The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9)

by Lisa Blackwood

  When the first side road presented itself, Lillian took it. Unhurriedly she walked to the next patch of deepening shadow along the tree line. Once she was in the deepest part, she called her shadow magic and faded from any mortal eyes that might be watching.

  She didn’t trust her own skills completely, so darted into the forest as quickly as possible. Then she followed where her gargoyle senses led. She found the banshee standing under an oak tree.

  After scanning the area to be certain they were alone, Lillian dropped her shadow magic and approached the banshee.

  “What has happened? Is Gregory okay?”

  “Your avatar mate was well when last I saw him a mere hour ago.”

  Lillian raised an eyebrow. “Daryna then?”

  “She was well,” the banshee said, but a thread of fear now entered her voice.

  “Go on. We’re alone here.”

  The banshee paced between two trees, too agitated to stay in one place.

  That can’t be a good sign, Lillian decided.

  “Are you aware that a banshee can sense deception?”

  Lillian hadn’t really thought of it like that, but Gregory had said banshees could sense a truth from a lie. “Yes. Gregory shared that bit of knowledge with me.”

  “Sometimes our gift is so strong as to be able to read thoughts. Although that is not always the case. Certainly not if the one we are trying to read is a powerful worker of magic. But even so, my kind know when we are being told a lie.” The banshee made a frustrated sound. “I wish I had more to tell you, some definitive proof. But I don’t. The Sorceress is too strong for me to read her thoughts, but my nature detects something off—a deception when I am near her. It is subtle.”

  Again, the banshee betrayed her unease by rubbing a hand against her thigh. “Perhaps deception is too strong a word. But there is an avoidance in Daryna. Or there’s something she does not want others to know yet. Or...it could simply be her ancient nature. She has lifetimes of knowledge she’s been tasked with guarding. Gregory sometimes has that sense about him as well.”

  “When did you first notice this?”

  “From the moment I laid eyes on the Sorceress after she emerged from the hamadryad.” The banshee frowned, worry lines marring her smooth, ageless features. “But the feeling was stronger this afternoon when I worked with her and Gregory. What I sense from her is not evil...just a wrongness.”

  “Thank you for sharing your worries with me.” Lillian braced a shoulder against a tree and sighed deeply. It was both a worry and a relief to have another give voice to her fears. She debated what to confide in the other Fae, and then settled on everything. “I suspected my hamadryad of interference even before she cloned me and created this new sorceress.”

  “What made you suspect?”

  “I had Commander Gryton under my sword’s point when my hamadryad spirited him off somewhere before I could end him. When Daryna arrived, I asked her about it, but she said if I’d killed Gryton it might have triggered a fiery apocalypse, but she also said that Gryton was needed, or useful, or some other line of crap I didn’t honestly believe. My doubts were further compounded when Daryna said Gryton had escaped.”

  Lillian glanced down at her fingers. Her gargoyle talons had flexed longer, her body responding to the worry in her mind. She didn’t want to say the rest as if uttering the words would make them real, and she very much didn’t want it to be true.

  “Go on,” the banshee urged. “Lies and evasions only weaken our core strength.”

  “The hamadryad whispered that Gryton was needed, but the more I examine those memories, the greater my unease grows. I don’t think the hamadryad was just protecting Commander Gryton. I believe she was protective of him.”

  The banshee looked about as unhappy as Lillian felt.

  “Do you think something of the demon seed survived?” Even as Lillian asked it, she didn’t believe it. This — whatever this was — felt different than the demon seed.

  The banshee shook her head. “I would have detected evil.”

  “We need some kind of proof. If I go to Gregory with this now, I’m going to seem like the jealous lover. Not to mention it will tip off Daryna if I say anything to Gregory. We need proof, and then we need a swift plan of action. But even then, we’ll need Gregory’s cooperation.”

  Lillian very much wanted her suspicions to be wrong, but the banshee sensed something was off. That made two of them. And she wasn’t a believer in coincidence.

  But, by the Divine Ones, what could they do against the Mother’s Sorceress? Only Gregory was her match. In theory. But would he go against her even if there was proof of her duplicity?

  Hell, Earth probably wouldn’t survive a war between the Avatars.

  “I desperately hope we’re both wrong. But we need to watch Daryna while not giving away that we suspect her. If we find something, we’ll take it to Gregory. If he can’t or won’t act, there is one other who might be able to stop Daryna.”

  The banshee raised a brow in question. “No Fae or mortal has any hope of defeating the Sorceress in a fight.”

  “No. But a demigod just might. If we find some proof of wrongdoing, I’ll find a way to take what I’ve learned to the Lord of the Underworld.”

  “You would destroy yourself?” The banshee was surprised.

  “No. But I would destroy a flawed copy to protect everything I love in this world.” Lillian rested her hand on her belly.

  Although without the power of the Mother’s Sorceress, Lillian didn’t know if it was possible to win a war against the Battle Goddess.

  Earth might lose regardless of what path they chose.

  Lillian closed her eyes and prayed she was wrong.

  Chapter 11

  NOT LONG AFTER LILLIAN and the banshee parted company, Gregory came bounding through the forest and nearly knocked her off her feet with an exuberant greeting. At first, Lillian was afraid Gregory had caught the underlying worry or the direction her recent thoughts had taken, and he’d come to unearth the reason for her distress.

  But after his greeting, he showed no signs of suspicion.

  “I missed you. When I finished the spell work with Daryna and returned to the house, you weren’t back yet.” Gregory looked equal parts upset and sheepish. “I should have stayed in contact with you throughout the day.”

  “It’s all right. You’ve had your plate full these last few days.”

  “I’m never too busy to spend time with my mate.” Gregory nuzzled her and inched closer.

  When he reared up and took her in his arms, it wasn’t really a surprise. Lillian’s worries fell away for a short time while she returned his embrace.

  “What great weaving of magic did you and Daryna create today?” Lillian asked, hoping her question diverted him from picking up her earlier concerns.

  “We built two traps. Anyone from the Magic Realm using the hamadryad to travel here will find themselves captured and transported to another holding spell well away from any populated areas. The prison dome now has Fae and military guards watching it.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “And your day?” He asked in a rumbling tone.

  “Long,” Lillian said with a laugh. “Long and tedious. We’ve been working on rendering the military’s weapons less vulnerable to magical attack. Several of the prototype guns are ready for testing. They’d like to try to shoot us with them tomorrow, I believe.”

  Gregory laughed. “A new hunting game? And do we get to hunt them in turn?”

  Only a gargoyle would think getting shot at was fun. “You’ll have to talk to Anna and Major Resnick about that.”

  Gregory tucked her against his side and curled a wing around her as he called on shadow magic to hide them. Lillian sighed happily. Without Daryna underfoot, it was like old times again. If she wasn’t in danger of passing out with hunger, she might have suggested a long walk in the woods.

  But...priorities.

  “I’m starving. Let’s go find somethi
ng to eat,” Lillian said as she urged Gregory in the direction of home.

  GREGORY WASN’T FOOLED by Lillian’s outward calm. He’d felt her soul-deep pain enough in the last twenty-four hours to know of her unhappiness. They were one being, after all. And it didn’t matter if she wasn’t presently the Sorceress.

  She was his mate. They were one in all ways that mattered.

  Besides, her scent would have been enough to signal her emotional distress. If he could have changed events and certain outcomes for her, he would have.

  What the hamadryad had done by cloning Lillian was beyond his range of experience. And that experience went back to the beginning of time, so surprising him was difficult under normal circumstances.

  Humph. Not that much about this life was normal. The most ancient part of his essence and soul whispered that there was a wrongness that needed to be corrected.

  Gregory’s mind shied away from that disturbing thought as his tail began flicking with newfound unease. He wanted to think he was just feeding upon Lillian’s tension but one thing his long existence had taught him was to trust his feelings and investigate the source of unease.

  They reached the large stone cottage Lillian called home and entered through the back door, into the kitchen.

  Inside they found two bowls of steaming stew with their names upon them. Literally. There was a folded paper propped against the large bowls that read ‘eat these’ signed with a J.

  Lillian laughed. “Jason made the stew. It’s his specialty.”

  She scooped up utensils, a still warm roll from a covered basket, her bowl of stew, and then started for the table. Gregory stopped her with a tap on the shoulder.

  Glancing at him, she arched an eyebrow in question.

  “I have spent enough time in the company of others. I would prefer to dine in our room,” he said with a sheepish shrug.

  It was true. He was also hoping to mend the growing divide between them as well as spend some time getting to know their unborn child. Lillian’s scent was already changing to carry the hint of their baby.

  It was a marvel he wanted to take time and enjoy. Never had he dreamed this moment would be real.

  He dragged in another deep breath and huffed it out a moment later. Something had changed. Lillian’s scent no longer was as sweet. There was now an underlying hint of distress.

  Small frown lines had appeared between her brows and at the corners of her mouth.

  “I would like to dine with you, too,” Lillian said and then tried to seem uninterested in the answer to her next question. “Where is Daryna? I haven’t seen her yet this evening?”

  Ah, so that was what bothered her.

  “She said she would meet with Gran and the Fae council. She’ll help to round up volunteers to work with the humans,” Gregory said as he urged Lillian out of the kitchen and up the stairs before anyone else had a chance to waylay them.

  “Shouldn’t we help?” Lillian asked, sounding even less enthusiastic than he felt at the prospect of joining in another meeting.

  “No.”

  Once within the sanctuary of their rooms, Gregory stomped over to the closet and pulled out three large blankets. Lillian watched perplexed as he spread two of them in front of the fireplace and set the other aside while he grabbed a few pieces of wood from the rack to build a fire.

  In a short amount of time, he had a fire going, the blankets arranged into a comfortable bed, and the food laid out near at hand. With only a slight hesitation, Lillian joined him.

  “What is it with you and fire?”

  It was still summer, but the night was already promising to be cold and rainy.

  “I like its smoky scent and warmth. It reminds me of home. Fire is the one primary element that never fails to comfort me.”

  Lillian smiled at him. “I like the sound of water, myself.”

  “I’m fond of water, too. But fire is my favorite element. It might have something to do with that massage you gave last time we reclined by this same fireplace.” He grinned, flashing white curving fangs. “I’d be open to a repeat of last time.”

  Lillian chuckled. “I thought it might be something like that.”

  He could scent when her earlier reserve melted away to be replaced by a warm, welcoming scent.

  When she knelt next to him and ran her hands over his chest, Gregory shuddered and decided dinner could wait until later.

  Much later.

  Chapter 12

  DARYNA SLIPPED AWAY into the forest a few minutes after the meeting with Gran and the other council members adjourned for the night. They promised to meet the next night again to discuss how the day’s events had progressed.

  The purpose of the meeting held little interest for her. Although it did present an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. She needed some innocuous ways to escape the watchful eye of her gargoyle protector for short times to meet with her son.

  Once she was deep enough into the forest, she called her magic and created a portal to carry her to where Gryton waited.

  Moments later she emerged onto the stony, needle-covered ground with its pungent evergreen odor. Last year’s needles crunched softly under her feet as she made her way over to the cave entrance.

  Before she’d made it three steps, Gryton emerged from behind a clump of trees growing to the left of the cave’s dark maw. “You were able to escape your other half I see.”

  “He’s distracted for a bit. But I don’t dare stay away too long.”

  Gryton nodded his head and gestured for her to go into the cave.

  “Have you been practicing what I taught you?”

  “Yes, and I’ve mulled over more of your plan.” He followed close behind as they entered the cavern.

  The warm fire-scent she’d smelled earlier was stronger within. She should be focusing on their plans, but her curiosity won out. “I know you’re a fire elemental and if I were to guess, I’d say dragon.”

  Her son laughed. “Besides the Battle Goddess, you’re the only one to ever figure that out. There is much talk and many wagers among my soldiers, but I’ve never taken my true form. I can barely control my power as it is. Shifting to my true form is something I’d only do as a last resort. Both the Magic and Mortal Realm should consider themselves blessed to have never seen that form. Only Lord Death has ever seen it with his own eyes. I was born in dragon form but had to use every scrap of power I possessed to flee from what was hunting me.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Had Lord Death not attacked me, I might have retained too much power and lost the war to control it, effectively ending my life before it had begun. So, in a sense, I might have Death to thank for being alive.”

  “Truly?” Daryna hadn’t known that bit. She was still sorting through and making sense of his memories. But that just reinforced her belief that the Divine Ones had a purpose for Gryton to fulfill.

  “Yes, but that’s not what you came to talk about this night. And I have a few questions about your plans for Shadowlight.”

  “Ask them, my son. I will answer them all.”

  GREGORY RECLINED IN front of the fire, staring into the flames with his head propped against his hand. He was now in his human-gargoyle hybrid form. While Lillian was always welcoming of his varying forms, he knew she was partial to his human form mixed with that of his more primal gargoyle nature.

  A lazy grin spread across his lips. He was always happy to oblige.

  As lovers, they were very new to each other, and he was still learning what pleased her the most. Although, her soft snores that tickled along his shoulder and neck reassured him that he had skills enough to satisfy his mate.

  While Lillian slept in his arms, he stayed awake marveling at his blessing. To finally be able to make love to the other half of his soul and not have the act lead to fiery destruction was something that would never get old.

  And there was an even greater blessing—a family.

  That silly grin was back full force and wouldn’
t go away. He didn’t care.

  Oh, there would likely be repercussions in the Spirit Realm when they shed these mortal forms one day in some vague and future time. But for now, they lived, Lillian was with child, and the Divine Ones hadn’t destroyed them.

  Nothing should have dampened his joy at this time.

  But one thing still did, all the same.

  The awkwardness between Lillian and Daryna. He knew once Lillian became the Sorceress, these difficult times would be put behind them, and she would understand it was never a competition between them. He loved them as he always had.

  Still, he had to keep them from starting a war between themselves.

  Discovering how to go about that was the problem.

  But that was an issue for later. He huffed out a deep sigh and then nuzzled Lillian’s shoulder. Smiling, he pressed his lips to the soft skin and inhaled their mingled scents. Content, he watched the flickering light of the fire.

  Sleep was just creeping up on him when the soft sound of the door opening and closing drifted across his senses. Even before her scent reached him, he knew Daryna had returned.

  “How did the meeting go?” He asked without looking away from the fire.

  “It unfolded much the way you said it would.” The pads of Daryna’s fingers trailed over the curve of his arm and succeeded in dragging his attention from the mesmerizing firelight.

  Before he knew what she planned, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his in a kiss that bordered on dominance. Taken completely by surprise, he just lay passive under her. She changed locations, now nibbling along his jawline with softer brushes of her lips and the occasional flick of her tongue against his skin.

  Even as his blood surged with heat and another body part awoke eager to serve, a thread of unease was stirring in his mind. He would always love his lady, but this wasn’t right.

  “So controlled. Hmmm, I used to be able to shatter that iron control. I wonder if I still can?” Her breath caressed his throat a moment before she brought her mouth back to his. Her hands roamed lightly across his chest, making his muscles quiver at the ticklish touch.