The Avatars Series: Books 1-3

by Blackwood, Lisa

  A cold lump formed in Lillian’s stomach, but River continued with barely a pause.

  “We were her subjects long before the loss of her consort and the schism with her twin, which led to a millennium long war. She was not always as she is now. Long ago her battles were against darkness, her twin fighting at her side. She once was a goddess of justice.”

  “The glory of what one once was, no matter how great, doesn’t remain untarnished by the misdeeds of our present existence,” Gregory said with undisguised censure.

  Her mother bowed her head ever so slightly. “That truth took me a long time to understand. I held out hope for centuries that time or reason would gentle the rage burning within her. A small part still hopes for that one day, but I could not sit by and wait for that day, not when my own flesh and blood would suffer at her hand to sate her need for vengeance.”

  “Nicely put,” Lillian added, “but that doesn’t explain why she’s suddenly allowing an army of Riven to cross her borders unchecked.”

  “Doesn’t it?” her father picked up the story. “She can’t come to this Realm to retrieve you, not while the duality curse holds sway. Without her twin’s agreement, she is trapped in her temple. And the Lord of the Underworld will never allow his twin to walk free, not willingly. So she is forced to use other methods to shape the outcome of certain events.”

  “The Riven.”

  He nodded. “She doesn’t control them but she is allowing them to invade her own land. We think she wants them to come to this Realm to force Gregory to fight or flee with you back to the Magic Realm. Once there, she believes you will be strong enough to overpower him and serve him up as a great prize.”

  Lillian thought she’d just tripped her parents up with her questioning. “I thought she wanted me to beget a child with Gregory so she can use it in her fight against her twin—a way to finally win the blood feud.”

  “That was the original plan,” River agreed, “but she never took into account that Gregory would emerge from his mother’s tree two whole years early so that he could come to your rescue. And you, yourself, further surprised her a quarter year ago when you refused to return until Gregory was fully ‘yours’.”

  “She raged about that for a half moon,” her father said with undisguised humor, “before calming and deciding to send us to learn just what was going on in this Realm. We reported back with an altered account of events. She would never have believed it coming from me, but your mother was her most trusted confidant. I suppose that was why I was given into her keeping when I was first captured.”

  Now that was something she wanted to know more about.

  Her thoughts de-railed when the abusively loud crack of gun fire split the night. And not the type of guns used by hunters. No, this was the kind she’d only heard in the movies, not real life. Instinctively, her back muscles knotted with tension and she held Gregory around his neck so tightly she was surprised he didn’t complain.

  “Those are the weapons the human warriors carry, aren’t they?” Gregory asked with another brush of his mind against hers.

  “Yes.”

  “Then they are free of Tethys’s enchantments, which means one of two things.”

  Lillian swallowed. “Bad news, and yet more bad news?”

  Gregory tilted his head enough to give her his exasperated gargoyle look. “It means either she has released everyone under her control so they can fight the Riven, or that the enemy has already overrun her position and her enchantments died with her.”

  Lillian sent up a silent plead to the heavens for the siren’s survival. Three hours ago, she wouldn’t have believed she’d be praying for Tethys.

  Then again, the phrase ‘choosing the lesser evil’ had originated somewhere. She wasn’t the first person, nor would she be the last, to eat her own words and side with a former enemy to face a greater threat.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  As they drew closer to the savage sounds disrupting the night, Gregory winced at the bruising noise. He skirted wide, not wanting Lillian or any of the Hunt to get caught in the path of the tiny vicious projectiles.

  At his mental command, six sidhe archers broke off from the Hunt to aid the human soldiers. The sidhe took to the trees, that relatively high position might offer them some protection from the path of the bullets.

  Having no time to partake in the smaller skirmishes, he continued to run, intent on the main Riven force closing in on Lillian’s hamadryad.

  Lillian held her peace at the direction of his thoughts; however, she turned her head to track where the sidhe had disappeared. A new tension in her body told of her indecision.

  “The sidhe will do what they can for the humans. We must stop the main force before it can reach your hamadryad.” Gregory softened the harsh edges of his thoughts, allowing compassion to bleed across their mental link. “I’m sorry, but I fear there will be many deaths this night—clan, coven, and human alike.”

  Lillian’s thoughts brushed his in return, warm with the depth of her love for him. “Run swiftly, my love, and perhaps we can prevent greater losses.”

  He lengthened his stride in silent agreement. They passed several other smaller skirmishes along the way. Gregory ran down two Riven with the poor judgment to get in his way. To either side, he saw Lillian’s father and brother take down their own share of the enemy.

  On the outer edge of the gardens, Gregory ordered her to draw her blades. She did as he asked even as more Riven poured out of the night shrouded greenery, forcing the Wild Hunt to slow. This particular horde fought and died with a greater ferocity, and he assumed they were there to slow the Hunt no matter the cost.

  At first Lillian’s two long blades must have felt awkward compared to the type she was accustomed to, for her moves were cautious to the point of hesitant. Gregory brushed his thoughts with her then, showing her what she needed in order to wield the blades with a deadlier precision. Soon she was instinctively hacking and cutting at Riven. Her rudimentary skills bloomed into something far fiercer under his guidance and he smiled. As her kill count increased, so too did her confidence. Then her thoughts darted to the possibility of dismounting to give him a greater freedom of movement.

  “No,” he sent in a mental blast of desperation. “Stay where you are. We’ll fight better together than apart. Merge your thoughts more fully with mine.”

  There was a small hesitation on her part, and then he felt her thoughts brush more firmly against his, then deeper, until they were fully merged.

  His spirit thrilled with happiness and pleasure, uncaring that it was battle that forced the bond. With her astride, they were of one mind, body, and soul. It fed that all-consuming craving to belong, his greatest weakness, and as close as they were merged, he couldn’t hide it from her. The shame at his personal weakness was still there, but mild and muted by the sheer joy of running into battle with his lady upon his back.

  Her essence shifted deeper within his soul, followed by the soothing wash of her voice in his mind. “There is no shame in what you feel.”

  Another six Riven in his path forced him to bury his fierce joy and focus on battle. More bodies fell before his claws and Lillian’s silver blades. Within moments, the pristine gravel path darkened with blood and more unwholesome substances.

  He continued down the path with a reckless speed, spearheading the mad charge, the rest of the Hunt swift on his heels. He didn’t slow until he came upon the hulking shadow of Lillian’s maze. A great mass of Riven had already made their way inside the south entrance. Distantly, the sounds of battle reached his ears, and he knew there must be another group of Riven attacking from the north entrance of the maze as well.

  The wind carried the snarls, grunts, and screams of battle. More importantly, his keen hearing told him that the battle hadn’t yet reached the middle of the maze where Lillian’s tree grew.

  Within, an unknown number of his people still fought.

  A familiar voice rose above the din of battle, shouting or
ders and encouragement. Vivian’s tone confirming there was still hope. There was still time to stop the Riven. The gods had been merciful.

  Gregory felt Lillian draw in a breath. He pinned his ears just in time as she screamed, “Gran, we’re coming. Hold on.”

  The three massive bears bolted past, drawing the Hunt into a new charge.

  He and the other gargoyles followed close behind the bears, decapitating the carpet of broken Riven bodies they left in their wake.

  Decapitation proved the most effective way to neutralize the Riven until their remains could be burned in purifying fire. The bears’ lethal claws did an excellent job for the most part, but a few demons had been agile enough to avoid killing blows. One such Riven snarled at Gregory.

  It was not so lucky to avoid his claws.

  The Hunt pushed onward, breaching the maze. Within, the fighting grew more intense, the confined space forcing the fighters on both sides to use uglier tactics.

  He found himself unable to get a good swing without tangling with the warrior next to him, and he resorted to severing the Riven’s head from its body using his jaws. Spitting out the tainted blood from his last kill, he took down the next Riven in similar fashion.

  Lillian was left with nothing to do, and by her inventive curses, she wasn’t pleased with being unable to contribute.

  The going was slow, but when they turned a corner in the maze, they were able to see Vivian and a dozen other coven members defending their position against close to thirty Riven. With the enemy stretched out between them, he went about the business of reducing their number. Lillian’s father and brother took up flanking positions a few steps behind.

  Seeing three gargoyles advancing sent the Riven into a frenzy. Some of their number attempted escape by scaling the maze’s cedar walls.

  A stirring of magic drew his eyes from the Riven to the cedars themselves.

  Ah. He smiled. Now he sensed what Greenborrow had been doing in the maze of late, and also why the enemy had opted for the longer route to the center of the maze instead of cutting, climbing, or clawing their way in a direct line through the greenery. But desperation now made them attempt the walls.

  One Riven was making a fair bit of headway and had climbed a good two-thirds of the way to the top when the dense greenery shifted and pulled the demon’s upper body inside.

  There was several moments of snarling and screaming before the cries were cut short by a wet, tearing sound. The cedar walls gave themselves a shake and spat out the Riven’s lower body first, followed a couple seconds later by the upper portion. Five other Riven attempting the same climb met with similar resistance and outcome.

  Lillian gasped. “I’m never pruning the maze again, ever!”

  “Why,” Gregory asked between one kill and the next. “You’re a dryad, all plants like you. Even bloodthirsty trees planted by a leshii.”

  “I know why Gran wanted me to increase their blood meal feedings.”

  Lillian might have said more, but she had to take out a Riven that got past his claws when four rushed him at once.

  He shoved the body off her long blade and continued forward, leaving the still struggling beast for Shadowlight to finish.

  Several more Riven fell before him and he was suddenly standing before Gran as she battled one of the last enemies. She slammed her staff down on the Riven’s skull, then looked up at him and gave him a weary smile. “Glad to see you finally showed up. And you brought the Hunt, I always knew you were a dependable boy.” Gran leaned on her staff for a moment and panted. Sweat dripped down her temples and covered her face. She and the others with her were covered in blood and gore—too much of it their own.

  As Lillian slid from his back to give Vivian a hug, Gregory admitted to suffering similar bites and claw marks. None of them were unscathed, but they were alive.

  “I’m sorry,” he said with a formal half bow in respect to Gran. “We came as soon as we could.”

  “Forgiven, my dear,” she said as she and Lillian broke apart, and she hefted her staff once more. “But we need to get to the center of the maze. The Riven attacked from both directions and the others don’t have the Hunt to aid them, they may already be overrun.”

  He nodded and shouted orders to the rest of the Hunt for the fastest to come forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted when Lillian’s brother came alongside Gran and bent a wing.

  Gran took the arrival of more gargoyles in stride, and with a nod accepted Shadowlight’s invitation. She mounted in one smooth motion despite her numerous injuries. Gregory dropped back to all fours and Lillian silently remounted him as well.

  Without needing to speak, the three gargoyles bound into motion. They ran as swiftly as the twists and turns of the maze allowed. The Wild Hunt kept pace. He was proud of their valiant efforts this night, because none of them had had an easy task to complete.

  Shadowlight pulled up even with him, and he realized Gran wanted to speak.

  “Tethys sensed the Riven coming and released us from her enchantments so we could prepare for the coming battle. She stayed behind with Lillian’s hamadryad to protect it should we all fall before the Rivens’ onslaught.”

  “What happened to all the guests?” Lillian asked.

  Yes, what had happened to all the humans? He’d not noticed their lack until Lillian mention it, when it fact, he should have been tripping over their Riven ravaged bodies.

  “Tethys commanded the civilians to the north end of town, well away from where she sensed the Riven came. She saved their lives, though I think it was mainly so the Riven couldn’t use them as new hosts. Heaven only knows what the townsfolk will do when they return to themselves.” Gran gave a little, half-hearted shake of her head. “If we survive this night, I don’t know how we’re going to spin this to keep the humans in the dark.”

  “Blame the military, most of the town probably will anyway without our help.” Lillian’s reply sounded gruff and tired. She should never have had to endure half the events she’d experienced this night. He vowed to do a better job in the future. Ahead, a sharp bend looked more like a dead end, but was in fact the inside edge of the maze. Their destination was almost in sight.

  They took the last corner without slowing, and burst out of the maze into the small glade.

  A quick glance showed many Riven had already forced their way free of the narrow north entrance, and were now shoving back or overrunning the few surviving defenders. As the tide flowed into the glade, it broke into three distinct flows. One group swarmed the defenders, forcing them against one of the inner cedar walls where the sidhe didn’t have room to swing their deadly long swords and were forced to use smaller blades to hack and thrust.

  Behind him more of the Wild Hunt emerged from the maze. He motioned half their number to attack the Riven at the opposite entrance. They had to slow the number of Riven reaching the inner glade, or they’d simply mob the Hunt and trap the defenders with sheer numbers.

  Vivian led the first wave of the Hunt to engage the enemy. If they were able to keep the remaining Riven trapped within the close confines of the maze itself, they had a chance to end the conflict relatively quickly, with less of their own blood decorating the ground.

  Or so he hoped.

  As the second wave of the Hunt gathered behind him, he did a quick tally and found seventeen already at his heels with more pouring in behind them. Out of time, he led the charge toward the siren’s location. The first batch of Riven had started to encircle the tree even before Gregory had covered half the distance.

  As he closed in on the hamadryad, he spotted Tethys at last. She rose up from the stream, her power falling from her like water, where it swirled around her in an ever increasing current. Then with a subtle shift in her shoulders and a flick of her great tailfin, she loosed a wave of magic upon the unsuspecting Riven.

  Her spell-wave crashed over the first row of them, physically forcing them back even as the defensive magic triggered in bright flashes of light. The power
ful spell ripped the moisture from the Riven, leaving dry husks, incapable of movement in its wake. Even over the distance, Gregory felt the pressure of that spell dance along his skin. By her sudden sharply drawn breath, Lillian, too, felt that fearful power.

  Tethys continued to lash the demons with blast after blast of her magic.

  But there had to be close to eighty Riven already within the glade.

  Gregory slammed into the nearest one and twisted its head from its shoulders with a mighty heave. Lillian slashed the throat out of another while he was busy with his own.

  He speared another with his tail as it tried to slip under his guard. Horns, claws, tail spikes, and teeth, he used all his natural weapons, but he needed more. Lillian’s father used magic as well, bits of shadows and moonlight devouring his enemies.

  Gregory was mildly envious. But this close to Lillian’s hamadryad, and its link to the Magic Realm, combined with the new tattoo circling his throat, made him leery of using his magic for fear of somehow falling under the Battle Goddess’s sway. But he had no choice.

  If even one Riven reached Lillian’s hamadryad and was able to make it to the Magic Realm, it could then summon the rest of its kin here while the Clan and Coven were weakened. If his allies fell, he and Lillian would become easier prey for the Battle Goddess.

  Such an outcome could not be allowed to come to pass.

  “Lillian, you must order me to use my magic.”

  “But you’re already weak. The tattoo. It’s too dangerous.”

  “We don’t have a choice.” When there was a momentary break in the fighting, he turned his head to glance back at Lillian. “Give the order.”

  “Gregory.” Lillian paused, her hesitation lasting only as long as it took her to draw back her arm and send a knife flying with practiced accuracy at a demon about to maul his side, then she turn and met his gaze, giving him a slight nod of understanding and agreement. “My Hunting Shadow, eradicate the Riven.” She slashed at another beast, almost removing its head but lacked the strength of arm to accomplish the feat.