Lillian had ordered him to do what he had to do, and she hadn’t realized her mistake and now she was unconscious, unable to stop him for which he was grateful.
Gryton kicked and twisted, but he held fast as the cold power of the Spirit Realm built within him.
He sent his mind seeking Lillian’s, to find her coming back to consciousness. It was too late to stop him from destroying himself and Gryton along with him, even if she issued another order. “Beloved, I am sorry. I saw no other way to save you and our child. I want more than anything to be there, but I must go for a while. Know I will return to you, even though it will be many years. Good-bye.”
Lillian jerked and rolled to her feet. “No! Gregory, no!
Something else answered Lillian’s desperate call, and he felt the ground shaking and rolling under him. The force of a sudden violent surge tore his enemy from his clasp.
Gregory cursed and tried to go after him, but the ground heaved again as hundreds of thin reddish ropes coiled around his body. Tiny filaments sprouted from them and crawled along his skin.
Roots.
They were roots.
The hamadryad shuddered, her branches quaking as if a hurricane was bearing down on them. The ground heaved again.
One of Lillian’s endearing but naïve questions from an earlier conversation came back to him in a rush. She’d asked if the tree was going to relocate and walk back to the Magic Realm or some such. He’d brushed away her question as silly.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
He wondered if the last thing he was going to see in this life was the marvel of a fifty-foot tree taking her first few steps.
He’d seen many strange things.
A walking tree wasn’t one of them.
His disbelieving thoughts snapped back into sharp focus when a thousand tiny roots prodded at his scars. Their questing tips sank in, digging deep, past skin and into muscle and bone.
He roared in pain as the tree began to feed.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lillian staggered to her feet and felt Gregory’s mind merge with hers, to say goodbye. She screamed her denial and started toward him, but her hamadryad reacted faster. She could only watch in horror as more roots shifted below the ground.
The roots got there first. Lillian arrived at his side just as he roared in agony.
Tiny filaments dug into his body. She felt what he felt at that moment. Blood and power leaked out a thousand tiny punctures.
Horror and helplessness filled Lillian, and she drew her dagger and reached for the nearest root.
No harm. Heal our beloved, her hamadryad whispered into her thoughts.
Lillian’s hand froze halfway to her target as she realized what her eyes were actually seeing.
The lattice-like webbing of a shielding spell glowed pale between the reddish roots covering him. Skin or armour, the roots didn’t care and dug into each equally. The tree fed upon his blood, but she was also drawing off the excess magic trying to tear itself free of Gregory’s body.
The hamadryad was preventing Gregory from being torn apart.
Still, it had to be unbearably painful, and Lillian paced a circle around him. At least he seemed to have passed out.
Gryton had staggered off several steps, heading in the direction of her hamadryad. Lillian narrowed her eyes and then sought out her mother.
She was bent over next to Darkness’s stone form, and a new lump grew in Lillian’s throat. River rose from beside her mate, tears leaving tracks down her face.
Her father—she’d never really known him, they’d only had days together.
It was not fair.
It was not just.
Well, by God and the Divine Ones, she’d just make her own damn justice.
River met Lillian’s eyes and then gave a nod in wordless agreement. With a swirl of long skirts and the hollow ring of twin swords being drawn, River darted after the retreating form of Gryton.
Lillian followed suit, her own swords ringing loud to her heightened gargoyle senses.
River’s sharp steel swept out in a deadly arc toward Gryton’s neck. He whirled and blocked, twisting his upper body enough to force River’s swords down and away.
He kicked at her, but she danced away and then darted back just as fast.
Swords clashed in a blur of bright silver light and the clear high sound of honed blades. River slashed at Gryton. He snarled as the sword’s tip cut a four-inch gash just above where the arrow had hit. In retaliation, he gave River her own red, gaping wound on her right arm. She came at him again, their sword hilts locking together for a moment. He took advantage of the opening to deliver a crippling blow to her shoulder with his armoured elbow. There was a sickening crack and River lost her grip on one sword.
The injury barely slowed her, and she continued to harry Gryton with her remaining sword.
Lillian stepped in, taking up the rhythm of the fight. It was obvious she was outclassed, but her interference was enough to prevent Gryton from winning the fight.
The battle continued for longer than Lillian would have liked, somewhere behind her Gregory was still fighting for his life. At least Gryton was weakening. Perhaps River sensed it too because her attack turned vicious, Gryton barely managed to block in time.
“Let me go,” he said suddenly, directing his statement at River. “You know what will happen if I lose control of my magic here.”
“Perhaps I would have cared before you killed my mate,” River thrust her sword’s point at him, catching him in the side, penetrating his armour. “Now I will send you back to the Battle Goddess a piece at a time. What should I send back first? Your head?”
“If you force my hand, we’ll all die here in this forsaken land.”
Lillian decided a change in tactic was in order and dropped to all fours and rammed Gryton in the back, her horns ground against his armour and found a seam, stabbing deep, up under where a rib would have been on a human. Just as quickly, she dropped and rolled, coming up several feet away from him.
She remembered what his blood had done to one of Gregory’s swords.
Gryton stumbled sideways, and she thought the bastard was finally going down for the count, and then saw it was just a maneuver to avoid River and her lethal blade.
But Gryton was desperate now. She could smell the stink of fear and exhaustion upon him even over the hot, dry smell of fire.
When River closed in on Gryton for the kill, he roared, and a wave of heat blasted out from his location. River was closer, and it rammed into her with the force of a train.
Lillian darted behind one of the small standing stones circling her tree. The shelter was enough to save her from mortal injury, but she could already smell the burnt flesh of her exposed wings.
They didn’t hurt, which was probably really bad.
“You should have let me go,” Gryton said as he limped into her field of vision. “We’ll die together. I suppose there is some symmetry in that. Mayhap the Divine Ones are laughing at us all.” He’d lost his swords somewhere, but no longer really needed it.
A film of fire crawled across every inch of his armour and danced in the breeze of its own making.
Chapter Forty
Anna stood shoulder to shoulder with Gran and watched the map. She was still somewhat surprised she and Shadowlight were allowed in the war room.
Still, she imagined Gran and her magic had a lot to do with the whole calm atmosphere thing.
But even Gran’s magic couldn’t keep everyone calm when all the little floating lights above the map marking maze’s centre blinked out.
The tension increased a few more notches, and Anna eyed the others in the room as they continued their assignments as calmly as if it was a training exercise. Colonel Tremblay gave the order to signal all other teams to move in and engage.
As a group, the senior officers turned their attention from the map to the live feeds, which showed the real time view of the glade, as seen by a number of helmet cams and
an aerial drone circling the area.
Anna trailed behind Shadowlight as he came to stand next to one of the screens. He was silent, staring at the screen with an unhappy expression. It was worry, harder to read on a gargoyle, sure, but worry all the same.
Having the kid watch the flickering lights on the magic-enhanced map was one thing. Having him watch live feeds as his family faced off against a formidable enemy, was something else.
“Shadowlight shouldn’t be watching this,” she directed her statement at Gran because there was no way she was going to interrupt her superiors at the moment. She was still too uneasy about the concept of her continued freedom.
The older woman frowned. “No. Likely not.”
“I’m staying.” The note of finality in his tone shared qualities with a concrete wall reinforced with rebar.
There was no way an eight-year-old should sound so damn certain of himself. “I don’t think…”
“I’ve seen worse.”
“Well, you bloody well shouldn’t have,” Anna countered.
“Fighting the Riven and Gryton has shown me true evil doesn’t care if one is a child or an adult. We can all still die.”
Anna felt ill. “Good lord, kid. When all this is over, we’re so going to sit and watch some Saturday morning cartoons, and you’re just going to be a kid.”
Everyone was looking at them now.
Major Resnick was giving her his best ‘shut the fuck up’ look while Gran just looked thoughtful. Colonel Tremblay’s intense stare was enough to make her come to attention and seal her mouth firmly shut. His eyes remained on her for a second more and then returned to the screens.
Well, damn it. Shadowlight was just a kid. He should get to be one.
Then all hell broke loose on screen, and there was no time to worry or argue.
She watched in helpless fury as Tin Man went about the business of systematically exterminating the humans and Fae present.
It wasn’t that fast, of course, but after several minutes of battle there wasn’t many left to face him. It came down to just the two male gargoyles. Even they were having trouble.
“Father,” Shadowlight cried out in horror when Darkness fell.
With the absolute certainty of hindsight, Anna knew she should have made the kid leave, somehow.
Shadowlight darted toward the door. Gran called to him as Colonel Tremblay issued more orders, other officers relaying them on down the chain of command.
“Wait, kid,” Anna shouted above the noise. “I’m coming too.”
She heard Colonel Tremblay order a strike package as she raced toward Shadowlight. Like hell, she thought, knowing what she was about to do next could only end in a court-martial, but the kid’s family was there, and they might still be alive.
Shadowlight paused at the door, half in and half out, long enough for her to reach his side. He dipped a wing in invitation, and she realized he intended for her to ride on his back. Well, he was the size of a large pony, so why not.
“Mackenzie, halt,” Major Resnick shouted.
“One minute,” she said to Shadowlight when she noticed Major Resnick rushing up to her. He shoved a gun and some ammo into her hands, and then thought better of it and stuffed a few more things into a pack and handed it to her too.
“Go kill that bastard for me,” Major Resnick bit out. “He’s killed way too many of my men. He doesn’t get to live.”
Anna glanced at the pack and saw the grenades and gave Resnick a wolfish grin.
“Just hold him off until we can send reinforcements.” Resnick patted her on the arm. “And don’t get killed. Your father will never forgive me.”
Anna nodded and then slung a leg over an impatient Shadowlight.
Then the gargoyle was off and running, and Anna was holding on for dear life. Outside, she realized Shadowlight wasn’t planning on running the whole way. He spread his wings and leaped up into the air. Her shout of surprise was stolen by the wind, and then she was too busy not falling off to scream in terror.
Chapter Forty-One
After that last powerful blast wave of fiery magic, Lillian gave herself a shake, rolled to her feet, and prepared to face Gryton and death standing up. The hand not still clutching her only remaining sword strayed to her belly, and her mind raced for a way to save herself and her unborn child.
But Gregory and Darkness were down. River was unconscious and covered in terrible burns. Lillian could smell the burnt flesh scent from here. Her hamadryad was busy healing Gregory, River, and Darkness, too, she sensed. Though what her tree could do for her father she didn’t know. Gryton had all but gutted him.
She’d heard his heart stop, but he had turned to stone.
Was he still alive?
Damn, she wished she knew more about gargoyles. But she didn’t, and didn’t have time to worry either.
The remaining humans and Fae were dead, dying, or no better off than her mother.
She raised her blade for a final defence against Gryton. Although, by the growing intensity of the fire surrounding him, it wouldn’t be a sword fight.
“You. Destroyed. My. Maze,” roared a voice almost deep enough to rattle Lillian’s teeth in her skull. She glanced to the left in time to see a ten foot tall troll-like Greenborrow slam Gryton with a massive spike-studded club.
The much altered Greenborrow continued past Lillian in pursuit of his prey. He landed a second hit, caught Gryton just under the chin and lifted him up and on over onto his back.
“Those were my little ones. I planted them. This is my forest!” Another punishing blow punctuated his statement and Gryton flew back another fifteen feet.
Gryton hissed something Lillian didn’t understand as he got his feet under him again. He was moving much slower than before, but still moving. Those blows should have killed Gryton. He should have been dead several times over. Lillian began to worry Gryton couldn’t be killed.
No, he could be killed. Gregory was going to sacrifice himself to do it—that meant Gryton could be killed. They just had to figure out how.
“And you were welcome to the forest, leshii. I care nothing for this realm. All I have ever wanted is to return home. But you and your people, and that meddling hamadryad would not leave me alone.” He directed the last bit at Lillian. “Now this realm will burn along with me.”
Gryton raised his hand to the level of his shoulders and then opened his fist, palm out toward the leshii. Fire raced down Gryton’s arms and leaped across the distance. Greenborrow moved faster than Lillian thought someone of his size could, but he didn’t clear the fiery wave completely, and it caught him just below the elbow.
It reduced the club and the lower part of Greenborrow’s arm to ash. The only reason Greenborrow might not die of the wound, Lillian saw, was because it had been cauterized by the same fire which had taken his arm.
Lillian bared her fangs and flexed her talons.
Gryton was raising his other hand to blast the leshii with a second wave of power when Lillian lunged forward.
She was coming to realize she probably wasn’t walking away from this fight when a loud war cry split the air.
“Heads up asshole. Incoming,” Corporal Mackenzie snatched the pin out of the grenade she was holding and tossed it at Gryton. “Catch that, Tin Man.”
It landed a metre from Gryton’s feet as Shadowlight bolted past.
Her little brother and the human circled around just as the grenade blew, sending Gryton and a cloud of dirt flying. Had Gryton been even remotely mortal, he would have died about ten or fifteen blows back, but he just crawled back to his feet, his hell fire burning more hotly than before.
Anna and Shadowlight came around for another volley. The human landed two more grenades almost as close as the first one.
Gryton stumbled back and away as Anna lobbed another grenade at him.
Again and again, the two courted death to herd Gryton back toward the tree where the hamadryad was reaching for him with outstretched branches.
Closing in on his location, she increased her speed and then rammed him hard enough to send him back the last few feet and within the hamadryad’s reach.
Branches slammed him into the ground where more of the reddish roots sought entrance into Gryton’s armour.
A storm of magic boiled up where molten fire met cold spirit magic.
Thunder rumbled, and the earth shook. Lillian lost her footing and when down. Shadowlight and the human went sprawling on the opposite side of the glade just as more soldiers arrived on the scene.
They froze at the sight of the tree wrapping Commander Gryton in layers of roots and power.
Lillian wasn’t sure if the tree was trying to crush the life out of him or if she was draining him of power as she had Gregory.
Whatever the hamadryad was doing, it was a massive spell growing in size and power as she watched.
The very air vibrated to the flow of power. The flames which had earlier been crawling across Gryton’s armour were now hissing and flickering like a guttering candle. Well, at least the parts of him she could see under the mound of fibrous roots.
Shadowlight and Anna scrambled to their feet. The human soldier had an assault rifle pointed at Gryton, and Shadowlight was inching closer as well. Both looked uncertain what to do with the hamadryad still draining Gryton.
Lillian tightened her fist around the one sword she’d managed to hold on to. Taking one step and then another in the enemy’s direction she switched her hold to a two handed one.
She might not know what her hamadryad was doing to Gryton, but she knew what needed doing. The power in the air intensified the closer she got to his location. Layers of magic thickened in the air, increasing in resistance with each step.
The Avatars Series: Books 1-3 Page 78