned. "You're doing your death-sleep here?"
"Aye," Angus replied. "Ye can stay here with us, if ye like. We'd like to hear what ye've been up to."
Russell looked them over, his gaze lingering on their weapons. "I might return. Or not." He vanished.
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.