“Why did you just give me that information? I could use it against you later. Kid, learn some basic survival skills.”
“I have. I now know how a human thinks.”
“We’re not all the same you know.”
“No? Ah well. I’ll learn what I can from you anyway. Would you actually try to run away if you could? We’re linked through my magic. I could track you before you got far.”
She sensed the young gargoyle’s hurt. He took it as a personal failure that she wanted to escape instead of staying and being his friend. He didn’t word it as such, but it was there in her mind. Poor kid was starved for attention.
An unhappy twist of emotions churned within her. The kid was so damn sincere about everything and she’d hurt his feelings. Damn it. She shouldn’t care if she hurt his feelings. He was her captor. Guilt still kicked her in the gut.
“Do you know what duty is?” she asked at last, after a lengthy internal debate.
Shadowlight nodded his head. “All gargoyles are born knowing it is our duty to serve the light, to protect those weaker than ourselves.”
“Well, the same duty rules me too. I serve and protect my people. It’s my duty to share what I’ve learned so they can better protect themselves. It’s not that I wish to abandon you, kid. It’s that I have a duty to my people first and foremost.”
Shadowlight butted her in the shoulder. “I’m your ‘people’ now too. I’ll help you keep the other humans safe.”
“You’re such an innocent.”
And she realized no matter what happened to her, she couldn’t let the other humans ever get their hands on Shadowlight.
“See. Told you.” He sounded far too pleased with himself, but she could only smile at his boldness. He was correct, he was one of her ‘people’ now too, and she would protect him. Something within her demanded it.
“Now children,” Greenborrow whispered. “We don’t have time for group hugs. We need to get Anna settled in her quarters.
Anna nodded sharply and walked into the room. Inside it was not exactly cramped, but not spacious either. She’d slept in worse. The room was sparse, its only furnishings a narrow bed, night stand, lamp, and dresser. That was about it. The walls were unfinished plywood, but the floor was carpeted. It would help muffle noise, and Greenborrow had said the room was sound proofed.
Off to her left was a small bathroom.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” Greenborrow asked. “Shadowlight doesn’t know a lot about humans, so he may not have stocked your bag with useful items.”
“Razors and tampons would be nice since you’re asking.” That reminded her of something, and she went over to her pack and routed through it until she found the pregnancy test. “I certainly don’t need this, but since Shadowlight said he took one of everything he found in his sister’s vanity, someone might want to return this before she misses it and starts asking questions you don’t want to answer.”
Greenborrow stared at the box she held out for all the world like he was gobsmacked.
Shadowlight leaned in closer for a look. “I didn’t know what that was, but she had several stuffed behind other items. I didn’t think she’d miss it.”
Greenborrow jerked his gaze to Shadowlight. “She has more than one?”
“Yes, several. Why, is that bad?”
“It doesn’t concern you, but thank you for letting me know. I will see this gets to where it needs to go.” Greenborrow gave Anna an old world bow. “Now I must be off, and our young gargoyle needs to go find his bed before his parents find it empty. Dawn isn’t far off.”
Anna watched as they left, closing and locking the door behind them. She was a prisoner for now, but she would get free and then run to the nearest military personnel she could find. At least now she knew where she was and which direction led to the rest of civilization.
All in all, it had been a harrowing couple of days, but she’d survived and had gathered more intel in the last two days than the whole science team had in three months leading up to this. She just had to find a way to get it to her superiors without endangering Shadowlight. She didn’t want to see the leshii come to harm either, but he was old and wise, and she bet he could take care of himself just fine.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“That was an epic waste of time and money,” Lillian mumbled as she stood in front of the vanity and looked down at the pregnancy test in her hand. Like the other two varieties she’d used, this one just showed a purple blob instead of the marks it was supposed to.
Well, what had she expected? She wasn’t human. She shoved the useless test in the garbage, tossed some crumpled facial tissue on top and made a mental note to find a better way to dispose of the used tests. As she washed her hands, she remembered the one military tail had seen in her basket at the drugstore and had raised an eyebrow at her purchases.
Yep, she’d best burn them all in a bomb fire later tonight. That way there was no chance of them falling into the hands of some scientist.
Lillian exited the bathroom, her eyes going to the bed where Gregory was still asleep. Her fingers reached to touch the brand around her neck. At least the bed and bathroom were close enough together the tattoos didn’t flare painful warnings.
However, she was hungry.
But if Gregory was still asleep, than he needed his rest. Sighing, she went to her side of the bed and carefully sat down so as not to wake him. She brushed his thick mane from his face, his gargoyle features somehow less harsh, softened by sleep. Or she was just so used to seeing him in gargoyle form now, she saw the beauty in him?
With him asleep, she could fulfill his need for intimacy without jeopardizing her secret. She curled up next to him and he shifted in his sleep, making room for her. A moment later his strong arms encircled her and she rested with an ear pressed against his chest. The steady thump of his heart reassured her, but still silent tears flowed down her cheeks.
He stirred then and she felt warm breath in her hair a moment before his deep voice rumbled in her ear.
“What is wrong, beloved?”
Lillian swallowed hard, snuggling closer to his warmth, and told him the truth. “I am afraid for our future.”
“Ah,” he rumbled softly and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head and then he shifted again. Fingers came to rest under her chin as he gently guided her head up so he could look her in the eyes. “I do not know the future, that has never been one of our gifts, but know whatever comes, I will stand with you always.”
He enfolded her in his wings and held her close, but she didn’t sleep, instead she looked over the curve of his shoulder to watch the east facing window. Somewhere between when the sky lightened to a pale grey and then pinked with dawn, Gregory drifted back to sleep.
Lillian continued to watch the sun rise.
*****
A pounding on her bedroom door jerked Lillian from sleep. She swung her legs out of bed and pulled on a robe well Gregory was still shifting a wing so he could look over his shoulder and scowl at the door.
“What now? Are we under attack?” Lillian asked as she tied the robe’s knot.
Gregory huffed. “No.”
The pounding came again, sharper this time.
“One moment,” he shouted at the door, and then more quietly to her, “I promised your mother she could start your training this morning.” Gregory rolled out of bed, dropped to all fours, where he stretched every muscle twice and then made his way over to the door.
“Why wasn't I told about this?”
His tail twitched. “She only asked last night. You were in the bathroom. As I recall, after your bath we became distracted. The last thing on my mind was your mother.”
Lillian felt her cheeks flame red. “Okay, fine. You’re forgiven.” Turning her back on him, she went over to her closet and grabbed some workout clothes. “How many of these mother-daughter workout sessions did you agree to?”
“We didn’t discuss an exact number. However, th
e training sessions will be every morning before breakfast.”
“Oh god, that early? In case you didn’t notice, she and I don’t exactly know how to relate to each other on a good day. That’s asking a lot before my first cup of coffee. Maybe even second or third cup.”
Gregory made another of his huffing sounds of displeasure, and then she felt him touch his thoughts to hers. “I wish to study your mother.”
She looked up sharply. “So I’m not the only one who doesn’t trust her?”
“No. Although, there might be hope for her yet. It won’t be easy, and may take years, but I think she might be redeemable.”
Lillian wasn’t so sure.
*****
Lillian inched closer to the wall as she eyed the dimensions of the newly discovered training room adjacent to the wine cellar. It wasn’t as large as the massive weapons storage room where Gregory and the Fae metalsmiths had been storing all the newly forged weapons, but it was large enough to serve as a practice area for normal opponents.
She hadn’t known the massive forty by sixty foot storage room existed until just recently, so she supposed this new room shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise.
But it did.
Gregory apparently knew about it.
She’d lived here for twelve years.
She bloody well should have known what was under her feet.
“Are you sure this space is big enough?” Lillian asked her mother. Two fully grown gargoyles didn’t qualify as normal opponents, and the room seemed a little small.
“It is fine,” she said without taking her eyes off the weapons rack situated along the north wall of the room. Lillian inched back farther until her shoulders bumped the wall, and she still didn’t feel far enough away from where the two gargoyles circled each other with swords drawn.
At least the branded tattoos were happy with the close quarters.
Darkness gave his two swords an experimental flick. Testing the balance?
Gregory did the same and continued for another half circle. By some mutually agreed upon signal Lillian didn’t witness, both gargoyles attacked in the same heartbeat.
This was no half-hearted test strike to gauge each other’s skill. They were just blurs of darkness and bright silver flashes where light reflected along deadly blade edges.
“Someone is going to lose a wing, or maybe a head.”
The two combatants continued their lethal dance while Lillian held her breath.
“Don’t be silly,” River said in a long-suffering tone. “Gregory is the Lord Protector. He has had lifetimes to perfect the sword. And Darkness was a skilled warrior long before he was captured by the Lady of Battles. Once he was under her power, I took over his training, and I took him from admirable skill to a higher form of mastery.”
Lillian’s gaze left the gargoyles to land squarely on her mother. Of course. What her mother said made sense. She was the confident, and perhaps protégé, of the Battle Goddess. River had demonstrated her skills with the blade when she first arrived and went about the business of eradicating Riven with lethal ease.
“And I will expect to see that same level of skill in my daughter one day.” She lifted a medium sized sword from the rack. Giving it a flick, she spun it in her hand before holding it out hilt first to Lillian.
She took the offered sword and gave it a couple test slashes. It felt well balanced in her hand. She didn’t know the name of the sword for it was of Sidhe design, but it looked similar to a Japanese katana, but one with a wider blade and more ornate hilt.
Gran had only put human swords out on display. She had learned later Gran’s collection was much more robust than she’d been aware.
“Vivian told me she trained you in some basic sword skills—something by the name of fencing? Yes?” River tilted her head and eyed Lillian up and down.
Lillian relaxed her stance and spread her feet a little wider. “The opponents wear protective equipment so no one gets run through.” She paused and gave her sword another test slash. “Gran said it was time I graduated up to a sabre, but even so, fencing is more about knowledge, skill, and daring. This sword is for slashing, gutting, and killing.”
“That is a sword’s true purpose.” River made a gesture at the sword. “This one greatly increases the odds your opponent will not get back up to continue the fight even if you don’t deliver a killing blow.”
“It’s heavier than I’m used to.”
River made a delicate sniff of disdain. “You will build core strength and muscle memory for your new weapon of choice. You will master both it and yourself.”
Lillian had a feeling there wasn’t going to be much choice. “It will take time.”
“Most certainly. That little metal stick Vivian showed me and called a sword would be most useless in battle. I own deadlier hair ornaments.”
“I think a few historians might disagree.”
“They would swiftly change their minds once one of our swords shattered their inferior mortal blades into useless shards.”
“Prejudice much?”
River’s expression took on a hint of doubt or perhaps that was confusion over Lillian’s meaning, but it cleared a moment later as her expression smoothed out. “How can it be prejudice when I have spoken only truth?”
Lillian winced. “Okay. We can agree to disagree.”
“Very well.”
She knew dealing with her mother’s quarks was going to be painful and slow going, but Gregory may be correct. There still might be hope for River. It would be a long journey, full of much frustration but when it was over, her mother might morph into a strong force for the Light.
“Come, let’s see what other bad habits that mortal woman has managed to teach you.”
Or not.
Either way, the coming hours were bound to be painful.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Shuffling into the kitchen, Lillian followed Gregory’s larger form and blinked against the bright light.
Even after getting showered, she still only felt half alive. Missing most of a night’s sleep and then having an evil dryad mother demand to begin sadistic sword fighting lessons at the butt crack of dawn will do that. She sighed and made her way to the coffee pot.
Only Gran and Greenborrow were in the kitchen at the moment, and they were deep in conversation, discussing what they should do next.
Secretly, Lillian was glad. She wouldn’t have to talk or think for a few minutes yet.
She waved at them as she crossed the kitchen, coffee pot firmly in her crosshairs. She was almost at her target when she saw a narrow, surprisingly familiar box sitting in front of the coffee maker.
A pregnancy test. Sitting on the kitchen counter. Her stomach plummeted, and her heart lurched like she’d been kicked in the chest. It quivered and fluttered and then broke into a full panicked gallop.
Unable to move, Lillian stood frozen, staring at the relatively tiny box.
There was writing on it.
Her eyes narrowed.
Someone had taken a sharpie and written something on the side of the box. She took a step closer and then picked it up to study the cryptic message for a moment and still couldn’t figure out what ‘P=P’ stood for.
What the hell did that mean?
Obviously someone knew more than she wanted them to. Who, and more importantly—did Gregory know? Had they told him? Were they going to tell him?
A glance over her shoulder showed Gregory going through the fridge. He was pulling out milk, yogurt, and cream.
He hadn’t seen what sat in front of the coffee maker. If he was aware, he wouldn’t be half so mellow. She closed her eyes, refusing to think about how Gregory would take the news of what he’d done.
Turning the box over in her hand, she spotted another handwritten note on the other side of the box. This done in a different hand.
She read it once. Her mind refusing to understand. She read it a second time.
Purple equals pregnant.
Her breath froze, her mind slowed. Her heart might even have stopped for a beat or two. The buzz of white noise filled her head, and her vision greyed at the edges.
“Oh my, someone catch her,” Gran said as she came to her feet.
Gregory’s strong arms closed around her, holding her up when her knees wanted to buckle. She didn’t know if she would actually have passed out or not. Lungs demanding oxygen, she took several deep breaths and her vision cleared. Her heart, however, was still pounding in sympathy with her mental panic.
“Lillian, what is wrong?” Gregory asked. With them touching, she could feel his thoughts brush hers, his worry and confusion coming clear across their mental link. She forced her eyes away from the box in her hand and tried to focus her mind on other things. Finally, she got herself under control and said, “Sorry. It must be the stress and lack of sleep. I’m fine, really.”
“Do not lie to me.”
Something in his tone scared her. He didn’t sound angry or hurt, only intense—a predator on the hunt for the truth.
“I,” she started, “I’m sorry. This doesn’t concern you. This is my fault.”
“Lillian,” Gregory reached down and gently pried the package from her. He turned it this way and that as he took in what it was and the message penned upon the outside.
“And was it purple?” he asked, voice devoid of emotions.
But he couldn’t fool her, she sensed the barely controlled riot of emotions swirling beyond his surface thoughts. He was nowhere near as calm as he pretended to be.
He deserved an answer, but it kept sticking in her throat. She couldn’t look him in the eyes either.
“Beloved,” he prompted gently a second time.
“Yes. Three of them turned purple. I know they can’t possibly be accurate, they’re designed to detect a human hormone. I’m not human. I was just using them as a baseline test out of desperation. Nothing would show that fast even if they actually worked. It was only the one time!”
Lillian was babbling, but now that she was talking, she couldn’t seem to stop.
The Avatars Series: Books 1-3 Page 68