“Gas attack, my ass,” Lillian muttered under her breath. “I told you that’s what they’d call the Siren’s enchantment.”
“In this instance, a lie serves us much better than the truth,” Gran countered.
“True.”
Gregory made a deep huffing sound. “They have something else planned, you can read it in their expressions, even over that strange device.” He gestured at the television with a vague motion.
Lillian realized Gregory was correct. “Blood tests,” she guessed. “They are going to go door to door collecting samples. I doubt it will be voluntary.”
“Indeed.” Gran muttered a curse under her breath. “Since they were shooting at the Riven too, they damn well know it wasn’t a gas attack. They’ll be looking for a way to ferret out something other than humans with their tests.”
“Blood test equals DNA tests you think?”
“Yes.” Gran’s expression turned distant, meaning she was deep in planning mode.
Chapter Two
Gregory swiveled his ears in the direction of the kitchen, and more specifically, the back entrance to the cottage. The sounds of conversation drifted to him, becoming clearer as the two came closer. Lillian’s older brother, Jason, and her uncle entered the house and made for the main living area.
He didn’t bother to summon concealing magic as the two Coven members were alone. Though he was tempted to merely for a reason to use magic. It was the only power he still had sole discretion over not requiring a direct command from Lillian. He fingered the tattoo collar circling his neck.
Even that meagre power was his to call only because she had already made it a command. They hadn’t had time to study the full limitations his tattoo imposed upon his magic, not yet. But they would need to learn and study how greatly he was crippled. At least, with Lillian’s order, he was able to access his defensive magic to protect her.
In the last few hours, they’d discovered Lillian couldn’t give him complete access to all his magic in a broad sweeping command. The tattoos didn’t allow such. His skin still felt raw from the tattoo’s blistering warning.
When she would have issued a dozen different ones, he’d cautioned her against it. Being decapitated by the tattoo-like slave collar was not how he wished to return to the Spirit Realm.
For the time being, the magic under his command was limited to the ability to hide in shadow, track his prey, and detect evil should it venture within range. He didn’t even know what that ‘range’ was as of yet.
But he would learn, and overcome these new disabilities.
He watched Lillian as she came to her feet at the arrival of her brother and uncle. After brief hugs, they exchanged stories.
“The whole town has been asked to remain in their homes,” her uncle was saying, “until such a time as it is deemed safe for residents to venture out again.”
Gran cleared her throat, “In other words, we’re in lockdown until they have poked, tagged, and categorized everyone to their heart’s content.”
“Those were my thoughts exactly,” Uncle Alan agreed with a nod, a frown darkening his expression.
“So,” Jason said, not a hint of his usual jovial attitude in attendance, “when, where, and how are we getting out of dodge with the lockdown in place?”
“We’re not.” Gran’s voice held a fierce edge, one Gregory admired.
She knew the reasons they couldn’t leave. Not that Gregory was going to be run off by a pack of misinformed mortals.
“We can update our disguises and cover stories, and start over elsewhere,” Jason continued doggedly. “It’s not like the Coven hasn’t done it before. It’s a damn better option than getting tagged and bagged for some scientist to dissect in a lab.”
“Jason has a point,” Lillian’s uncle added as he rubbed at his beard. “It’s going to get a little tense around here. There’s no way we can avoid the medical teams they are sending house to house, not without shouting we’ve got something to hide.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Gran shook her head. “We can’t run. Not this time. Lillian’s hamadryad is here. If it was a regular hamadryad, Lillian could take a cutting and start over somewhere else. However, this hamadryad is presently also the Mother’s Sorceress. I do not feel comfortable leaving such power within easy reach of the humans. Perhaps the humans will never guess she is more than a tree, but I won’t risk all the remaining magic in this realm on wishful thinking.”
Gregory stretched and shook out his wings, and then dropped to all fours. He walked to Gran’s side and gave her a playful head butt. “Both wise and beautiful. No, I won’t leave Lillian’s hamadryad, nor will I abandon my other Fae allies. Many of the Clan are tied to the land and their territories, and cannot move easily.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Gran said with a twinkle in her eye. “We’re going to stay and give the humans exactly what they think they want.”
Lillian’s curiosity washed over him, resembling a turbulent wave even with several feet of space separating them. As he expected, she jumped into the conversation. “You plan to use magic on the humans, to somehow make them think they’ve tested us already.”
“A good guess, but no,” Gran said with a grin. “While that would work, it would take a huge amount of magic and planning. No, I plan on giving the samples, but then later following them back to their lab where we will switch them with samples of human blood. We already have some in storage for just such a need, but we didn’t plan on such a large scale situation. To be safe, we’ll require enough for the entire Coven membership. For that amount, we’ll immediately start canvassing neighboring towns for unsuspecting humans matching Coven members’ appearances. With luck, we should be able to trick the human scientists without having to use magic upon them.”
Lillian cleared her throat. “Still, it isn’t going to be easy sneaking in and switching samples.”
She compressed her lips as she was prone to doing when she was planning. He found it an endearing trait and simply let the conversation flow around him. They’d eventually come to the same conclusion he already had.
Knowing that, he reached out with a tendril of magic, seeking the other two gargoyles in this realm. The first he brushed against was a bright young magic, flashes of excitement and curiosity bleeding across the link. Shadowlight, then. Lillian’s newly discovered younger brother. The sense of happiness and willingness increased when the other realized it was Gregory.
“Sorry, young one. It is your father I need.”
With a mental acknowledgement, Shadowlight vanished from Gregory’s thoughts to be replaced by the more disciplined mind of Stalks the Darkness.
“Avatar, how may I be of assistance?”
“We have learned the humans plan to study the blood of all the townsfolk, hunting for differences which will allow them to track the magic users.”
There was mental silence, followed by a hesitant, “You wish for me to seek out the humans behind the threat and deal with them before they can unearth something you would prefer remained hidden?”
Gregory missed working with others of his kind. Life was so much easier viewed through a gargoyle’s viewpoint. Innocents were protected. Threats were dispatched. Evil wasn’t tolerated. Life was good.
Gregory sighed deeply. “Alas, no. This is not our realm, and so we must abide by the Clan and Coven’s wishes in this. At present, they are a touch divided but it looks like they will allow the samples to be taken to offset suspicion and later we’ll replace those same samples with human blood they have collected from other sources.”
“I see,” Darkness said and then launched into his own report. “The leshii, Greenborrow, warns of another development. Several of our patrols have found human soldiers among the Riven dead. Those already infected by the Riven were dispatched. Those deemed uninfected have been taken to the healers to have their wounds treated and their memories wiped.” Darkness paused before continuing, “I have more disturbing news. When last I spoke with
Greenborrow, he was looking for the Fae leader, Whitethorn and a sprite by the name of Goswin. I believe I may have found what became of them. During the last leg of my patrol, I caught the scent of Whitethorn. I followed it and came upon a large group of humans in a meadow. They were studying the area. By the smell of blood and the gore splattered around the meadow, a vicious battle had been waged there. There were no bodies present. Either other members of the Clan had been there before me and started cleanup but had been interrupted before they could finish, or they hadn’t been there yet and the humans had already removed the bodies.”
“Can you tell if Whitethorn and Goswin survived the battle?”
“No, not after the humans had trampled all over everything.”
There was another pause, and Gregory sensed the older gargoyle was talking with his son. “I’m sending Shadowlight on ahead to meet up with Greenborrow. I don’t want my son near these humans.”
“Agreed,” Gregory said, belatedly feeling a little uneasy for allowing the gargoyle child out in the field at all. “The leshii can watch over Shadowlight. Once he’s safe, return to the cottage as soon as you’re able. By then, the Coven should have collected all the human blood they will need. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can learn.”
Gregory released the other gargoyle’s mind and returned to his body, becoming aware of the stone cottage and the warm homey smells of the kitchen.
The other conversation had run its course. Lillian and the Coven members all watched him with silent patience. He touched Lillian’s mind.
Ah, they’d come to the same conclusion as he had earlier.
“I’ve spoken with Darkness, and he will aid us in sneaking into the humans’ domain when it’s time. However, we have a new development. Greenborrow and Darkness have found human soldiers, some wounded and others infected by the Riven. Darkness also reports he found signs of Whitethorn and Goswin.” Gregory flared out his wings, stretching and limbering up tense muscles. “It looks like they may have been found by the humans. We have no way of knowing their condition until I’ve had a chance to investigate.”
Stepping into his path, Gran blocked him as he made for the back door. “You and Lillian will need to be here when the humans come. I can’t imagine we will be last on their list, more likely among the first wave. Whitethorn and Goswin will have to wait for their rescue until the rest of the Clan and Coven are safe.” Gran frowned unhappily. Though he didn’t know if it was because she hated to make her friends wait, or if she doubted they were alive.
Gran braced one hand on her hip while the fingers of the other hand drummed out a rhythm on her thigh. “You’ll have to be human when they come and be docile while they take your blood.” Gran looked thoughtful and added, “At least it’s a mostly human looking red. Can you spell it to look identical to human blood?”
“Easily,” he rumbled as he stepped around her. “Do not fear. I will be on my best behavior.”
He chuckled at Gran’s disbelieving look and then turned to Lillian.
Her expression showed a mix of unease and determination.
“Tonight after we’ve switch out the blood samples, we’ll look for Whitethorn and Goswin,” Lillian said without taking her eyes from him. “Obviously, we’ll have to hunt up whatever other evidence the humans have found and destroy it.”
“Yes.”
He knew what Lillian hadn’t said. They would reclaim the bodies of Whitethorn and the sprite if they hadn’t escaped the battle alive. Which, he was coming to think, was very likely.
Whitethorn was powerful and old. If he lived, he would have found a way to communicate with them or escape. That he hadn’t done either meant he was likely already dead.
Chapter Three
Shadowlight bound down the path, the afternoon shadows already growing long behind him. He was alone for the first time in his life and found the experience….interesting and a little lonely. Though he was proud his father had given him a mission. He was supposed to join Greenborrow while his parents prepared to aid Gregory and Lillian.
When he’d first learned his sister and her guardian needed help, he’d wanted to go with them. Infiltrating the humans’ territory and switching samples had sounded fun, and it would have given him the opportunity to practice his invisibility weaving. However, he also liked the leshii, making his present assignment tolerable.
Oh, well. There would be time to sneak up on mortals later. He had an important job to do. Help Greenborrow determine if other members of the Fae were missing and how many. He really was on his way to do that. He just happened also to be finishing the patrol his parents had started. He’d watched as his parents had cleaned the sites they’d found. He’d even helped at the last two, so he knew he was more than capable if he should run into a battle site in need of cleaning.
It didn’t make sense to him why all the Fae viewed the humans the way they did, not when they had other creatures to fear. Hmmm, he was young and had never met a human in person. Perhaps it wasn’t right to judge.
Shadowlight turned down a new game trail, and the scent of Riven and old battle hit him full across all his senses. He skidded to a halt, scenting the air, seeking the direction of the highest concentration. Ah. There, to the left of the track he was presently following. He took his time studying the immediate area for dangers and ambushes. His mother’s hamadryad had shown him a great many survival skills while he gestated inside her. He saw no reason not to trust to her teachings.
Even with his concealment magic shrouding him from view, he belly crawled along the ground on all fours, making as little noise as possible. When he’d taken in the scene fully, he studied it a few moments more to be certain.
Scattered across the ground, like boulders left by a retreating glacier, several broken bodies, of both human and Riven origin, lay in a haphazard circle around the base of a balsam fir. Even the evergreen’s pungent fragrance couldn’t hide the breath-stealing scent of violent death and the stomach-souring stench of Riven taint.
The stench burned his nose, tongue, and throat, but he ignored those senses and focused on others as he eased into the immediate area. He called his magic and rid the earth of the demon-tainted corpses first, and then the human bodies next. He added a prayer to speed their souls into the next life.
He noted some of the humans had died from mortal wounds inflicted by the attacking Riven, while others showed obvious signs of Riven infection. The sharp fangs and claws were some of the earliest signs of contamination. Interestingly, some of the humans must have swiftly come to understand what their companions were turning into and ended them before the change made them harder to kill.
He continued to cleanse the land, following a trail of broken underbrush and trampled greenery.
Here, there were fresher signs. He came upon another Riven where it had crawled away from the battle. He glanced at the signs on the ground. No, it was not crawling away, it was crawling in pursuit of something else. A second blood trail led away from the battle.
The Riven, its mad hunger driving it ever onward, had managed to crawl quite a distance with only one leg. The other looked to have been sheared off by one of the human weapons his sister had warned him about. During the past night’s battle with the Riven, he’d heard the fierce noise the guns made, and he’d already seen the damage many times while he aided his parents purifying the forest.
Shadowlight glanced down at the body once more before summoning magic to dispose of it. Had this one not been driven to continue the hunt for its prey, it might have survived the night.
But judging by how the head had been severed from its neck, he guessed its intended ‘prey’ had gotten tired of being hunted and had set an ambush for the Riven. He continued his search with more caution than earlier. This battle’s participants might not all be as dead as he’d first thought. Easing into deeper shadows, he continued his hunt. When he reached the blood trail’s end, he found two more Riven and a human soldier. The human lay propped against an old giant of a
tree, his body wedged between two of its massive roots.
Braced against the soldier’s drawn up legs, the long metal device, which he’d learned was what made the fierce sounds and tore the flesh of its victims to shreds by using many tiny projectiles, lay dormant.
Of the two Riven, the one just to the left side of the soldier was dead, its body torn with ragged tears, but that wasn’t what killed it. It had been decapitated, and not with the swift, clean stroke of a sword. It looked more like it had been hacked at repeatedly with a smaller blade. The wounds spoke of desperation, or perhaps the last fierce strength of one knowing his own end was at hand but was determined to take another of the enemy with him.
Shadowlight felt surprise and respect stir in his heart. Here was one of Light’s champions, found among the humans, but a hero all the same. The human’s heart still beat, as weak and labored as his breathing, but it would not for much longer, not with the wounds he had suffered.
Besides, the soldier had sustained several Riven bites, and their taint was already infiltrating his body. He would grant the soldier a merciful death once he’d dealt with the other remaining Riven.
This Riven squirmed and thrashed as it tried to free itself from where it was impaled on a broken sapling. Glancing at the sapling, and giving it a once over, Shadowlight noted the sharpened point. So it was a spear trap, not an accident. Clever human.
Even with the fierce wounds, including one which had taken most of one arm, the Riven continued its slow, painful struggle toward the human.
Shadowlight didn’t know what it planned to do once it reached its destination. It wasn’t as if the human could become anymore tainted. One of his father’s memories surfaced and slid along his consciousness. Ah, that was the Riven’s plan. The demon soul within had concluded its host body was too damaged to repair and the human only a few strides away was a better option to act as host until another was found. Together the old Riven spirit and the new one developing within the human’s soul would find a place to hide for a time, and then start infecting others to rebuild their numbers.
Sorceress Hunting (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 3) Page 2