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

by Lisa Blackwood

  Simultaneously, she nipped his shoulder and her fingers closed around him under the water. They were strong and sure, working up and down his length, making him rise nearly onto his toes as he chased the sensation.

  “Goddess! Anna...I...”

  “You like that.”

  It hadn’t been phrased as a question, but if he’d been able to speak, he’d have told her it was better than anything he’d experienced in his life.

  Something was nagging at his conscience, but it was hard to think when she was touching him. That was it, though, wasn’t it? The fact she was touching him at all. Anna didn’t desire him in this way.

  No. Oh, great Mother Goddess, no.

  Was this her gargoyle nature’s fertility cycle overwhelming her? Or perhaps it was even worse than that. Was she reacting to some silent command his need had somehow issued? Had he stolen her will?

  He couldn’t know for sure which it was with her skilled fingers working to drive him into a frenzy. But he knew this wasn’t his Anna. This was conditioning implanted in her by the darkness that slept in their blood.

  He’d promised that he’d never steal her will.

  “Stop.” He let authority ring in his voice for once. “Not here.”

  She didn’t step away, but she did stop.

  “What’s wrong?” The skin along her muzzle scrunched up as she sniffed at him, attempting to read his emotions and thoughts.

  “I want to return to our nest.”

  Her tail was caressing him below the water but thank the Divine Ones she’d released him from her fingers’ grasp.

  “Are you shy?”

  “Does it matter?” he asked suddenly as he stepped back. He continued until he was at the steps and then walked up them backward so as not to take his eyes off her. “Let us dress and fly back to my quarters. We can talk more there.”

  “Talk?” Her delicate snort told him she thought they’d continue current activities there.

  He didn’t enlighten her. First, he had to get her someplace safe and then he planned to turn them both to stone for the rest of the night if that’s what it took to return them both to sanity.

  As he fled the pool and got dressed, Anna followed him and pulled on her clothing. Though she reached out to caress a shoulder or wing every so often as if to reassure herself that he was still there, warm and willing.

  “You are a magnificent male.”

  He sighed, his heart aching along with his body. If Anna had said those words, she would have quickly brought him to his knees, but now that he had the space to think, he knew he’d forced this upon his beloved Kyrsu. His desire had bled over into her, and their link had shaped it into a command, forcing her to want to please him.

  It was wrong. He couldn’t have Anna.

  Not like this.

  Never like this.

  It would still be force, no matter how willing she might seem.

  AS THEY RETURNED TO his dwelling, Anna flew just behind him. The night air cleared her head and cooled her blood, and she almost wished she could pull the persona of the gargoyle back over her mind. It was better than having to face Obsidian after what she’d done.

  All too soon they were landing outside his place. He’d dismantled the ward spell over the door in record time and was hurrying inside before she’d even landed. She hesitated outside, debating flying deep into the island interior for the night, so she wouldn’t have to face Obsidian.

  Had he run back there at the pool because he’d lost his nerve or was he eagerly running home, so they could continue? The first opened a well of guilt inside her. The second made fear churn in her gut.

  Gods, this was such a mess.

  But then he was back, standing in front of her with a white smear of cream on his upper lip and his eyes streaming. She recognized the potion by scent and didn’t struggle as he reached to smear some under her nose.

  While it burned away her sense of smell, she shifted back, secretly hoping Obsidian wouldn’t find her human form as appealing.

  “Anna, I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too. I don’t know what came over me.”

  Obsidian glanced down at the little jar he still carried. “I know exactly what came over you. That’s why I’m so sorry. I...my wish...my desire. Our link turned it into a command. Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. But I don’t think it would have had such an effect if I wasn’t in heat. I’m pretty sure my gargoyle didn’t need much encouragement.”

  A greater wave of guilt made her flush as she remembered how eager and willing she’d been. Even though he was only a couple of years younger than her, she was certain Obsidian was pretty damn innocent. And she just teased him until he’d nearly spilled in her hand. Only his noble nature and knowing her actions weren’t really hers, prevented him from giving over to his own desires.

  She certainly hadn’t been able to slow herself down.

  “Are you sure you’re fine?” he asked softly. “I didn’t traumatize you when I stole your will?”

  “No, of course you didn’t traumatize me. I should be asking you the same.”

  Obsidian laughed for the first time since they’d returned to his place. “You need not fear on that front. I enjoyed it very much. If it had been your choice and not our link or your gargoyle nature forcing you to do those things, I would have gladly stayed there in that pool until dawn.”

  He was so damn earnest and sweet. He loved her.

  Anna felt herself flush with a sickly heat. It was a mix of guilt, embarrassment, and anger.

  Her gargoyle nature wasn’t afraid of intimacy. For the first time since the fucking attack, she’d been confident enough to overcome her fears and dark memories. She’d even become the aggressor, wanting to give Obsidian pleasure but also seeking it herself. For close to three years, she’d wanted to get back to who she’d been before her personal life imploded.

  But that confidence wasn’t real. What she felt—none of it was real. It was all just a compulsion.

  While she was angry and guilty, she was also envious of her gargoyle’s boldness and resilience. Now that she’d returned to her human form, she couldn’t even find the fucking courage to tell Obsidian why she was too messed up to give him more of her heart. He still thought it was their bond she feared, that loss of freedom.

  While that was concerning, it wasn’t the root of her fear.

  “Anna, I’m going to hug you now.”

  “What?” But then she felt the wetness tracking down her cheeks. What the hell? She didn’t cry. She didn’t. Not even directly after...

  His approach was slow and non-threatening. It might almost be comical if it wasn’t for the haunted look in his eyes. “You desperately need a hug.”

  Standing there frozen, she allowed him to take her in his arms. After a moment, he crushed her to his chest, and Anna reached around his waist to give him a hard squeeze in return.

  “I don’t know what caused this pain,” he was saying his voice muffled in her hair. “But it’s eating you up inside. One day you must share this with someone and lance the festering wound. I hope it will be with me, but I understand if this is something you don’t want to share with a male.”

  “Oh, God. You’ve been in my head. You’ve seen.”

  Bands of pressure were squeezing her chest. Her lungs burned. She was holding her breath and gasped a deep lungful of air. Still, it did nothing to combat the dread.

  “No. You’ve kept the memories from me, but I can feel the pain. It’s not hard to figure out what must be the cause. You’ll speak of it one day when you’re ready.”

  Anna wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.

  Chapter 30

  THE NEXT MORNING COULD have been far more awkward if they had time to think and talk. But Anna was saved from that by a pre-dawn knock at Obsidian’s door. Master Banrook informed them that Lord Draydrak wished to speak with the pair.

  Which was why she now stood in a chamber in Death’s temple several floors
below ground. She had a vague recollection of this place from her time after she’d been injured and Banrook had carried her through these passages with a frightened Shadowlight trailing behind.

  Now Obsidian stood beside her, confident and ready to face Death.

  While Anna might not be feeling such surety when they were about to meet a demigod, she wasn’t frightened either. Just cautious. This demigod had had ample opportunity to do her and Obsidian harm over the years. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t.

  He had, in fact, given Shadowlight a safe place to be a kid for a while before growing up.

  So, she stood staring up at the ‘viewing mirror’ where it shimmered in the center of the chamber. The mirror was of a size with even the most pretentious of drive-in theater screens. Presently, it showed what one might mistake as a mirror image of the room they were standing in, except for the fact she and Obsidian weren’t in the reflection.

  Her gargoyle partner had confirmed they were looking into the future. Their own time to be precise. When she’d asked if this was like the time portal they’d crossed to get here, he’d shaken his head and brushed his knuckles against the spell. The simple touch had sent ripples through the image for half a minute before it calmed again.

  They’d waited maybe five minutes when Anna heard the clopping sound of massive hooves on stone. She drew in a quick breath and waited. A vast shadow arrived a few strides before the Lord of the Underworld appeared, dwarfing the expansive room with its hundred and fifty-foot ceiling.

  The four armed, four-legged god of death tilted his gargoyle-like head downward and then down some more until his eyes locked upon them.

  “Greetings my Rasoren and Kyrsu.” He circled once and then twice more before folding his legs under him and reclining. A second later his tail wrapped around his body in a cat-like manner.

  Her brain still hadn’t settled on what kind of animal he’d modeled his form after. The head was gargoyle-like certainly, as were the wings and tail, but his neck, shoulders, and body with its four sturdy legs had a more equine quality. But he didn’t move like either of those species. The graceful and flowing movement, almost like he didn’t have joints, was rather like one of the big cats.

  “Corporal Anna Mackenzie, I am older than all those species.” It was said in a humorous tone.

  Thankfully.

  She didn’t need to start out this meeting by offending a demigod of death with a foolish thought.

  “I have summoned you because now that Anna has awakened you both have a decision to make. It is no secret that I wish for you both to serve as leaders for my army. But I have no interest in slaves. You must choose this path willingly.” Lord Draydrak paused. “Obsidian is now old enough and far enough in his training to make his decision, but, Anna, you have much to learn first. It is not a decision to be made lightly. You have a year as Haven counts time to decide. That will give you time to train and catch up to Obsidian’s level. After that, if you wish to return to your place and time, I will release you.”

  Beside her Obsidian was practically twitching with the need to speak, but Lord Dray laughed at him. “Easy, my Rasoren. If Anna chooses to go and you wish to go with her, I will release you from my service as well.”

  Obsidian dropped into a deep bow. “Thank you, my Lord.”

  “Though as gargoyles, you will always hear my summons and be bound to come, but I shall always rerelease you. I cannot undo what you are.”

  Anna understood that all gargoyles were somehow bound to serve the demigod. So the last part wasn’t entirely new. Though it was likely to cause trouble later down the road.

  “I have a secondary reason to call you before me. Your mentors have reported the trouble with the Journeyman named Reaver. I shall speak with him. You need not worry about further trouble on that front. However, I have also felt a disturbance between you.”

  He shifted, two hands coming to rest on the ground directly between them.

  “Nothing can come between your bond without creating a weakness. If a wound—even an emotional one—is left to fester, it will sicken you both, taint your spirits and your magic. That is the nature of your bond. But your greatest gift and strength is that your bond can also be used to create a unity that will be equal to the Avatars. The kind of strength even the darkest of evil cannot touch.”

  Shit. The demigod sensed the flaw in her armor. But it wouldn’t remain just her flaw. It would become Obsidian’s as well if she didn’t find a way to fix herself. The dread she’d felt last night returned tenfold.

  “Do you understand what I’m telling you? Your link will not be complete—will, in fact, be a liability—until you both learn to merge your hearts, minds, and souls completely.”

  Damn it. He was saying if she didn’t get her shit together and her head screwed on straight, she could get Obsidian killed in battle.

  “Do not judge yourself so harshly, Kyrsu.” Draydrak’s expression softened. “What you suffered did not lessen your strength, your spirit, or your will. And you are not the only one with fears holding you back. Obsidian has his own. Ones he’s only now fully realizing. But together, you and he can heal those unseen wounds and find a peace you’ve never known.”

  Anna swallowed and stared at her feet for a moment. Then, spine stiffening and shoulders straightening, she looked up and met the demigod’s eyes. She was done with being weak. “I will not disappoint you, Obsidian, or myself. I will become the Kyrsu my Rasoren will need in the coming war.”

  “You will,” Lord Draydrak agreed.

  Beside her, Obsidian shifted, his one wing coming to curl around her shoulders. “You already are the Kyrsu I need, but together we will heal you, so these dark memories no longer haunt your days.”

  Chapter 31

  (The Present)

  VASPARA ONCE AGAIN found herself marching in a direction she’d rather not be heading. This time Sorac, Bervicta, and the sidhe-demoness sisters were with her. They’d been ordered by their goddess to find out how the blood witch’s spell was coming. She hadn’t reported in over three days.

  If they were lucky, the witch had miscalculated and been eaten by her own spell. But Vaspara was never so fortunate. Otherwise, she and Sorac would have been shipped out on patrol yesterday and would have missed the Battle Goddess’s latest summons. But Korsha and Ernya were late getting back with their newest trainees because winter storms had closed off the passes. And even magic could only do so much.

  The faint whiff of death that always clung to this section of corridors was growing stronger by the step. Another hundred steps and it was all she could smell. Fifty more steps and she could taste death on her lips.

  “Goddess,” Sorac choked, raising his hand to his face and slowing. “If that gets any worse, I’m just going to torch the entire section.”

  “I’d wait until the bodies have been removed before burning them, were I you. Otherwise, the entire keep will smell like a charnel house.” Vaspara rounded the corner and halted so suddenly Sorac ran into her from behind.

  “You sure you don’t want me to just burn the entire keep?” Sorac asked as he peered over her shoulder. “We could rebuild. Probably quicker, too.”

  Bervicta craned her neck and then whistled. “That’s just nasty.”

  Bodies were stacked seven high on both sides of the corridor as far as the eye could see.

  Behind her one of the sidhe-demoness sisters made an offended sound. “Why haven’t the servants cleaned this mess up yet?”

  “The ‘mess’ is the servants,” Sorac said in a low voice. “Since you just got back from a patrol, I assume you haven’t been to your quarters yet. You’ll notice something missing.”

  Vaspara was glad Sorac had been able to spirit her servants away on the same trip he’d delivered his to safety. Once it was safe, he’d go retrieve them. She’d later learned, Bervicta had stashed her own servants in preservation spells and sank them to the bottom of the lake beside the training field.

  Bervicta was glanc
ing back at the line of young trainees still following in their mistress’s wake. The harpy’s expression was dark as she looked back to Vaspara. “Should we suggest they clean up the dead, so the witch doesn’t use the youngsters as a snack? I think Korsha and her sister are only now starting to realize the true depth of Taryin’s darkness.”

  Vaspara turned. “You there!”

  The foremost of the soldiers started at being addressed by one of the other captains.

  “Yes, you. Stop looking toward your mistress for permission. Gather your men and clean this mess up. Take the bodies out to the edge of the practice yard and burn them to ash.”

  Korsha’s eyes widened slightly in understanding, and she turned to her men to give them further instructions on how to find the nearest exit from the keep.

  Then the five captains continued up the hall in single file until they reached the door to the witch’s workroom. Here the smell of death was almost overpowered by the taint of blood magic. Almost, but not quite.

  Vaspara called through the door twice. When she got no response, she really did start to wonder if the witch had fallen prey to one of her creations. A surge of hope welled in Vaspara’s dark little heart as she pushed open the heavy door.

  The first sight of the room snuffed out that hope.

  Taryin lay slumped across her worktable. Alive. Though barely.

  Above her, a dark, churning power hung in the air. Inside its swirling mass, ebony shadows danced with a rusty red mist. The speed and pattern of its shifting energy currents changed between heartbeats. Sometimes it was slow, almost graceful in its movements. Other times it was quick and jerky, reminding her of something in its death throes.

  “I don’t think I’ve been so unlucky as to witness anything half as evil as that...thing...until now.” Sorac’s voice was colored with awe and revulsion.

  “Not unless you count the unconscious witch.”

  “Well. True. But we could do something about that.”