Anna was running out of time. He might be young and inexperienced, but he knew what death felt like, and this power would be her death, and it wasn’t going to be a clean one. This was the Riven all over again, only worse because he wasn’t sure if gargoyle blood would save Anna this time.
“Come to me, my gargoyle. Let me at least save her soul.”
Death had been whispering to him since shortly after Anna lost consciousness. Shadowlight knew Death never lied. If he sought out the Lord of the Underworld for aid, Anna would die. He didn’t want her to die and leave him. She still might die here, but at least if he stayed, she still had a chance.
“Child, her only hope lies with me. Please return home.”
“I can’t. The collar—”
“Will not hold one such as you.”
Boots thudded against stone in the hall outside. Someone was running swiftly toward his location. A moment later whoever it was rattled the latch. Thankfully, Shadowlight had already barricaded the door with a hastily put together spell, so the door didn’t admit the newcomer.
Reaching out with his magic, he learned it was Commander Gryton. His first instinct was to fight the fire elemental until it occurred to him that Tin Man might be able to help heal Anna.
Outside, Gryton cursed. A moment later a hot wave of magic vaporized the door leading out to the hallway and the commander sprinted inside. He crossed the outer room and then the inner bedroom door crashed inward.
Gryton took one look at them and compressed his lips in anger.
“Why are you still here?”
The barked question wasn’t the one Shadowlight had been expecting.
Striding over to the bed, Gryton looked down at Anna and cursed louder, then he swiftly checked Shadowlight over for injury. Finding none, he returned to examining Anna’s belly wound.
Gryton glanced over his shoulder, scanning the outer room. “We need to hurry. Others will discover what you did to the blood witch and the twins. Ninara’s second in command is already seeking her. You and Anna need to be gone before then.”
Confusion swamped Shadowlight. “Why are you helping us?”
“Because I’ve been tasked with protecting you and the hybrid since shortly after she came here to rescue you,” Gryton said as he wove his own powerful wards at the entrance of the bedroom.
Shadowlight glanced down at Anna. Even in gargoyle form, her skin was a sickly washed out shade. “Why are you helping us? Is this another test?”
With his back to Shadowlight, he couldn’t read Gryton’s expression, but he could smell his concern. The commander ignored his questions while he continued to build his protective spells.
“I’m helping you because we’re family and I swore I’d help you and the human, or die trying.” Gryton glanced over his shoulder again. “Likely it will be ‘die trying’ since you don’t have the survival instincts the Divine Ones gave a rock.”
Shadowlight’s ears flicked toward Gryton and then flattened against his mane. This had to be another test.
Gryton finished the spell work and walked back to the bed to look down at Anna. “She’s dying, and you won’t long survive her if you don’t do as I say.”
When the commander reached for Shadowlight’s collar, he snarled a warning.
“Don’t bite the hand that’s offering you aid, cub.” A sharp slap delivered to Shadowlight’s muzzle accompanied the words. “I’m going to release the collar, so you don’t have to waste your power breaking free.”
Shadowlight didn’t fight, but he continued to growl as Gryton felt around the collar, delivering little surges of magic into the metal. Then suddenly, between breaths, the weight of the collar fell away and Shadowlight blinked up at Gryton in surprise. The commander had kept his word. Why?
“If you run now, you have a chance to escape the fortress before anyone else knows what’s unfolded. With your training, you might even make it to one of the other kingdoms who would offer a gargoyle shelter.”
“I won’t leave Anna.” Shadowlight sprang back up on the bed and crouched over her. If the commander thought he was going to just run away and leave Anna to die, Gryton had another surprise coming.
“Anna will be dead by noon, her soul dragged back to the blood witch for an eternity of torment.”
“The blood witch is dead.”
Gryton laughed. “No, she is not. Already she is restoring herself. You left her with two powerful victims to feed upon. Ninara and Honnan are no great loss, but the blood witch will rise even more powerful than before. Only the Lord of the Underworld can save Anna’s soul.”
Shadowlight glanced down at Anna and looked at her clammy skin. “I can’t lose her. Lord Death will kill her.” He’d already lost everyone else; he couldn’t lose her, too. And, yet, if he didn’t go, Anna would pay the ultimate price for his cowardice. “Are you certain there is no power here that can heal her?”
“Yes,” Gryton snarled. “I would save her soul if I could, but even that is beyond my fire magic. After she dies, her soul returns to the blood witch. Taryin will be able to summon her corpse and mend the dead flesh to create the perfect slave to keep you in line.”
Snarling, Shadowlight gathered Anna in his arms and leaped back three steps, as if putting distance between Anna and Gryton could somehow deny the truth of his words.
“Her only chance lies with Lord Death. At least that way, even if her body dies, her soul will return to the Spirit Realm to be reborn one day. Take comfort in that, cub, and do what’s right. If I had done that when I was first born, maybe I’d now lead a better life than the one I find myself in.”
If this was a test, Shadowlight didn’t care if he passed or failed. He couldn’t risk Anna’s soul.
Sobbing silently, he reached into his own being and sought that power which linked all gargoyles to their liege lord.
Just the briefest of touches was all it took. Already the powerful spell that was a part of his very soul began to expand, spreading out over his body and Anna, too.
Shadowlight glanced up at Gryton one last time. The commander was summoning new spells. Lethal battle magics this time instead of wards of protection.
“What about you?” Shadowlight asked in the last few moments before the spell would activate and pull his body back to his liege lord.
“Me?” Gryton laughed, “I shall be alone again. A natural state for me.”
Shadowlight held out his hand. “Come with me.”
“No, Death and I have never seen eye to eye,” Gryton paused and then grinned. “And, cub, if we ever meet again, don’t assume we will be on the same side. Trust no one. You’ll live longer that way.”
Gryton’s voice faded away and so too did the room as the spell flung Shadowlight and Anna far from the Battle Goddess’s kingdom.
PART 4
Chapter 36
LILLIAN WAS CLIMBING over a large outcropping of stone as they made their way back to the overlook peak when a strange yearning sensation flowed over her. Her wings spread and her muscles bunched as if to propel her up into the air. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Gregory’s wings shifted restlessly. He must have felt it, too.
“What, by the gods, was that?” Lillian asked as the feeling slowly receded. It took another ten thunderous heartbeats before she could convince her wings to fold tight to her back again.
“A gargoyle just returned to Lord Death,” Gregory said as he closed his eyes and tilted his muzzle to the sky. After half a minute, he glanced back down at her. “Shadowlight and Anna just journeyed to Lord Death this night. May they find him ever merciful.”
“My brother is gone?” Lillian felt dismay and a new kind of fear because while she was glad he wasn’t still trapped as a slave to the Battle Goddess, she wasn’t sure if Lord Death was much of an improvement.”
Major Resnick circled around in front of Gregory and looked the tall male in the eye. “You’re telling me Anna and the kid are no longer down there?”
&
nbsp; “Yes.”
“You’re absolutely certain?” Resnick asked, disbelief clear in his voice. Lillian didn’t blame him. The humans had to take what the magic wielders said on faith.
“There is no one down there to save.”
Still looking unhappy, Major Resnick got on the radio. “We’re aborting the mission. I repeat mission aborted. We’re falling back to the secondary site.”
“What will happen to Anna and my brother now?” Lillian asked with growing dread. Gregory had wanted to avoid meeting Lord Death until he’d had a chance to better understand all the changes in Shadowlight and Anna. Now it was out of their hands.
“I will go before Lord Death and learn what has become of Anna and Shadowlight. If they have been granted mercy, I will beseech the Lord of the Underworld to return them both to their families.”
That was more ‘ifs’ than Lillian liked, and Gregory hadn’t said what he’d do if Lord Death decided to keep them. Lillian refused to believe anyone the Avatars considered a friend would be so cruel as to kill two innocent beings who had no control over what fate had unleashed upon them.
“Lillian, Daryna,” Gregory gestured toward the human team already making their way back over the treacherous ground. “It’s time we returned to the Mortal Realm.”
Lillian was devastated to be leaving without her brother but consoled herself with the knowledge they weren’t exactly leaving empty-handed. They’d learned that the Battle Goddess was building an even greater army than they’d expected. They’d even managed to save one human family. That had to be worth something, even if it didn’t soothe her fears about Shadowlight and Anna.
A deep, reverberating tone issued from somewhere within the city. It took Lillian a few seconds to recognize it as a horn. One really big-ass horn by the sound of it.
Gregory bumped his muzzle against Lillian’s flank to get her moving. Yep. Time to go.
The human soldiers took the lead, Lillian followed close on their heels while Gregory and Daryna brought up the rear.
They’d only just clambered down from the rocky ground surrounding the overlook when Lillian heard Gregory call Daryna’s name.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted Daryna running back in the direction they’d just come. Gregory dropped to all fours and raced after her.
“What the hell?” Major Resnick took the words right out of Lillian’s mouth.
Lillian turned and gave chase. Behind her, the humans did the same. She leaped over a boulder in her path and on the other side Gregory had Daryna pinned down. The Sorceress was using magic, attempting to toss him off.
She ran to Gregory’s side and then locked her jaws around Daryna’s throat. Gregory was too damn gentle when dealing with his other half. They didn’t have time to waste if Daryna was planning a double cross.
“Behave, or I’ll tear out your throat. That would be one way to take back my soul and my magic.” Lillian tightened her grip and gave Daryna a little shake to reinforce her words. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You will remain calm and explain to Gregory why you were attempting to get captured.”
“I wasn’t trying to get captured.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Gryton is in danger. The Battle Goddess is breaching his shields even now.” Daryna started to fight again.
Lillian bit down hard enough to draw blood. “Rushing off and getting yourself captured won’t help Gryton. Besides, how can you be certain this isn’t just an elaborate trap set for the Avatars?”
“It’s not. I can feel Gryton’s agony,” Daryna whispered, her eyes growing distant as she turned her head in the direction her son lay.
Crap. Shadowlight and Anna escaped the Battle Goddess’s clutches and suddenly Gryton was getting tortured.
Lillian released Daryna and looked to Gregory instead. “Gryton must have helped Anna and Shadowlight escape.”
Suspicion still hovered in Gregory’s expression, but he nodded.
Lillian turned her focus back to Daryna. “If Gryton helped Shadowlight, then he deserves our aid. I don’t like to be indebted. We need a new plan. If we just rush in blindly, we’ll probably get someone killed, maybe even Gryton.”
Reason returned to Daryna’s gaze. “You’re correct. We need to prepare. They now will be on alert, hunting for Shadowlight and Anna. They will not know for certain that the gargoyles went to Lord Death.”
“This is madness,” Gregory grumbled.
“He is our son,” Daryna countered. “We must save him.”
“She’s right,” Lillian said unhappily.
“Fine,” Gregory agreed. “There is the blood witch to deal with as well.”
Major Resnick join them. “Ah, hell. We are going down there, aren’t we?”
Chapter 37
HE’D ALWAYS KNOWN HIS life would end in fire as his power raged out of control. Though, he’d also thought it would be in battle against his Avatar parents or the Lord of the Underworld. But, no, it was the Lady of Battles that wanted him dead this time.
That the Battle Goddess would be so foolish as to exterminate him in her own kingdom just reinforced how unstable she truly was.
“When I die, I’ll take out your kingdom—cities, towns, temples, and army. All of it razed down to the bones of the earth.” Gryton said, his voice strangely calm.
Perhaps this had always been her plan.
He fought against the chains, only to realize they’d melted away long ago as the demigoddess continued to pour a vast amount of her magic into him. Even now a torrent of magic held him pinned to the altar, no other physical restraints were required.
“You won’t,” the Battle Goddess countered, her voice sounding like it came from far away.
Gryton would’ve laughed if the pressure on his chest had allowed. As it was, he could barely draw breath. Simple suffocation, unpleasant though it was to experience, wouldn’t kill one such as him.
However, the amount of power she was pouring into him, that would eventually overwhelm his control. Even now, he could feel his fire magic seeking to slip his control. Only the knowledge the Sorceress had shared with him in her few brief lessons allowed him to maintain mastery over his magic this long.
Soon, even that wouldn’t be enough, and his destructive power would cascade out of control. The force would be enough to destroy the Battle Goddess’s domain. Perhaps even destroy this entire world.
Lord Death and the Avatars would be able to curtail some of the damage, but certainly not all of it.
“Do you think my death throes will obliterate the duality curse that holds you here?” It wouldn’t. She had to know that.
Gryton hoped the demigoddess would come to her senses. If he could reason with her, he might be able to survive a little while longer.
“No. The duality curse is woven from pure Spirit Magic. The Divine Ones had to sacrifice their Avatars to create it. It will take a far greater death than yours to break the spell.”
“Then why sacrifice your army?” He’d shed no tears over many of them, but Vaspara, Sorac, and a few others had been fair to him.
If it was in his power, he would spare them. Unfortunately, if the Battle Goddess didn’t stop force-feeding him power, the choice would be out of his hands.
“You are almost ready,” the Battle Goddess whispered into his mind. She didn’t stop the power transfer, although it was less than it had been.
Gryton turned his head and studied all the captains where they circled the altar, looking on with neutral expressions. Only Honnan and Ninara were missing, devoured by Taryin’s magic to give her life once more.
Interestingly, the blood witch wasn’t watching him as he glowed like a living ember, his armor melting in rivulets off his body. No, the blood witch’s gaze was assessing the Battle Goddess.
“My Goddess,” Gryton whispered along a private link. “You exhaust yourself to destroy me, but for saving me from Lord Death all those millennia ago, I will
offer one last word of advice: look to the blood witch for your next betrayal.”
“She is loyal.” But the Battle Goddess looked at the witch with narrowed eyes.
“So too was I, once,” Gryton agreed. “I betrayed you to save family. The blood witch will betray you, not in the name of honor, but ambition.”
“Lies.”
“I’ve never lied, not even when I helped Shadowlight escape. You ordered me to protect him from those in this kingdom who would do him harm. I did that.”
“Your gilded words will not save you.”
“I didn’t expect them to,” Gryton said aloud.
“Very well. Since you were honest with me, I shall be honest with you.” The Battle Goddess knelt next to him and he could now see her features through the waves of heat and fire bleeding off his skin. Her features were weary with strain.
“You don’t look so very well, my lady.”
The Battle Goddess laughed. “You’re no longer as handsome as you once were either. I can see your soul shining through your ravaged flesh and bones.”
“Sounds lovely.”
“It does have a strange beauty to it, but that will not save you.” She sat and stroked a finger down his chest. “When your body is ready to surrender, I shall transport you to the Sorceress’s hamadryad tree. She will sense danger and the Avatars will come running. The harsh trip to the Mortal Realm will shatter your willpower and seconds after that you will become a mindless, raging elemental that will consume the world. When all is done, you will rise to take your place in the sky in a binary dance with that system’s sun.”
Ah. So that was her plan.
“The flesh and blood Avatars will not have time to react and will find themselves back in the Spirit Realm, and safely out of my way for the time I need.”
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 116