They entered the large hall a moment later, and the reason the guards weren’t needed became clear. Anna put Shadowlight between herself and Gryton.
The hall was easily the size of two football fields filled with long tables laden with various foods. Like the chamber she’d just left, this one was lit with torches mounted on the outside walls and more circling each of the enormous pillars that supported the rest of the structure above them.
Ordinary candles set out on the tables provided additional light for the diners. Only about half the spaces were occupied.
Oh, but the half that was filled was enough to make even the most well-trained Special Forces operator flee in terror. Anna thought she was getting used to all the weird. Nope. Even the strangest Clan and Coven members looked downright ordinary compared to what she was gazing upon now. A sea of horns, tusks, scales, spikes, and extra appendages met her gaze. Made all the stranger because they belonged to otherwise mostly human-shaped bodies.
It reminded her of an intergalactic bar scene in a sci-fi movie.
At Gryton’s entrance, some of the monsters turned in their seats to stare. Soon others were noticing their companions’ distraction and turned to watch what was so interesting. Gryton ignored the looks and walked along the wall, heading toward the front of the hall. They’d entered from a side entrance she noted.
Anna gave Shadowlight a little shove when he froze in place, but he ignored her and pulled his lips back from his teeth in a snarl.
Great.
“Keep the aggression under wraps,” Anna warned, “you’re giving too much away, again.”
Shadowlight uttered one more menacing growl before dropping to all fours to stalk after Gryton. Anna matched his pace and they reached the front of the room at the same time.
Their new location wasn’t any better than the last. Now every creature in the room watched them in silence. Gryton ignored the watchers and gestured Anna and Shadowlight forward, onto the raised dais where the high table sat. They walked half-way down the length of the long table.
“We’ve set aside a place of honor for the two newest acquisitions to our Goddess’s army.”
“Flattered,” Anna muttered.
Shadowlight growled softly at the creatures already sitting at the table. Anna assumed these must be the other captains since Vaspara was just a few feet farther down the bench. Gryton settled between a hulking man and an equally brawny woman of some unknown species and then gestured to indicate Anna and Shadowlight should sit.
Shrugging, Anna settled next to the mountainous male and tried not to gawk at the delicate pattern of scales covering his skin or his boney shoulder spikes. He flared his nostrils, dragging in a deep breath as he took her scent. It wasn’t every day someone ran into a human-gargoyle hybrid, she supposed.
She looked away from her neighbor and studied the dark wood of the table, but not before she’d seen the ridge of horny bone growing out of his forehead near his hairline.
While she’d been occupied staring at her bench buddy, Shadowlight had been glowering at Gryton. “Come on, kid. We’re going to be cheek by jowl with them soon, so might as well get used to this.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Can’t say I’m fond of it either, kid.”
Shadowlight took the spot to her left, but his blade-tipped tail came to land on the bench next to her right hip. His tail slapped the padded seat a few times in threat, and Anna realized the scaled male was reaching to touch her hair.
She blocked Scales and he pulled his hand back. Glancing at the kid’s tail, he made a weird, hissing sound. It took her a moment to grasp it was his laughter.
“Your hair, teach your servants how it’s done and then have them teach mine,” he said and pointed at his own thick brown hair. A bit of leather held back the wavy mess.
Gryton leaned back on the bench so he could gaze past Shadowlight’s wings. “Anna, meet Captain Sorac. He commands the fourth company. Sorac, this is Corporal Anna Mackenzie and Shadowlight.”
Sorac merely nodded and looked them over. “They’ll break the first time you put them in a practice ring with me.”
“Shadowlight isn’t yet mature but already quite formidable, and Anna has gifted me with a wound. Underestimate them at your peril. And if you’ve forgotten, that human-gargoyle hybrid managed to sneak in and break him out of his cell. If I hadn’t been tracking her for the better part of a day, Anna might have succeeded.”
“I’d heard that. I also heard Vaspara now owes you her life. If the two had escaped on her watch, it would have gone ill for our favorite succubus.” Sorac made that strange sound in his chest again. “I wouldn’t mind having Vaspara in my debt for a moon cycle or two.”
Gryton barked out a laugh. “She would make a necklace out of your balls.”
“Probably,” Sorac huffed out in humorous agreement. Then gave Anna’s tunic covered chest a lingering glance.
“I might not know Anna very well since in the past we were usually trying to kill each other, but I would wager she is the type to roast a male’s balls over hot coals rather than invite him into her bed. You’ve been warned. Besides, our Lady has said the young gargoyles are not to be touched.”
Sorac chuckled. “And it’s never a good idea to make an enemy of one who will grow to take command.”
“A wise choice,” Gryton agreed, then turning his attention back to Anna he said, “Captain Sorac is a half-breed like you. Part firedrake and part Astarte demon. His father was once worshiped as a fertility god.”
Great, another sex demon.
Shadowlight’s earlier antics made a little more sense.
“You knew what he was?”
“Yes,” Shadowlight replied in a growly mental voice. How he managed that, she didn’t know.
“You could’ve told me.”
“I did.”
“With words next time. But keep up the good work. You’re the best little brother ever.”
Shadowlight’s ears perked and he turned to look at the female on Gryton’s other side as if he was about to tell Anna what she was, but Gryton got there first.
“This is Captain Bervicta. She’s harpy stock.”
The female didn’t show the least bit of insult, so Anna guessed either the female had heard it hundreds of times before or being called “harpy stock” wasn’t an actual insult.
Bervicta looked more human than most sitting at the table. But a closer look showed that what she’d taken as spiked hair was actually a short-feathered crest. Her eyes were large and more rounded than a human’s, and her face almost came to a point at her narrow chin.
When Bervicta returned to her drink without comment. Anna’s gaze slid to the male on the harpy’s other side. While she was studying him, she reached out for Shadowlight’s thoughts.
“What about the female?” Anna asked.
“She radiates hostility, but it’s not directed at us. She’s annoyed with the male sitting next to her. I think she’s safe enough.”
“As much as any of them. Got it.” Anna’s gaze roamed over the male on Bervicta’s far side. He was rather too pretty. When he looked up, his dark eyes locked on hers. He smiled and Anna, who had sworn off men after her last two disastrous relationships, became aware of him as a virile male.
“That one is not safe.” Shadowlight’s said and flashed his fangs at the male in question.
“Eh?”
“He’s a male version of Vaspara. An incubus.”
Eyes narrowing, she leaned forward so Shadowlight wasn’t blocking her view of the male. “Hey, you.”
His smile grew wide.
“Yeah, you. Take that come-hither smile and shove it up your ass or I will do it for you.”
Gryton choked on a mouthful of wine but managed not to spray it across the table. When he could speak, he half turned to address the other male. “Honnan, she will attempt to follow through on her threat. If she doesn’t, I will.” He paused and looked at Shadowlight. “Although, allowing t
he cub to tear you apart might be fun to watch. He’s not overly fond of others playing with his pet human.”
The male nodded, stood, and then with an elegant, old-world elegance, he bowed to Anna. Once he straightened, he picked up his plate and goblet and took himself off to eat with some of his officers at one of the tables near the front of the hall.
“That was Captain Honnan. And that female at the end of the table there,” he pointed out a tall and ridiculously curvy female, “is Captain Ninara. She and Honnan are twins.”
“More sex demons. I’m seeing a theme.”
“The Lady of Battles does not judge those loyal to her.”
“Whatever. Ninara can go elsewhere too. There’s a new no perverts rule at the table.”
“What about Vaspara?” Gryton asked in a dry tone. “You didn’t seem too concerned about her.”
He was wrong. At first, she’d been concerned with Vaspara, and she still knew better than to trust anyone here, even the more reasonable seeming ones.
Anna shrugged. “You’re all the enemy. But Vaspara doesn’t give off the pervert vibe like the sex twins.”
Gryton’s amusement only grew, his teeth flashed. The rest of his face was hidden in the shadows created by his helmet.
“Vaspara has spent more time around the youngling. A succubus’s power goes dormant if they spend too much time around juveniles. You need not fear for Shadowlight until he hits maturity and by then he’ll be able to fend for himself if he wishes.”
“Shadowlight, for the record, we’re going to be long gone before then.”
“Good.” He agreed, but his gaze was locked on to the servants approaching the high table with platters of food.
Anna was somewhat surprised when her own stomach gave a rumble at the first waft of food. The servants laid out their trays and then retreated to stand against the wall behind the table. It was weird having someone standing at her back watching, but Anna just shrugged it off and picked a bowl of what looked like hot porridge and fruit from one of the trays. The grain probably wasn’t oats, but the food was a hell of a lot more familiar than she thought it would be.
She was just about to dive into hers like the others at the table when Gryton’s head jerked up. A moment later Shadowlight issued one of his ‘I mean business’ snarls. Beside her, Captain Sorac made a low hiss. It sounded more threatening than welcoming.
“Ah, Captain Taryin, nice to see you’ve returned.” Gryton stood to make introductions, which just hammered home that this female was one of the major powers if Tin Man was stirring himself to make proper introductions.
“There’s still much to do before the armies are ready to wake, but word reached me of the newest additions to the Battle Goddess’s court.” The speaker was a woman of average height, pale skin, and dark brown hair. She could have been human if not for the power Anna felt rolling off her. “I was curious after hearing some of what the human-gargoyle hybrid managed.”
“Anna. This one is very dangerous,” Shadowlight whispered in her mind. “I know her from my father’s memories. She was the one who captured him and was also the one to help trap the female half of the Avatar’s soul in the body of a dryad.”
Shit. That made her almost as dangerous as Gryton and the demigoddess, maybe even completing some unholy Trinity. Anna mentally added this newcomer to her list of must eradicate.
“Corporal Anna Mackenzie and Shadowlight, meet Blood Witch Taryin.”
Blood witch? Well, that certainly didn’t inspire warm and fuzzy feelings.
“A pleasure,” Taryin said as she made her way around the end of the table. Captain Ninara shifted out of the way for her and then left the table altogether a moment later, going to join her twin.
“That’s really fucking telling,” Anna said to Shadowlight.
He nodded his agreement.
But there wasn’t anything either of them could do. Taryin settled on the bench next to Gryton, and soon servants were bringing a trencher for the blood witch.
The meal continued in silence. It was the most uncomfortable meal of Anna’s life. It put the Mackenzie family reunions to shame.
When it was over, at last, Gryton urged them up and away.
As it turned out, he had a tour of the fortress planned. He showed them gardens, stables, practice rings and even a big, three-story library.
But no matter how far away they walked, it still felt like the blood witch’s magic was crawling over Anna’s skin.
Chapter 14
AFTER THE TOUR, HE and Anna were escorted by Captain Vaspara and Commander Gryton to a sub-level storeroom filled with every item one could possibly want. Shadowlight inhaled deeply and sorted through the odors. Fabrics, leathers, the metallic tang of metals and armor. It didn’t come as a surprise when Gryton led them to a wall of shelves filled with various pieces of armor.
“Once you’ve earned your swords, our metalsmiths will forge you both armor befitting your new rank in the army,” Gryton informed Shadowlight, and then he suddenly turned to Anna, “and if you try to take what I have not given you, I’ll see that Shadowlight is punished in your place.”
Anna cursed and replaced a dagger back on the shelf.
“I was only looking,” she said with a growl.
“Look with your eyes next time,” Gryton said, though he didn’t sound that angry.
Shadowlight studied him with narrowed eyes, but before he could pinpoint what bothered him about the older male, he ushered them thirty feet further down the aisle then stopped and dug through a few pieces of armor until he pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle.
“This should fit you,” Gryton said to Anna as he passed her the large bundle.
Turning to Shadowlight, Gryton looked him up and down. “You are almost fully grown. Your father’s armor should fit you with just a few adjustments.”
Shadowlight held his breath and then let it out on a burst of sound. “I can have my father’s armor? Can I see it now?”
“Easy, kid,” Anna’s thoughts were suddenly in his mind. “I know you want something that was your father’s but remember no gift here is truly free. They seek to win us over by any means necessary.”
Some of Shadowlight’s pleasure drained away.
“Kid, I’m not saying you shouldn’t take this gift, but remember everything we’re given or ‘win the right’ to own will have strings attached.”
Of course Anna was right. Shadowlight clamped down on his excitement and just stood watching and waiting.
Gryton stared at Anna. “Now, whatever did you say to the poor kid to make him practically wilt?”
Anna made a face, only now realizing they’d just exposed their secret ability to Gryton, and then said, “The truth.”
“The youngling will take his father’s armor whether you want him to have it or not.”
But this time Anna smiled. “I didn’t tell him not to take the armor.”
Gryton muttered something under his breath that was too low even for gargoyle ears. Then he turned sharply on his heels and commanded Shadowlight to follow. Not given a choice, he stumbled after the armor-covered figure. Anna jogged along beside him, her bundle rattling and clanking with every stride.
Gryton eventually halted halfway down a side aisle where he took a bundle from a shelf and handed it to Shadowlight.
It was bigger than the one he’d given to Anna.
“Keep moving,” Gryton barked. “We still have several stops to make before I deliver you to your weapons instructor to assess your abilities.”
Shadowlight hurried to follow before the collar took the choice from him. Anna grumbled something under her breath which sounded like ‘hard-ass drill sergeant.’
Commander Gryton hadn’t been exaggerating. They made many stops. Weapon belts, buckles, clothing to wear during practice, even more formal attire for special occasions. They gathered all that and more. Gryton explained that the colors of the uniforms marked what rank they held in the army. Pale blue meant innocent and not to be
killed before they’d had a chance to prove themselves.
By the fourth stop, they were so loaded down with supplies that Shadowlight was starting to feel like a beast of burden. Gryton eventually took pity and bellowed for servants to carry the supplies back to their quarters.
“You won’t need the armor today anyway,” Gryton explained after the servants came and took everything. “Tomorrow will be soon enough for that.”
SO THAT’S HOW SHADOWLIGHT came to be standing inside the training area empty-handed. Now that he was outside, he very much wanted to go for a run or a hunt. But the practice ring also held his attention. Anna’s, too, if her ramrod posture was anything to go by.
The practice yard was a vast sand-covered area with at least a hundred individual rings where opponents were testing their skills while mentors and other students looked on.
Scraps of conversation and shouted orders drifted to him over the clash of steel on steel. While a good half of the combatants were fighting with swords or other bladed weapons, there were also others that were engaged in different forms of hand-to-hand combat.
Watching the various styles, Shadowlight was a bit surprised to find he wanted to try his hand at some of them. He’d been trapped inside walls for days and hadn’t seen the sky in longer than he liked.
He glanced sideways at Anna and then reached out to her thoughts. “Is it bad that I want to take part?”
Anna turned to meet his eyes. “No, because we need to do this. Just be careful and watch yourself. Somehow I doubt our new instructors will be as patient as Gregory was with us.”
“I understand,” and he did. If they didn’t rise swiftly to become the best, they were likely to suffer. The Battle Goddess did not seem the type to forgive weakness or failure.
And he also knew from some of what Anna had told him that the sooner they gained the trust of their instructors, the sooner they might earn liberties that could lead to opportunities for escape.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 104