Page 38 of Tin God

“Do you think your giant earth vampire won’t find you?” Tenzin smiled a little. “You are young. And you underestimate him.”

“He was the legend and savior of my life,” Brigid said. “I never underestimate him.” Her voice grew rough. “He will shift mountains to find me.”

Tenzin’s eyes flashed. “So why?”

“Because I need time to find Zasha first.”

“No.”

“No?”

Tenzin crossed her legs under her body and focused on the crane. “No, that’s not why you left him.”

“Ya think so, really?” This should be good. “So tell me, wise sage of Penglai, why did I leave the love of my eternal life?”

“Because you think that you’re not good enough. That you’re not strong enough. You think you’re going to die.” Tenzin looked up. “And if Zasha is going to kill you, you don’t want Carwyn to see it.”

The lump in Brigid’s throat kept her silent.

“You might be right.” Tenzin set down a third crane. “You might not be good enough, but you could be.”

“Because you’re going to help me?”

“No.” She cocked her head. “Yes. But not the way you think.”

She watchedfrom a distance as Tenzin faced off against the giant fire vampire under a snowy cedar tree.

“You’re going to do it.”

“Why?”

Standing in the pure white snow, framed by dark cedars, Brigid was reminded again of how utterly attractive Oleg was on a purely aesthetic level. His hair was a rich russet brown, his eyes were storm grey, and his beard with thick and luxurious. His amnis was old and there was something utterly wild about his energy, more like a fierce bird of prey than a dangerous fire vampire.

Brigid could clearly see why Oleg was rumored to have a stable of human mistresses.

“You’re going to help her because she’s cleaning up your mess,” Tenzin said. “She’s young and she has good control, but she’s not a warrior.”

Brigid cleared her throat. “Pardon me?—”

“No.” Tenzin turned and raised a finger. “This is not a debate. You are a fighter, but only in the human sense. This one” —she pointed at Oleg— “has razed villages. This one had scars that took centuries to heal.” She looked at Oleg. “You think I wouldn’t remember? I do. I choose to forget a lot, but not everything.”

Oleg crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing.

“He’s silent because he knows I’m right.” Tenzin walked over to Brigid. “You fight with guns and daggers, but anytime I’ve heard of you using your fire, it’s to explode and cause a distraction of some kind. You need to use your fire like I use a blade.”

Brigid glanced at Oleg, keeping her voice low. “That’s not how fire works, Tenzin.”

“It can.” Oleg’s voice sounded like a low rumble of thunder on the other side of a mountain. “It can be like a blade.” He walked toward her slowly. “Who trained you first?”

“Katherine Mackenzie.”

Oleg curled his lip. “American. No wonder you explode so much.”

“Hey, I very rarely?—”

“Eh…” Oleg waved a hand. “Brute force is not a horrible thing. Sometimes it is necessary.” He stepped closer. “But have you ever seen the slow suck of air when a fire is licking along a seam? Have you seen how it can flow like water?”

The scent of burnt cedar tickled her nose. Brigid looked up and saw a thin layer of fire coating the cedar branch over Oleg’s head.

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