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

by Lisa Blackwood

  Obsidian still didn’t respond.

  Rook huffed. “Obsidian, you haven’t been afraid of any part of your training. Why is this so different? You can trust Anna to protect herself. Have faith in her.”

  The tilt of Obsidian’s ears and the firm press of his lips over his fangs looked a touch more belligerent than he had a moment before.

  “We’re a team.” Anna reminded him softly. “Have you forgotten that? We can survive anything if we work together. This is just the newest obstacle. We’ll work through this, but you must come halfway. You can trust me.”

  “I do trust you.” At last he released his hold on the mental shields holding her, and the rest of the world, at bay.

  Her power reacted faster than her brain, reaching for him. His strength, his essence, reached back. The two energies met in one swift rush. Then they were one mind for an endless moment. Distantly, they felt Anna’s body sway closer to their male half as magical power built in a wave between them.

  Then there was a shift in the balance and Obsidian’s mind expanded to become her world. He was everywhere, he surrounded her mind, and she was home.

  He loved her. The emotion was such a beautiful, incandescent radiance, she couldn’t help but be in awe of it. His spirit drew her in and what he felt sharpened. Yes, his body hungered like any healthy young male’s, but there was nothing of darkness about that. He did not want to force her. He just wanted her to return his feelings, to welcome him.

  Regret that she couldn’t be what he needed, because some other thoughtless prick had just taken what he wanted, lit a spark of anger in her soul.

  But that was from the time before. It couldn’t touch what they shared now. Nothing could. That was the beautiful and seductive promise of the link.

  His fears weren’t unfounded. What he feared the most was possible if they didn’t guard against it. She saw how easy their bond made it should he wish to seduce her. But she also saw that weakness ran in both directions. Should she ever wish to exert her will upon him, she could.

  Like any relationship, for their bond to be healthy, they needed their minds and hearts in balance.

  “Tell you what, I’ll be strong when you are weak, and you’ll be strong when I am weak. How’s that for a start? Does that suit you?”

  “Yes, my beautiful, fierce one.”

  Their minds slowly pulled away from each other and Anna sensed movement around her.

  Slowly, she recognized voices. A warm body circled protectively around her. Her nose buried in his mane. Her arms and wings surrounded him. Protecting. Sheltering.

  It was only then that she realized he was sobbing wordlessly into her neck.

  “I didn’t... I didn’t enslave you.”

  “Of course you didn’t.” Anna stroked a hand along his back, under his wings. Hoping her touch conveyed her love, even if it wasn’t the type of love he craved.

  “But I wanted to. I wasn’t sure if I could stop once I started.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that. But it’s done... And I think it worked. Our bond feels like it did that day we raced down the mountainside.” She looked to Rook for confirmation.

  “Your link burns brighter than before. Lord Dray’s plan worked. You both should be ready for the next level of your training.”

  Obsidian was slow to uncurl, and when he did, Rook patted his shoulder.

  “How do you feel?” Anna asked.

  “I am well.” He met her gaze, then glanced away into the distance. She wasn’t at all sure he was okay, though.

  He was still shaking with reaction.

  Something warm unfurled within her at his show of vulnerability. She’d never seen him like this. Even as a child, he’d rarely cried. Soon, he would pull his mental armor back in place and hide that part from her.

  Before he could, Anna stood and wrapped her arms around him again, opening her mind and offering him shelter, comforting him as only his Kyrsu could. “We’ve got this.”

  Obsidian shuddered against her. She could almost feel it as he drank up her love in deep, grateful gulps. Eventually, his wings stopped their quivering, and he reluctantly pulled away. Then, with a look of absolute tenderness on his face, he reached out and stroked a knuckle down her cheek.

  “I do not deserve you.”

  Anna’s heart gave a betraying little lurch at his words. She’d only wanted to provide him with comfort, and if she was truthful, take some in return. Though she feared she was foolishly trying to give him something else in return—her shriveled little heart.

  But it was more than half dead. It was no fit gift to give. Anna needed to lighten the mood.

  “No. You certainly didn’t deserve to get saddled with me and my baggage. Wonder what god you pissed off in your last life?”

  Obsidian snorted with humor. “I’ll have to thank him.”

  “Come. You’re exhausted. I think the mentors are going to give us the rest of the day off. Why don’t we go round up something good to eat and indulge ourselves?”

  Obsidian nodded in agreement and Anna was glad that the strange intimacy from the strengthening bond seemed to be fading a bit. She wasn’t ready to deal with that level of intimacy all the time.

  It was lucky, she supposed, that he’d been so focused on his own fears that he hadn’t noticed her new, and very, unsisterly feelings toward him.

  Later, she would examine them, catalog them, and then bury them somewhere deep inside the darkest corner of her soul where they’d wither and die. Only then could she guarantee this relationship wouldn’t get fucked up like all her others.

  She couldn’t screw this up. She wasn’t sure if she could survive without him. If he learned she wasn’t as strong or fierce as he thought, he might turn from her. That would do more than destroy her bruised and battered heart. It would destroy her soul.

  God. She sounded pathetic just thinking about it.

  But the familiar self-loathing soon shifted to numbness. And with a little convincing, she was able to assume her tough as nails, badass bitch armor.

  No one would know of the weakness deep inside.

  Chapter 35

  (The Present)

  IT TOOK THREE DAYS for Taryin to regain consciousness. Vaspara would have been fine if the blood witch had never recovered from creating her spell. But she had, and once again the captains had been called before the Battle Goddess.

  Sorac stood at Vaspara’s right shoulder; Bervicta at her left. Korsha and Ernya stood on the harpy’s other side. All of them studied the blood witch while they awaited the arrival of their goddess.

  They didn’t have long to wait. The Lady of Battles arrived in a swirl of skirts and the rattle of chains.

  “My witch, I am glad to see you’re awake. The other captains reported that you were successful with your spell, though, they couldn’t tell me its purpose.”

  “My Goddess, I think you will be pleased with my spell.” Taryin bowed gracefully, fully recovered. Apparently, she’d healed from what the Mother’s Sorceress had unleashed as well as from whatever toll her own dark magic’s cost had exacted.

  When she straightened from her bow, the witch drew herself to her full height. “My spell is one for spying. It’s a magic even a gargoyle will not sense.”

  That was an ambitious statement. Gargoyles didn’t miss much. They certainly would scent blood magic. Taryin must have enslaved some magic-rich creature or traded with an upper-level demon to complete her spell.

  The witch smiled at Vaspara as if she knew the succubus’ thoughts. Though it was more likely Taryin was just reading her expressions. Still, she tightened her mental barriers another notch.

  “I summoned a djinn.”

  “You what?!” The Battle Goddess shouted, nearly deafening her captains.

  “A djinn, my Goddess, is the only creature with magic that is similar enough to a gargoyle’s to hide my blood magic from their sharp noses. But fear not, I captured this djinn and trapped him in a vessel made in the Mortal Realm. H
e cannot escape swiftly. And once you are freed from the duality curse, you can carry him to one of the planets in the Mortal Realm, and safely release him there or simply leave him to free himself. In the meantime, I can siphon some of his power from the storage vessel and use that to fuel more spells.”

  Beside Vaspara, the harpy made a strangled sound. She didn’t blame Bervicta. A djinn. As far as she knew, there were less than ten left in all existence. Once there had been many more, but their numbers had dwindled over time as they were used in long ago wars, djinn pitted against djinn, forced to kill each other for the benefit of their temporary masters.

  Temporary because a djinn always found a way to escape his or her prison eventually. And when they did, they always leveled their master’s kingdom. Or the whole damn planet.

  Some speculated it was not revenge, but just that opening a portal to the Spirit Realm and having an uncontrolled amount of power from that plain mix with that of the Magic Realm always resulted in an explosive event.

  But the Avatars could travel between the realms and call spirit magic without blowing big holes in the universe. Didn’t that suggest a djinn could do so as well? If they wished.

  Likely they were just vengeful.

  That was part of the reason no one was foolish enough to attempt to summon a djinn any longer. The other reason was that as each djinn died, their power was transferred to their brothers and sisters, making each remaining djinn stronger.

  But that was a long-ago time even before the Battle Goddess had been chained to her temple.

  Now, the few remaining djinns dwelled in the Spirit Realm, safely out of reach. Or so Vaspara had believed. Somehow the witch had risked the old magic and summoned one of them forth.

  “Tell me more about your spell.” Their goddess’s chilling voice said she was still displeased that the blood witch had gone ahead with such a dangerous plan without consulting her.

  “The spell I created must first be carried into the gargoyles’ territory.” Taryin paused as if thinking. “I’d suggest a trusted lieutenant, one skilled enough to hold his own against a gargoyle and capable of landing a grievous wound on his opponent.”

  The Battle Goddess made a humming sound and signaled the witch to continue.

  “The moment the lieutenant dies, his death will trigger and feed the spell, so it is strong enough to invade the gargoyle who landed the death blow. The gargoyle will lose consciousness and turn to stone while the spell melds with his spirit. When he wakes, he’ll just think it was a normal wound requiring their healing stone sleep.”

  “That sounds promising,” the Lady of Battles admitted. “Go on.”

  “Once he wakes, he will become our spy and won’t even realize it. The spell is also sentient. When it finds a hint of Anna or Shadowlight, it will begin influencing the host until it finds them, then it will transmit their exact location to me.” Taryin paused, her expression calm as she waited to see if the Battle Goddess would find this spell worthy of the risk of summoning a djinn.

  At last, the Lady of Battles shook back her hair and straightened. “Your contribution is enough that I shall not kill you for your unsanctioned actions. This time. If you ever again make such a decision without speaking to me first, you will not find me so forgiving.”

  “I would expect nothing less, my Lady.” Taryin paused and bowed again. When she straightened, she met the demigoddess’s eyes. “Once the spell reports their location, did you want an assassination or a rescue mission? The spell will be able to carry out an assassination. A rescue will take far more resources.”

  “We shall wait to see what your spell finds first, then I will decide.”

  “Very well my Lady.”

  “And give me the djinn,” the Battle Goddess commanded. “I shall keep him in my temple where he’s less likely to find a mind he can influence.”

  “Of course, my Goddess.” The blood witch reached into her robe and withdrew a beautiful, jewel-encrusted drinking vessel. Its top was corked and sealed with wax and layer upon layer of spells.

  Taryin carefully placed it in the Lady’s outstretched hand.

  Taking the vessel, the Battle Goddess folded her fingers over it and then brought it up to her breastplate where she carefully tucked it between her cleavage.

  The vessel hadn’t been any longer than Vaspara’s arm.

  Strange that something so small could hold a power great enough to level worlds.

  Chapter 36

  OBSIDIAN STOMPED BESIDE Anna as they made their way along one of the bridges on their way to the main cliffside gathering.

  “Why don’t you just growl, snarl or beat the shit out of some poor training target? It might make you feel better.” Anna said in a light tone.

  “I’m fine! The healers are just coddling me. The wing joint is almost completely healed.”

  “Sure, it is. That’s why we’re walking then?”

  He and another gargoyle had collided during one of their aerial combat sessions. This exercise had reminded her of a medieval melee in the sky. The other gargoyle—a novice—had been at fault. Knowing they were going to crash, Obsidian had turned in the air, taking the brunt of the impact when they’d hit the ground. It had been a chivalrous gesture to protect the youngling from getting crushed under his heavier mass.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t break your wing joints. The healers are correct. You need another day to heal.”

  He huffed and muttered under his breath.

  “Relax, Truth said the mentors agreed to partner us, so you can rest assured I’ll be in good hands.”

  “I could take you out in a couple of days after I’m healed.”

  Anna snorted. “What, and have the dryads be all pissed that we didn’t bring in enough of the octopus things?”

  Another reason she wanted to go fishing was because the healers had plied him with copious amounts of magic to repair his wings and back, and now he was feeling amorous again. He couldn’t help that side effect, but she didn’t need to be around making it worse for him.

  It wouldn’t be an issue if she had her own place, but she was still rooming with Obsidian, since Rook had said they needed to be together at night, so their sleeping minds could use the link to process all they’d learned that day.

  “Anna.” He reached out and forced her to halt and face him. “Be safe. Don’t take risks or allow yourself to get distracted. The ocean currents at the base of the cliff are dangerous.”

  “Yes, Mom!”

  OBSIDIAN COULD ONLY watch as Anna, in the company of Truth and the rest of the hunting party, took off, launching themselves from the cliff with wild abandon.

  If he hadn’t been injured, it would have been him flying wingtip to wingtip with his Kyrsu and then teaching her how to swim in the rough coastal waters.

  During the Solstice Festival the gargoyles hunted for the dryads, bringing them their favorite delicacies. As such, he would typically be out hunting, but since he’d been injured, he’d expected to get grounded. He’d naively been looking forward to spending the afternoon with Anna, but she’d gone behind his back and talked with Truth, who’d gone to the mentors.

  Why did it feel like the two people he loved most were working against him today?

  Truth? Huh. He was probably trying to be helpful. But Anna? He wasn’t blind.

  Obsidian knew it was because he’d been subtly trying to court Anna ever since they’d linked minds and he’d discovered that they were both strong enough to love each other without enslaving each other.

  The healers’ magic would likely embolden him later, and his Kyrsu knew that and was in full panic mode. Outwardly, she was all business, almost aloof. Inwardly, she was running because she didn’t want him to get close enough to learn whatever secret she was trying to keep buried. Though he doubted she even understood that yet herself.

  Anna’s acceptance and belief in him had allowed him to overcome his fears. Now it was his turn to fix what was broken in her.

  Unfortunately, t
he damned healing magic had got his blood up. If he could trust their link not to flare and share something distracting with Anna, he’d have been tempted to return to his dwelling and deal with the issue.

  But he couldn’t do anything that might distract Anna while she was hunting.

  Perhaps a long soak in the baths would help take his mind off his Kyrsu for a time.

  SOMETIME LATER, IN the seclusion of one of the smaller private bathing pools, Obsidian stripped and descended into the water, allowing the current to tug him in the direction of one of the carved sitting alcoves.

  The water was too warm to help cool his blood. Narrowing his eyes, he called on his shadow magic and soon that chilling power helped to cool the water. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and sighed.

  The bath might have been more enjoyable if Anna had been here with him, but it was still nice. And he was weary. His eyelids grew heavy as he drifted closer to sleep.

  Chapter 37

  THERE HAD BEEN ANY number of what the fuck moments in the last few months. But if Anna ever wrote up that long overdue report, fishing for alien octopus with a gargoyle and mermaid—fine, they called themselves sirens—was likely to raise a few eyebrows.

  “For the record,” Anna shouted to be heard over the thunder of the waves as they skimmed above the white peaks. “This kinda sucks.”

  Truth laughed. “It does, doesn’t it?”

  They had already made over two dozen such dives, and Anna was growing weary. It was hard work. The gargoyles flew along the cliffs, within a few feet of the water while the sirens located where on the cliff wall the octopus-like creature was holed up.

  A siren could only sense where the creatures lived, she couldn’t get close enough to the razor-sharp rocks to pluck the octopus off the cliff base. That’s where the gargoyles came in.

  Once a siren located their target prey, a gargoyle would dive in just seconds before a wave hit and use their talons to cling to the cliff face as the water began to recede. While they clung to the wall, they’d snatched up as many of the octopuses as they could and then climbed higher before flying to safety ahead of the next massive, bone-jarring wave.