Page 62 of Tin God

“If Katya’s people are answering phones tonight, they’re not answering calls from me.”

Brigid felt a prick of annoyance. “Have you tried calling Carwyn?”

“Yeah, he’s not answering me either.”

Fuck. He was really pissed off.

“Thanks, Lee. I’ll see you soon.”

“Hope so, Mini. Talk to you later.”

Tenzin was frowning at her. “Mini.”

“Short for Mini Firecracker,” Brigid said. “Lee said I should consider it my traditional name. I think he was joking, but honestly I’m not sure.”

“You do explode outward, so it’s not inaccurate.”

The corner of Brigid’s mouth turned up. “Do you have a traditional name?”

“Tenzin.”

Brigid nodded. Yeah, that fit.

“Patron goddess of the Sacred Mountain,” Tenzin continued. “Scourge of the Naiman Khanlig. Commander of the Altan Wind.”

“I get the idea.”

“Protector of Penglai Island. Protector and scribe of New Spain.” Tenzin narrowed her eyes. “There’re more, but I’m not remembering?—”

“No, really. I get the idea.”

“But Mini is nice,” Tenzin said. “Very affectionate.”

“He’s a good guy.” Brigid heard her phone buzzing on the table and glanced at the number, which she didn’t recognize, but that wasn’t unusual. Lee often routed calls through numbers she didn’t recognize. She picked it up. “Did you forget somethin’?”

“So many things.”

Brigid sucked in a breath. It wasn’t Lee. She pulled the phone away from her ear and touched the Speaker button, putting her finger to her lips when Tenzin frowned at her.

“Hello, Zasha.”

“Brigid Connor,”the vampire continued. “Are you following me?” Zasha’s voice was teasing. “I thought I was the one to follow you. Did you miss me?”

“I do miss you, Zasha. Tell me where you are right now and I’ll visit.” Brigid bit the edge of her lip. Would the vampire be just maniacal enough to do it? “You and me, Zasha. We can go look at the northern lights. I hear they’re a sight.”

“They’re beautiful. Is Tenzin with you?”

Damn it, how did they know?

“I’m here.” Tenzin kept her voice quiet. “Did you want to speak to Brigid alone? I can leave.”

“You can lie.”

“I can, but I also keep my promises.”

Zasha was quiet for a few moments, and Brigid wondered if they’d lost them.

The vampire on the other end of the call came back. “Do you remember me now?”