“Shit! Look out!”
Gryton darted to the side a moment before the djinn launched the wave of raw power at them. Erika tried to absorb as much of it as possible, but there was just too much moving too quickly.
The dragon screamed and wheeled in the air, but the power’s path shifted with the dragon, and he wasn’t able to escape in time. The power collided with them, slamming the dragon into the side of the opposite mountain.
Erika was tossed forward into the dragon’s neck. Her arms only absorbed a little of the impact, and her nose and right cheek took the brunt.
There was a sickening wet crunch and then a stabbing pain. Moments later, blood gushed down her face. By the pain, she’d just broken her nose. But she had bigger concerns as all around her the dragon’s elemental fire erupted as he fought his own magic.
Erika was reminded of the djinn’s first assassin spell. But the dragon was more in control than Gryton had been back then, and he managed to hold his form. Not that it aided them much. The impact had been so great, it had buried his lower body partway in the mountainside.
“Fuck!” she muttered as air and blood bubbled out her nose. She made an aborted attempt to touch it and then changed her mind.
Then she looked beyond her dragon’s flapping wings and snaking neck and discovered he was buried nearly up to his neck.
“Shit. How badly are you hurt?”
“Only my pride,” the big beast said sounding very much like the Gryton of old. Then the dragon dispensed with words and settled for hisses and snarls as he struggled to extract himself from the side of the mountain.
Erika swiveled her head to get a look at what the djinn was doing while her dragon was stuck. She quickly found the djinn. He was still on the opposite side of the valley, picking himself up off the mountain peaks. Just like his earlier injuries, these new one simply shimmered and closed over, repairing the djinn like he hadn’t just been impaled on the jagged teeth of a mountain.
Though there was one difference. She hadn’t been mistaken. The djinn was about twenty feet shorter than he’d been before. Erika was just about to tell her dragon the good news when the djinn turned his back on them and began pouring more of his power into the mountain he’d recently been impaled upon.
Magic raced along the cliffs, slopes, and crevasses of the mountain. Large pieces sheared off. The ground began to shake as if by an earthquake.
“I don’t know what the djinn is doing, but I don’t think I like it!”
Shortly the djinn rose to hover above the mountain and then his muscular shoulders shifted and strained as if he was about to...
“Fuck! I think he’s going to toss a mountain at us!”
The longer she watched, the more certain she was that he planned to entomb both her and her dragon between two mountains. Gryton might survive that, but she doubted even the most powerful of Nulls could survive such a thing.
“This is not how I envisioned returning to the Spirit Realm.”
Under her, the dragon bucked and clawed and flapped his wings in a renewed effort to free himself, but his fire magic had melted the rock around them, and he couldn’t get traction.
And as his fire magic melted more and more of the mountainside, the heat rolling up off the molten rock became even more unpleasant until it was nearly unbearable.
“Hot. Hey there, Dragon, it’s getting really hot.” She tucked her arms and legs closer to her torso. It helped a little. The scales underneath her were still relatively cool. Either the dragon was protecting her, or her Null’s ability had sensed a threat and had kicked in, draining away the heat.
Gryton thrashed and beat his wings, levering his neck and shoulders away from the mountainside. She chanced a glance over her shoulder again. The djinn was still working on lifting a mountain. But as she watched, large fissures formed two-thirds of the way down the slope. “Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck. He’s lifting the mountain!”
With a mighty heave, the dragon extracted his front end and beat his wings harder until slowly more of his body emerged from the molten rock. Erika cast a terror-filled glance over her shoulder.
The djinn hurtled the mass of mountain at them.
Closing her eyes, she pressed both palms against the dragon’s scales and calmed her mind. “You are the most magnificent creature a girl could ever ask for. Thank you for coming into my life. It was an honor flying with you.”
With a mighty roar that shook the mountain, her dragon pulled himself free of the sucking molten rock and shot into the air. He didn’t slow, darting up into the sky so swiftly the temperature plummeted. The molten rock sticking to him cooled and fell away.
Higher and higher, he flew, until the air grew thin. Then he rolled and hung weightless for a moment.
Erika grew light-headed even as she laughed with joy.
“You really are the most magnificent of creatures!”
Then the moment of weightlessness was over, and suddenly a force was threatening to pull her from his back, but the sturdy leather harness held her in place. He descended even faster than he’d shot up into the air. Soon the valley was growing larger once more. She spotted the djinn looking up at them.
He launched more power, but it had no effect, her dragon just slicing through it like it wasn’t there. The dragon swung his claws forward. Three seconds later, he struck the djinn. The impact of the two opposing magics created a shockwave, knocking her dragon back two hundred feet before his wings were able to compensate. Below them, the concussion knocked the two armies off their feet. The djinn, lacking wings, flew backward until he smashed into the fortress city.
It wasn’t until a tall, ethereal giantess had to sidestep the djinn that Erika realized the other factions were making war upon each other even as she and her dragon fought the djinn.
The Lady of Battles was free from her temple prison. She wore a black breastplate, carried a shield nearly as tall as she was, and wielded a very long sword. Power rippled in the air as she moved, and Erika somehow knew she was drawing power from the other battles, using it to strengthen herself.
“She’s like a twisted sort of Null,” she mused, coming to understand the Battle Goddess’s power for the first time.
“Yes. She draws power from war and aggression. It is her nature. And we must help the other Avatars and her twin to defeat that great power.”
Erika raised her fist into the air. “Bring. It. Bitch!”
Chapter 29
Obsidian
THE SPECTACLE OF WATCHING dragon and djinn battle it out was enough of a distraction that many did not see the demigoddess until she’d begun to descend the dark red stairway leading down from the fortress city. Obsidian had been among the number focused upon the elemental dragon and the djinn.
As much as he’d disliked Gryton, he could only hope that the dragon won the fight. They needed the djinn out of the way for what was to come next.
Turning his attention fully to the Lady of Battles, Obsidian noticed for the first time that she was herding many warriors ahead of her. Power cracked at them like whips, forcing them to flee before her or die. Her plan was clear. She would force them into battle, which would only make her even stronger. And if they refused to fight, she’d kill them with her lightning-like power.
Obsidian already knew the warriors would fight. It was what they’d been trained for. A spike of regret flowed through him. Sorac and Vaspara were probably already dead. The Battle Goddess would not have shown them leniency for what the firedrake had tried to do to save those under his command.
Anna’s thoughts brushed his. “We’ll avenge them as well.”
Yes, they would.
Lillian and Gregory soared past him, spiraling down to the ground to land at the head of the army. Obsidian and Anna dropped out of the sky to join them.
“We need to engage the Battle Goddess now before she can force the two sides into a fight,” Lillian said. “My other half and I will distract the demigoddess while Draydrak begins the transfer of power.”
Obsidian nodded at his older sister. “We will join the fight as soon as we’re able.”
“Be safe, little brother,” she called over her shoulder. Then she began to run forward, magic already snapping around her. Gregory ran close beside her, his equally formidable magic racing ahead of them both, forming a lance that he sent speeding toward the Battle Goddess.
The sound of large hooves crunching on the rocky ground announced Lord Draydrak’s approach. “It is time. Are you ready to fulfill your purpose, young Avatar?”
Obsidian pushed aside the nervous shiver that wanted to run down his back and into his wings. But there was no time for fear. This is what he’d been born for; what he’d trained for. If they had any hope of finally defeating a demigoddess who could not die, this was the only way.
Warm, strong fingers closed around his. He tilted his head to study his Kyrsu.
Anna, with her muscular body that still possessed soft curves, her broad wings, her beautiful dark skin, and her lovely eyes shining with determination and love.
She noticed his scrutiny. “We got this. We’re a team, remember?”
He huffed in agreement and then looked toward Lord Draydrak. “I am ready.”
“Good, if this works, you shall become death.” Draydrak paused to look to Anna. “And you shall become war.”
Anna’s thoughts touched Obsidian’s mind. “I’m not sure what part I like less—the ‘you shall become death’ part or ‘if this works’ bit.”
Lord Draydrak took one of his swords and sliced a long cut down the center of his gargoyle torso. When he lowered the sword, power continued to pour down his chest. The wound didn’t seem to pain the demigod. He gathered up the power and wove it into tendrils until he had a length of magical rope held between two of his hands.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed one end, and it adhered to the wound and the rope glowed brighter with power. Then he took the other end and handed it to Obsidian.
Gazing down at the ghostly filaments waving in the air, Obsidian drew a deep calming breath and then brought the umbilical up to his chest. When it latched on, pain lanced through his core, deep enough he thought it cut into his soul. A shudder traveled down his spine, wings, and tail. Anna’s fingers tightened around his.
“We’ve got this,” he murmured back at her a moment before the power of death came rushing into him. At that moment he felt every death that was occurring the universe over, every soul beginning its journey into the Spirit Realm. Obsidian collapsed to his knees with a gasp.
“It will be over soon,” Draydrak said, his voice loud in Obsidian’s mind. “And you will not have to learn to wield my power. You are only a vessel. A source for my swords to draw power from. They will attend to what needs doing. After all, they too have souls and consciousness. Do not be afraid if you should hear their voices. They will not harm you. If they become too loud, you can command them to silence, and they will remain so unless they determine that there is some danger to the souls of the universe that needs your attention.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Then relax as much as you are able.”
Obsidian nodded and allowed Draydrak to continue his work. He had no sense of time as Lord Death poured more and more of his power into him. Though he knew the battle still raged on around them. Yet at no point did Anna’s fingers ever leave his.
“There,” Draydrak said as he stepped back, allowing the sun to once again touch Obsidian’s skin.
Its warmth was welcome. Inside he burned with power, and yet his soul felt chilled.
“That is the spirit magic you feel. In time, you’ll grow accustomed to it.”
Looking down, Obsidian expected to see the magical rope still adhered to his chest since he still felt magic flowing into him from Draydrak, but there was no sign of the enchanted umbilical cord.
“It is no longer needed,” Draydrak explained. “You now host enough of my power that the rest will flow to you naturally.”
“What about me?” Anna asked the same thing Obsidian had been thinking. “What do I have to do to take your twin’s power?”
“Not die.” Draydrak laughed and then sobered a moment later. “Forgive me. That joke was in poor taste. As soon as my twin feels the first pull upon her magic, she will understand what we try to do. She will retaliate most fiercely.”
“Hence, the ‘not die’ part, I take it?”
“Yes. The only way she can win is if she kills you or Obsidian. The Avatars and I will do all in our power to prevent that from happening. You have my word.” Then Lord Draydrak drew another of his swords and made a second slash on his chest. Soon he was weaving together another rope of power. When he was finished, he held out the end to Anna like he had with Obsidian.
Anna only shrugged and pressed the wiggling tendrils of power to her breast. Then she gasped out a startled oath. Obsidian squeezed her hand. It was important that she know he was here for her like she’d been for him. As she shivered and shook under the powerful onslaught, he continued to croon to her.
Then at last with a little shudder, she looked up and blinked at him.
“Hell. That was a bit of something, wasn’t it?”
He nodded his agreement. While she was patting her chest where the ropelike tendrils had been, he glanced up at their surroundings. Light’s army had moved past them to engage the enemy.
The Avatars were battling the Battle Goddess.
Suddenly there was a screech from the distant battlefront. The Lady of Battles raised a hand toward them, screaming something incoherent. Before the echo had died away, she was launching a new attack aimed at Anna.
Lord Draydrak blocked it with one of his swords and then glanced down at Anna. “It seems my sister has discovered my little plan.”
“I’d say so by the rage in that scream. She sounded pissed.”
“Come. The closer you are, the faster you’ll be able to draw magic away from her.”
Anna and Obsidian nodded and took to the air.
They were nearing the line of fighting between the two armies when Blood Witch Taryin’s voice slashed across the distance, harsh and demanding as she ordered the djinn to destroy Anna and Obsidian.
There was a rippling in the power surrounding the djinn, and Lord Draydrak stepped between them and the other spirit creature. But the djinn merely smiled at them and then turned back to the witch.
“No,” he said as he rose up into the air and waved a hand at the dormant portal spells. Once the portal spells flashed active, he turned back to the witch. “I no longer serve you. I have a new master.”
He waved his hand at the fortress city. A firedrake and his two riders could be seen winging swiftly toward the open portal.
Obsidian felt a spark of joy at the sight of fourteen tiny draklings lodged between the firedrake’s spine ridges. They were within ten wingbeats of the portal when Vaspara held up the bottle.
There was a moment of panic when both armies stirred uneasily, fearing she was going to smash the bottle and unleash the djinn to annihilate this world, but she merely called to it, and the spirit creature dissolved into pure light and raced after them.
The firedrake darted low, breathing fire at the Legion soldiers guarding the portal gates. The drake dived a second and third time until the gargoyles had to scatter or burn as their shields failed.
In the moments between heartbeats, the firedrake and his passengers vanished through the portal.
Eerie silence spread through both armies. Then there was a stirring in the ranks of the Battle Goddess’s army. A moment later three of the battalions that had pulled back from the fighting now saw another possibility and charged toward the gateway. The Legion members scattered by the firedrake’s earlier attack weren’t able to rally in time to hold back the sudden flood of enemy soldiers all coming at them at once. While many of the battalion members died, many hundreds made it through the portal.
Beside him, Anna cursed. “Are they about to arrive on Earth?�
��
“I am uncertain. I felt the djinn’s power working upon the portal spell. It’s possible he changed the destination point.”
Chapter 30
Gregory
THE BATTLE WAS NEARING an end. Gregory could feel it in his soul. Many had lost their lives, but the Light would win the day. And if there were mercy in the universe, this would bring about a lasting peace.
But before that could happen, the Battle Goddess needed to die, and it was clear he wouldn’t be able to accomplish that in this flesh and blood form.
“I will keep her busy while you shed your corporeal form,” Draydrak told Gregory.
He nodded his thanks to the demigod as the male galloped past, bringing his swords into play.
The two demigods came together in a clash of shield and sword. By rights, Draydrak’s four swords to the Battle Goddess’s one should have given him a great advantage, but his opponent was War, so it came as no surprise that the Lady of Battles held her own against her four-armed opponent.
But she would be no match for the Avatar.
Closing his eyes, Gregory shed his gargoyle body and burst free to race up into the sky. His form expanded, his magic shimmering pure and cold and powerful until, once again, he was an ageless primordial being from the beginning of the universe.
“Your reign of war is over,” he told the Lady of Battles as he grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her toward the vortex his Sorceress was opening in the sky above them. The cold, pure power of the Spirit Realm rushed down to him from the rip in the Veil Between the Realms.
He was almost within touching distance of the vortex when his sudden momentum came to a jarring halt. He glanced down at his prey only to see ropes of blood magic trailing from her body like chains. The corrupted magic dragged upon the Battle Goddess harder, making her scream and thrash. The twisted power began dragging him down with her.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 196