Sorceress at War (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 4)

by Lisa Blackwood

  Gran said the glow was a result of the ward-spell interacting with the base metals of the weapon. Over time, likely three or four days, the spell would be drained of power. Once that happened, the gun would be rendered vulnerable to magical attacks again. But as long as the spell was active, the rifle and wielder would be protected from magic induced misfires.

  Or at least that was the plan.

  “They are not very subtle,” Lillian said with an arched brow directed at Gran.

  “They’re sniper rifles. It’s not like they were very subtle to begin with. Besides, the strength of the glow will let the humans know how much longer their weapons will be useful to them.” Gran nodded to the ammo cartridges. “Same with those.”

  “These will take a lot of maintenance.” Lillian shuddered at the thought of doing hundreds of these spells each day.

  “We can do huge batches and store them away from any metal and then bring them out as needed. Even the weakest of the Fae could trigger the spell once it’s placed on the weapon.”

  Lillian gave the table a skeptical once over. But now that they’d figured out the spell and how to attach it to a weapon, the process was likely to go faster from now on.

  Gran left unsaid that this way there would always be a Fae directly involved with the work. And if for some reason these weapons fell into enemy hands or the new allies went south, these guns would only be viable for a limited time.

  The humans were likely to be annoyed by the news, but it was the truth.

  “These will still have to be tested in the field,” Gran was saying, “but this is a start.”

  Lillian nodded agreement. “Good. I’m going to see if Gregory and Daryna are finished for the day and then grab some food.”

  She left unsaid that it was well past time for her to reclaim her mate’s attention.

  Chapter Ten

  As fate would have it, Lillian didn’t escape until after Resnick and his henchmen had had all their questions about the new ward-spelled weapons answered to their full satisfaction. Now she waited at the main gate for the soldiers to wave her through so she could go home at last. She refrained from growling at them even though she really wanted to snarl at something.

  She was so hungry she could have eaten the pooka.

  Finally, the gate slid open and the guards waved her through. While she trudged past them, she cursed herself for walking this morning instead of driving. But in her defense, it wasn’t like she could get either Gregory or Daryna into a car to save her life.

  Next time she was driving. The Avatars could run along behind.

  Now all she wanted was a quiet dinner. With Gregory, if she could separate him from Daryna for a few hours. If her mate wasn’t at the house, she’d just park herself in front of the fridge and start eating.

  Her stomach rumbled louder at the thought of food. Lillian supposed an increased appetite shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Given the opportunity, she knew gargoyles could pack away three times what a human ate in a day. A pregnant female gargoyle might just be able to surpass their male counterparts in that regard.

  She crossed the road to walk on the tree-shaded side; the forest’s welcoming presence always replenished her reserves. Some of the fatigue was just falling away when movement between the tree trunks drew her eye.

  At first, she thought she’d picked up another military babysitter. Then her senses honed in on the other person. Ah. Not military. This person possessed magic.

  A moment later the banshee ghosted between the trees, allowing the fading light to catch on the silver comb that held her wealth of hair pinned to the back of her head. She made eye contact with Lillian and then vanished back deeper into the forest. Her soft footfalls continued to rustle the leaf litter. She hadn’t gone far, then.

  If that was the case, it most likely meant she wanted to be seen by Lillian but didn’t want others to know.

  Now what?

  Then Lillian remembered the banshee had been assigned to work with Gregory and Daryna. With difficulty, Lillian maintained her direction and pace, not wanting to give away the banshee’s location in case she was being watched. It was hard, though. Lillian’s every instinct was urging her to storm into the woods and find out what concern had convinced the banshee to seek her out in secret.

  When the first side road presented itself, Lillian took it. Unhurriedly she walked to the next patch of deepening shadow along the tree line. Once she was in the deepest part, she called her shadow magic and faded from any mortal eyes that might be watching.

  She didn’t trust her own skills completely, so darted into the forest as quickly as possible. Then she followed where her gargoyle senses led. She found the banshee standing under an oak tree.

  After scanning the area to be certain they were alone, Lillian dropped her shadow magic and approached the banshee.

  “What has happened? Is Gregory okay?”

  “Your avatar mate was well when last I saw him a mere hour ago.”

  Lillian raised an eyebrow. “Daryna then?”

  “She was well,” the banshee said, but a thread of fear now entered her voice.

  “Go on. We’re alone here.”

  The banshee paced between two trees, too agitated to stay in one place.

  That can’t be a good sign, Lillian decided.

  “Are you aware that a banshee can sense deception?”

  Lillian hadn’t really thought of it like that, but Gregory had said banshees could sense a truth from a lie. “Yes. Gregory shared that bit of knowledge with me.”

  “Sometimes our gift is so strong as to be able to read thoughts. Although that is not always the case. Certainly not if the one we are trying to read is a powerful worker of magic. But even so, my kind know when we are being told a lie.” The banshee made a frustrated sound. “I wish I had more to tell you, some definitive proof. But I don’t. The Sorceress is too strong for me to read her thoughts, but my nature detects something off—a deception when I am near her. It is subtle.”

  Again the banshee betrayed her unease by rubbing a hand against her thigh. “Perhaps deception is too strong a word. But there is an avoidance in Daryna. Or there’s something she does not want others to know yet. Or…it could simply be her ancient nature. She has lifetimes of knowledge she’s been tasked with guarding. Gregory sometimes has that sense about him as well.”

  “When did you first notice this?”

  “From the moment I laid eyes on the Sorceress after she emerged from the hamadryad.” The banshee frowned, worry lines marring her smooth, ageless features. “But the feeling was stronger this afternoon when I worked with her and Gregory. What I sense from her is not evil…just a wrongness.”

  “Thank you for sharing your worries with me.” Lillian braced a shoulder against a tree and sighed deeply. It was both a worry and a relief to have another give voice to her fears. She debated what to confide in the other Fae, and then settled on everything. “I suspected my hamadryad of interference even before she cloned me and created this new sorceress.”

  “What made you suspect?”

  “I had Commander Gryton under my sword’s point when my hamadryad spirited him off somewhere before I could end him. When Daryna arrived, I asked her about it, but she said if I’d killed Gryton it might have triggered a fiery apocalypse, but she also said that Gryton was needed, or useful, or some other line of crap I didn’t honestly believe. My doubts were further compounded when Daryna said Gryton had escaped.”

  Lillian glanced down at her fingers. Her gargoyle talons had flexed longer, her body responding to the worry in her mind. She didn’t want to say the rest as if uttering the words would make them real, and she very much didn’t want it to be true.

  “Go on,” the banshee urged. “Lies and evasions only weaken our core strength.”

  “The hamadryad whispered that Gryton was needed, but the more I examine those memories, the greater my unease grows. I don’t think the hamadryad was just protecting Commander Gryton. I believe she w
as protective of him.”

  The banshee looked about as unhappy as Lillian felt.

  “Do you think something of the demon seed survived?” Even as Lillian asked it, she didn’t believe it. This — whatever this was — felt different than the demon seed.

  The banshee shook her head. “I would have detected evil.”

  “We need some kind of proof. If I go to Gregory with this now, I’m going to seem like the jealous lover. Not to mention it will tip off Daryna if I say anything to Gregory. We need proof, and then we need a swift plan of action. But even then, we’ll need Gregory’s cooperation.”

  Lillian very much wanted her suspicions to be wrong, but the banshee sensed something was off. That made two of them. And she wasn’t a believer in coincidence.

  But, by the Divine Ones, what could they do against the Mother’s Sorceress? Only Gregory was her match. In theory. But would he go against her even if there was proof of her duplicity?

  Hell, Earth probably wouldn’t survive a war between the Avatars.

  “I desperately hope we’re both wrong. But we need to watch Daryna while not giving away that we suspect her. If we find something, we’ll take it to Gregory. If he can’t or won’t act, there is one other who might be able to stop Daryna.”

  The banshee raised a brow in question. “No Fae or mortal has any hope of defeating the Sorceress in a fight.”

  “No. But a demigod just might. If we find some proof of wrongdoing, I’ll find a way to take what I’ve learned to the Lord of the Underworld.”

  “You would destroy yourself?” The banshee was surprised.

  “No. But I would destroy a flawed copy to protect everything I love in this world.” Lillian rested her hand on her belly.

  Although without the power of the Mother’s Sorceress, Lillian didn’t know if it was possible to win a war against the Battle Goddess.

  Earth might lose regardless of what path they chose.

  Lillian closed her eyes and prayed she was wrong.

  Chapter Eleven

  Not long after Lillian and the banshee parted company, Gregory came bounding through the forest and nearly knocked her off her feet with an exuberant greeting. At first, Lillian was afraid Gregory had caught the underlying worry or the direction her recent thoughts had taken, and he’d come to unearth the reason for her distress.

  But after his greeting, he showed no signs of suspicion.

  “I missed you. When I finished the spell work with Daryna and return to the house, you weren’t back yet.” Gregory looked equal parts upset and sheepish. “I should have stayed in contact with you throughout the day.”

  “It’s all right. You’ve had your plate full these last few days.”

  “I’m never too busy to spend time with my mate.” Gregory nuzzled her and inched closer.

  When he reared up and took her in his arms, it wasn’t really a surprise. Lillian’s worries fell away for a short time while she returned his embrace.

  “What great weaving of magic did you and Daryna create today?” Lillian asked, hoping her question diverted him from picking up her earlier concerns.

  “We built two traps. Anyone from the Magic Realm using the hamadryad to travel here will find themselves captured and transported to another holding spell well away from any populated areas. The prison dome now has Fae and military guards watching it.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “And your day?” He asked in a rumbling tone.

  “Long,” Lillian said with a laugh. “Long and tedious. We’ve been working on rendering the military’s weapons less vulnerable to magical attack. Several of the prototype guns are ready for testing. They’d like to try to shoot us with them tomorrow, I believe.”

  Gregory laughed. “A new hunting game? And do we get to hunt them in turn?”

  Only a gargoyle would think getting shot at was fun. “You’ll have to talk to Anna and Major Resnick about that.”

  Gregory tucked her against his side and curled a wing around her as he called on shadow magic to hide them. Lillian sighed happily. Without Daryna underfoot, it was like old times again. If she wasn’t in danger of passing out with hunger, she might have suggested a long walk in the woods.

  But…priorities.

  “I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat,” Lillian said as she urged Gregory in the direction of home.

  ****

  Gregory wasn’t fooled by Lillian’s outward calm. He’d felt her soul deep pain enough in the last twenty-four hours to know of her unhappiness. They were one being, after all. And it didn’t matter if she wasn’t presently the Sorceress.

  She was his mate. They were one in all ways that mattered.

  Besides, her scent would have been enough to signal her emotional distress. If he could have changed events and certain outcomes for her, he would have.

  What the hamadryad had done by cloning Lillian was beyond his range of experience. And that experience went back to the beginning of time, so surprising him was difficult under normal circumstances.

  Humph. Not that much about this life was normal. The most ancient part of his essence and soul whispered that there was a wrongness that needed to be corrected.

  Gregory’s mind shied away from that disturbing thought as his tail began flicking with newfound unease. He wanted to think he was just feeding upon Lillian’s tension but one thing his long existence had taught him was to trust his feelings and investigate the source of unease.

  They reached the large stone cottage Lillian called home and entered through the back door, into the kitchen.

  Inside they found two bowls of steaming stew with their names upon them. Literally. There was a folded paper propped against the large bowls that read ‘eat these’ signed with a J.

  Lillian laughed. “Jason made the stew. It’s his specialty.”

  She scooped up utensils, a still warm roll from a covered basket, her bowl of stew, and then started for the table. Gregory stopped her with a tap on the shoulder.

  Glancing at him, she arched an eyebrow in question.

  “I have spent enough time in the company of others. I would prefer to dine in our rooms,” he said with a sheepish shrug.

  It was true. He was also hoping to mend the growing divide between them as well as spend some time getting to know their unborn child. Lillian’s scent was already changing to carry the hint of their baby.

  It was a marvel he wanted to take time and enjoy. Never had he dreamed this moment would be real.

  He dragged in another deep breath and huffed it out a moment later. Something had changed. Lillian’s scent no longer was as sweet. There was now an underlying hint of distress.

  Small frown lines had appeared between her brows and at the corners of her mouth.

  “I would like to dine with you, too,” Lillian said and then tried to seem uninterested in the answer to her next question. “Where is Daryna? I haven’t seen her yet this evening?”

  Ah, so that was what bothered her.

  “She said she would meet with Gran and the Fae council. She’ll help to round up volunteers to work with the humans,” Gregory said as he urged Lillian out of the kitchen and on up the stairs before anyone else had a chance to waylay them.

  “Shouldn’t we help?” Lillian asked, sounding even less enthusiastic than he felt at the prospect of joining in another meeting.

  “No.”

  Once within the sanctuary of their rooms, Gregory stomped over to the closet and pulled out three large blankets. Lillian watched perplexed as he spread two of them in front of the fireplace and set the other aside while he grabbed a few pieces of wood from the rack to build a fire.

  In a short amount of time, he had a fire going, the blankets arranged into a comfortable bed, and the food laying out near at hand. With only a slight hesitation, Lillian joined him.

  “What is it with you and fire?”

  It was still summer, but the night was already promising to be cold and rainy.

  “I like its smoky scent
and warmth. It reminds me of home. Fire is the one primary element the never fails to comfort me.”

  Lillian smiled at him. “I like the sound of water, myself.”

  “I’m fond of water, too. But fire is my favorite element. It might have something to do with that massage you gave last time we reclined by this same fireplace.” He grinned, flashing white curving fangs. “I’d be open to a repeat of last time.”

  Lillian chuckled. “I thought it might be something like that.”

  He could scent when her earlier reserve melted away to be replaced by a warm, welcoming scent.

  When she knelt down next to him and ran her hands over his chest, Gregory shuddered and decided dinner could wait until later.

  Much later.

  Chapter Twelve

  Daryna slipped away into the forest a few minutes after the meeting with Gran and the other council members adjourned for the night. They promised to meet the next night again to discuss how the day’s events had progressed.

  The purpose of the meeting actually held little interest for her. Although it did present an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. She needed some innocuous ways to escape the watchful eye of her gargoyle protector for short times to meet with her son.

  Once she was deep enough into the forest, she called her magic and created a portal to carry her to where Gryton waited.

  Moments later she emerged onto the stony, needle covered ground with its pungent evergreen odor. Last year’s needles crunched softly under her feet as she made her way over to the cave entrance.

  Before she’d made it three steps, Gryton emerged from behind a clump of trees growing to the left of the cave’s dark maw. “You were able to escape your other half I see.”

  “He’s distracted for a bit. But I don’t dare stay away too long.”

  Gryton nodded his head and gestured for her to go into the cave.

  “Have you been practicing what I taught you?”

  “Yes, and I’ve mulled over more of your plan.” He followed close behind as they entered the cavern.