Page 135 of Tin God

“Brigid!” he shouted into the darkness and the wind.

If a water vampire had her in its grip, she could be trapped below the surface and completely defenseless.

Many of Paulson’s vampires were already overboard, battling with Jennie’s people, who were fighting from boats or swimming in the darkness. He could see faint pink glow sticks beneath the surface as water vampires did battle undersea.

He saw an arm waving on the surface and recognized Brigid’s pale face before the water pulled her under again.

Vampires couldn’t drown, but putting a fire vampire underwater was a good way to neutralize her.

Ben saw Brigid bob to the surface again and speared down, grabbing her arm and yanking her from the deep even as the water tried to pull her back.

He forced a column of wind toward the surface, fighting back the waves as he scooped Brigid up and pulled her into his arms.

“Hey.” He grinned. “So how are you?”

“Busy.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Did ya see Carwyn?”

“On deck and cutting a swath through Paulson’s vampires.”

“We surprised them. Has Tenzin found Zasha?”

How did he know she was going to ask? “Maybe. There’s a wooden house on the island in the middle of the bay. There was something about the roof that Tenzin recognized. She said it has to be Zasha’s.”

“Take me there.” She glanced over his shoulder. “Then go back to help Carwyn. They haven’t even made it inside that thing.”

“If you think I’m going to let you and Tenzin take on Zasha by yourself?—”

“Ben!” Her voice was desperate. “I need you to back up Carwyn. Leave Zasha to me and Tenzin. There are humans on board that boat.”

He wanted to snarl, but he knew she’d argue with him for eternity. He flew Brigid toward the island. “I’ll check on Carwyn, but he’s going to tell you the same thing I am. The vampires on that boat are pampered socialites who hunt humans because it makes them feel tough.”

“Yes, and those humans need to be saved.”

“Zasha isn’t pampered! You’re going to need our help.”

“We can do this.” Brigid squeezed his arm. “I’m not bein’ proud, Benjamin. Fire against fire. Let me and Tenzin work.”

He dropped her off on the shore of the island near the jut of land where Tenzin had spotted the old Russian-style house. “I’ll get Carwyn and come back.”

“Ben!”

He flew away before she could argue with him.

Ben had no illusions about the vampires of theNautilus,and neither did Katya’s people. He had every reason to think Jennie and her crew could handle them and no reason at all to underestimate Zasha Sokholov.

He’d help Carwyn on theNautilus. Then both of them would be back.

Tenzin spottedBrigid walking through the forest and chirped a high, trilling note that caught the fire vampire’s attention. She looked up toward the birdcall and saw Tenzin in the trees.

Brigid nodded and walked toward Tenzin, weaving through the needle-strewn forest.

Ferns brushed along Brigid’s legs as she walked, and her footsteps sounded like a crashing animal to Tenzin’s keen ears.

The house was sitting on a hill, built of rough-hewn cedar timbers and perched to look over the water. A sheer rock wall rose behind it, and a wooden deck ran along the second story. Narrow, wood-shuttered windows were cut into the face of the house, and a steep-pitched roof was clear of snow, but moss grew on the wooden shingles.

The moment Tenzin saw it, she knew it was Zasha’s refuge. The house was a mirror image of the one in Siberia where Zasha and her mate had been sheltered so many years before, even down the faint stench of decaying bodies that drifted in the air. That same stench should be enough to cover their approach.

Tenzin had finally found the fire vampire’s home.

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