Page 54 of Tin God

Nearly as disturbed as you are.

“So Zasha wants to kill me but knows that they can’t do it directly,” Tenzin asked. “If they do?—”

“Then you can kill them and not break your vow.” Brigid caught on immediately. “So why draw me in?”

“They probably heard about you from Oleg or some of Oleg’s clan. There aren’t really that many fire vampires in our world. In my life, I would estimate there are only ever about a hundred active fire vampires at any given time.” Tenzin looked at Brigid. “You are one. Oleg is another. Giovanni. Two fire elders in Penglai.”

“And Zasha.”

“Yes. You’ve tripped along the edges of vampire life in Europe for a while now. You have friends in high places, and you know me. Zasha probably heard of you and was intrigued. And then…”

“Then?”

Tenzin raised her eyebrows. “You killed their child.”

“Ivan.”

Brigid and Carwyn had helped in the hunt for Zasha’s last progeny when the earth vampire was running hunts in Northern California.

“Yes. Ivan. I don’t know that Zasha has any parental instincts that we would recognize, but they did care for Ivan if for no other reason than as Zasha’s offspring, Ivan carried a hint of their mate’s blood. Temur’s blood.”

“Ivan was a horrible human being.”

“Do you think Zasha cares about that? He was their son. Technically their grandson, but I doubt Zasha made note of the difference. Ivan was theirs.”

Brigid looked as if her brain was about to break.

“Zasha’s sire did that, you know.” Tenzin looked at Brigid. “He ran hunts on humans for his own amusement.”

“Ivan would have made his great-grandsire proud.”

“Yes, Oleg and Zasha’s sire was awful. He raped and murdered all along the river systems in Europe, traveling by boat and raiding human towns. Then the old ones stepped in and told him to stop. I believe he was rather irritated at the time.”

“Why?”

“Because to him, humans were somewhat amusing food. He never believed they were equal to vampires, and he thought the natural order of the world was to have vampires lead it.”

“No, why did the ancients tell him to stop?”

“Oh.” Tenzin shrugged. “I think he was drawing too much attention. I wasn’t in Europe then. I was in Tibet, but I heard the stories later when I was traveling with Giovanni. It was around the same time that my sire retired to Penglai. The age of vampire conquest was over. The humans were becoming too many. Some had even stopped believing in the gods.” She smiled. “It was time for vampires to become a legend, not a reality.”

“So Zasha’s sire stopped.”

“In a manner of speaking, but he never stopped believing he had the right to treat humans as his food.”

“No matter what the ancients said?”

Tenzin sighed. “How much honesty do you really want, Brigid Connor?”

Brigid slid down to the floor and sat across from Tenzin. Her eyes were defiant. “Tell me.”

Maybe it would help her start thinking like a vampire, which would be good for Tenzin and for Carwyn too. The girl was far too idealistic.

Tenzin started. “Why do you judge me for killing Temur’s sons?”

“We’re being honest?”

Tenzin nodded.

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