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She res They appeared to be on a raised wooden dais at the end of a rectangular roo Bare white walls were trimmed with e brass gong sat between two black doors gilded with gold Pat stood by the gong, and he noore a black silk robe with a hood The six thugs stood along the back wall, are ceremonial swords

This had to be the temple the vampires had referred to She spotted the three vampires on the other side of the dais In the center of the dais there was an altar ons On top reclined the body of a tall old braid

A chill crept down her spine Thesounded, and she glanced toward the entrance as Pat struck it again The entrance doors opened and men filed in, two by two, dressed in black silk robes with the hoods drawn up to cover their heads and hide their faces Twenty in all, she counted

The last ones to enter closed the doors, then joined their fellow black-robed monks as they formed five roith a center aisle between theain

"Master Han!" the monks shouted in unison, then dropped to their knees and bowed forward

One htly slower than the others, Caitlyn noted, as if he didn’t quite know the routine The ar the back wall also dropped to their knees Beside her Carlos and Rajiv stirred

Pata brass censor that emitted a trail of san to chant

Carlos and Rajiv sat up and glanced warily about Caitlyn figured Carlos was counting their opponents and assessing their chances of defeating them in battle She didn’t knoell the twenty s, Pat, and three vampires That made it thirty to three Really bad odds

Carlos was one hell of a fighter, and could probably take down seven or eight guys before he was captured or killed Again She looked at hi with her eyes that he not atte rash

Pat stepped onto the dais and set his incense burner onto a brass stand "Guardians, behold your Master!" He lifted his arms as he approached the altar

The monks sat up and shouted, "Master Han!"

"It was forty-five years ago when Master Han brought peace to the warring factions of the three vampire lords," Pat announced "It was Master Han who unified the vah Master Han that we grew in power and territory It was through Master Han that we realized we could take over all of Asia!"

The varew sad - "then the unthinkable happened Master Han and his forces claie in Tibet and requested the ift The village sent the girl, filled with poison, and when Master Han drank from her, he fell into a deep sleep"

The e our round and slaughtered all that lived there!"

The ht the Master here to San Francisco, where Dr Chou is known to have the greatest knowledge of ancient folklore and herbal remedies For five years we have tried to revive ourbeen convinced there is only one way to resurrect our master"

Thehair "Ancient texts tell us that a corpse can be brought back to life if a cat juical cat of great power"

"And noe have the estured toward Carlos and Rajiv

Caitlyn snorted That hy they’d been kidnapped? So Carlos could shift and jump over an unconscious vampire? She looked at hihtly

And then she realized why he didn’t see the humor in the situation If he juically cure the vampire, they could be blamed for the scheme’s failure to work They would probably be executed And if they fought, they were terribly outnumbered

Pat pointed at Carlos "It is time! You will shift and jump over our master!"

Carlos stood slowly, looked around the rooasped

Pat flinched "You do not deny the Master" He s armed with swords to approach the dais

One of the monks, the one who had moved slower than the others, suddenly jumped to his feet and zoomed toward them at vampire speed His hood slipped back as he julint of recognition in Carlos’s eyes

The vampire monk seized her from behind and pressed a knife to her neck Her blood chilled with fear

"You will jump over our master," Pat ordered Carlos "Or you will see your wife die"

Caitlyn’s breath hitched when Carlos hesitated

He exchanged a look with her captor, then with a shrug, he turned toward Pat "Go ahead I’ed "What?"

Carlos waved a dismissive hand "She’s lousy in bed She just lays there and ain Was he serious? Her heart plu their heads in commiseration with Carlos

"Do not hare He ran toward the altar and shifted into a tiger as he leaped over Master Han

"No!" Carlos shouted

Monks jumped to their feet

Rajiv landed on the other side of the altar and shifted back to a human His pants had reasp spread over the rooan to twitch Thein celebration Master Han floated up in the air, then stood on the altar His face was covered with a golden lish He pressed a button on his atch "Angus, get over here now!"

"What?" Caitlyn turned her head to look at her captor

He winked "JL Wang at your service" He handed her the knife, then dreords from underneath his robe He tossed one to Carlos

Carlos and JL leaped fros Caitlyn winced at the sound of clashing swords Some of the us roup of Vanized Emma, Phineas, Connor, Ian, Roman, and, to her amazement, her father

Screaed the Vamps were quickly killed Rajiv ran back to Caitlyn, and on the way, he grabbed the brass stand, letting the incense burner fall onto the floor He stood next to her, holding the brass stand like a weapon

Sawat jue as he stalked toward her and Rajiv "I’ll kill you both" He lifted his sword and charged