belt, flipped it around in his hand, and held it out to her, butt first. He shook it. "Here."
She reached out, hesitantly, and took it from him.
The grip was worn from use, the pan stained from powder and the barrel long-since lost its shine.
"Do you like the feel of that?" Tamas asked.
She nodded. It felt... right. Like something she'd always been meant to hold.
"Vlora," Tamas said, "The pistol is yours, my girl. You'll need it if you are going to be a powder mage."
For more in the Powder Mage universe:
Promise of Blood
The Powder Mage Trilogy
Orbit, April 2013
Sample
The Crimson Campaign
The Powder Mage Trilogy
Orbit, February 2014
Acknowledgements
Michele McClellan - editor
Sunny Morton - copy editor
Isaac Stewart - cover artist
Django Wexler - beta reader
Stephenie Sheung - beta reader
Chris Ruttencutter - beta reader
Mike A Wants - beta reader
John Gregory Wynn - beta reader
Andrew Ward - beta reader
Erica Lindquist, Aron Christensen