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 apparent she was outclassed, but her interference was enough to prevent Gryton from winning the battle.
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 armor. “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 armor 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, but 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 sword somewhere, but no longer really needed it.
A film of fire crawled across every inch of his armor and danced in the breeze of its own making.
Chapter 40
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 the maze’s center 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. 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 confident 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 every human and fae present in the glade.
It wasn’t that fast, of course, but after several minutes of battle, there were few 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 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 would 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 41
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 clutching her only remaining sword strayed to her belly. 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?
She wished she knew more about gargoyles. But she didn’t and there
wasn’t time to worry.
The remaining humans and fae were dead, dying, or no better off than her mother.
She raised her blade for a final defense 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 flipped him 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 had been 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,” Gryton hissed out. “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 allow me to leave.” He directed the last bit at Lillian. “Now this world 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 meter 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 hellfire 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.
Seeing an opening, Lillian called shadow magic to her aid. She shaped it into little dagger-like shards as she’d seen her mother do. Once she had several hovering in the air, she raced forward, rejoining the fight. Her tiny biting shadows harassed Gryton. They were not lethal, but she summoned more and more of them until they resembled a swarm of bees attacking the commander.
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 armor.
A storm of magic boiled up where molten fire met cold spirit magic.
Thunder rumbled. The earth shook. Lillian lost her footing and went 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 Lillian watched.
The very air vibrated to the flow of power. The flames, which had earlier been crawling across Gryton’s armor, 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.
On the other side of the glade, 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.
Lillian was almost upon her prey when she felt her hamadryad’s thoughts merge with hers.
Gryton is needed.
“Like hell.”
She raised her sword above her head, willing herself to plunge the blade down and separate his damned head from his shoulders. Surely all her gargoyle strength would be enough to end him.
She just had to do it.
One swift downward thrust and then it would be over, a threat neutralized. Justice served.
Closing her eyes, she shifted her weight and then thrust the blade down. Gargoyle strength and the magical blade cut through the layers of resistance protecting Gryton.
Bright light seared her eyes even with them closed tight, and still, she forced the blade down until its tip buried itself in the spongy loam of her glade.
She didn’t have to open her eyes to know Gryton was gone.
Gone.
Not dead.
Her damned meddling hamadryad.
“Where is he?”
The hamadryad didn’t respond, at least not in thoughts or emotions Lillian could understand, but more power washed outward from the tree. A soothing flow of magic took away the throb of burns, the ache of cuts, and the thousand tiny abuses of a battered body.
Even her damaged wings were healed, but it did nothing for her emotional stress.
Gryton was gone, out of her reach. She didn’t know where. Yet, she doubted it was back to the Magic Realm. The hamadryad had alluded to needing him. So, she’d probably stashed him somewhere out of the way.
The Spirit Realm would have been nice.
Lillian sighed and calmed her thoughts. Raging about an escaped enemy would do nothing to aid the survivors.
Immediate danger past, or at least out of her reach, she turned and took in the damage, her heart in her throat.
Gregory was an unmoving lump, and her father was cold stone. The fluctuating waves of power coming from her hamadryad prevented Lillian from sensing anything else.
Conflicted, Lillian turned a slow circle, stretching her magic and senses to see if they still lived.
The lump of roots shifted, and Gregory fought his way onto his forearms, his ears shifting this way and that as he searched for her.
Relief and adrenaline spurred her into running. She skidded to a stop next to him as he fought to free himself from the hamadryad’s roots.
“Lillian?”
He turned his head and sniffed.
“Shhh, I’m here. We won.” Then she saw the blood seeping from under his closed lids. By the Goddess, he was blinded. “Oh, my poor gargoyle.” She reached for his face, but there were so many wounds she didn’t know where to touch him
without causing more pain. She settled for stroking his horns.
“I will heal.” He brushed his muzzle along her arm, leaving a streak of blood behind. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she said in a rush, “I was, but it was not as bad as you, and my hamadryad already healed me.”
“I owe her my life.”
“The tattoo almost killed you. I’m so sorry.”
“It was my choice. Not your fault.” Gregory tried to get his feet under him, but the roots still held him locked in their embrace. He slumped back and rolled onto his side. “Perhaps I will rest here a little while longer.”
“Why haven’t you turned to stone to heal?”
He nuzzled her hand and licked at her fingers. “The Sorceress is still healing me. I know my wounds look fierce, and they are, but she is healing them far more quickly than I could during my stone sleep.”
“If you say so.”
“She’s healing me from the inside and then working her way outward.” Gregory sighed and then allowed his head to rest on the ground. “It will be some hours yet before I am healed enough to leave under my own power. You’ll have to stay here. I see the tattoos still exist.”
“Of course I’m staying. I would stay even if the tattoo didn’t make it a requirement.” Lillian huffed angrily and then lay down next to Gregory. She might have offered to go aid the other survivors, but no one else was near enough to satisfy the tattoo’s need for closeness.
From her position next to Gregory, she watched as more soldiers and fae made their way out of the maze and into the meadow. They scanned the area for signs of danger, and then slowly approached the survivors—though the humans were as uncertain of what help they could be as Lillian herself was.
Every survivor was covered in masses of fibrous roots, being healed by the hamadryad.
Corporal Mackenzie and Shadowlight were patrolling between River and Darkness. River was still alive. Lillian could hear her slow heartbeat and see the slight rise and fall of her breast with each breath.
Darkness was slumped on the grass, still a cold, unmoving statue. However, the fine mesh of roots growing over his stone skin gave Lillian hope he might return to them one day. She doubted her hamadryad would otherwise be lavishing attention on him. Shadowlight must have seen Gregory stirring, for he abandoned his parents to come over to Gregory and Lillian. Anna trailed behind him, as if the human wasn’t willing to let the youth out of her sight.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 77
