She placed her hand on Obsidian’s arm. “Reaver, as much as he doesn’t care for outsiders, is a gargoyle. I’ve faced the Battle Goddess’ captains. He is only one gargoyle. I’ll be fine.”
“Gargoyles are capable of holding their own against the Battle Goddess’ minions,” Verroc said, no emotion showing on his face or the tilt of his ears. Even his tail remained still.
“I will not tolerate Reaver as Anna’s teacher!” The words were more of a growl, the threat clear, but the wildly chaotic emotions bleeding down the link just reinforced that the berserker darkness was rising to the surface.
“For fuck’s sake, keep your shit together. Shit! Together!”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Bring it down a few notches, or I’ll do it for you!”
Obsidian flicked an ear in her direction. Suddenly, his tail was snaking around her waist, dragging her closer, and then he tucked her against his side as if he was planning to snatch her and run.
“Don’t do it! Piss mamma bear off at your peril.”
Thayn leaned forward, doubling up over the table as chuckles burst forth. Banrook’s lips quivered, and his chest started to shake a moment before he, too, howled in laughter. Sumdara and Maradryn wore big grins. Only Verroc managed to maintain a straight face, though it looked a little like he was sucking lemons.
Oh crap! The Elders had picked up on her conversation with Obsidian.
Well fuck. This day was just getting better and better. Maybe she could ask Obsidian to show her how to turn back to stone. Sleeping for another decade was looking good.
“Oh, Obsidian,” Banrook said with tears running down his cheeks. “Worry not for Anna Mackenzie’s safety. She’s fully capable of handling Reaver. A whipping from her sharp tongue will defeat that prideful male.”
Obsidian huffed loudly but didn’t add words to the sound. His disdain at the thought of Anna having to work with Reaver needed no accompanying words.
Thayn got control over his chuckles and looked her in the eye. “Anna, you will do fine. And, Obsidian,” his gaze tracked away from Anna to land on her gargoyle partner next. “You will do as you’re told in this. Anna will take her Novice test as required. However, I will make one small allowance. Reaver will still be her opponent, but you may be her instructor.”
“Thank you,” Anna said swiftly. Obsidian was far too slow in answering, so she reached under his wing and pinched his ass hard enough to make him jump.
“I agree,” he blurted out.
“And if Reaver attempts to harm your Kyrsu again after we’ve strictly forbidden it, you, or she, may do to him as you please with no repercussions from the council, by Lord Dray’s edict.”
Obsidian perked up a little at Thayn’s last words.
“Or,” Thayn tossed the small jar of cream back to Anna, “she could just use this on him full strength if he attempts anything.”
Anna caught the jar and slid it back in her pocket. Thayn had said it as a joke, but there were possibilities in the idea.
Chapter 26
The training field wasn’t, in fact, a field. It was a multi-tiered complex crawling up the side of the island’s third highest peak. A series of terraces provided flat ground for the actual training rings, but many stairs and pathways also led up the side of the mountain and would provide a challenging route if someone wanted the trainees to run a tour.
Obsidian’s earlier rage had dissipated as he walked her up to the fifth level of the terraces. On the way, she’d spied other outdoor obstacles. There were also many smaller domed structures made from stone, which he’d said were used for learning the more dangerous spell work.
They reach their destination to find many of the other novices and mentors present.
“There is not normally so many here this early, especially after the feast day. They’ve come to watch my Kyrsu fight for the first time.” There was pride in his tone, and Anna didn’t want to disappoint him.
“How do you want me to handle this? Give it my all—short of actually shifting forms—or pull my punches and let Reaver score some points.” She already determined that she could take Reaver in a fight. Her gargoyle nature had assessed his abilities that first day and her training at the hands of the Battle Goddess’ minions assured her she could use his weaknesses against him.
Obsidian flashed his teeth at her. “Kick his ass. I want everyone to know my Kyrsu can protect herself. But don’t go so far as to reveal your true form.”
“Got it.” She paused as she looked at the growing number of onlookers. “You going to tell me what to expect, or not?”
“It’s a series of tests designed to show how much you already know so the Council of Elders can adjust their training plans and possibly switch up who will mentor you. Though I imagine they’ll keep us under the same mentors to improve our integrations as a single fighting unit as our bond is designed to emulate.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad so far.”
“Unfortunately, Reaver will likely attempt to do his worst even with the councils warning. But I think that’s what Lord Dray and the council seeks. They want to test your limits.”
“And what if my limits are far beyond what they’re expecting?” She asked only half in jest.
“Harm Reaver as much as you like. The healers can patch him up later. Just don’t kill him. Gargoyles never kill gargoyles.”
Anna snorted and then continued the conversation aloud. “Could have fooled me by the way you were going at him after the hunt.”
“That’s different.” Obsidian shrugged and then continued to explain the test. “There are five tasks. The first three, combat with knives, sword, and staff, are all to first blood.”
“Got it.”
“He would normally outmatch you with his size and speed, but your nature and magic will allow you to draw first blood quickly.”
“Ah, so no drawing it out and making him look really bad? You’re no fun.”
“I don’t care about how bad you bruise his pride. I’m selfish. I don’t want you in the ring with him any longer than necessary.”
Anna just nodded, not wanting to push Obsidian with the bond shortening their respective fuses when it came to each other and potential danger.
Obsidian was apparently still feeling edgy and protective. Best not to make it worse.
“Under normal circumstances, his years of training with both sword and staff would give him the advantage. However, each night, while you slept in stone, I shared what I learned that day with you.” Obsidian paused to allow a group to move farther down the pathway. “It won’t be the same as muscle memory, but it will be an advantage. Use it.”
“Anything else of importance I should know?”
“The quarterstaff is Reaver’s strong suit.” Obsidian bumped his muzzle against her cheek and planted a kiss. “Don’t be ashamed if he beats you, you’ll be able to make up points in the ground course. With that test, there are several obstacles where a lack of wings will be an advantage. To win, you simply have to complete all the obstacles and arrive back at the starting point before Reaver catches you.”
“So, I have to complete them all and he doesn’t?”
“The course imitates a spy attempting to return back across enemy lines into friendly territory. Or in Reaver’s case, following and stopping the spy before she can deliver her valuable intel to her commanders.” Obsidian’s mind touched hers. “You’re allowed to use any of your gargoyle skills in the ground obstacle. He won’t know you command shadow magic and we won’t inform him either.”
“So shadow magic is fine as long as no one sees.”
“Exactly,” he said, returning to speaking aloud.
“You said there were five initial tasks. What’s the fifth one?”
“Archery. But it’s incorporated into the ground obstacle test. There will be a bow and arrows at one of the obstacles, and you’ll need to hit the target before continuing.
Anna rolled her shoulders. She’d gone b
ow hunting with her father and brothers as a teen. Later, during her time in the Battle Goddess’ domain, Vaspara and Sorac had resurrected that skill and put several layers of polish on it.
“Only the quarterstaff is likely to give me trouble.”
Obsidian snorted. “None of it will be easy by normal standards, but you’ll still make me proud.”
“No pressure.”
“Come. It’s time.”
Chapter 27
Anna and Reaver stared at each other balefully as they waited for the signal to start the ground course. As Obsidian had predicted, she’d won the sword fight, but Reaver was victorious with the quarterstaff. Though she’d made the bastard work for the win.
For this task, Obsidian was forced to wait at the starting line, but each of the course’s obstacles would have a mentor or older student stationed there to judge her skill at each task.
She was presently waiting for all the observers to get into position.
At last, the call of a horn rang out, and the two gargoyles standing with crossed spears at the starting line lifted them up and away.
Wasting no time, Anna darted through the opening. She’d only be given a short head start. Just enough to make it to where the map she’d studied said the course branched into five different directions. She could take any one and complete the obstacles in any order. She just had to stay ahead of Reaver.
If she completed the tasks and made it out of the ground course first, she was the winner. If not, then he’d win. And she’d already lost to him as much she planned to today.
Anna darted down the far-left pathway. After a short sprint, she came to a rope bridge over a mud pit. Slowing, she studied it for traps but found none and swiftly made her way across and hauled ass to where the map had shown the next obstacle waited. This one turned out to be a climbing obstacle. The wall must be close to twenty-five feet tall. Ropes hung down the sides, suggesting even a gargoyle was supposed to climb not fly.
She scanned the area and swiftly homed in on the observer. It was Sumdara. She nodded to the elder.
Scanning the area with her magic and not sensing a trap, Anna ran at the obstacle, launched herself a few feet into the air and then grabbed the rope and began to climb. The wall took a little longer than the other two, but she was soon up and over and lowering herself down the other side.
She was just rising from the ground when she heard someone approaching at a run from behind. It could only be one person.
Diving off the path, she called shadow magic to hide. She’d acted just in time. The gargoyle burst onto the track twenty feet behind and sprinted towards the wall. He was running on all fours. His leap landed him three-quarters of the way up the wall. He swiftly climbed the rest, and his tail vanished over the top a moment later.
Show off.
She waited for another minute to be sure he was out of earshot before she continued to run. Two legs were a bitch’n disadvantage compared to four, but she wasn’t about to lose to the arrogant prick again. Ten feet ahead, the pathway branched again. Not wanting to accidentally catch up to him, she took the opposite fork as him.
Reaching deep, she called her gargoyle nature, needing the speed and agility, but stopped short of shifting.
With her magic strengthening her, she darted down the path to the next obstacle. A rockfall. She leaped over rock to rock and only acknowledged Master Banrook with a barked ‘Greetings Elder’ as she passed him. His peal of laughter followed her.
She completed five more obstacles. Some required going through water, or swinging over it. Well, others involved climbing through narrow tunnels—which would have been far more difficult in gargoyle form. She even had to belly crawl through mud which sent a spike of homesickness through her. If she ever made it back to Earth, her debriefing was going to take days.
But then she came to the next obstacle—a narrow timber spanning a ten-foot ditch and she turned her attention back to this newest rendition of military training.
At each of the more difficult obstacles, there was either a dryad or gargoyle present to watch her attempt and judge her performance. Only a handful were people she’d met, but many of them were likely adepts or masters to judge by the power she felt radiating off them. Though there were a few younger students mixed in. She briefly wondered if they had been assigned their positions as some kind of reward.
A couple were likely even novices since their eyes widened at the ease with which she completed some of the tasks.
“Your display is winning over more than a few of my brothers and sisters,” Obsidian whispered into her mind.
She’d sensed him watching along their link more than once, but this was the first time he spoke.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be in my head while I do this test.”
“I’m not giving you pointers.” He sounded offended.
She grinned to herself, then added, “Get out of my head. I don’t need the distraction. There’s no way I’m letting Reaver win again.”
“Better get a move on then,” came his laughing reply.
Yeah, someone was having way too much fun watching her compete against Reaver. When Anna reached the next obstacle, she immediately noticed something wrong.
Three archery targets were set up at the end of a long tree-lined lane. Ten feet in front of her, a longbow rested against a post. Three feet in front of that a glowing line of power had been burned into the ground, clearly the designated position to shoot from.
There was only one problem: no arrows.
She scanned the area twice more with no luck.
“He took them with him after he completed the task.” A gargoyle stood in the trees, just off to the side of the post. A little growl had accompanied his words, but his anger hadn’t been focused on her. “That male has no honor.”
“Could’ve told you that within two minutes of meeting him.”
The powerfully built gargoyle laughed at that. He wasn’t as big and bulky as Obsidian, Reaver or Banrook, but he should have been a match for Reaver. “You could have stopped him if you wanted.”
“Actually, he can’t.” Obsidian’s voice was burrowing deeper into her mind along with his emotions. Their link flared wider and she got a peek at his thoughts. He very much wanted to get his hands around Reaver’s neck again.
He wasn’t the only one.
“As observers, we are only allowed to watch and record how each participant does. We’re not allowed to interfere in the test, not even to stop one such as Reaver from cheating. I would gladly have fought him myself if it was permitted.”
“What’s your rank and name?”
“Journeyman Frostburn.”
Frostburn. Already she wanted to call him Frostbite. She was going to mess his name up more than a few times.
“Thank you, Frostburn, for the gift of your name and your honesty.”
After all, the observers weren’t required to talk either.
“Anna Mackenzie, Reaver thinks to make you confront him at one of the other archery obstacles. You don’t have to if you know how to make arrows. He left the bow behind.”
She stared at him in silence.
He gestured wide. “The forest can provide the raw material you need.”
While that might be true and if she needed to hunt up some dinner she might try her hand at making arrows, but she wasn’t stopping long enough to make some field arrows and give Reaver this win.
“Obsidian?”
“Now you want to talk?”
“You following what’s afoot?”
“Yes. Thayn said I can do what I want if Reaver messes with you again.”
“Not what the elder had in mind.”
“He’s still mine to challenge.”
“Won’t be needed after I beat his ass in this test. Can Journeyman Frostburn be trusted with a little show of shadow magic?”
“Yes, he’s honorable, and once an elder speaks with him, he’ll keep his lips sealed. What are you planning?”
/>
“This.” Anna walked to the post and picked up the bow. Then she walked until her toes were almost brushing the glowing line of power burned into the ground.
While Frostburn looked on in confusion that turned to astonishment as she drew the bow, she summoned shadow magic and formed it into three perfectly elegant arrows. Then in one smooth motion, she nocked the arrows and let them fly.
Each flew true and buried itself in its intended target. While the gleaming ebony staffs continued to vibrate softly, she propped the bow against the post.
She then turned back to Frostburn and smiled at his stunned expression. “Don’t share what you saw here today. A mentor is sure to come to speak with you.”
Frostburn surprised her by dropping into a deep bow.
“As the Kyrsu commands.” His voice softened a bit. “Well played, Anna Mackenzie. May you win fairly.”
“I plan to.” Anna nodded goodbye to the gargoyle and darted off. The archery target was the last required obstacle.
“You did very well,” Obsidian sent over the link. “Reaver is farther from the end than you. If you hurry, you’ll be able to reach the finish first.”
“Good, I can’t wait to see his face when he exits to see me already outside.”
“Now who’s enjoying this?”
“Never said I wasn’t,” she countered.
“Hurry back to me. We can watch his expression together.”
Anna nodded even though he wouldn’t see it, and then sprinted back to the beginning of the course.
As promised, Obsidian was already there with no Reaver insight.
Beside him, Thayn stood with a horn clasped in his hands. He blew on it then, alerting everyone still in the depths of the field course that there was a winner.
A few minutes later, gargoyles started to emerge. Eventually, Reaver arrived. He spotted her and growled.
Legacy of the Sorceress (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 6) Page 16
