He was still dwelling on that when he touched down a tad gracelessly at the edge of the cliff.
Other gargoyles from the hunt were already cleaning their kills. He stomped past them with barely a glance, intent on the circle of curious bystanders around the elders.
“Hey, I’m still here in case you forgot.” Anna’s words were punctuated with a few more thumps upon his shoulder. “I’d like to get down and walk.”
“Of course.” It was best that Anna wasn’t on his back for what he planned to do next.
WHEN OBSIDIAN FINALLY halted to allow her to dismount, she knew it likely wasn’t her words that had swayed him. It probably had to do with the growing pain she felt in his body.
“Let’s go see that healer you mentioned earlier.”
“We will,” he agreed as she slid to the ground.
Good. Reasonable was good. She could work with reasonable.
“Hey, how long do you think it will be before the—”
Between one second and the next, Obsidian was gone, racing across the distance to the circle gathered around the elders.
Well fuck.
So much for the peaceful ‘let’s let the mentors handle it’ method.
Giving chase, Anna winced as her bruised ribs bitched about the jarring pace. Sending a glower at the sight of Obsidian’s muscled rump disappearing through the crowd, she cursed as he swiftly outpaced her.
“Fuck!”
She darted around the bystanders in her way and soon spotted Obsidian again. She hadn’t covered even half the distance when Obsidian leaped, going up and over a crowd surrounding the mentors. He moved like he had rockets strapped to his ass. To go by his appearance, no one would suspect he was injured.
A moment later sounds of snarling, growling and shouting rang through the air. Bystanders along the west side of the gathering suddenly flew backward as Reaver rolled across the ground, his limbs flopping in a way that made her think he was already unconscious.
But a moment later, when he came to a stop, he drew his limbs under him and half rolled onto his side. Stunned. Not unconscious. At least not yet. But he would be, or worse, by the time Obsidian was done with him.
When she touched the mental link connecting them, it was to find Obsidian consumed by an unnatural need to protect. She’d encountered this a time or two before—had, in fact, experienced it herself the first time she’d shifted to full gargoyle form to protect Shadowlight.
Yep. He’d totally lost his shit.
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to run faster.
By the time she reached him, the mentors had recovered from their momentary surprise and were advancing on Reaver and Obsidian, shadow magic swirling around them.
“Obsidian ease up. The elders are summoning some badass looking magic.”
Her Rasoren paused his pounding of the other male to narrow his eyes at the approaching elders. Anna eyed the male on the ground. His muzzle had a pronounced bend that hadn’t been there before. Broken likely. Blood oozed from his mouth, nose, even the corners of his eyes. If Reaver had been anything other than a gargoyle, he’d already be dead.
Tearing her gaze from the male, she turned back to the elders and held up her hands as she put herself between them and her Rasoren.
“Easy,” she shouted to be heard over Obsidian’s loud snarls as he faced the approaching elders. “Let me calm Obsidian, or there will be a bloodbath. This isn’t his fault. I can calm him.”
She desperately hoped that wasn’t a lie.
When the elders turned their attention entirely on her, her body hair stood on end.
Yeah. Don’t mess with the elders.
Banrook held out a hand, signaling the other elders to halt and give Anna a chance. “Work swiftly, Anna Mackenzie. I’ve never felt such mindless rage in a gargoyle before.”
“Come on, Obsidian,” she said as she reached out to touch him on one shoulder. “Time to get your shit back together.”
When her hand touched his skin, their gift flared wide, immersing her in his thoughts and emotions. The wellspring of bitter feelings and chilling power stole her breath.
“That’s enough.” Her words were an order, launched spear-like into the rolling turbulence that was his mind. “We need to pacify the elders. They are far more dangerous to us than that useless male.”
Obsidian’s gaze narrowed into slits as he studied the elders and their magic, looking for weaknesses she realized. Damn it!
“Obsidian. I need you to look at me, to see me, to hear me. Can you hear me? Can you understand?”
He looked at her, his mind becoming less chaotic, but still he didn’t speak.
“See those mentors? Yes, them. They are going to force you to submit. You can fight, but it’s going to be long, ugly and messy. I’ll stand and fight at your side. I’ll always fight. We’re a team. But I’d much rather not fight them in battle. It isn’t needed. This isn’t about survival. It’s about revenge. You’re better than this. We’re both better than this. Peace.”
His muzzle lowered to sniff her hair. Then he was blinking and swallowing back all the rage. She witnessed his internal fight and her heart bled for him. Then taking his bloody hands in hers, she squeezed them and sent her deep understanding and camaraderie down their link.
“That’s it. Come back to me. The Battle Goddess doesn’t get to control us now.”
“Anna?” His voice sounded like he was waking from a dream or nightmare.
“Yeah. That’s it. Come back to me.”
He allowed her to lead him farther from Reaver. She halted once they were a good ten feet away. Then in a sudden move, he dropped to his knees and pressed his face against her stomach, his horns a hard pressure to either side of her ribcage.
The position drew her attention back to her own aching body, but she would not shove Obsidian away for any reason.
“When I caught his scent, something rose up inside me. I couldn’t stop it. If you let me go, I will kill him. I don’t want that. Please, don’t let me go.” Obsidian’s words were an anguished mental sob only she could hear.
“Shh. If someone’s going to kill that idiot, it will be me. But since I’m not going to kill him, no one will.”
Crooning soft nonsense, she wrapped her arms around his head and gently ran her fingers through his mane.
They stayed like that—him on his knees, her stroking her hand down his mane while he clung to her. The meadow was eerily silent. Only the sound of mellow flame, logs shifting, and the drip and hiss of juices cooking out of the meat disturbed the uncanny silence.
She looked up. Everyone gathered in the clearing was staring at her and Obsidian.
Oh, she thought, you see us for what we truly are. Monsters among you.
She didn’t know how Shadowlight had managed to win them over when he’d first arrived, but somehow, he’d managed to hide the depth of what the Battle Goddess had done to him from the gargoyles of this place.
Anna’s eyes met those of Banrook. Well, perhaps Obsidian hadn’t duped all the gargoyles, but he’d fooled some.
“I am not the Battle Goddess’s tool,” Obsidian whispered into her mind. “I’ve overcome this darkness.”
“Shh. I know.”
“I was cured—thought I was. But it’s only been asleep, waiting for its match.”
Waiting for me, Anna realized, waiting for that which completes it. The darkness inside me.
She shuddered with growing horror. While she’d slept, Shadowlight had been able to overcome the darkness within him, her absence somehow starving it into submission.
“The full extent of the Battle Goddess’s changes didn’t come into effect until I turned fourteen. Gargoyles normally emerge from their mother’s hamadryads during their tenth summer. At which point, we’re physically mature and ready to begin our training.”
Anna had been briefed on gargoyle and dryad reproduction. None of this was new. Which meant if he brought it up, then there was more to the story she didn’
t yet know.
“When my tenth year came and went without anything bad happening, my mentors and I took it as a good sign.”
Linked with him, Anna could see the story unfolding in her mind. “But you didn’t stop growing.”
“No. I soon surpassed even the largest gargoyles in height and weight until I was fourteen. That’s when my physical growth stopped, but my magical strength continued. Something else came with it. A new darkness—a violence. It would rise and consume my mind when I perceived a threat to you. It was that same berserker rage you would descend into when I was threatened.”
Yep. The reactions were sounding far too much the same. Though she wondered what threats he was referring to.
“What happened to make you think I was in danger during the time I was asleep?” Because she’d love to know if she had other enemies gunning for her. Say among the Council of Elders.
“Several of the healers studied you while you slept. They learned a great deal about how our powers work. Years ago, some of them brought a plan before the council. They wished to wake you for short intervals to further their studies. Maradryn was one of the few who disagreed.” Obsidian’s hand loosened from its death grip and relaxed enough to rub the small of her back as if he was giving comfort to her.
“Go on,” she nudged gently.
“My power, that darkness which dwells within me, decided that the healers’ planned course was an unnecessary threat to you; that you would be better served to sleep and heal naturally. The other Masters agreed with the healers.” Obsidian paused at length. Then at last, with a deep, weary sigh, he continued. “When they attempted to wake you the first time, I attacked. I couldn’t stop myself, didn’t want to stop myself. I was protecting my Kyrsu, and it felt glorious.”
Anna gave him another pat, not knowing what else to do. “I presume by your earlier wording that you eventually mastered your darkness with the help of your mentors?”
“Yes. At least we thought we had.”
“But you’re not the only one with that darkness sleeping inside. I have it too.”
Obsidian slowly pulled away without meeting her eyes. “I’m sorry for that.”
“We’ve been over this before. I don’t regret for a moment having you in my life. Sure, maybe I do the whole berserker thing from time to time when I sense a threat to you.” Anna shrugged and then cupped the side of his face. “That’s a small price to pay for being alive and having you as the best little brother ever.”
“I should have allowed the healers to study you. Perhaps if they’d been able to study an immature version of what I possess, they’d have been able to dig it out of you before you woke.”
“Well, they can study me now.” Anna’s expression turned serious. “I think your reaction is linked to my reawakening, that my untrained and undisciplined mind somehow allowed your...beast to escape.”
“Anna that’s not—”
“Hear me out. You already conquered and learned to control your rage, but mine is young, wild and uncontrolled. If I can learn to master it as you have yours, then it stands to reason we should be able to live free of the berserker rages.”
Master Banrook halted next to them. Anna glanced down at her hands and then back at the elder.
“Master Banrook, I’m in desperate need of a mentor strong enough to help me conquer the darkness inside before it can influence Obsidian greater than it already does.”
“Anna Mackenzie,” Banrook tilted his head in a respectful nod of acknowledgment. “I will mentor you, and we will not allow the darkness to have you.”
The tension between Anna’s shoulders eased. “Thank you, but before any kind of training, Obsidian and I really need to see the healers.”
Banrook merely nodded his silent agreement.
Chapter 15
EVEN THOUGH ANNA TRIED to take the blame, he still felt a soul-deep shame at how swiftly he’d fallen prey to the darkness.
Anna might be untrained and still prey to its whims, but he should be able to recognize its rising and prevent events like what just happened. If Anna hadn’t maintained her senses and calmed him, he would have killed Reaver before the mentors stopped him. Their magic was formidable, but so was he and if they’d attacked, he would have retaliated in his mindless rage.
“Stop beating yourself up over something that was beyond your control, kid.”
“I’m no child. A child isn’t capable of putting his fist through Reaver’s face.”
Anna just shook her head and gave him her ‘males-know-nothing’ look.
“You’ll always be my little brother, get used to it. Now I’m going to call you kid because it annoys you.” Her accompanying emotions soon turned darker and more serious, though. She then placed both hands on his shoulders and urged him up. “If you thought I didn’t want to put my fist through his face, then you’d be very mistaken.”
“But you didn’t act upon your desire.”
“No.” Anna paused, her expression turning uneasy. “But I think I somehow made you act on it instead.”
Her words held a hint of possibility. But his training was much more advanced than hers, his mind capable of building a wall not many of his mentors could breach. He should have been able to control himself and prevent the darkness from gaining hold.
He still hadn’t come to terms with what he’d done when Banrook came over to him and put a wing around his shoulder.
“Come, young ones. Master Maradryn and the other healers will see to you three while the rest of us decide upon a suitable punishment for this...” The mentor looked toward the moaning Reaver. “Unfortunate incident.”
Obsidian watched as three healers came forward. Two approached Anna, but his Kyrsu merely shook her head.
“Help him first.” She pointed at Reaver. “Poor bastard can’t even roll over to stand.”
It was true. The damage inflicted upon the other male was beyond physical damage. When he’d attacked, he’d shredded Reaver’s protective shields with ease and then went after the source of his power, where the wellspring of magic flowed from deep in a gargoyle’s spirit.
If Anna hadn’t called him off, he would have magically gutted the other male in a matter of moments. It wasn’t something that his gargoyle mentors had taught. No, this was something dark from back in the days when a blood witch had begun his teachings.
The elders hadn’t come to realize the full extent of Reaver’s injuries yet. He wasn’t sure if Anna had realized what he’d done, but if they stayed, she’d come to understand what he’d done and where he’d learned that twisted bit of magic.
His shame swelled stronger.
So, when Banrook suggested they go to the healer’s quarters, Obsidian was only too happy to obey.
“We’ll speak more after you’re healed.” Banrook folded his arms across his chest. His glower speaking of his displeasure.
Obsidian nodded, the very picture of a docile subordinate, he hoped.
His mental link with Anna flared. “We’re about to get a good old-fashioned dressing down, aren’t we?”
“Yes. That puts my mind at ease. If they were going to toss me in some prison hole, there wouldn’t be any niceties first.”
“You guys actually have prison holes? Sounds more like a Tin Man type of punishment.”
“No. We don’t.” His attention narrowed in on the term Tin Man. He hadn’t heard Commander Gryton called that in years. For reasons he didn’t fully understand, that old spark of jealousy flamed back to life at the mention of their captor-turned-ally-at-the-end.
Then he had a disturbing thought. Did Anna use it as half insult, half term of endearment?
It shouldn’t matter to him.
Gryton was far away in the future.
He wouldn’t use the link to investigate Anna’s feelings.
But it was a great temptation.
Chapter 16
THE HEALERS’ QUARTERS were irregularly shaped stone buildings forming a larger complex that twisted its way bet
ween the trunks of the towering hamadryads. Navigation would be a nightmare, but it made sense that healers’ quarters would be on the ground since moving injured persons up and down through the branches would have been a monumental task.
Anna didn’t get a chance to look around much, though. Almost as soon as they entered the first stone archway with its iron-bound wooden doors, the healers converged on them, fussing over them both, asking question after question, poking and prodding her and Obsidian the entire time.
Eventually, all but two of the healers went about their business—or Anna assumed—went to help with Reaver’s injuries. The remaining two introduced themselves as Novice Mist and Adept Prairie Dancer. They led Anna and Obsidian deeper into the complex, into one of the rooms branching off the main artery.
A short time later Obsidian was laid out on a bench with a healer on either side of him. It was as Anna expected. Obsidian’s injuries were more significant than her cracked ribs. The two healers muttered among themselves for some minutes. Then one left.
“What’s wrong?” Anna used their mental link. It was becoming as second nature as breathing. “Her expression was concerned.”
“Annoyed more like.”
Obsidian didn’t bother to raise his head or open his eyes, his posture that of a dog lazing in the sun.
“Why? Because you were too stubborn and got into a fight with Reaver instead of coming to see a healer?” Anna let a good dose of I-told-you-so enter her thoughts.
“Actually, no. The healers think Reaver got what he deserved. They are having trouble getting past my natural resistance to magic, even healing magic.” He paused and hissed as the remaining healer found a tender spot between the small of his back and the base of his tail.
Grunting, he opened his eyes and watched Anna. “All gargoyles possess a natural resistance to foreign magic, even that of the dryads, but the trait is stronger in me. Likely will be in you as well. It makes healing me somewhat problematic. Novice Healer Mist has gone to find Maradryn to help.”
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 129