Doctor Rogers and Fleming weren’t into niceties. “Where did you find this? Were there other signs? Prints, hair or skin samples caught in the underbrush, maybe? The terrain they were running through has dense undergrowth—there should have been some physical evidence.”
Outwardly, only a slight shift in his position gave away his displeasure. The science types always rubbed him the wrong way. The less he had to interact with them, the better.
What had he expected? He’d brought this newest intel in from the field—of course they were going to have questions.
This was going to be a lengthy debriefing. He turned his gaze toward the screen with all its impossibilities.
A winged beast for God’s sake. Two actually. He cleared his throat. “We didn’t take the time to study the area. When we saw the two creatures on the recording and took note of the wings, I ordered my team to return at once, fearing something like this might, theoretically, pose a threat to our prisoner transport.” Though admittedly he didn’t know how something like these creatures could keep up with, let alone attack, a helicopter already in flight. Yet he’d seen too many strange things in recent days. Besides, in his gut, he knew these two were trouble.
“A pity,” Doctor Fleming said, “but understandable why you came back at once.”
Colonel Tremblay took over the conversation at that point. “We haven’t been able to raise the helicopters, I’ve sent out other units to search, but with the interruptions to communications, we don’t know anything yet. So, tell me your thoughts on those.” He pointed to the screen. “Any chance it’s a fake?”
One of his advisors gave a little shrug. “We have our experts working on it. Nothing yet.”
“But it would explain one of the intruders we had last night, and how he escaped. We were right on his tail when he suddenly vanished. The grass showed a clear trail for a thousand meters, and then it just ended in the middle of the field like he had up and vanished. Or flew away.”
Doctor Fleming reached out and touched the screen. “I’m not sure if they could fly, the body mass to wingspan ratio... I’d love to get a closer look at their locomotion.” He tapped a button, and the recording advanced a few frames at a greatly reduced speed. “Quadrupeds but look at the length of the strides.”
Resnick noted that too and did a quick estimate of stride and determined the beast could probably outrun a horse or most anything else. One thing for sure, it was a hundred percent predator. No herbivore had claws and teeth like that.
Once again, the Colonel shut down the scientists before they could descend into a debate. “But what is it? Some kind of genetically engineered and weaponized new species?”
“I don’t know. Maybe,” Doctor Rodgers said as she zoomed in on one of the creatures—the darker colored one. “But it’s not one of ours, if it is. It’s not one of us.”
Resnick frowned. A one-year-old could have taken a look and known it wasn’t human. What was she getting at?
She tapped the screen with more force as she gestured at them all. “The other ones we’ve captured, we know they are not human, but they are genetically our next closest relative—closer than chimpanzees. They are part of our evolutionary tree, on the same branch even,” she paused and then pointed out the wing joints of the newly found creature. “This isn’t us. This isn’t part of our evolutionary tree. Six limbs. They both have six limbs. This isn’t of our Earth.”
“Non-earth evolution?” The general asked, but it wasn’t a question, not exactly. He’d already come to the same conclusion as the doctors. “We need to verify this recording and scavenge the area for evidence.
“I need blood and tissue samples,” Rogers said as she looked from one person to the next. “We need to capture one of them.”
Oh, he knew where this was going. With a touch of trepidation, he glanced back at the frozen still, studying the creature’s natural weapons. Damn it all to hell. The creature looked like it could take down a velociraptor without breaking a sweat. This assignment was proving too interesting for his liking.
Major Resnick had known the recording was going to be bad for his peace of mind.
“We’re going to need bigger guns,” he muttered.
Chapter 20
LILLIAN TRUDGED UP the stairs to her bedroom with all the zeal of a dog going to visit the vet. She hurt everywhere. She hurt in places she didn’t even know existed, but they were letting her know of their existence now.
Gregory looked equally worn. He doggedly took the steps one at a time, without his usual spring powering him up the stairs like he didn’t know what gravity was.
They’d flown Whitethorn and Goswin to safety, and at the time she’d been so full of adrenaline an armored vehicle could have broadsided her and she would not have noticed. Now, a half hour after their flight, she was witnessing just what prolonged flight did to the body. The thought of a hot bath was the only thing keeping her going.
It certainly wasn’t the scent of food Gregory had taken from the kitchen as they made their way through. Actually, the smell of food was tying her stomach in knots.
She wondered if she was coming down with something—though that was unlikely. She’d never been sick a day in her life. Probably protected from common germs by her kick-ass gargoyle immune system. She’d never thought to ask Gregory if gargoyles could catch diseases.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask when she stopped dead in her tracks.
No. Not possible.
Her stomach plummeted, and her heart lurched like she’d been kicked in the chest.
It couldn’t be. No.
Oh God, with her spectacular luck, it was entirely possible.
Wasn’t that why she’d gotten all the damned pregnancy tests?
It was too soon. It had been, what, three days?
Yes, entirely too soon to be having morning sickness. She was probably just feeling sick from extreme exhaustion.
Placing one foot ahead of the other, she continued to follow Gregory up the stairs. A long hot bath would help soothe her aching muscles, and then she’d pee on a stick to help soothe her racing mind.
If it had been possible, she would have preferred to confide in someone who might know more, someone like her mother perhaps. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that without it getting back to Gregory. Besides, somewhere deep inside she was still uncomfortable with the idea of talking to her mother.
Oh hell, what a messed-up week it had been.
Lillian arrived in her bedroom and made for the bathroom and then slapped her hand up to forestall Gregory from entering. “Nothing in the bathroom is going to eat me. I don’t need accompaniment while I pee.” She patted him on the chest to soften the blow. She had slapped with a touch more force than intended. “I’m going to draw a hot bath, and then you can have the shower.” She smiled. “Or you can share the bath.”
She stood on her tiptoes and stretched as far as she could to place a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll let you decide.”
She closed the door on his face. When it became apparent he was going to give her a few minutes, she flew over to the vanity where she’d hidden the test kits. She grabbed the first box her questing hand found and read the instructions.
SHE RAN THE BATH WHILE she waited for the results, refusing to look at it, even avoiding looking in that direction. What she couldn’t do was stop herself from glancing at her watch and pacing.
Gregory was going to get suspicious if he heard her pacing. She forced herself to stop. Then she hurried over to the vanity, grabbed the pregnancy test and shoved it behind some of the candles she had spaced around the big bathtub. She turned the jets on and added a touch of her favorite bubble bath.
No point in making him suspicious.
At her soft call, he joined her before the tub. One wing folded down around her a moment before his arm pulled her against his side.
He rested his forehead against hers and murmured, “I did not like taking you into danger.”
“We pulled i
t off. No one was injured,” she said and then wrinkled her nose. “Is that helicopter fuel? Don’t go near the candles! Get your butt in the shower before we have a gargoyle firebomb.”
She shooed Gregory toward the shower, and he went willingly enough. While he was adjusting the shower, she stripped and stepped into the tub.
Ah, wonderful heat.
When she was certain Gregory was busy with his own shower, she glanced at her watch where she’d left it near the candles. It was time.
After another glance in Gregory’s direction, she dragged the test stick out of hiding. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at it.
Purple. The entire test area was one big purple blob. She looked closer. No little lines like the instructions showed. Just one big purple patch.
Purple. What the fuck did purple mean?
Chapter 21
ANNA GAVE THE FIRE another poke, not because she was cold but because she was bored out of her mind. So bored in fact, she’d gone straight to frustrated, which was probably why she couldn’t sleep.
Being annoyed out of one’s mind didn’t allow for a person to reach the level of calmness which might morph into sleep. Physical exhaustion, her other go-to cure for insomnia was out of the question as well. Being trapped inside a clear energy dome, or magic fairy ring, or whatever the fuck else you wanted to call it, didn’t allow for a lot in the way of physical diversions either. Unless one counted pacing as exercise.
She’d give almost anything to go run a tour right about now.
A rustle in the forest south-east of her position snapped her out of her pout, and she tensed. Her ears strained to hear, but even that newly sharpened sense couldn’t pick out anything over the breeze whirling among the trees. Unfortunately, her eyes were still blinded from staring into the fire.
Of all the dumbass things to do, she knew better than to half-blind herself by looking directly at the fire.
She bit back the knee-jerk reaction to call out, even though Shadowlight had promised to return later. Well, it was way past later, and now he was just plain late. Middle-of-the-bloody- night late.
She frowned as she scanned the surrounding forest. Nothing moved. All was silent.
It was high time for a change of scenery.
Too many more nights in a forest feeling exposed to invisible eyes and she’d need to see the shrink. Damn it, she was better trained than this. No more losing her shit over something no more dangerous than an opossum.
She was just turning back toward the campfire when its light caught and reflected off something dark and shiny at the tips of her fingers. Staring down, unable to look away, she slowly returned to the fire where the light revealed with clarity what her brain hadn’t wanted to acknowledge.
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
Yes, those were inch-long, black talons on the end of each finger.
“Magical mental link my ass!”
The kid had some serious explaining to do.
A SOFT SCUFF AND A crackle of dried leaves had Anna bolting upright, nearly stumbling into the fire in her haste to stand.
“Easy, it is only me,” said a familiar voice.
She scanned the shadows looking for the young gargoyle but couldn’t spot him. She could, however, sense him.
“Ah ha! There you are. Next time speak up before you scare three years off my life.”
“How is it my fault if you fell asleep?”
“It just is. I’m always right. It’s one of the fundamental laws of existence. Get used to it.”
“Ah. If you say so,” he said as he became visible a second after he’d crossed the protective dome barrier. “I brought the supplies you requested. Soap. Clean clothes. A few other items I found in my sister’s bathroom. I don’t know what they all are for, but you’re both females.”
He left it at that like he’d just explained one of the mysteries of the universe.
At the moment, he could have called her a female ape for all she cared. She pounced on the bag of supplies and rummaged through it as she backed toward her favorite ‘chair,’ one of the larger branches of the fallen tree that made up her shelter.
“I’ll go hunt us up something to eat,” he said with a note of amusement in his voice.
Great. A kid was laughing at her eagerness. Oh well. Upending the sac, she found what she’d most hoped to find. Toothpaste. There were even two unopened toothbrushes.
Who actually had a stockpile of toothbrushes just lying around?
“They are from the spa,” Shadowlight explained. “When I couldn’t find doubles in my sister’s possessions, I borrowed from the building complex they call a spa. Though I don’t know why they would need so many of such things.”
“You really were just born three days ago, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” he said and turned away, more interested in finding food than talking, apparently.
“Rabbits,” she shouted at his retreating form. “Not squirrels again. Then we are going to talk! About these!”
He half turned to look back over his left wing and shoulder. She raised her hand and flashed her shiny new talons. The kid looked sheepish for a moment and then fled into the forest.
When she was sure he was gone, she gathered her new things and walked to the area where a small stream flowed under the energy dome. She’d already investigated the area which allowed the water to flow under or through it—she wasn’t really sure which, as she’d gotten a good zap for her troubles and decided it didn’t matter. There was no way she could wiggle under it. The stream was too shallow, only a few inches of water flowing over a rocky stream bed.
Three feet in from the edge, the stream flowed into a little dip in the terrain. It wasn’t deep enough to bathe in, but she used it for washing. It was cold, but now that she had soap and clean clothing, the temperature seemed like a minor inconvenience.
SHADOWLIGHT PADDED through the forest on two legs instead of the preferred four. This way he figured it would take longer to get back. Besides, he’d forgotten to take the sack with him, and the three rabbits he’d caught were easier to hold in his hands than his mouth.
Ducking under a particularly low evergreen bough, he cleared it and spotted the shimmer of the dome ahead. He strained his ears but didn’t hear any sounds of splashing water, so deemed it safe to return.
The human sat next to the fire as she worked on her damp hair. It was longer than he’d thought, about midway down her back. She was the first human he’d seen with a proper mane.
Earlier, she’d had it fashioned into tiny braids that marched down her scalp, with the entire mass gathered at the back of her head where the braids were fixed to themselves in an intricate pattern which mystified him. She’d somehow managed to fit all that under her helmet.
He was surprised she hadn’t just cut it all off like most other soldiers he’d seen.
“Ha! Picked that one up!” she crowed. “The thought leaking thing is a two-way street, my friend. No way am I cutting all my hair off. It’s the one damn vanity I’m still allowed.”
Slightly taken aback by the fact she was able to pick up on his thoughts, he froze halfway to her side. His blood was still making changes to her.
“Nice rabbits,” she said in her usual droll tone. “Bring them here, and we can get them cooking. I’m not going to get any less hungry while I wait.”
He hesitated a moment longer and then brought his kills over for her to spit. She seemed to know how to manage a cooking fire, so he left her to it.
She glanced his way. “You any good at foraging? You know, fruits and berries that won’t make either of us sick?”
“Maybe I can help,” came a voice from somewhere behind Shadowlight’s left shoulder.
He felt his stomach physically lurch with fear as he spun around to face Greenborrow. The leshii stood watching them from his position outside the dome. The dark frown, which had replaced his usual jovial expression, promised trouble for Shadowlight’s newest friend.
&nb
sp; How had the leshii found him? He’d taken extra precautions always to hide his trail when he came to visit his human friend.
Actually, it didn’t matter how the other had found him, he’d just have to fix this new development.
“I can explain,” he said by way of introduction.
Greenborrow snorted and leveled him with an intense look. “I highly doubt you have enough words in your vocabulary to explain this... situation... to my satisfaction. However, it will surely be entertaining to let you try, so go ahead.”
ANNA EYED THE NEWCOMER, knowing her continued existence was about to come into question again. While the newcomer, with his baggy clothes, bare feet, and wild hair didn’t look formidable, one of her freaky new senses picked up on something and warned her.
Yeah. This one fell into the category of ‘scary dangerous,’ and it had nothing to do with his appearance.
Well, as she saw it, she’d won over the gargoyle, now she’d just have to gain this one’s trust. She didn’t fool herself. If she failed, she was dead.
No pressure.
She stood and strolled over to the stranger and held out her hand. “Name’s Corporal Anna Mackenzie. Shadowlight filled me in on the basics. By his response, you’re either Clan or Coven and likely here to finish what the Riven started. If I’m allowed input in the outcome, I’d prefer a clean death.”
Shadowlight made an alarmed whimper, but she continued to stare at the wild man with her hand outstretched.
He held his stony expression for a moment more and then burst out with a robust belly laugh, which sent more than one bird winging for safer locales.
He clapped both his hands around her outstretched one, giving it a hardy pump before releasing it.
“And mine’s Greenborrow,” he managed between bouts of laughter. “If your death is required, I promise I’ll try to make it quick. In the meantime, let us see if we can find another resolution first, shall we? The boy is looking a wee bit upset.”
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 64
