“I’m rubbing off on you. Don’t think I’ve ever heard you use the word negotiate before.”
Obsidian replied with a mental snort. “You. Go back to your training before I start laughing to myself in front of the Masters.”
“Fine. But if you get tired of all the negotiation talks, give me a shout. We can trade. I’m sure Rook will happily kick your ass around the ring a few times.”
“I’d love to switch,” Obsidian said, truth ringing in his tone. “But Rook wants your training accelerated as much as possible.”
“Gee, I must have missed that.”
But just then Rook approached her bench with a drinking skin.
She touched Obsidian’s mind once more. “Have fun with the council. Talk more later.”
His mind brushed hers, acknowledgment and love flowing through that slight touch.
The bench dipped as Rook sat down. Anna found a drinking skin unceremoniously shoved in her face. Grinning, she uncorked it and took a swig.
Expecting water, she choked down the cold burn of something that was reminiscent of peppermint and alcohol. “Ugh. What is this crap?”
Rook just snorted and rolled an eye at her. “Drink it. Your pain will go away for a short time.”
Eyeing the sand ring and then Rook as he stood up and went to retrieve a pair of quarterstaffs, Anna upended the skin and drank. If she were to guess, Rook planned on keeping her on the practice field until well past sunset.
A mind that wasn’t Obsidian’s touched hers and a familiar power swept over her being seconds before Lord Draydrak’s voice was loud in her mind.
“Run! Run now!”
The God of Death’s voice still echoed in her head.
“What?” But Anna was already on her feet.
“That is not Banrook.”
His words still explained nothing, but Anna had come to trust this demigod’s words. If he said that the gargoyle in front of her wasn’t Rook, she believed him.
Even as she moved, she called on her protective magic. Or at least she tried. It was sluggish to respond. For five seconds she stared at her empty palms, where the magic had sputtered for half a second and then died.
Then she remembered the drink Obsidian had swallowed during his Adept Trial. The one that neutralized a gargoyle’s magic. It had smelled minty.
Oh, fuck.
“There is no point in fighting,” Rook who was not Rook said. “Your magic is gone for a short time. Long enough for me to return you to our goddess.”
He was talking about the Lady of Battles. Anna didn’t know what or who was standing in front of her, but he was an enemy.
Moreover, the Lord of the Underworld had just instructed her to run.
Leaping backward over the bench, she shifted in the air and then landed on all fours, darting away from the threat. She reached for Obsidian even as she ran, but like the time he’d drank the potion, there was only a numbness where the tether tying them together should be.
Behind her Rook didn’t give chase. She was realizing the implications just as she ran headlong into some kind of magic net. It contracted around her, squeezing tight. The numbness inside her continued to spread.
There was another power their too. She sensed it now. The coppery taint of old blood. Sickly sweet. Familiar. The work of a blood witch.
The power continued to cocoon her in ever tightening layers.
Rook standing over her was the last thing she saw before he tossed something over her head as well.
Chapter 48
Master Verroc was discussing the number of gargoyles to send to Earth for the first wave of negotiations, but Obsidian’s mind was drifting. His new, stronger link with Anna was also addictive. It was work to focus on anything else.
He loved it, and yet it was a distraction in the current situation.
Still, he found himself reaching back along the link to briefly touch Anna’s mind.
And ran into a barrier.
No…not a barrier.
He sucked in a surprised breath.
There was nothing to touch.
What? How?
Blood began to surge as he rose to his feet, no longer seeing the Elders gathered around the council table. He was drawing breath to warn them that something was wrong when Lord Draydrak’s powerful mind touched his.
Wasting no time, the God of Death, shoved a vision at Obsidian, wordlessly telling him all that had happened.
“Go, my Rasoren. Rescue your Kyrsu. I will explain and rally the Council.” With those few words, the demigod was gone from his mind.
Obsidian didn’t need any other prompting and bolted for the stairs. Once he was far enough away from the council chamber’s protective shields, he took to the open sky, winging his way to the practice fields.
“She won’t be there,” Dray whispered, telling Obsidian the demigod was still with him. “There is only one place this agent of my sister can run with his prize.”
“The time portal.” Obsidian angled a wing edge and sliced a sharp turn in the air, winging his way as fast as he could in the new direction.
“Yes. It is his only hope of escape. His djinn magic allows him to hide, even from me to some extent, but he won’t be able to hide from all my gargoyles. He’ll try to make it to the portal with your Kyrsu. He knows if he can escape with her, you will follow.”
“Always.” Obsidian’s fierce reply echoed through the air.
“I have been healing the soul of the soldier who carried this dark spell into our territory. The soul was severely damaged, and it took me time to heal him, and even longer for him to remember what his mission had been.”
For once Dray’s mellow voice failed to calm Obsidian, but he listened as the demigod provided valuable information on the creature who had stolen Anna.
“He was a carrier only. His death was used to fuel a spell created by the blood witch using magic from a djinn. It wasn’t my sister who captured the djinn. It was the witch.”
Obsidian didn’t miss the mild relief that touched Death’s voice, and he wondered at that.
“If my sister had lost the last of her sanity, she wouldn’t have stopped with just one djinn. She would have summoned and captured them all. At least the blood witch has limits to her power.”
“For now.” But for how much longer, with a djinn to fuel her spells? But Obsidian couldn’t dredge up the appropriate fear for that just now, not with Anna being held by one of their enemies. His only relief came in the knowledge that whatever controlled Rook wanted Anna alive. If not, his Kyrsu would already be dead.
∞∞∞
When he reached the temple, he called his shadow magic. After sealing the bond with Anna, he’d surpassed even a Master’s abilities. He might even be more powerful than Thayn now.
He hoped so, for this new enemy had taken one of the most powerful masters as its host, and only the power of a fully trained Rasoren or Kyrsu could hope to overpower one of the ancients.
Still, he continued with caution. There could be no berserker’s rage or a blind rush to Anna’s side. He had to be swift but cunning. If whatever was controlling Rook learned Obsidian was on the hunt, the creature might kill Anna if he couldn’t escape.
I cannot lose my Kyrsu, he thought a little desperately.
Making his way deeper into the structure on silent feet, at last, he came to the chamber where the time portal resided. Rook was already there, standing before the two, as yet, dormant stalagmites.
Only the sight of magic already rising off Rook’s body stopped Obsidian from attacking. Rook was feeding power into the portal. If Obsidian launched an attack now, that magic would join what was already in the spell work.
The time spell was both enduring and yet fragile. Too much power and it could collapse, trapping everyone here in this place.
Obsidian would wait until the spell was self-sufficient. As soon as Rook was far enough away, he’d launch his attack.
Rook continued to manipulate the trigger spell, unaware tha
t he was being watched.
Twenty feet from the larger gargoyle, Anna lay on her side against a wall, wrapped in layers of the imposter Rook’s shadow magic.
She was breathing.
She was still alive.
His gaze sought hers.
Oh. And she was pissed.
He hadn’t seen her look that enraged since her time in the Battle Goddess’s kingdom.
The breath he’d been holding released on a soft, unheard sigh.
Now all he had to do was stop Rook from dragging Anna through and keep him trapped here until Lord Death had rallied the Council. They’d be here in a matter of minutes. The only reason they weren’t was because only Anna could outpace him in the air.
He eyed the master’s progress with the spell work and then the distance between Anna and the portal. Rook must not have wanted to chance his spell might interfere with the portal’s summoning. Obsidian’s narrowed eyes tracked back to the enemy.
If Rook escaped through the portal, he couldn’t be sure that the male wouldn’t destroy it once through.
Though, Rook would only have taken Anna if he wanted her Rasoren, too. Which suggested the portal was safe until Obsidian crossed. At which point, the essence controlling Rook might decide to destroy the gateway.
While Obsidian mulled over his options, Rook continued to wake the dormant time spell.
Though he knew a select few of the masters traveled between the two times, Obsidian hadn’t seen the inside of this room, or an active portal, since he’d first seen it as a child.
The stalagmite began to glow much the same as he remembered. This time he watched as Rook created the trigger spell. It was a complex and beautiful thing. One Obsidian was confident he could re-create now that he’d seen it.
As soon as the portal had stabilized, Rook slowly walked to where Anna laid on the floor.
Obsidian stalked forward, low to the ground, still shrouded by his shadow magic. He’d gotten better at hiding himself from his mentors during his recent training sessions, but he didn’t trust that the elder wouldn’t sense something.
Inching forward, Obsidian moved closer to the portal, until he was almost close enough for a successful charge. He needed to put himself between Rook and the portal so he could toss up protective spells around it the second he charged. It was the only way to protect both his Kyrsu and the gateway.
Rook leaned down and scooped up Anna. Instead of turning toward the portal, Rook faced Obsidian, a shard of shadow magic held against his Kyrsu’s throat.
“You’re very skilled. I wouldn’t have noticed if the portal hadn’t responded to the shift in power flow in the room,” Rook said, addressing the room at large. “I don’t have to see you to know you’re here.”
Obsidian froze, not speaking or moving. Only tensing his muscles to strike.
Rook sent other bits of shadowy magic dancing through the air.
Whichever angle of attack Obsidian took, the other male would be able to track his charge using the disturbed shadows as his guide. Gritting his teeth at Rook’s cunning, he continued to sit and wait for the perfect time.
“If you attack, I’ll kill your Kyrsu before you get to me. You know I can. She’s quite magicless at the moment.”
Obsidian’s growl echoed around the room.
“Ah. You need a demonstration.” One long, shimmering shard sliced a line along Anna’s cheek.
She didn’t make a noise. Obsidian didn’t betray his location a second time either. Though it was a fight.
“Come now, Rasoren. We are supposed to be on the same side. You seem to have forgotten what you were created for.” Rook sidestepped closer to the portal.
Obsidian triggered his own wall of magic, stopping the Master, who grimaced.
“The Lady of Battles will welcome you back. She’ll be delighted with your development. And the human is still new enough to her powers that the demigoddess shall be able to use her to control you. And this,” Rook tipped his muzzle to gesture at his own body, “is just an added benefit. The Lady of Battles will be well pleased with my mistress’s work.”
“You won’t escape alive.” Obsidian used magic to project his voice from different locations throughout the room as he circled wider, heading in the direction of the room’s northern wall, where he’d created his own shadow magic barrier to stop Rook escaping toward the gate.
If Obsidian was careful, he could hide from Rook’s swirling tracking eddies. Most of them were situated in the central part of the room.
“Nice try.” Rook slashed another line, down Anna’s arm this time. The female gargoyle only growled louder.
He felt himself slipping closer to the berserker rage he shared with Anna. He couldn’t let it win. Rook was too smart. That’s what the other male wanted.
“You won’t escape before the other masters arrive. I can feel them approaching. They’re only a little way distant.” He stalled for time. “Let’s make a trade. Release Anna and I’ll let you escape through the portal.”
“And have you kill me later? No Rasoren. I’m not that foolish. However, if you allow me to approach the portal I can get myself through and release Anna on the other side.”
“Never.”
Rook’s shard grew into a proper dagger, and he drew it along the curve of her breast, just above where her gargoyle heart beat strong. “If I can’t capture one or the other of you, I was instructed to kill you both.”
The blade returned to Anna’s throat.
“Don’t think I will hesitate. I may be sentient, but I am a spell. I do not fear death because I am not alive.”
All of that was likely true, but the complicated spell’s primary objective was to gather information and carry it back, which gave Obsidian an idea. “A trade then. We’ll approach the portal together. You give me Anna, and you can carry back all that you’ve learned here. The Master is a worthy prize. He knows more than Anna and I combined.”
Rook tilted his head.
Got you now, Obsidian thought with a mental grin.
“A deal, Rasoren.” Rook nodded his muzzle at Anna.
They both inched closer to the portal.
“You may attach anchors to the shadow magic I used to imprison her.”
“Very well.” He’d do that. But he’d also follow with Anna, and once she was safely away from Rook, he’d continue his original plan of attack. They’d just all go through the gateway together first. It was the best option of the ones available.
Rook and Obsidian mirrored each other’s every move as they made their way closer to the time spell. When they were at last within touching distance of the glowing portal, Rook stiffened suddenly.
The hand holding the shadow magic dagger to Anna’s throat was ripped away by a much greater force.
What was going on?
A moment later Rook lost control of his other limbs.
Anna’s expression said she didn’t know what was going on either but darted toward Obsidian. He swiftly took her into his arms and triggered a spell of protection around them and the gate, sealing Rook on the outside.
Rook continued to arch his back, his wings stretched wide by some unseen force.
Another ten seconds dragged by as the master struggled.
Thayn strode through the portal. “Oh, no you don’t! I know what you do when you die.”
The most ancient of the masters struck Rook with a wave of power, shoving him across the floor. He gestured, his shadow magic dancing around him and more raced forward, dragging Rook halfway up the wall. There another powerful wave of focus slammed him against the stone. It would have vaporized a lesser being.
“Nasty bit of spell work that. But that should hold him.” Thayn gave Rook a couple more shakes to be sure before pointing a talon at the center of the room. The unconscious gargoyle sailed back across the space to land in a heap before the portal.
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“Well,” Thayn said, circling the fallen male. “I was coming to warn of anot
her danger entirely when our Lord touched my mind and told me what he’d learned from the enemy soldier and the purpose of the spell. I wasn’t about to let it go slithering into either of you. Even I would be hard pressed to win a fight against our powerful young Rasoren.”
Obsidian kept his attention on Thayn.
Can I trust him though? Both masters had been in the dungeon when the original spell triggered.
“Thayn is clean.” Lord Draydrak confirmed. “I’ve already searched his soul for signs of the spell. There are none. The others who were injured in the same attack are likewise unaffected. Only Rook was corrupted.”
Thayn grinned suddenly. “I’m not going to let the cocky brute live that down for a good long time.”
Obsidian shredded the spells trapping Anna. When she was free, she came to her feet and looked down at Rook. “Who the hell is he?”
“A friend and an enemy,” Thayn said with an accompanying ear flick. “Lord Dray will deal with Roo—.”
The portal flared with power as a giant hand, talons extended, emerged. A second later it snatched up Rook. Then as swiftly as the massive hand had come, it was gone, the portal quiet once again.
Thayn blinked at the spot where Rook had been, his tail swaying and his ears cocked at the portal. “Dray does so hate when his sister plays with his gargoyles.”
Ignoring the elder, Obsidian took Anna’s chin in his hand and turned her face to his. Her eyes were still slightly widened in surprise. When he leaned closer, sniffing along her skin, he could smell the drug on her.
“Are you alright?” It was strange having to ask that after how strong their link had grown recently, but the potion Rook had tricked Anna into drinking would remain in her bloodstream until at least nightfall.
Her expression twisted into a bemused look. She must have come to the same conclusion as him. “I’m fine. He didn’t harm me. Just my pride. He managed to capture me in thirty seconds flat.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially not without the use of your powers and against one as skilled as Banrook.”
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