The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9)

by Lisa Blackwood

  Anna glanced up and down the alley and then out into the rustic cobblestone yard beyond. The stable was just a short sprint across that open area.

  “The yard is too damned open, but the stable is the best place to hide. If we stay here, guards will find us.”

  “Then we must go,” Shadowlight said.

  They darted out of the alley but only made it halfway across the yard before a thread of warning and instinct raised the hair at the back of her neck. A foreign power crackled along her senses and rushed around them like an unnatural breeze.

  “Shadowlight! Look out! It’s a trap.” She shoved him toward another alley leading away from the cobbled yard, but it was too late.

  Guards poured out of the mouth of the alley, blocking any escape that way. But it wasn’t the guards that made her blood run cold; it was the tall, armored form that exited the stables with his arms folded as he took in the scene.

  She’d recognize that armor anywhere.

  Fuck it all to hell. Tin Man was here.

  Last she’d seen him, he’d been back on Earth.

  “Corporal Anna Mackenzie, surrender before you get the youngling killed.”

  “No!” Shadowlight snarled as he sidestepped Anna and charged Commander Gryton.

  “Shadowlight stop!” But he didn’t heed her words and kept on going.

  The power crackling along Anna’s senses shifted, chasing the kid. When it caught him, it transformed into a raging wall of flames between Shadowlight and his target. Tin Man wasn’t done yet, though, and the fire swiftly spread until it encircled the human-form gargoyle, trapping him inside.

  “Shadowlight!”

  Anna could only watch in rising horror as the fiery walls began to contract, the circle shrinking slowly inward.

  Chapter 5

  GRYTON SMILED AT THE human-gargoyle half-breed while he maintained careful control of the fire ring surrounding Shadowlight. He’d been secretly watching the human as she’d hidden practically in his soldiers’ shadows. Not once had they suspected an invader was within the fortress, one who had managed to infiltrate all the way into the dungeons. If nothing else, Corporal Anna Mackenzie had shown him weaknesses within the Battle Goddess’s kingdom.

  Though, not many souls would be foolish enough to attempt to exploit those weaknesses. More interesting was how close they had come to success. The only reason they hadn’t escaped the fortress was because Anna didn’t yet possess the ability to shapeshift into gargoyle form and Shadowlight didn’t presently have the strength to shift back into his true form. Had luck been with them, Gryton was confident they would have escaped the fortress.

  Well, had he not already been tracking the human female since early this morning, that is.

  “You won’t kill him,” Anna challenged him, still not ready to admit defeat, he saw. “Not after you went to such trouble to capture him. You need him alive.”

  Well, that was true, Gryton admitted. Grinning, he clarified, “You are correct. I won’t kill the child, but he’ll have some nasty burns. The kind that would kill a human, but gargoyles possess a powerful gift for self-healing. He’ll recover, eventually.”

  “Tin Man, if you hurt him, I swear I’ll see you dead.”

  Gryton’s grin grew broader at her use of a nickname. None ever intentionally annoyed him, at least not twice, but this human had no fear. She just stood her ground and cast insults at him.

  In small doses, he imagined it would be rather refreshing to have a subordinate possess enough backbone to challenge him. Perhaps he would mentor Anna himself.

  “It’s up to you.” He shrugged. “Surrender to me willingly and no harm will come to Shadowlight.”

  Anna’s rifle remained pointed at his chest. He sighed. “Your weapons can do me harm, as you know, but they cannot kill me. I’m more powerful than that. But any attack you instigate will distract me. What do you think will happen to the youngling then?”

  She swore, her eyes shifting to look at the ring of fire circling Shadowlight. Swearing a second time, she took her finger off the weapon’s firing mechanism and balanced the gun on her palms to show she wouldn’t attack. Bending, she placed it on the ground and then after a moment, kicked it away from her. She reached for another weapon and did the same, spending the next few minutes divesting herself of all her armaments.

  When she was at last unarmed, he glanced down at the surprisingly large pile and arched an eyebrow.

  “Good, now come here,” Gryton instructed.

  When she was close enough, he grabbed her by the throat and dragged her against his chest. Spinning her around, he locked an arm around her neck and forced her head back to expose her throat. With his other hand, he held a knife to where her pulse pounded rapidly.

  She was tense but didn’t fight him. Good. He called back his magic, and the ring of fire surrounding Shadowlight blinked out of existence. The boy snarled like he would if he was still in gargoyle form, but he didn’t otherwise threaten Gryton.

  “Good boy.”

  “He’s not a dog you mother fucker.”

  Gryton arched a brow. The female had a fouler mouth than some of his men. He pulled her back tightly against him just to see if she’d loose another string of swearing. She did. His grin grew broader still. If nothing else, training this one would be fun.

  Captain Vaspara came running down the path with several guards in tow. “Commander Gryton, I wasn’t aware you had returned from your stay in the Mortal Realm. I would have come at once, had I known you were back.”

  He snorted. “Come at once with the unfortunate news of the gargoyle’s escape, you mean?”

  Vaspara was too professional to waste his time attempting to weasel her way out of a disaster that had happened on her watch.

  “My apologies Commander, we weren’t yet aware that one of his allies had come seeking to rescue him.” Vaspara’s eyes narrowed as she took in Corporal Mackenzie. “But this human possesses skills beyond what is normal for one of her kind.”

  While Vaspara spoke, he signaled the guards to capture the young gargoyle. Shadowlight didn’t fight, surrendering his sword without taking his eyes off Gryton’s dagger where it was pressed to Anna’s throat.

  “We will need to collar the gargoyle as soon as he shifts back to his true form. We can’t have another of his escape attempts.” He glanced down at the human trapped in his arms and gave her another squeeze. “Now can we, Anna? The cub might get seriously hurt next time.”

  Another stream of colorful swearing burned his ears, but she didn’t struggle.

  “We should begin the search for others of her kind,” Captain Vaspara said and then glowered at the human.

  “No need. There are no others of her kind. She is unique, but I know what you mean. I’ve been following her since shortly after her arrival. She is alone. I believe she actually went against the wishes of her superiors and the Avatars by coming here.” Gryton turned and began to walk over to where Vaspara stood.

  “She killed twenty-three of our men.” Vaspara’s lips compressed into a thin line.

  He dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. “She was doing you a favor. The weak must be culled to strengthen the rest of the herd. Besides, your pride should be soothed knowing she isn’t really a human. She’s Shadowlight’s Kyrsu and will one day be his Second when he leads the Battle Goddess’s army.

  Vaspara’s eyes widened, showing a rare bit of surprise.

  “Yes,” Gryton said, guessing her thoughts. “The boy has already been busy.”

  “But he is still years away from being mature. He shouldn’t even possess the ability or the drive yet.” Vaspara was now studying the kid with calculation in her eyes.

  Anna tensed up and Gryton applied more pressure to the knife at her throat.

  “I know the youngling doesn’t look like much.” He looked Shadowlight up and down. “Especially now as a human boy, but he is strong in magic and quite fierce.”

  “As we discovered,” Vaspara said waril
y before turning back to study Anna in more detail. “This one will be Shadowlight’s second in command?”

  “Yes,” Gryton tapped the flat of the blade against the smooth skin of Anna’s throat. “She’s already completely loyal to him. And he to her. We can use that to our advantage during their training.”

  Vaspara looked doubtful but held her silence.

  “I need to report what I’ve learned in the Mortal Realm. Take these two and make sure they don’t escape. I don’t have to tell you how displeased the Battle Goddess will be should her project get delayed again.”

  Captain Vaspara snapped to attention. “Be assured I will not be caught unaware again.”

  “Good,” Gryton removed the dagger from Anna’s throat. “Take them back to his cell. Keep them together for now. He’ll draw strength from her and be able to shift back to his true form sooner. Send a runner to notify me when that happens.”

  Vaspara took hold of the human. “As you command.”

  With that, Gryton turned and started toward the temple in the center of the fortress city. Unfortunately, reporting to the Battle Goddess would be far less enjoyable than hunting and tracking Shadowlight’s pet human had been.

  Chapter 6

  LESS THAN A HALF-HOUR later, Anna found herself installed in her new cell. They tossed Shadowlight in with her a moment later and then slammed the door closed again. The room was dimly lit and smelled of must and mold.

  Unfortunately, they’d strip-searched her and found every weapon she’d brought to the Magic Realm. Captain Vaspara was far too interested in the ward-spelled armaments and had instructed guards to bring all Anna’s gear to her workroom.

  Anna listened to the stomp of retreating feet. When the footfalls disappeared altogether, she turned from the door and surveyed her cell. It didn’t take her gargoyle-enhanced vision long to adjust to the gloom, but it wasn’t the cell her gaze landed on.

  Shadowlight stood a couple of feet away, scanning their new cell. While he familiarized himself with his new home, Anna studied him. He still had long black hair held away from his face by two leather ties, and he was dressed as he had been before with the beaded loincloth his father and Gregory seem to prefer.

  That’s where any sense of familiarity ended.

  A teen stared back at her, his expression fierce, which seemed at odds with his narrow-shouldered frame. He was still tall, about her height, but for the first time, he honestly looked like a kid.

  A strangely familiar kid. He almost looked like one of her brothers when they’d been that age. Yep. She wasn’t imagining it. Shadowlight had the long Mackenzie nose and the same exact skin tone.

  “I touched your memories while we were linked and modeled my human body after the images I saw of your brothers.”

  “You can see my memories?”

  “Only when we are mentally linked.”

  “Huh.”

  Shadowlight looked uncertain. “If me looking like one of your brothers bothers you, I can take on a different likeness next time.” He made a face. “Though, I hope I don’t have to shift to human form too many times.”

  “Normally I’d ask what was wrong with being human. But considering where we are, I think I’d choose a gargoyle form over a human one if I was given a choice.”

  Talking helped her relax, but it didn’t improve their predicament much. She eyed the straw-covered floor and wondered what kind of vermin might be lurking in it.

  The straw she’d seen used as bedding in the stables was undoubtedly fresher. She walked the perimeter of the cell, trailing her fingers along the wall, looking for she knew not what, certainly not a loose stone. They wouldn’t be that stupid.

  As it turned out, the walls were in good condition. She sighed.

  Though there was a trickle of water running down the groove in the back wall. She glanced up and spotted where it trickled in from. The crevice wasn’t any wider than her finger.

  No escape there.

  The small stream of water smelled fresh, but she wasn’t tempted to taste it. She’d need to be damn desperate before drinking mystery water here.

  There was also a large round hole in the floor where the water escaped.

  “The latrine?” Anna muttered to herself. “Nice.”

  Shadowlight padded over to her. The poor kid was barefoot. At least the thugs had left her with a tank top, pants, and boots.

  “The water is safe to drink. It’s all we will get. The hole in the floor is for waste.” Shadowlight glanced up at her with a silent question in his eyes.

  “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t get you out of this hellhole, kid.” She switched to her mental link. “But we’re alive and in one piece. As long as we’re alive, we have a chance of gaining our freedom.”

  “And I’m sorry I wasn’t able to shift back to gargoyle form and fly us to safety.” Guilt laced his words.

  “Oh, kid. It’s not your fault. You were just out of resources.”

  Shadowlight glanced down at his bare feet and wiggled his toes in the straw, then he glanced back up at her. “I’ll make Gryton pay for this one day.”

  “That’s the attitude.” She patted him on the shoulder and then looked around the room. Her gaze naturally settled on the trickle of water. She leaned closer and looked up at the gap in the ceiling where the water entered.

  “Is there another cell above this one?”

  “No. I don’t think so. At least I’ve never heard the sound of another living creature up there.”

  “Small blessings. No one is going to piss in our drinking water.”

  Shadowlight made a face. “True.”

  “There is something I’m curious about,” Anna said, as she leaned a hip against the stone wall and crossed her arms. “Earlier, when Gryton was talking to Vaspara he said I was your Kyrsu. What does that mean?”

  “The Gargoyle Legion is led by a Rasoren, and his second in command is called his Kyrsu. They are the two highest positions in the Lord of the Underworld’s army. Normally the positions are held by a gargoyle father and son.” Shadowlight glanced down at his feet, looking unhappy. “But the Battle Goddess has taken that concept and twisted it, then applied those titles to us. We have not earned them.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re already a great brother-sister team. If they want to call you a Rasoren and me a Kyrsu,” Anna shrugged, “they can. I’ve been called much worse than a Kyrsu in the past.”

  Shadowlight yawned and then gave himself a little shake to force himself back to full alertness.

  As Anna watched him, a rare maternal instinct kicked in. “You haven’t slept in a long time, have you?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t trust them.”

  “I know this place is no five-star, but why don’t you make a bed out of the straw? I’ll take first watch.”

  The poor kid was exhausted. He moved over to the corner of the cell closest to her and lay down. He was asleep within minutes.

  Anna stood watch for a while, then started to pace and worry. She would’ve done just about anything to get them out of this place, but presently that was beyond her power. Her pacing didn’t do anything to help either, so she settled for sitting next to him and trying to share some body heat.

  When the kid wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his face against her side and started to cry in his sleep, Anna decided only the razing of the Battle Goddess’s kingdom would make up for exposing Shadowlight to what was likely to come.

  Chapter 7

  IT WAS SOMETIME IN the middle of what Anna guessed to be afternoon on this planet when Shadowlight shifted back to his gargoyle form. He didn’t even wake. The poor kid must have been more exhausted than she’d realized.

  She let him sleep until she heard a group approaching from farther down the hall. Anna grabbed Shadowlight’s shoulder and gave it a good shake.

  His eyes snapped open and in less than three seconds he’d rolled to all fours, ready for battle with his tail lashing in threat.

  “Easy,” Ann
a said as she got to her feet. She took two strides forward until she was standing at his shoulder. “There are times to fight and times to wait and see.”

  Shadowlight flicked an ear in her direction and grunted an unhappy questioning sound before turning toward her.

  “This is one of the wait-and-see moments, isn’t it?” The words were said in a calm, very adult tone, but she could see his agitation and smell the bitter taint of his fear.

  “That’s right.” She patted his shoulder in reassurance. “You sure they didn’t hurt you before?”

  Of course they’d hurt him. What she needed to know was if the succubus had touched him. Her blood surged as rage ignited in her soul. She knew what she’d do if the demoness preyed on children. It was Anna’s turn to hold back a growl.

  “They used magic to restrain me and pushed me around.” He paused and rubbed at his side. “Two of the guards kicked me after I killed four of their number, but Vaspara punished them. I’ve sustained no lasting damage.”

  “Good. Don’t fight them in the future, though, unless I say.”

  Shadowlight grunted again unhappily but merely nodded. “We’re a team, yes?”

  “Yeah. We got this.” Or at least she hoped they would survive long enough to escape with their bodies, minds, and souls intact.

  The noise outside the door drew nearer and then there came a rattle of the latch and a moment later the door banged open. Three bulky brutes, which would make the toughest linebackers piss themselves in fear, stormed into the small cell and forced her and Shadowlight back at spear point.

  “Easy,” she reminded Shadowlight as they were backed against the wall.

  Commander Gryton and Captain Vaspara marched in behind the brute squad. Anna glanced behind them, to the open door. Guards stood two rows thick. No escaping this time.

  Gryton stepped forward and motioned for the brute squad to get out of his way.