gargoyle and sorceress 05 - sorceress enranged

by Lisa Blackwood

  “Please don’t die,” he whispered to her and petted her damp mane.

  She blinked up at him, her lips trying to form words.

  “S…sorr…sorry,” she croaked out at last.

  “Don’t talk. Save your strength.” But what he really meant was, ‘don’t finish that sentence’ because he didn’t want to hear his worst fears vocalized out loud. He tried not to think about them even in his own mind.

  Glancing around, he started to look for help.

  They were on a vast island, overlooking the ocean. Far below, the ocean crashed against the base of a cliff, sending sea spray high up in the air. He didn’t care about any of that.

  Anna was dying and needed help.

  “Lord of the Underworld, if you can hear me, please help Anna,” Shadowlight whispered the words out loud as well as in his mind.

  There was no answer, but far off Shadowlight could hear hooves impacting stone. As the sound grew louder, the ground underneath him began to shake. At least he hoped it was the ground and not his body quaking in fear.

  He glanced toward the center of the island.

  A gigantic form, easily as tall, or taller, than the Battle Goddess, leaped over a low cliff wall and continued to thunder toward Shadowlight’s position. Size was the only thing Lord Death had in common with his twin.

  He galloped over the ground swiftly, his four powerful legs carrying him over the dangerous terrain effortlessly. When he reached a ravine too wide for his horse-like lower body to safely jump, he spread his wings and sailed over it before landing with a clatter of hooves against stone.

  The God of Death pulled up short when he reached Shadowlight’s side. Then he stared down at them and rested his hands on the hilts of his four massive swords. He tilted his head until his muzzle was pointed down at them.

  “Never have I met two such stubborn souls.” Lord Death’s mellow voice rumbled above their heads.

  Anna tried to push herself to a sitting position, but Shadowlight wrapped his arms and wings around her as if that would protect his friend from Death incarnate. Though, he didn’t think anything he did would protect her from this four-armed god of death.

  “Hello, young ones. My name is Draydrak, but you may call me Dray if you prefer.”

  Shadowlight glanced up. This wasn’t precisely the greeting he’d been expecting. With renewed hope, he asked, “Will you save Anna? A blood witch’s magic is trying to destroy her soul.”

  Draydrak stared at them in silence for a moment then he reached down and plucked Shadowlight and Anna up in one giant hand. Adrenaline sent Shadowlight’s heart pounding, but he refused to show fear. Anna had taught him not to show weaknesses to an enemy. And while his gargoyle nature told him Lord Death wasn’t an enemy, Shadowlight still wasn’t convinced he and Anna were safe in his care, either.

  “Her soul I can, and will, protect,” Draydrak said, cupping a second hand above them and summoning magic. “Saving the human’s life? That I cannot promise.”

  The large hand slowly lowered, trapping Anna and Shadowlight within a cage of interwoven digits, but that was the least of Shadowlight’s worries, for the next instant the temperature dropped as a chilled power flowed over them. Seconds after that Lord Death began to sing.

  The hauntingly beautiful sound surrounded Shadowlight, soothing and lulling him into a sense of peace. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed and his head grew heavy. Anna no longer moaned in pain and his fears became a distant, forgotten thing.

  “Sleep well, young ones,” Draydrak sang. “You will need your rest for what is to come.”

  The End

  Thank you for reading Sorceress Enraged.

  Lillian, Gregory, Anna and Shadowlight’s story continues in Sorceress Eternal, the sixth and final novel of the Gargoyle and Sorceress Tales, coming in January/February 2018.

  But don’t be sad. Corporal Anna Mackenzie and Shadowlight will be continuing the adventure in Legacy of Shadows.

  http://lisablackwood.com/my-urban-fantasy-novels/

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