Page 18 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Tatyana

S he was sitting at a bar in Kutaisi and the music was pounding around her. It hurt her ears, but it was the best way to mask the sounds of the video game she was playing since she couldn’t wear headphones.

—I have a plan.

The left side of her screen was exploding as her character was devoured by aliens yet again. Other players in the game were shouting insults, but Tatyana ignored them. She was focused on her conversation with Grimace.

Who was still shooting at the aliens even as they messaged each other.

—whats the plan?

—I have a place I can hide, but I might not have internet there

—blasphemy pidge

—I know the plan won’t work unless I can put something together

—what do you need?

— hardware

Excited emojis filled the screen.

—yesssss tell me mor e

Sibella had explained a little bit of what she might expect by hiding in the kamvasa, and since secrecy was key, all electronic devices were confiscated. Apparently the Poshani would give you a mobile phone or tablet to call the outside world every now and then, but that wasn’t enough for Tatyana.

She needed to be able to check on her mother. She needed to be able to check her investments and trade the cryptocurrency where she’d hidden some of her fortune.

—I need a computer that doesn’t look like a computer. But it has to be insulated. RFID blocked. All that.

Tatyana had created her own shortcuts for using human computers. Gloves helped and so did plastic, but this was another level of construction.

Tatyana’s character erupted back into life like a tiny digital vampire, and she started fighting her way through what looked like a South American jungle populated by tentacled aliens as she continued to chat with Grimace.

— who are we hiding from? Grimace asked. —civilian or professional?

Maybe she was making assumptions, but Tatyana was guessing that the Poshani vampire clan didn’t have the kind of cybersecurity professionals that Grimace was used to working with.

—civilian. smart, but civilian.

—easy-peasy, pidge, timeline?

—two weeks.

—now you’re trying to kill me.

—if you hide it in a well-constructed suitcase, that will probably be enough

Her character took the first blow from a hairy tentacle.

She locked her eyes on the left screen and aimed a futuristic rail gun at the head of an enemy alien as she saw Grimace filling up the right side of the screen with furious typing. When the alien was finally dead, she turned back to see what he’d typed.

—i have an idea. thank you for an amusing project. i wont need my friend to do this, but i will need a delivery location. the finished product will probably take about a week since i can do it myself.

—perfect. Use this address for delivery— she typed in the address of a hotel in Kutaisi where Samson knew the owner —message me when you ship it.

—done.

—thank you and you know you’ll get paid.

—ur adorable, pidge. one of these days…

—one of these days what?

She smiled at his words. Grimace was always threatening her about meeting in person, but she had a feeling that he’d be an old man before they ever met.

Tatyana, of course, would still be young.

Unlike her character, who had once again been killed by an alien. This time dual tentacles ripped her head off from two directions, spraying blood everywhere before her character crumpled to the ground.

—ur so bad at this game

—thx I know. Can we just play cat café next week?

—lol no

“You’re leaving me again.” He brushed a piece of her hair away from her face. “Come back.”

“You can’t keep showing up in my dreams without my permission.” Her words tried to push him away, but she clung to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, heating her body against the burning pillar of his muscular frame.

He was like a fireplace, warming her skin in the cold chamber in the mountains.

She let her fingers take liberties in the dream, running her hands along the ridges of muscle at the small of his back.

His skin was smooth, the fine hair that should have softened his skin burned away by the fire that ran through his veins.

She leaned into the rough texture of his beard on her neck.

His soft lips brushed against her skin when he spoke. “Stay with me.”

“Why did you look for me?” Cold tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Tatyana felt cold. All the time, she felt cold. “Why do you make me remember missing you?”

“Because you’re mine.”

It sounded so simple in her dreams, and she knew she was dreaming. He was too gentle. Too comforting.

Dream Oleg was the lover she craved, his gentle strength wrapping around her like a heavy blanket. When she was in her dreams, he drove the cold away.

“Closer.”

Her skin was bare and pressed to his. His arms encircled her. His hands soothed her skin, stroking up and down her back, his fingers dancing over the rise of her hips and teasing the delicate skin of her inner thigh.

Delicious desire danced in her blood, and when he lifted her leg, spread her thighs, and slid into her body, she let out a soft sigh.

Yes.

This was what she needed. He filled her, and his steady, thrusting hips drove the cold from her body. Delicious pleasure started at her toes, filling her as he whispered unintelligible sweetness in her ear.

When the pleasure crested, she cried out, and he swallowed her sighs with his mouth. Their kiss went on and on and on until it was everything and all she felt was his body in hers, his blood in her mouth, his amnis twisting and melding with her own.

When Tatyana opened her eyes, the room around her was black and empty .

Cold tears lingered on her cheeks.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I’m not sure about anything.” She was meeting with Kato in the watery fortress on Arosh’s mountain where her mentor had hidden for centuries when his mind went blank.

The Kato she knew was not the powerful emperor of the ancient world because that immortal’s mind had been wiped and rewritten by a poison centuries before. Even with an antidote, it had taken years to recover a fraction of his memories.

“The Poshani can be trusted,” Kato said. “The human did not lie to you. But you’ll be cut off from the world for six months at least. Are you sure you want that?”

“That’s the best part.” Tatyana waded into the water, wearing a simple black bathing suit she’d found in the clothing supplies for the harem. “It will get me out of Arosh’s long and lustrous hair.”

Kato smiled. “He’s very proud of his hair, you know. It’s hard for fire vampires to keep their hair when they light themselves on fire so regularly.”

She smiled. “Barbarians.”

He winked at her. “The worst of them.”

Kato’s quarters contained a vast, Roman-style bath built with marble and gold. Warm, rose-scented steam suffused the air, and marble benches lined the walls. She could see Alexander lounging in one alcove, holding an open book and talking with someone she couldn’t see.

This was Kato’s domain, and Arosh didn’t trespass unless his old friend allowed it, which meant it was Tatyana’s favorite place on the mountain.

“Let’s practice a water thread first,” Kato said .

“It’s a useless party trick.” Tatyana wished they could practice manipulating water in the air or even pulling a wave, but though Kato had given her the basics of those elemental powers, he tended to focus on fine motor skills, not great shows of power.

“It’s good for control.” He snapped his fingers. “Draw a thread.”

“Fine.” She put her hands together under the water and focused her amnis as she drew one hand up, pulling the water between her fingertips and raising it until a thin, shining line of water quivered in the misty air.

“If you’re not sure about the Poshani, why don’t you stay here?” Kato watched her hold the thread of water between her palms. “Keep it stable.”

“You and I both know I need to leave, and six months of hiding gives me more time to plan.” She held the water thread steady between her hands, feeling the immaterial power of her amnis quivering like an excited puppy.

“Going from one hiding place to another is not a plan.”

“Maybe not, but right now it’s all I have unless I want to return to Oleg’s territory or live under Saba’s aegis in Alitea.”

“There’s the United States. Territories are not as old there, and I have connections I’m offering.”

“I don’t know anything about that world.” At least the Poshani existed in Eastern Europe. That felt slightly familiar.

“Your control gets better every night,” Kato murmured. “Very good. Hold it a little longer.”

She felt her mind ache from the strain of maintaining the delicate line of water between her hands.

“Hiding in the kamvasa gives me six months of safety. Who knows what will happen in six months? Maybe Oleg will decide to retire and I can go back to Sevastopol. Maybe the Poshani will love me so much they decide to adopt me.”

“Oh yes. Both of those things are very likely.”

“I can hope.”

“Your control is impressive,” Kato said. “Now don’t let it break, but release it into one palm. ”

Tatyana didn’t breathe as the shimmering line of water wavered and flowed, gathering like a silken thread in the center of her left palm.

She let out a breath when the small pool of water rested in her hand.

“Excellent.” Kato smiled. “Never forget, your power is absolutely average for a new vampire.”

“Please.” She poured the water out of her hand and into the warmed pool. “Stop your flattery or it will all go to my head.”

“Teaching such an average pupil is an enjoyable exercise for me.” Kato ignored her sarcasm. “Brute strength isn’t an option for you, so precision will be your best tactic. Control will be everything, and your power will grow from there.”

“I remember when I was still human.” Tatyana shook her head. “Zara seemed so powerful to me.”

“She was average,” Kato said. “Like you. But compared to humans, you are very powerful now.”