Page 7 of Two Thousand Blades

Chapter 2

Kai

Why am I even doing this?

He stood in the shadows cast by the trees behind the Zhang clan home. There was no way he was going to take a single step closer. Yes, he was a powerful dragon, and every creature should bow before him, but that kind of arrogance had gotten him into trouble in the first place.

It wasn’t so much the vampires he was worried about, though Xiang was proving he could be his own unique brand of tricky. No, it was the fae lurking within those walls. A single elf shouldn’t be a problem, but it was likely that it was one crafty elf who’d stolen his sword.

Bastard.

He would not underestimate the fae again.

There was also the huli jing sneaking about outside the home. They were always unpredictable trouble. In all his long years, he’d encountered plenty of his own kind and even some phoenixes. With some respect and care, those meetings had been navigated with relative ease.

But the huli jings were another story. Every one of them was a ball of furry chaos, and not one of those encounters had been good.

Kai would prefer to avoid the one that had latched on to the Zhang clan altogether.

He mentally sighed. Kai. It wasn’t a horrible name as far as names went. He hadn’t even thought of the name he had been called before in thousands of years. If Xiang wanted to call him Kai, that was fine.

For now, he trained his attention on the house. The sun had set an hour ago, and the sky was growing darker, but the vampires within were moving about. He could hear their voices through the walls as they talked and joked. People were making love, and Kai tried very hard to tune them out.

“Do you think those witches could find the dragon?”

“Which witches?”

“OhmyGod! You didn’t just say that!”

“I’m assuming she means Moon’s witch friends.”

“Sure. Or any witches that anyone knows? There’s a Varik witch, right?”

“Yes, and no.”

“How can it be both?”

“Yes, there’s a Varik witch and no, my friends can’t find the dragon. We didn’t know dragons existed! I’m sure he wouldn’t even know how to craft a seeking spell for a dragon.”

“Besides, if they’re afraid to go looking for the fae, I doubt they’d be willing to hunt down a dragon.”

“Good point.”

“Argh! If we can’t go after the dragon, can we at least beat up the fae again? Sitting here is frustrating.”

“Leaping in without a plan is how you get yourself or your friends killed. We sit, wait for news, and make a plan.”

Kai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. At least someone within their clan possessed a brain. The voice was as calm and even as the still water of a placid lake.

A quick count of heartbeats revealed there were seven vampires and one elf inside. No one sounded injured or even weakened from their recent encounter with the fae. Good. He could return to Xiang and reassure the fidgety vampire that his clan was safe and well. Nothing for him to worry about on that front. Maybe now he would settle into his captivity with quiet dignity and decorum.

At the very least, Kai could get some sleep without worrying about him. Was this what it was like to keep a pet? Constantly worrying they would get themselves into trouble, hurt by doing something they shouldn’t, or even eating something they shouldn’t? Kai squeezed his eyes shut at the brief image of trying to force the vampire to spit out something he shouldn’t have put into his mouth.

No, definitely not.

This was the danger of collecting something living, though. Books, swords, and gems were better. They all stayed where he put them. No random moving about or complaining about not seeing their family.

Content that he’d gathered the information he needed, Kai prepared to slip over the wall. Only there could he shift into his natural form and fly to his temporary cave.

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