"It's not the same," Leah insisted. "You didn't kill her. I did kill."
"It is the same. Darafer's evil possessed you and forced you. It was beyond yer control, just like a storm. Ye canna blame yerself."
She turned away. "Darafer told me about her, that she was your one and only love."
"I love you, Leah."
She scowled at him. "You said it yourself, that you'd waited three hundred years, that you wouldn't lose me again. I'm just a replacement. A cheap copy of the girl you loved three hundred years ago."
"Nay! Leah, ye're different. If some part of Li Lei's soul has found a way to come back to me, then it isna something ye're aware of. It doesna make you who ye are. Ye've accomplished things that Li Lei could never imagine. There's no one like you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why would you think she's in me?"
"Her father was a merchant. The family name was Ka, which means merchant. Her name was Ka Li Lei. And ye're Galileah."
She flinched. "It's just a strange coincidence. I can't be her."
"It doesna matter to me. Ye're still Leah, and I love you as ye are. Ye're strong and brave and the most brilliant woman I've ever met. How could I no' love you?"
Her face crumpled. "But you fell for me because of her. You were waiting three hundred years for a replacement."
Dammit. He shouldn't have told her about Li Lei. He had thought sharing his story of regret and shame would comfort her and let her know she wasn't alone, but it had only made things worse.
Tears filled his eyes. "I waited three hundred years for a chance to love again, and it is you I love, Leah. How can I prove to you that I love you? Ye are the one I want for the rest of my life."
She turned away, a tear running down her face. "How can you want me? I'm a killer. I tried to kill you."
"Leah, please. Doona give up on yerself."
"Leave me alone. Please."
When she continued to ignore him, Dougal strode from the room, ready to hit something. He charged outside and saw Briathos standing on the bluff, looking at the sea.
"Why were you so slow?" Dougal demanded. "If you had dispatched Darafer to hell just a few seconds earlier, then his hold on Leah would have been broken, and she wouldna have killed!"
Briathos regarded him sadly, then turned to look at the sea once more.
"Do ye know how much she's suffering?" Dougal asked. The cold wind whipped at his face, making his eyes tear up. "She wants to die! Do ye even care?"
"Of course I care." Briathos sighed. "You may question what if for hours, but a truth remains that cannot be avoided." He faced Dougal. "When a child of God is consumed with evil, there is always a price to pay."
"She dinna ask for evil!"
"She was consumed nonetheless. The price must be paid." He wavered, then disappeared.
Dougal stood there, watching the waves crash on the shore. A price must be paid.
His eyes stung with tears. She was suffering so much. He couldn't bear to watch it. And now she even doubted that he loved her. How could he prove he loved her? How could he ease her suffering?
He could pay the price for her.
The idea flickered in his mind, and with desperation, he latched on to it and let it grow. It was in his power to take the pain away from her.
He strode into the school and headed for the lab. Laszlo and Gu Mina were seated together at his worktable, and Abby and Gregori were at her table.
Abby sat up. "Did you get her to eat?"
"Nay."
Abby exchanged a look with her husband. "What can we do? I'm afraid she's suicidal."
"Doona fash. I have a plan." Dougal took a deep breath. "I will erase all her memories of China. 'Twill be like she was never there. She will remember only the good progress ye're making here. But ye all must play along. Pretend she was never in China."
Gregori frowned. "That seems a bit extreme."
Abby touched his arm. "We have to do something."
"It is the only way." Dougal's heart squeezed in his chest. She wouldn't remember their night of lovemaking in Tiger Town. She wouldn't know that she'd agreed to marry him. How could he erase bits and pieces of their relationship? The holes left behind would make her suspicious.
The solution hit him like a battle-axe, and he stumbled back. The only way to protect her was to make a clean sweep. No memories of China, and no memories of him. She wouldn't suffer from the humiliation of feeling like a replacement. She would simply complete her job here, then return home to Houston, happy and proud that she'd accomplished something good.
She would be free from pain. He would take all her suffering away and heap it on himself. He would pay the price.
"I'll erase myself," he whispered.
Abby gasped.
Laszlo frowned. "Surely that is going too far."
Dougal shook his head. "It is the only way I can protect her."
He trudged down the hall and entered her dorm. She was still in bed, refusing to look at him.
He sat on the edge of her bed, his heart breaking. He would have to lose her in order to save her.
His eyes burned with tears. "I will find you again. No matter what. If it takes another three hundred years. Or a thousand years. I will find you."
She looked at him. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Aye." He placed his hand on her forehead, slipped into her mind, and began erasing.
Chapter Thirty-two
A week later
Leah finished checking her patient's blood pressure and smiled at him. "Perfect! You're one hundred percent back to normal."
"Thank you, Dr. Chin." He grinned. "Does that mean I can go home?"
She nodded, looping her stethoscope around her neck. "Tonight. We'll have one of the Vamps teleport you back."
Her patient bowed his head. "Thank you! Thank you, Dr. Chin. I can't wait to see my family again."
"And we have a parting gift for you, thanks to our benefactor, Kyo. A sack of rice for you and your family."
"Thank you!" He beamed at the other six patients, who had come out of stasis the day before. "We're free!"
They all cheered, and Leah grinned. She was so glad she'd accepted this job. At first, working with Vamps and shifters had seemed totally bizarre, but as far as she could tell, they were all a bunch of great guys who were making a difference fighting evil. They even had a resident angel, Briathos, who stopped by every day.
"Are you married, Dr. Chin?" one of the patients asked.
"You can't have her. I want her," another patient said. "Marry me, Dr. Chin. I'll give you five chickens!"
"I'll give you a pig," another boasted.
Leah laughed. "That's very sweet, but I'm married to my work."
From what she'd heard there were still close to a thousand mutated soldiers who needed to be changed back. She hoped they would all welcome the change like these guys had. They were eager to be reunited with families they hadn't seen in years. And they were angry at Master Han for turning them into mindless robots. Unpaid robots, it turned out. Most of these boys had agreed to join Master Han believing he would send their wages to their families. But once Master Han had people under his control, he no longer paid them the wage they'd been promised.
"I have more good news for you," she continued. "We're going to reimburse you for your lost wages."
Her patients clapped and cheered. "Thank you!" they shouted over and over.
Leah gave them high fives. After Angus and Roman had learned how these young men had been cheated from their earnings, they'd decided to make things right. It was a touching gesture from the Vamps, Leah thought, but also a smart move. In the future, all the cured soldiers would be on the side of the Vamps.
"I'll bring you something yummy from the cafeteria." She left the clinic as they continued to cheer.
Briathos was standing in the hallway, and he nodded at her as she passed. "You have done well. The Heavenly Father is most pleased."
"Oh. Thank you." Wow. Even God was happy with her. Did life get any better than this?
"May I be of service?" Briathos asked.
"I'm fine. Thank you." She hurried down the hall to the cafeteria, wondering why the angel asked her that every day. Maybe it was just an angelic thing.
She piled six ice cream sandwiches and six juice boxes on a tray and delivered them to her fan club in the clinic. They were still arguing over who should win her hand, though they forgot about her when they saw the ice cream.
Smiling, she strolled into the lab. "Hi, Abby. Hi, Mina."
They greeted her with smiles.
"I have serum ready for ten more patients," Abby announced. "We can have the Vamps bring more in tonight."
"Wonderful." Leah went to her worktable to finish the paperwork on the six cured ones in the clinic.
Hopefully, when the Vamps came tonight with their delivery, the good-looking one in the kilt would be with them. She'd spotted him for the first time three nights ago, and ever since then, she'd looked forward to a glimpse of him every night. Unfortunately, he always did his job quickly and left. How could she talk to him if he never looked her way?
She glanced out the window at the gray sky. It was freezing cold outside, but she enjoyed going out for a few minutes every day. She was extra careful because about a week ago, she'd slipped on an icy patch and fallen, hitting her head on a rock. She didn't remember it, but Abby said she'd suffered a concussion. That was why some of her memory was a little sketchy. She could recall Dr. Lee hiring her, and she remembered the shock of learning about Vamps and shifters at Romatech, but she couldn't recall her trip here to the school.
She dragged a hand over her head. Whatever bumps she'd incurred during her fall had gone away. She wasn't sore anywhere. It seemed like she should have had some abrasions or bruises. After all, she'd fallen on the rocky shore.
"Two hours till Laser wakes up," Gu Mina announced. She was sitting at Laszlo's table, sewing a button on his lab coat.
Leah smiled. The fox shifter and Laszlo were so cute together. It was fun watching such a sweet romance blossom. Her hand went to her chest to grasp something, but nothing was there. She frowned. It was an annoying habit, one she did several times a day, and she wasn't sure why.
"You're really serious about him, aren't you?" Abby asked.
Mina nodded. "I found out why he pulls his buttons off. Do you want to hear?" She glanced around. "But don't tell anyone."
Abby slanted a glance at Leah. "We can keep a secret."
Leah nodded. "Tell us."
"Well." Mina knotted her thread and cut it. "He grew up in a village in Hungary. Just him and his mother. Everyone thought she was a widow. And she was a - what's the word? She made fancy clothes for rich ladies."
"A seamstress?" Leah asked.
"That's it." Mina threaded her needle. "They were very poor, and she worked long hours, sewing. Laser learned as a young boy that the only way he could get attention was to pull off a button. Then she would sew it on for him and talk to him. Over the years, it became a habit."
"Oh." Abby grimaced. "He must have been lonesome."
Mina nodded. "When he was nine, he was sent away to a fancy school. A mysterious benefactor was paying for him. But the rich boys picked on Laser, and he felt so out of place that he kept pulling on his buttons."
"Poor Laszlo," Leah murmured.
Mina sewed on another button. "Then he learned that his benefactor was really his father. The man was alive, after all, and lived near the school. So every time Laser met a man, he wondered if he was meeting his father. It made him very nervous."
"No one would tell him who his father was?" Abby asked.
"No." Mina continued to sew. "After he finished college in Vienna, he set out to find his father. And then, as he traveled a dark road one night, he was attacked by vampires." She sniffed. "Poor Laser. He gave up ever finding his father. He was afraid his father would think he was a monster."
Abby sighed. "That's so sad."
Leah frowned. "Poor Laszlo." Did all the Vamps have sad stories like that? What about the gorgeous one with black hair and green eyes? He seemed so quiet and . . . intense. As if there was a huge storm of emotion carefully hidden beneath the surface. No doubt he had a fascinating story. If only she could get him to talk to her.
Was she falling for a vampire? Somehow that didn't seem strange at all. Maybe because Abby was married to one, and Gu Mina was thoroughly smitten with one. It just felt right.
She glanced at the window. "It's snowing!" She jumped to her feet, smiling. "Come on, Abby. Let's go outside."
Abby looked at the window and winced. "It looks cold."
"Just put on your coat and gloves." Leah headed for the door.
"I forgot to pack gloves," Abby muttered.
"I might have something you can use." Leah motioned for her to follow. "Come on! It'll be fun!"
She dashed down the hall, noticing that the angel was gone. He was odd that way, coming and going without warning.
In the dorm room, Leah opened her bedside table drawer and removed her hat and gloves. Her coat was hanging on a peg on the wall by the door. She pulled her suitcase out from under the bed and opened it. Her memory of packing was sketchy, but she knew she'd packed for cold weather.
She found a thick sweater and pulled it on over her long-sleeved T-shirt. Now to see if she'd packed an extra set of gloves or mittens. She dug under another sweater and spotted something red and flimsy.
