The sun shone hot, but the wind was pleasantly cool. Below them, a pod of dolphins cut through the waves.
“The Magic Realm has dolphins?”
Obsidian had been looking ahead toward the mainland in the distance, but he tilted his head, scanning the ocean and swiftly spotted the pod.
He banked to the left, dropping lower suddenly. Anna’s stomach lodged itself in her throat for a moment.
“Some warning next time.”
“Is my Kyrsu whining? Is that what I hear?”
“Just wait. You haven’t experienced whining yet.”
“Look closer,” he said suddenly.
She did. There was a metallic greenish-silver streak dipping and darting between the dolphins. “Fuck me! A mermaid!”
Just then the mermaid leaped high above the waves, splashing one of the low-flying gargoyles. The leanly built male dipped closer to the water as his dryad rider cursed both her mount and the mermaid.
“That’s Breaker. He and the sirens are good friends and often hunt the shallows together.”
Anna’s eyebrow lodged itself nearly in her hairline. “Gargoyles are good swimmers?”
She’d never had the chance to try but figured the wings would be a problem.
“Most aren’t as good in the water as Breaker. The running joke is that he’s spent so much time with the sirens, they’ve been secretly adapting him to a life in water. He moves like one of those...” He hesitated, obviously not remembering a word. “One of those flightless, ocean-dwelling birds back on Earth.”
“Penguins,” she supplied.
“Yes. He uses his wings underwater like one.”
“Have you tried that?”
He grunted in answer. “Yes. Once. Think I nearly swallowed half the ocean.”
“I’ll give that a hard pass.”
Obsidian veered back higher into the sky and a moment later a second siren broke the surface in a graceful arc before disappearing back into the blue depths, her tail flick insufficient to spray them twenty feet above the waves.
If Anna had been paying attention earlier, she would have recognized other magic wielders. It was a sharp reminder she needed to remain alert and not get seduced by the warm sun, cool breeze, and blue waves. Danger was never more than a few steps away.
“Those sirens are our allies,” Obsidian informed her. “You need not fear them. They serve Lord Dray and patrol the waters around the island even as we patrol the sky.”
Anna furrowed her brows. “Sirens. Read about them before. When my team was attacked by the Riven, there was a siren involved in that mess. Never saw her in person. Too busy dying at that time, but I read the file afterward. She’d originally come to enslave Gregory and Lillian and wipe out a good chunk of humanity. Those are the same creatures swimming down there?”
“Yes. They take their duties seriously. The one in the report was trying to protect her ocean realm.”
“There are better ways than mass genocide.”
Obsidian just shrugged.
Seriously. A shrug?
Anna arched an eyebrow at the back of his head. “You sure the ones down there are friendly?”
“I did not say that.” He tilted his head to catch her eye. “I only said the sirens below serve Lord Dray and help protect our lands. If someone was to trespass and their intentions were not pure...”
“Mmm... Fish food. Got it. Don’t go swimming in the ocean.”
“You are safe from them.”
Anna wasn’t feeling particularly convinced. Humans didn’t seem to be a favorite race in the Magic Realm. ‘What’d we ever do to them?’
“You seem to forget we have that siren back on Earth to thank for our meeting,” Obsidian pointed out. “If she hadn’t helped us to destroy the Riven in the Mortal Realm, there would have been many more to clean up, delaying me from finding you until it was too late. If not for that siren, you might have been the first Riven I killed on my own. That thought upsets me.”
“I...” The thought of never meeting Shadowlight, being saved by the fiercest gargoyle cub ever born, made her soul take a chill. “I never thought of it like that. You’re right. Even though I don’t condone that siren’s methods, or what she was trying to do, I owe her my life.”
“And I likely owe her mine as well.” Strong emotion bled across the link. “I don’t know if I would have survived all that has happened without you there at my side.”
“I never intend to leave you again.” Anna patted his shoulder. “The past is behind us. It’s enough we survived it and our friendship was born. Now it’s time to look to the future. And our immediate future has a hunt in it.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his tone still abnormally subdued.
A distraction was in order. “I’m about to take part in a hunt, but I don’t even know what the prey will be.”
“We call them cliff jumpers. They’re a large cloven-hoofed beast that’s woolly like an Earth sheep but moves with the agility of a goat. Though, it’s much larger than both. Good eating.”
“Sounds charming.”
“They’re so ugly, they’re almost cute,” Obsidian added. “We save them for feast days, so we don’t have to work so hard on our days off.”
“Like keeping a stocked pond.”
Obsidian shrugged again and nearly unseated her this time.
“Stop that!”
His ears pinned back with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t do it again.”
Anna scanned ahead, studying the topography of the mainland growing larger by the wing beat. If she hadn’t been squinting, she might have missed the so-called cliff jumpers. Their coats were camouflaged to look like the cliff wall.
“What the heck needs camouflage perched precariously on the side of a cliff like that? What predator is dumb enough to risk killing itself for a mouthful of meat, no matter how tasty?”
“One with wings.” Obsidian laughed and then beat his wings harder.
The other gargoyles surged after them. When she spotted the other dryad’s drawing arrows from their quivers, Anna swiftly followed suit.
At least her time in the Battle Goddess’s domain had made her proficient with the bow. And the woolly, ugly goat-sheep-muskox beasts were as broad as a barn door.
Don’t miss, she told herself. No screwing up the first day.
Anna picked out her target as Obsidian streaked closer. When she judged they were in range, she released the arrow.
“Obsidian. Above you! Look out!” More than one voice cried the warning, but Anna was too busy tracking the danger. A vast black shadow arrowed from above. Time slowed in that strange way it did in the seconds before an accident. She could see everything.
Reaver was diving from higher up, his speed tremendous and his angle intersecting Obsidian’s path. Her gargoyle partner reared back, going vertical in the air to avoid a collision with the other gargoyle.
The fool missed them by inches, but as he slid past, his powerful tail smashed Obsidian in the chest, throwing him backward. They spun through the air in a wild arc. Their link flared to life instinctively.
Then she was falling, dropping away as he righted himself in the air. Below, the razor-sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff waited eagerly to shred her flesh and shatter her bones. Magic burned inside, her gargoyle nature rushing to the surface.
Chapter 13
MOMENTS BEFORE THE shift took her, Obsidian was there, his tail wrapped viselike around her torso. Wings snapped out to stretch wide, halting their descent so suddenly all the air was smashed out of her lungs. His tail was a punishing and lifesaving pressure around her middle.
Death averted, she swallowed back her rising gargoyle nature.
In a small part of her mind not devoted to that task, she cataloged her injuries. She’d be aching and sore later. Likely a broad assortment of bruises would circle her chest and waist where his tail was even now holding so tight she couldn’t breath
e. But she was alive.
Obsidian continued to beat his wings, rising higher. She’d successfully mastered her gargoyle nature by now. Good thing too. She was on the verge of blacking out. With an ever-narrowing field of vision, she watched as he came in for a landing midway up the cliff’s face where there was a ledge wide enough to hold them both.
“Anna!” The word was bellowed in her ears. It was only then she realized he’d been yelling her name for some time, but she’d been too busy swallowing back her gargoyle nature and assessing her injuries.
“Anna!”
Hmmm? That was a very panicked sounding Obsidian. Then he loosened his hold enough that she could breathe.
“Anna, please talk to me. Did I break anything? Crush your ribs?”
Poor fellow was so upset he forgot to use their link. “I’m okay. Sore. Nothing broken. Tomorrow morning’s gonna suck.”
“I’ll take you to a healer.”
He touched down on the ledge, and the jolt renewed the pain in her ribs. Yep. Gonna feel like crap warmed over with a side order of roadkill. The muscular tail unwound from around her waist. His hands took its place.
He poked and prodded. She hissed and cursed. Eventually, they both stopped.
After a moment’s hesitation, the big gargoyle reached out and oh so carefully gathered her in his arms. Even with all his loving gentleness, her abused ribs complained at the new pressure.
Obsidian shook with adrenaline and reaction and their link flared with a secondary pain. He’d been hurt snatching her back from death, but it was dwarfed by his emotional distress.
Her ribs would keep; her partner needed reassurance.
She mumbled nonsense at him like she had done when he was a child and hugged him back. When that didn’t seem enough, she patted his back and projected her love. Anything to comfort him.
“I’ll hunt Reaver down and murder him for what he tried to do.”
“As tempting as that sounds, neither of us is up for that kind of hunt. Let’s hunt up some healers instead.” Anna continued to hold him even though her ribs were starting in with a new relentless throb.
“Some of your ribs are cracked.” He nuzzled her hair, breath still coming in great gasps. “I’ll use shadow magic to wrap your ribs until the healers can mend the fractures.”
“You’re hurt too. I can sense it, a burning ache all down your spine. Did you dislocate your tail?”
“Doesn’t work that way. It’s part of my spine.” He shifted his wings and tail, testing them. “Might have a couple small fractures. I’m still flight-worthy.”
That’s good, Anna thought. Should probably let him go now.
“It’s nice.” Obsidian’s tone was gentler, the rage melting away further. “I’d forgotten how nice this was.”
“I’ll give you a proper bear hug later, once the ribs heal up.” Anna winced and stepped away. “I know you’re not a child anymore, but you’ll always be huggable Shadowlight to me. Get used to it.”
Obsidian laughed, a deep, genuine sound of relief. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. You? I know that tail grab maneuver did something to your back. There are better ways to get a lumbar adjustment.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Anna moved farther from Obsidian as another gargoyle landed on the already crowded ledge.
It was Truth and his rider, Brooke. The dryad didn’t dismount—there wasn’t room.
“Obsidian, are you and Anna all right?” Truth paced closer and sniffed them over.
“I’ll be better when I have Reaver cornered.” A growl punctuated the end of his sentence.
Brooke leaned over Truth’s shoulders. “Are you sure you’re able to fly?”
“Yes.”
The dryad wasn’t put off by his gruff tone. “Truth can carry Anna and me if you need to reduce your load for the return trip.”
“No.” New menace rolled from Obsidian. “Anna flies with me.”
“Easy,” Truth said. “We will not separate you. But you don’t have to worry about dealing with Reaver. Everyone saw what that fool did. He’s already being escorted back to Haven where the elders will be made aware of what he did. He was flying above you the entire time and says he didn’t realize until after that Anna wasn’t secured in a saddle. He was telling the truth.”
Gargoyles could scent lies as quickly as identifying their favorite food by smell. If the others didn’t sense a lie, then Reaver wasn’t a murderous asshole. He was just an asshole. That didn’t mean she would not rip him a new one the first chance she got.
Truth was directing his words at Obsidian along a private link, but Anna still heard. Her mental connection with her gargoyle partner was much stronger now that she’d come so close to shifting.
“You’re certain you can make it to the island?” Truth asked. “There’s no shame in asking the healers to come to you.”
“I can make it.” Obsidian’s voice still held an underlying low, menacing growl. “But have the healers waiting when we get back. I want Anna checked over. She has a few cracked or broken ribs.”
Truth’s ears tilted, scrutinizing Obsidian. “You’re being stupid you know. You should just let me carry double.”
Obsidian’s answering growl didn’t require words.
“As you wish.” Truth backed away and then launched himself off the ledge and into the air.
Obsidian turned back to her. “Let me bind your ribs in bands of shadow magic for now, until the healers can see to them properly.”
She wasn’t about to argue with that and stood docile while he spun out a shadowy substance that looked something like cloth but was cooler to the touch than the surrounding air. Slowly she raised her arms out away from her body and allowed him to wrap her chest from just under her armpits down to her belly button.
Then he ordered the shadow wrap to tighten a little at a time.
“It’s not a freaking corset. That’s tight enough.”
“It’s supposed to be tight.” But Obsidian loosened the spell a tiny bit.
“By the way, thanks again for that.” Then Anna arched her brow at Obsidian. “You sure it’s wise to ignore Truth’s suggestion?”
“I will be fine.”
“Well, I will totally say ‘I told you so’ if I have to shift and carry your heavy ass the rest of the way to the island.”
“Part of my training focuses on pushing beyond physical limits. I’ve suffered worse training accidents than this and continued the session.”
“Fine. Be a bonehead. We’ll go see the healers together later.”
Obsidian merely huffed and then dropped to all fours, presenting her with his tail and well-muscled backside. She suppressed the urge to slap his stubborn ass.
The ledge wasn’t wide enough for her to circle around and stand beside him to mount, so she’d have to attempt one of those running gymnastic maneuvers where the rider vaults onto the horse’s back. Or like they did in track and field.
Fuck. This would hurt.
He glanced over his shoulder, reading the hesitation. “I’ll carry you.”
“Do I look like a damsel in distress?” She took three long strides, planted her hands on his rump, and sprang up and over to land heavily on his back.
They both grunted under the impact.
“Told you this would suck,” she wheezed out.
Then she carefully leaned forward, bracing one arm against her ribs and the other between his wing joins. A bloody motorcycle ride over three kilometers of potholes would likely be more comfortable than this short flight, but she didn’t have a choice unless she fancied getting carried back like some fainting damsel in Obsidian’s arms.
When Anna thumped his back, he leaped off the ledge and into the sky. His wings caught the air and forced it to submit to his will, and soon he was climbing higher as he headed toward his island home.
Chapter 14
OBSIDIAN HELD ONTO his rage by the tips of his talons. If Reaver had been within sight and if A
nna wasn’t clinging to his back, he would have engaged in aerial combat with the other male without so much as a second thought.
Reaver might plead stupidity versus hatred for Obsidian’s Kyrsu. It might even be true. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to go after Reaver and break his wings and whatever other body part he could sink his talons into.
“Cool it, Obsidian. You’re not shielding half as well as you think. I feel what you feel.”
Anna’s thoughts washed through his mind like a refreshing rain.
“Come on, you great brute.” Affection and exasperation were equally clear in her tone. “You’re hurt. I can feel as each wingbeat jolts through your body like a hundred little sparks of pain running from the base of your neck all the way down to the tip of your tail. By the time we make it back to the island, you’ll be in no shape to deal with Reaver anyway.”
He wanted to growl loud denials at her words, but they were all too true.
Though, it was also true that he’d trained to overcome pain and was fit enough to discipline Reaver once he reached the island.
“I know what you’re thinking! Pretty damn sure your mentors won’t appreciate it if you decide to do their job for them.”
Again, his Kyrsu was correct. His mentors would punish him if he sought revenge against his rival. He grinned suddenly. A little punishment never bothered him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I. Can. Still. Hear. You.” Anna thumped him on the shoulder. “You’re ten times more stubborn now than you were as a kid.”
“That’s likely true,” he admitted, humor rising above the rage.
Though even humor couldn’t neutralize his rage completely. It still simmered below the surface. With good reason. Anna’s return was like a vital part of him had been restored. He dreaded her vanishing out of his life again. Reaver’s careless act had come far too close to stealing Anna away.
She sighed. “Fine. Do what you’re gonna do. I’ve got your back... I’ve always got your back. Even when it’s likely to get us banished or sent to the brig.”
Obsidian couldn’t help a grin. They were still a team. That hadn’t changed in the thirteen years Anna had been asleep.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 128
