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

by Lisa Blackwood

  Some trauma had occurred in her past that made it hard for her to trust males. He knew that, but he hadn’t thought it extended to him, or at least he thought he’d regained her trust in the last two days. But it wasn’t enough time. In her moment of horrified disbelief, he’d seen into her unguarded thoughts, a glimpse of what she kept hidden.

  Now Anna stood there waiting for him to say something. If he didn’t want to make things worse between them, he needed to be truthful but also soothe her fears.

  With a sense of desperation, he returned to the subject Maradryn had opened. At least he wouldn’t have to lie about that.

  “After the dancing is over,” he whispered along their link. “I will fill you in on everything my mentors and I have discovered about our bond. But it is a long conversation, best carried out when we are alone and have no distractions to interrupt us.”

  “Sounds serious,” Anna said. “That all you’re going to give me?”

  “I...” He scrambled for something else to say. Then at last an idea occurred to him. “The nature of how I can convert other species to gargoyles has changed a bit as I matured. The council wishes for me to remain celibate until they fully determine any dangers I might represent to the dryads. They have not yet finished their study.”

  Her eyebrow arched nearly to her hairline. “Yeah. Okay. I see why this is a conversation for later.”

  A new throb echoed through the air, saving him from searching for further safe conversation.

  The new drumbeat rose and fell like the surging of some great beast’s pulse. Around him, several of his brethren were extracting themselves from the crowd and making their way over to the benches where the unmated were expected to go and present themselves.

  A few curious onlookers were casting furtive glances in his direction. They were expecting him to join the others moving toward the benches.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You look like a deer staring down a truck’s high beams.”

  That sounded more like the Anna from his youth.

  “This new look,” she indicated his hybrid form in a sweeping gesture, “Going by what Meadow and Maradryn said, it’s to say you’re seeking courtship, isn’t it?”

  He swallowed around a lump in his throat and nodded.

  Anna compressed her lips and switched to their link. “Is there a dryad you’re hoping will come dance for you?”

  “There is none.”

  Her expression shifted subtly, like she was approaching a dangerous beast. “Is this for me?”

  He glanced off into the darkness for many moments and then issued a soft ‘yes’ that was barely above a whisper.

  “You going to lose face with the legion when you’re left still sitting at the end of the night?”

  “There is no shame in not being chosen.”

  Anna rolled her eyes at him and muttered under her breath. “That’s not the answer to the question I asked.”

  “It was my foolish decision. As my mentors would say, I will have reaped what I deserve.”

  “But you are also Rasoren, future war leader of the legion. Are they going to judge you differently?”

  Obsidian looked around, eyes searching the crowds. He remained deep in thought for several minutes. At last with shoulders slumped, he admitted the truth he’d been too stubborn to see. “I should have thought this out better.”

  “Like thought to ask your Kyrsu her opinion first?”

  “Yes that.” He glanced down at his hands and started to chuckle bitterly. “Why should they put their trust in a leader who doesn’t even take the time to learn his second in command’s thoughts?”

  “Okay. You can stop beating yourself up now. This is how this is going down. We’re going to go sit over on one of those benches, you’re going to magic us up a checkerboard using some of your shadow voodoo you’ve learned while I slept, then we’re going to play a few rounds, ignoring everything and everyone around us.”

  “I can do that. But...”

  Anna just cut him off.

  “Onlookers gonna speculate. Let them. They can stew on what we might be to each other until they die of old age and they still won’t have a clue how deep our bond runs. But I know what we are. We’re a team. I’ve always got your back.”

  She glanced heavenward as if praying for divine deliverance. “Even if it’s during a freaking dryad fertility rite.”

  “There is...”

  “You’re welcome. Just don’t take this the wrong way. I have no intentions of getting hitched to my little bro.”

  The other revelers decided just then that he was taking too long and gently pushed him in the direction of the benches with a great deal of laughter and even a few innuendoes.

  “If this turns into a fucking bachelor party, you owe me big time,” Anna hissed under her breath as she followed close on his heels.

  While he and Anna were guided toward the benches where the other single gargoyles sat, the youngest, including Oath and his peers, were herded off toward the tree line and onto the stone pathways that led deeper into the forest.

  “By the way, if I see any stripteases or lap dances, I’m calling my shadow magic and vanishing in front of everyone, the Council of Elders be damned.”

  “Don’t worry. If that kind of thing goes on, it’s saved for more secluded locations.”

  “I’m warning you...if I see jiggly titty, I’m outta here.”

  Anna’s crass words caused a grin, and he relaxed. Perhaps he hadn’t made so great an error in announcing his willingness to court his Kyrsu. Sure, she had—to borrow one of her phrases—shot him down, but that was because of something that had happened in her past. She was fierce and resilient. In time, if he was patient and didn’t screw things up, she might come to love him romantically.

  Until then, he’d be a loyal training partner and friend.

  With hope a warmth in his belly, he led a grumpy Anna to the nearest empty bench.

  “THEY CAME, THEY DANCED, they went away again. Is it over?” Anna was clenching her jaws to stop a yawn, but he sensed her weariness. It had been a long two days.

  “I have fulfilled my role as tradition requires. We can go now if you’d like.”

  “Hell yes. I’ve eaten enough tonight to descend into a food coma until noon tomorrow.”

  Obsidian was still smiling gently at Anna’s words when Truth came up to them.

  “Banrook cornered me after the dance. He wants to talk to you sooner than the council meeting tomorrow.”

  Obsidian mentally cursed. He’d expected the other council members to notice his shifted form and knew they would want a word with him, but he’d hoped they’d wait until the meeting in the morning.

  “They want to speak to me, too?” Anna was suddenly bright-eyed and suspicious again.

  “Banrook didn’t name you, so no.” Truth shrugged. “I’ll walk you back to Obsidian’s place while he speaks with his mentor. It will likely put your Rasoren’s mind at ease knowing you have protection against any more of Reaver’s surprises.”

  “I won’t waste your time. You must have better things to do than babysit me. I can find my own way back.”

  “It’s no chore.”

  Was Truth interested in Anna?

  Obsidian narrowed his eyes as something dark and possessive reared its head. He knew well what it was, and he did his best to ignore it. “Anna, it would put my mind at ease if you would accept his offer this time.”

  Anna merely shrugged and then bobbed her head in Truth’s direction. “Lead on. Obsidian can catch up once he’s seen to whatever his mentor wants.”

  Truth’s grin stretched wider, the flash of white teeth glowing in the darkness. He held out a hand.

  “Do I look like a lady to you?” Anna snorted, and her long-legged strides soon outpaced the startled gargoyle.

  “Anna hates coddling.” As usual, a note of pride entered his voice when he spoke of her.

  “Apparently.” Then Truth looked back at Obsidian. “I see why you’re en
amored. But that very ferocity will be what makes her so hard to win.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “I still don’t envy you the hunt, my friend.”

  Then under the light of the three moons, they went their separate ways. Truth to chase down Anna, and Obsidian to hunt up his mentor.

  Chapter 22

  ANNA MATCHED TRUTH’S pace and cast random looks in his direction, wondering how long it would take the gargoyle to spit out what was bothering him. They were halfway back to Obsidian’s place, and Truth still hadn’t said anything. At last, she took pity on him.

  “You might as well just say what’s on your mind.”

  “To what are you referring?”

  Mister Uptight I have you figured out. “Let’s get to the meat of the subject. You like Meadow. Meadow likes Obsidian. You’re wondering if Obsidian approached me with his suit and if I’m now going to encourage him? Sound about right?”

  Truth broke stride for a step, but he recovered in the next moment. “It’s that painfully obvious?”

  “Not really. I’m just good a reading people.” Like way, way, way better than I was before I took a stone nap.

  “Very accurately.” Pain entered his voice. “In the last year Obsidian seemed to be warming up to Meadow’s gentle courtship, but I was uncertain if Meadow’s feelings were reciprocated or if he was just being kind to her.”

  “And since you, Obsidian and Meadow are all friends, you didn’t want to cause friction,” Anna guessed.

  “Goddess, yes. Meadow and Obsidian are my closest friends. I don’t want anything to jeopardize that, but I...”

  “But the heart isn’t logical,” she finished for him.

  He nodded, a helpless sigh of distress escaping him.

  “Love sucks,” Anna said as she continued to walk along the bridge in the direction of Obsidian’s dwelling.

  “You’ve managed to discover in two days something I haven’t even told Obsidian. And we share a great deal.”

  When she looked sideways to meet his gaze, it was to find his eyes narrowed in thought. “Your perception is uncanny.”

  Sighing, she figured Truth could be trusted. “It’s something to do with my bond with Obsidian and what the Battle Goddess’s plans set in motion. With time and training, I think I’ll be able to read and command gargoyles like a Rasoren.”

  “You’re not just his second, are you? How deep is your bond with him?”

  “Powerful. It’s always been powerful. I was told it would only grow stronger as he matured. I think the Battle Goddess modeled us after the Avatars. One mind. One being. Two bodies. A deadly and loyal fighting unit that would answer only to her.” Anna shuddered.

  After a few deep breaths, she continued. “I’m incredibly glad Shadowlight and I escaped that fate. Yet we can’t change what we are. Instead, we bury our darker natures, but some things, like the ability to read each other’s thoughts and the emotions of other gargoyles, slip beyond our control. But we don’t have to be controlled by our power or become the mated pair the Battle Goddess intended. I sure as hell don’t plan on being forced into that role.”

  Truth’s dark eyes grew wide in surprise and understanding. “But you love him anyway. He’s literally your other half like the Avatars.” His sentence died off in a whisper.

  “Yes!” The one word escaped her control, but it also lifted a weight off her chest. “We weren’t given a choice, but we don’t have to become what the Battle Goddess wants. I can shape how I love him. I can love him as a brother. He can be free to love elsewhere.”

  Truth was silent for a while, but he wasn’t willing to give up. “Are you so sure you can control it? That Obsidian can?”

  No, I’m not, Anna whispered in the private darkness of her mind. “While I can’t fill the role he wants, I will fight tooth and nail to give Obsidian the happiness he deserves. If that is with Meadow, or another dryad, I will do what I can to smooth the path for them.”

  Truth’s ears perked forward, his expression entirely too happy for a fellow who knew the woman of his dreams loved another man.

  “After tonight’s events Meadow will know you hold his heart, and I’ll have my chance with her.”

  What the actual fuck? Was she speaking a different language?

  “Hold up one minute. Your logic has one big flaw. I don’t love him in a romantic sense.”

  Truth laughed. “Say that again in a year, ten, a hundred years from now. See if it’s still the truth. I’m quite certain it will be a lie that you won’t even bother to utter.”

  Damned opinionated gargoyle.

  “I’m going to hold you to this,” he muttered happily. “That’s a promise, Corporal Anna Mackenzie.”

  She flailed for something to say, but her mind refused to turn over, like a truck sitting in the cold for too long. Growling at him in frustration, she fought her gargoyle nature as it flared, scenting a challenge.

  Truth tilted his head at her growl and gave her a toothy grin. “See? You’re already so firmly a part of him you even sound like a gargoyle.”

  You don’t know the half of it, Anna thought to herself. And then added aloud, “Fine. What are the stakes of this bet?”

  “Stakes?”

  “Yes. In a normal wager, the winner gets something from the loser. What are the stakes if I prove you wrong?”

  Truth shrugged. “The winner gets to hold the victory over the loser for however long they like?”

  “Bragging rights?”

  His grin grew bolder. “Yes. I like that term. Though, I think the true reward will be that both parties will have what their hearts desire.”

  “Speak for yourself.” But Anna took his hand and gave it a strong pump. “I accept your wager, Truth in Shadows. Now you should know that I’ve never lost once I put my mind to something. Consider this fair warning.”

  “Very well, future Kyrsu of the Legion, but you should know that no one wins all the time. And I feel the certainty in this. You will lose, you should prepare yourself.”

  “What makes you so cocky?”

  “Because you already love him, you just don’t know it yet.”

  Anna was working up another logical denial when they arrived at Obsidian’s place and she had to focus on opening the door shield instead. She’d seen him trigger the release spell once before. The magic was a familiar pattern now. With a wave of her hand, a touch of magic, and a good deal of will power, the ward spell rolled back, exposing the door’s latch.

  “I’ll see you at the training session tomorrow. Good night, Anna Mackenzie. Think about what I’ve said. The sooner you concede the wager, the less I’ll embarrass you later.”

  She gave him the finger.

  Truth only laughed, before turning and jumping off the bridge.

  The cowardly fucker.

  Chapter 23

  OBSIDIAN RETURNED TO his quarters in what would have been an unseemly rush if anyone had noted his passage, but no one was in this section of the bridge system, and more importantly, he didn’t care if anyone saw him running back to Anna.

  He’d been sensing something he couldn’t fully identify rolling off her since shortly after she started her walk back with Truth. Her shields were in place, and much stronger than they’d been even a day ago so he couldn’t hear what she and Truth were discussing without blasting through her mental barriers, which would be a gross break in etiquette, not to mention surely pissing Anna off.

  Keeping a close rein on his own emotions, he rushed back, hoping to learn what was going on between her and Truth. Though he was undoubtedly the topic of conversation. That made him more than a little uneasy.

  As he raced down the last section of the bridge, his dwelling’s door opened, and Anna stepped out, forcing him to skid to a halt or run her down.

  “Where’s the fire?” Her old shit-eating grin was firmly in place.

  Obsidian grunted, hesitating while he thought up a good excuse to explain his haste that wasn’t a lie.


  “I felt your magic flare. Was there a threat?”

  “No,” Anna rolled her eyes and then turned and entered his home. “Truth and I were just talking shit and made a wager.”

  “What kind of wager?” Obsidian flared his nostrils, dragging in a deep breath of her scent. There were no stress markers to indicate she was annoyed, afraid, or bothered.

  “The kind that’s between him and me.”

  “Was it about events tonight? Surely you can tell me that much.”

  Anna sighed. “Yes, if you must know. But it’s completely innocent.”

  She wasn’t lying. He’d have scented that.

  “How did your meeting with Banrook go?”

  That wasn’t something he really wanted to talk about with her. Besides, if she could use the ‘it’s personal’ defense, so could he.

  “It’s nothing to concern yourself over. Just a conversation with my mentor.”

  “Touché.”

  Obsidian didn’t know the meaning of the word and her mind was shielding against him, so he just nodded in acknowledgment.

  Their conversation apparently over, for now, Anna glanced around the main living area of his dwelling.

  “Since no one’s had time to find me lodgings or set me up in a storage room someplace, where did you want me to sleep?” Anna eyed the nest doubtfully.

  His eyes tracked in the same direction.

  “Yeah. I’ll just grab a couple of blankets and pillows and sleep along the wall.” Anna walked toward the nest to retrieve said items.

  Something shifted inside him, and he barked out a sound of humor. “Who are you and where have you put my Kyrsu? She wouldn’t be afraid to share a nest with me.”

  “I’m not afraid of you. I’m just not sleeping with you. You probably snore.”

  He snorted again. “I don’t.”

  “How would you know?”