With greater determination, Tethys set out to find the dolphins.
****
For leagues, the siren swam, her anger banked, but still glowing like a land-bound’s fire. Around her, the ocean’s waters raged in sympathy. White capped waves rolled away from her location with greater and greater frequency.
A soft clicking sounded in the distance. Twisting her body, she whipped around, honing in on the location. The water carried the sound from a long ways, but it was still distinguishable as dolphin speech even over the deep drone of the raging seas.
They sang their approach across the vastness of the ocean. A small pod of six pale grey shapes drew closer, their compact bodies elegant in the water. As the dolphins neared, the ocean calmed, and Tethys let the last of her rage go. She’d never been able to remain angry in the presence of the playful ones.
With a lighter heart, she went to meet them. The first dolphin broke rank and bolted ahead of the others. A young male, his curiosity clear by his body language and chattering clicks. He swam close enough to bump his nose against her tail before his bravery deserted him, and he darted back to the rest of his family pod.
The other members of the family, perhaps older and wiser, held back, studying her. The young male broke rank a second time and slid closer. He continued to chatter at her, questioning what she was. She answered in kind. The clicks and whistles a language she’d mastered long ago.
At length, she explained to the dolphin family who and what she was, and they gave her their names in turn.
A deluge of playful greetings distracted her from other, darker questions. It wasn’t until they had hunted together and were well fed that Tethys asked about the condition of the air and water. Her line of questioning was too complex at first. The results were a mix of confusing clicks and meaningless whistles.
She tapped the fingers of one hand along her flank and tried another question.
“What makes the water taste bad?”
There was more clicking and swift darting bodies as the group worked out a spokesperson.
The young male ignored his elders’ debate and answered the siren. “The Not-Island sank.”
“Not-Island?” She asked, hoping for something more conclusive.
The oldest matriarch of the pod bump the young male aside, scolding him in the process. Once she was finished, she came alongside the siren. They swam with near perfect unity for several body lengths, and then Tethys reached out a hand to rest on the dolphin’s side.
At the contact, a confusing series of images marched through her head. A great metal monster perched out in the ocean, close to shore. Its metal roots borrowing deep into the earth’s crust.
Above the surface, bright flames burned on the metal Not-Island. Darkness floated upon the water and impossibly, burned there too. Great poisonous clouds billowed up into the air.
Humans had jumped from the metal island, trying to escape their own folly. The dolphin pod circled farther out, wanting to help the humans, but too afraid of the monstrous island to come near enough.
More humans arrived in boats, rescuing their fellows. They battled the fierce blaze for a time, but it proved too much, and the heat pushed them back.
Both humans and dolphin pod watched as the structure weakened. Then with a great, tortured groan, the whole of it twisted sideways. Pieces of debris sheared off, dropping into the water below with great splashes and much hissing of steam. Another long stretch of time passed, then finally the massive Not-Island died, collapsing down into the ocean. Like a Leviathan with its spine severed, chunks of metal piping twisted and crumpled upon themselves as it made its slow, painful way to the ocean floor.
The fires on the surface burned out, the sounds of tortured metal ceased, and the ocean grew silent once again.
To Tethys’s horror, she realized it was only the beginning.
Oily black death bubbled out of the earth as if a vein had been severed, spreading an ever enlarging stain upon the ocean realm.
For days upon days, humans had scurried about in boats. Their actions desperate and ineffectual against such an insidious an enemy.
The dolphins had stayed in the region to learn if the disaster would be contained, but the waters grew steadily more tainted, fish sickened and died or fled the area. Sea birds and other life succumbed to the black menace.
With no other choice the dolphins abandoned their hunting grounds, following the schools of fish, and left the humans to battle their mistake.
The siren sensed it took the humans days to stop the leak, far longer than it should have. A year passed, the ocean defused the toxins, and the humans’ clean up continued. Yet she could still taste the legacy of disaster.
Her tail flicked with agitation and her mind filled with thoughts of hate and revenge, but she forced herself to calm as she faced the dolphin matriarch.
The dolphins were fond of the land bound humans for some reason she’d never been able to comprehend.
“Where can I find knowledgeable humans? Ones with water and land wisdom?”
“You seek searchers and studiers?” The matriarch chirped.
Tethys nodded at the female’s question. “Yes, I require those with knowledge so I might learn from them.”
“Friendly ones that like us. We show you.”
The dolphin darted off, angling toward the far distant shore. The siren and the rest of the pod followed.
As they travel just under the blue mirror, the young male who had first approached her bumped her again. In a burst of juvenile enthusiasm, the youngling broke the surface and arched through the air.
With barely a splash, he dove back in, and with three powerful tail flips he was back at her side, nudging her to play. Subduing her anger at the humans, she opened her heart to the dolphins’ joy of life. Arching her back and swishing her tail in rapid, strong strokes she clipped the young male with her tail as she darted toward the surface.
Chirping wildly, the male gave chase. Seconds later, they broke the surface together, curving through the air before they fell back into the cool embrace of Mother Ocean.
The rest of the pod joined in the fun of surf dancing, leaping and twisting into the air. When they tired of the game, they hunted schools of fish. All the while, the dolphin matriarch guided her family under Tethys’s watchful eye.
Chapter Six
From her position under a giant grandfather of a sycamore, Lillian watched Gregory pace out an invisible circle, an area roughly the size of his outstretched wings. Periodically, he glanced up from his study of the ground and eyed the surrounding trees with a simmering intensity. After two more circles of the area, he returned to Lillian’s side.
“This location will do. Here the land’s magic is stronger than anywhere else we’re likely to find within three day’s flight.”
“Whoa! The use of ‘we’ and ‘flight’ together in the same sentence is strictly prohibited.”
His head cocked to the side. “You have always loved flying with me. I will help you overcome your irrational fear.”
To cover up the rush of terror his words inspired, she tossed her hands up in surrender and then turned and stomped back to the shelter of the sycamore. The gooseflesh standing at attention all along her arms testified to the fact she wasn’t fond of riding gargoyle-back. Not to mention her hardy dislike of anything that combined speed and heights. The mere thought of flying while perched precariously upon Gregory’s back was the culmination of some unholy nightmare, only one she hoped to postpone indefinitely. “Good thing this spot will work, because there’s no way you can just go for a ‘little three day flight’ without finding yourself on the nightly news or the permanent guest in some super-secret government institution.”
Gregory turned his back on her and mantled his wings. Less than ten seconds later she felt him call magic. Whirls and eddies of cool air swirled around her ankles, raising more gooseflesh along her legs to match what was already gracing her arms. She held her position with her denim cove
red butt firmly parked against the tree’s trunk. If Gregory was going to cavalierly dismiss her concerns, she’d show him she could be just as stubborn.
It didn’t matter what he was doing.
She wasn’t curious in the least.
Not one bit.
A deep rumbling laugh filled the night. “You’re a terrible liar, beloved. However, you are more than welcome to watch, pretend extreme indifference, or take a nap if you wish, but just stay close.” Gregory gave her one of his wicked, toothy gargoyle grins over his shoulder before he turned his attention back to his spell.
Lillian pursed her lips.
He was correct on all counts.
Damn.
But she wasn’t about to take a nap on his command like some naughty child.
She pushed off from the tree and walked around Gregory until she could peer around his half mantled wings.
He’d burned a magic symbol into the very air—she couldn’t think what else to call the glowing, tightly knotted flecks of light hanging suspended at about waist height. A second was forming next to the first. On the original’s opposite side, a soft glow soon formed into a third pale green symbol, this one shot through with silver spots of brighter intensity.
Gregory shifted from his hunched position to stand upright, his wings stretching farther until they were fully extended.
Anticipating his next move, Lillian ducked under the outer edge of his wing and sank down into a cross legged position. Safely out of the way, she leaned back against his legs and watched him work.
As she half expected, he pushed the glowing symbols with a gentle sweep of one broad wing. The misty lights flashed brighter as they floated away from each other with increasing speed.
Wanting an explanation, she craned her neck to look up at Gregory. He stood with his head bowed, eyes closed, expression relaxed. His arms rested at his sides, and his tail laid curled around his ankles, the picture of peaceful contentment.
Why shouldn’t her gargoyle be happy? He was working powerful magic from the Spirit Realm, doing what he was designed to do. She swallowed back her questions to simply allow him this moment.
Only his wings held any tension as they fanned the air slowly, stirring up a slight breeze as he called more magic and shaped it into more of the fire-bright symbols. After each was made, they hovered in a group a few feet away. When he had another half dozen of them, he fanned his wings with more power and sent the new spells out into the surrounding forest in pursuit of the first round.
She leaned back against his shins and closed her eyes, wanting to feel the magic he worked, to understand its makeup and purpose. Touching him, she felt the leashed power at his command, his ironclad discipline and infinite patience. He continued to work his spell, but acknowledged her presence in his mind with a flick of warmth and humor.
A solid weight landed in her lap. She gasped as her eyes snapped open and riveted on the object in question. Recognition came a moment later. She chuckled in relief and patted his tail companionably. Then jerked her hands away with a startled exclamation. His normally warm skin was cold, so chilled she’d thought her fingers frostbitten. She blew on the tips to warm them even as her thoughts sought out her gargoyle’s.
The answer to her unasked question came to her in a flood of emotions and sensations—in tune with her own, and yet not hers—for these were Gregory’s, and her perception changed to his view point.
Invigorating magic swept from the Spirit Realm, filling the forest around him with its bounty. Its pureness and strength unmatched by anything found in either Mortal or Magic Realms. It tasted of comfort and home—of the infinite.
And, yet, it was unnaturally cold, not compatible with any living body, even one as adaptable as his own.
But there was a pleasant warmth near at hand. His thoughts turned in another direction. His beloved. His lady. Even though she was trapped in a mortal form weaker than his own, he still took comfort in her living warmth against his legs. They had had so few opportunities to merge in this way, their two separate consciousness’ together in one body. It was not the same as existing as one being in the Spirit Realm, but here, clothed in mortal flesh, it was as close as they could come. And how he had missed this intimacy.
Her presence also grounded him and reminded him of his purpose, which he’d nearly forgotten with the first flush of power from the Spirit Realm, and its seductive soul call. A distraction of such magnitude could have had dire consequences if the magic had slipped his control.
With regret he turned his attention away from his other half, for grounding and locking the magic into a stable defensive spell was of the utmost importance. Stray magic of the strength he was summoning could do extreme damage in the Mortal Realm. A silent thread of understanding reverberated between them. And then with a silent apology to Lillian, he turned his attention back to the task at hand, and continued weaving the spell. “Beloved, I must finish what I’ve started. You may stay and watch or return to your own body when you wish.”
Lillian gave the equivalent of a mental nod. “I will return to my own body and be another set of eyes to guard us while you work.”
With Gregory’s consciousness tied up with the complexities of the spell craft, Lillian found her own mind still lodged firmly in his body. Her perception shifted again, her field of vision skewed strangely. This time, she was looking down upon herself, where she slumped against Gregory’s legs, her body still and seemingly unconscious.
Surprise, bordering on sickening panic, kicked her heart into gear.
Moments later her brain caught up with her panicked instincts. Her body wasn’t dead. She could still see her chest rising and falling in a slow, deep rhythm. And this strange mind link with her gargoyle, while intense, wasn’t a first. She’d merged with Gregory like this once before. This time was just a little deeper, and he seemed to be leaving her in control of his body. It was a great act of trust. One she didn’t want him to regret.
Last time, no harm had befallen her physical body. There was no reason this time would be any different. She’d merely have to figure out how to get back to her own body without his help. Closing her eyes, in part to help her concentrate, but also to block out the strange orientation of Gregory’s gargoyle vision, she drew in a steadying breath.
She focused on calming her abnormal heartbeat—make that Gregory’s abnormal heartbeat. When she’d persuaded it into a more normal rhythm, she turned her attention toward disengaging her mind from Gregory’s body.
With another deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked up. Seeing through Gregory’s eyes wasn’t quite so odd the second time. He merely saw in greater detail and a more panoramic manner, a gift of his large and slightly side set eyes.
A bit of movement to her left had her glancing over her shoulder. She tracked an owl making its not so silent way through the forest. The slight change in stance shifted her weight in ways she hadn’t expected. The small move almost pulled her over backwards, and she realized belatedly just how much mass was contained in Gregory’s wings.
Some less than elegant arm windmilling saved her from a nasty fall. Balance restored, she glanced back down at her own body where it was slumping to the side, but still in contact with Gregory’s left leg.
It reminded her of the last time they’d been merged like this, the link had been severed when the physical connection was broken. Reaching down, she gave her shoulder a gentle shove.
And with a slight feeling of vertigo, which made her stomach lurch, she was suddenly back in her own body. Otherwise it was a physically easy transition, though there was a growing pang of loss. It was as Gregory had once said. One soul now in two bodies left a definite feeling of incompleteness.
Lillian shivered from both physical and emotional cold.
She was still recovering when the excited baying of a hound reached her ears.
Chapter Seven
Lillian lunged to her feet. A wave of dizziness struck her hard, sending her stumbling sideways until
she slammed into a tree trunk. She shook her head and blinked rapidly until her vision cleared. More barking pierced the air, closer this time. Too close.
When she could trust her legs to keep her upright, she returned to Gregory’s side. She ran a gentle hand down his dark mane.
“Gregory, I think those are sniffer dogs. We’re about to get uniformed visitors.” Lillian forced herself to take one step away, not liking how she was about to leave him at what could be a very vulnerable time, but seeing no other choice. “Stay, take the time you need to finished the spell. I’ll delay our company.”
Magic brushed against her skin and in the touch she felt Gregory, his thoughts sharp with alertness, but not undo concern. “Be careful, my love. I scent no evil in the humans coming near, but I sense they are well schooled in the weapons of this world and smell of anticipation and a touch of fear. Never a good combination.”
“Guess I better be careful not to surprise them then.”
After one last glance in Gregory’s direction, she started back the way they had come. The dogs were closer now, the tone of their cries fiercer. In the distance lights flickered through the dense undergrowth. Lillian began to run, wanting as much distance between the newcomers and her gargoyle as possible.
As her long legged strides closed the distance, Lillian realized she reacted with her usual rashness and absolutely no plan. Out this deep in the forest, with darkness falling, she needed an ironclad explanation, and she imagined anything as mundane as a simple walk would be sure to flag whatever investigator would be accompanying the dogs. No one was stupid enough to wander the forest at night, at least not without good reason, a strong flashlight, and a backpack—or a campsite nearby.
“I have none of the above. And no wits to save myself, either,” Lillian muttered to herself in disgust.
The Avatars Series: Books 1-3 Page 31