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"There are only six of us now," Winifred said as she slipped on a metal-studded leather breastplate

"We know that," Lydia hter, Tashi, put on arhter," Winifred continued

"Perhaps," Queen Nima replied "We will discuss it later First we must deal with this invasion"

"Oh, I see what Freddieto her sister’s defense "The intruder ht have potential"

"Exactly!" Winifred nodded "He could be fair of face, strong, and fleet of foot"

Lydia snorted "More likely, he’s a stu fool who has lost his way and doesn’t have the sense to get houed, "we should consider taking his seed"

Freya sheathed her sword "I hope I find him"

Winifred scoffed "It was h, Tashi handed them each a coil of rope "Here In case you need to tie hier to have a child Didn’t they care that they would have to give the baby away if it was nant, but when the seed had failed to take root, she’d secretly rejoiced After seeing the pain her sister had gone through, she was afraid of falling into that same trap of despair

"Very well," Queen Nima conceded "You will take the hters et the main purpose of this mission"

Neona nodded, while the other wo sense of unease, Neona slid on her father’s heluards She’d alondered what had happened to the brave Greek soldier who had journeyed so far from home and beco, she’d asked her one back to Greece Then she’d warned Neona never to speak of hiain Over the years, Neona had come to suspect that her mother had not told the truth

"Stay true to our noble cause," Queen Nima reminded them "Once you are done with the h on top of a craggy peak, Zoltan surveyed the countryside around hily mountainous as he’d traveled south Up here, he could see farther, but the cold as slicing through his suit As a Vamp, he could endure it better than most hu till a task was done, he decided to press on

A large bird flew by, a hawk, Zoltan thought It was a shame he’d never been able to communicate with birds like his mother could If so, he could have asked the hawk the location of the fierce warriors that the dog had warned hi about the feathers on the end of the new arrow he still held in his hand

A few years ago, he’d taken the old arrow from his castle to so y The results had surprised everyone The arrowhead was ancient, similar to those used by the ars were unknown The feathers were fro cypress tree, which grew in parts of China and Tibet The scientists had concluded that the arrow had been crafted in ancient Greece, using wood that had been ied him to donate it to a museum, but he’d declined

Now he had to wonder if the scientists had gotten it backward What if the arrow had been crafted here in Tibet, using an ancient Greek arrowhead? Did that mean the so-called fierce warriors had traveled all the way from Tibet to Transylvania to kill his father?

Zoltan had alondered if his father’s e after the death of his mother, but it didn’t see distance in 1241 And his father had been murdered only a few hours after his mother

Unlesscould the murderer have been a vampire? A Vamp could have teleported to Transylvania Or ers had been true They’d given hi account ofperson could have ever defeated them Zoltan had always suspected their elaborate story was nothing more than a pitiful piece of fiction to justify their failure to save their village and loved ones If only he could remember more of that fateful daybut he’d spent most of it unconscious He’d awakened the next day, e with no idea how he’d arrived there

He took a deep breath That was 1241 Those warriors, even if they had been fierce and monstrous, were now dead Unless they were vaht Lord Liao teeks ago? Why did they save Russell?

Zoltan levitated higher in the air, gritting his teeth against the cold wind Higher and higher so he could see over the hts?

He focused on them so he could teleport there, but then with a flash, they disappeared Daive up now? He teleported across the valley to the top of the nextin, as best as he could surmise, on the area that had been lit After tenhillside, surrounded by forest He had to be close now

Dead leaves and needles cushioned the ground, softening his steps as he moved downhill Every now and then, the forest cleared for an outcropping of large boulders that glea, he caught the sound of a trickling strea down the hill to the valley below And behind hi

Ani sound He dove behind some bushes just as an arrow lanced up at the arrow The sale He’d found them!

Or rather, they’d found hi and crouched on the rocks, scanning the forest

There A gliht One warrior He was stealthy, Zoltan had to give hied to sneak up on him, and that rarely happened

Other than that, the warrior didn’t appear that iht for a ood idea, since it reflected the ave away his position The hel down the center and cheek and nose guards that covered most of the warrior’s face He was equipped with bow and arroord, and at least one knife that Zoltan could spot The warrior looked fierce enough, but archaic, as if he should be sacking Troy, not wandering about Tibet

The old arrowhead that had killed his father had come from ancient Greece

Zoltan called out in Greek, "I come in--" He flattened himself on the rock a second before an arrohooshed over his head "Peace," he whispered The warrior wasn’t big, but he was quick and had excellent aim in the dark

"Are you a va his arrow on the rock so his hands would be free, he teleported behind the warrior Meanwhile, his foe answered his question by firing another arrow over the pile of boulders

Zoltan breathed deeply, taking in the ative Hu slowly on the rocky outcropping

Zoltan teleported behind the boulders and waited "I coarian as the warrior came into view "Pax?" He ju behind a tree, he tried Romanian and Serbian Wood chips flew as the warrior’s sword struck the tree

"Français? Deutsch?" He lunged to the ground and rolled as the sword made another swipe at him "Dammit, I just want to talk!"