Page 3 of Tin God

The hunter did not care to know their names, and the moment she left, she would do her best to forget them. After all, memory was a kind of life, and she wanted all of them dead.

To her, all of Temur’s blood were Sida. She felt the heat building on the vampire’s skin and knew that with a fire element so young, control was tenuous.

Her blood was different, bearing the scent of both male and female. Curious.

But the new vampire’s blood was interesting, not important.

Her fire, on the other hand…

“Her name is Zasha.” Her quarry spoke, looking into her eyes. “She has nothing to do with us.”

The hunter stared back. “You know why I am here.”

“I am not my sire,” the wind vampire said. “I live peacefully. I don’t hurt anyone.”

“I smell the bodies outside. Blood does not lie.”

The man gestured at his woman. “I… I have to feed her. She’s new, and she needs blood.”

“And I needyourblood. Temur’s Blood.”

The fire vampire was motionless but getting hotter under her hands.

“She will lose control unless you let her go.” The wind vampire held out his hands. “Please let her?—”

“Fine.” The hunter gripped the head of the new vampire and snapped her neck to the side. “Now she won’t burn.”

The fire vampire fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

“No!” His mouth dropped open. “Zasha?”

“She will be fine.” The hunter floated to the ground and stepped over the fire vampire’s body as she walked toward Temur’s Blood with her blade held out.

“Purev?” The voice was weak, and sobs caught in the young one’s throat. “Purev?”

“See?” She kept her eyes on her quarry. “She’s not dead.”

Temur’s Blood glanced at his lover, then back to the hunter. “My love, be calm. She will not hurt you.” He whispered in a language long dead, “She only wants me.”

“Don’t you remember? This was how the Sida controlled me. You snapped my neck every night when I woke, leaving me defenseless.” She stepped closer. “Then you did whatever you wanted to my body and buried me in the ground like an animal storing a carcass. That’s all I was to you, remember? Another carcass to feed on.”

He shook his head. “But I didn’t do those things. I wasn’t even born when those things?—”

“You bear his blood.”

“I bear the same blood as you!”

“Please.” A tortured sob from the vampire on the floor. “Just leave us alone.”

“Be quiet or I will kill you too,” the hunter said. “Do you know how I found you, Temur’s Blood?”

He shook his head. “I have lived my life knowing that you would kill me the moment you found me. My sire?—”

“Your sire should have never passed this wretched blood to anyone else,” she said quietly. “Iamsorry for that. It is not your fault, but the blood is true, is it not? I found you because there were rumors of an Eastern wind vampire who was stealing children from the trade routes.”

“Orphans,” he said. “Beggars. Children who had already been thrown away. No one would miss them.”

“Imiss them.” The hunter blinked. “My children were orphans after I was killed. And I missed them. Did you know that?”

---