Page 49 of Tin God

Brigid knew she probably wasn’t.

She didn’t like any of it. She didn’t trust Tenzin’s opinion of human doctors since she thought all of them were frauds, but since Brigid couldn’t oversee this human’s healing herself and she had no way to transport him, there was nothing she could do. She didn’t even know if healing was an option.

“The only survivor,” Brigid muttered. “How did he manage?”

“Apparently they thought he was too far gone, so they flew him out over the water to dump his body and he survived the fall, then swam to shore.”

Brigid’s eyes went wide. “In this water?”

Tenzin nodded, clearly impressed.

Lev shrugged. “I told you. Sheer spite and a lot of vodka.”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, that was either severe spite or miraculous vodka.

“Ya know Katya didn’t do this, right?” Brigid looked at Lev. “Katya would consider these people hers.”

“Maybe she didn’t mean to, but maybe if she works with Zasha she has to give them something?”

Lev was determined, Brigid had to give him that.

The boat slowed, and Tenzin and Brigid walked out on the deck. Brigid stared at the low black rise of land in the distance, which grew slowly as they approached.

“What is this place?”

“An island.” Lev followed them. “No one comes here.”

“And the town?”

He shook his head. “No town. One vampire, her human, and the human’s family. At most there were ten people.”

“So why bother?” Brigid tried to think like Zasha. “Were they wealthy?”

“Not according to Walter.” He looked down at Brigid. “That’s the old man. The grandfather of the human mate.”

Alaska was definitely living up its reputation of a place that humans and vampires could go to be left alone save for the current crisis. The other two raids had also been on vampire and human clans in isolated locations.

“They’re using that to their advantage,” Brigid muttered.

Lev frowned. “What?”

“Zasha is using the isolation to their advantage,” Tenzin answered for Brigid. “This attack happened weeks ago. If there hadn’t been a scheduled delivery of goods from Seward, it would likely have been months before they were found. And at that point, we would have no idea what had happened. If they want to stay under the radar and still have their fun, they’re attacking at the right time.”

“We wouldn’t have any details now except for Walter,” Brigid said. “And clearly they didn’t plan for Walter to survive.”

“What is the purpose of this?” Lev looked confused. “I understand raiding for resources. I understand raiding to eliminate an enemy. But these people had nothing valuable. They were fishermen and hunters.”

“They were human prey,” Brigid said. “With one vampire to keep things interestin’.”

“Poor Rachel,” Lev whispered. “She was happy with her husband.”

Brigid blinked. It was the first time anyone had mentioned the name of the vampire who had been at the center of this small homestead, and hearing her name made the loss all the more real.

“There.” Lev pointed. “I can see it now. You?”

The house was almost hidden by the trees, but Brigid could make out the grey stone and dark wood beams that leaned to the side as if they had been knocked off-balance by a tidal wave.

“It’s the same as the others,” she said. “We’ll find damage from all the elements.”