Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset 2
Page 44
“Anna! You’re awake.” He bounced off the bed and knocked into hers in his exuberance.
“I feel like rewarmed roadkill, so I suppose that means I’m alive.” Her mind felt slow and foggy, sensations mute and muffled.
“Dray said you’d feel like that when you woke.”
“Who the fuck is Dray?”
“The Lord of the Underworld goes by the name Draydrak. He says we can call him Dray.”
Great. While she’d slept oblivious to everything around her, the kid and the demigod had continued to chat and were now on a first name basis. Just swell.
“It will continue to grow worse—the exhaustion.” Shadowlight sounded unhappy as he imparted that bit of news.
“Why worse?”
“Dray said it’s because you’re still not healed.”
“What? Wait. I thought that was the whole point of his burns-like-acid power.” Though Anna didn’t feel like she was dying, she couldn’t say she felt healed either, now that she thought about it. Ever since Shadowlight had converted her with his blood, she’d always woken stronger after sleeping off an injury.
This time she didn’t.
“Lord Death’s power was destroying the blood witch’s spell. It fought back. That’s why it felt like a burning power to you. Dray later had to replace parts of your soul that had been… eaten away. But he’s not a healer on the physical level. Your body needs to rest in stone. It’s a natural part of healing now that you’re pure gargoyle.”
Part of her soul had been eaten away and needed to be repaired? Fuck, basic training sure as hell didn’t cover this kind of shit. Yet Shadowlight’s explanation needed some type of response, so she went with a pure vanilla one. “Sounds like a small price to pay for being alive. I’m lucky.”
But if she was forced to take a stone nap, how vulnerable would it leave her and the kid?
“Yes, Dray said the blood witch nearly destroyed your soul. If we hadn’t reached him when we did…” Shadowlight cleared his throat and glanced out the nearest window to hide his tears.
“Shh. It’s okay. I survived.” By some big-ass miracle. “So, I need to impersonate a stone statue for a while. I’ve been through worse.”
“Yes,” Shadowlight agreed in a small voice.
“Did… Dray… mention how long I might need to sleep?”
Shadowlight’s tail wrapped around his own waist. “He said it would be years.”
“Years…” Fuck. We don’t have years. There’s no way the Battle Goddess was giving her brother, or Earth, years to get ready.
“The cub is correct,” said a new voice from several feet away.
She yelped in surprise as a big gargoyle materialized on the cot to her left. If she’d been able to move, she would have jumped up and faced this new and possibly perilous threat. But doing a face-plant wasn’t likely to impress the newcomer. Besides, she didn’t want to alarm Shadowlight or give him any bad ideas.
The older male—she assumed he was older since there couldn’t be many gargoyles younger than Shadowlight running around—observed them calmly, even taking his unhurried time to arrange his tail so the tip came to rest against his muscular thigh.
Like Gregory, Darkness, and Shadowlight, this male didn’t suffer from an overabundance of clothing. A loincloth and metal wrist and ankle bands were familiar. Though he also wore a matching metal collar that reminded her of a Celtic torque.
This male was big, both taller and stockier than either Gregory or Shadowlight’s father. With another gargoyle to study, she noted a few other subtle variations in coloration and features. For one, his muzzle seemed a little blunter than Shadowlight’s.
“I am Master Banrook, though my friends just call me Rook.” He paused as he eyed first Anna and then Shadowlight. “You are welcome to call me Rook as we’re likely to become close friends.”
How did he make that sound like a threat?
Anna drew in a deep breath and studied his scent, but there were no betraying markers she could detect.
“What are you sensing from him, Kid?”
“Honesty. Integrity. Determination.”
Hmmm. So basic gargoyle nature. Could be worse.
“Draydrak has tasked me with overseeing your recovery and adjustment while you become familiar with our world and way of life.” He flicked an ear at Shadowlight. “In other words, I will whip you both into proper gargoyles and do my damn best to undo whatever that manipulative Battle Goddess has hammered into your heads.”
Anna cleared her throat. “I’d be very grateful for any aid in digging out whatever the Battle Goddess did to us both, but what if we don’t want to become ‘proper’ gargoyles?”
Rook snorted. “Too late for that. Whatever else you are, you’re both gargoyles, and that makes you Dray’s responsibility. I’ll be aiding him during your healing and later training. As you’ve already discovered, your full healing will take years.”
Well, no one said those ‘years’ had to be here, in this Realm.
Anna glanced to her right. “Kid, don’t get too comfortable here. We need to escape back to Earth first chance we get.”
Shadowlight looked a little uncertain at her words. Yeah, she probably looked like crap, but surely the Avatars could heal whatever the blood witch had done to her and the kid.
“If you leave,” the older male speared Anna with a look that made sweat break out along her back, “you will die. The Avatars cannot heal you fast enough while in the Mortal Realm. Your death will affect the cub in ways not even Lord Draydrak can fully see.”
“You can read minds?” Anna tried and failed to keep the thread of hostility out of her voice. She’d mastered the ability to keep everyone, other than Draydrak, out of her head months ago. How was this big brute getting in?
“It’s a gift. One granted by Lord Dray to aid me in the shaping and training of our younglings. But I don’t do it maliciously.” His tail tip thumped against his thigh once before stilling again. “We need to know your thought processes and your self-doubts so we can put them to rest.”
Anna grunted but didn’t challenge his words. He’d been open and honest about it at least. She didn’t like having someone able to rummage through her head any time he wanted but admitted if she’d possessed the same gift, she’d have used it, considering where she and Shadowlight had spent the last few months.
“So…” Anna paused. A yawn snuck up out of nowhere and threatened to crack her jaws. She gave herself a little shake. “How’s this going to work if Lord Dray wants us to lead his army and yet my healing might take years? There’s no way the Battle Goddess is giving her brother years to prepare. Her armies might even now be marching.”
“Actually, my spies report that the Avatars and a group of humans caused a rather large disturbance in her kingdom.” Banrook gave her a wolfish grin. “They killed several of the Battle Goddess’s captains and even grievously wounded the blood witch. For now, our enemies lick their wounds.”
“Gryton?” Shadowlight asked suddenly.
Rook’s ears flicked to the side, his expression darkening. “That one survived.”
Huh. Big surprise. It would probably just be Gryton and the cockroaches after the apocalypse.
Though, there was a silver lining. Sounded like the Blood Witch Taryin had gotten a good smackdown. Fleetingly, she wondered what had happened to Vaspara, Sorac, and Bervicta. While she couldn’t condone their choice of master, there were other people higher up Anna’s shit list she’d like to see in the ground first.
“So,” Banrook continued, “The Lady of Battles won’t be sending her armies just yet. But when she does, she’ll find a nasty surprise. Unfortunately, you don’t have time to hear all the details now.”
He gestured at her midsection and slowly drew the blanket down.
Underneath she was wearing an old-fashioned baggy shirt and a pair of matching drawstring pants. It struck her as odd that gargoyles would have human-type clothing, but that was a question for later.
Even with top of the line pain meds, she should have been feeling something.
She’d seen some ugly-ass wounds before and knew the injury should be fatal.
That she still breathed was only at the whim of a demigod.
“The outside is ugly enough, but the true damage is internal. Souls are anchored to the body in seven places—” Banrook tapped the crown of her head, between her eyebrows, a flick across her throat, and an impersonal stroke between her breasts. Next, he gestured at the twisted mass of tissue covering her navel area, then circled a talon above her womb before moving lower to indicate the base of her spine.
“Your soul was nearly shredded from your body. Dray unraveled the blood witch’s spell before it could finish its work, but your body will still need the long sleep to fully repair the damage.”
Shadowlight hesitantly touched the ravaged skin. “She should already be stone.”
“Yes. Dray thought you’d like to say goodbye first and to give us time to put your Kyrsu’s mind at ease. I will show you both where you will be staying. A safe home, far out of the Lady of Battles’ reach.”
Goodbye? At that moment she understood she’d be abandoning the kid for a good long time. She couldn’t help it. There was no getting around this wound.
It did not pain her, but that was because her body was shutting down. She sensed it, her instincts warning her of the danger, the need to find a safe place to rest.
This gargoyle, or another like him, would become Shadowlight’s guardian until Gregory and Lillian came to take him back to Earth. There was no telling how long that would be since the Avatars didn’t seem to be on conversational terms with Lord Death.
Oh, she knew it was better than where they’d just escaped—so much better. But strangers would still care for Shadowlight. Without her.
God. She only hoped Gregory and Lillian would come soon.
“Do I have your permission to carry you to another location?” Master Banrook asked. “It’s too far for you to walk in your condition,”
She would have preferred to walk, but her limbs were growing heavy. “Yes.”
“Let’s get this over with,” she whispered to the kid.
Banrook nodded and then carefully scooped her up like she weighed nothing. When he started away, it occurred to her they were in a medical ward.
Outside, the hallway was constructed of the same dark grey stone with faint green veins running through it. Carpets and wall hangings softened the otherwise hard edges. Every ten feet, wall sconces held lit torches. But the light cast by them was too ethereal—an unnatural soft shimmering blue—to be anything but magic in origin.
Strangely she couldn’t sense or taste the foreign power. Eh. She was bad off if she couldn’t feel the magic fueling the blue-white flames.
“Can you still hear me?” Anna asked Shadowlight across their shared mind link.
“Yes. But you’re faint.”
His ears wilted as his expression morphed into sorrow and grief. A sheen of tears shimmered in his big, dark eyes.
Ah, hell. This would be far harder on the kid than her.
That realization made her feel even worse.
“Is there nothing I can do to remain awake while I heal?” She asked the older gargoyle. “Shadowlight has lost so much.”
Banrook shook his head. “No. Some ailments only stone can heal. But rest assured, we will protect and love our young brother in your absence.”
Anna stared up at the ceiling and fought back a surprising wash of tears. If she slept for years, Shadowlight would grow up without her. Would she even recognize him when she woke?
“My Kyrsu, you will,” Shadowlight said with a tearful huff. “I am your Rasoren. We are family and will always know each other.”
That might be true, but it wouldn’t be the same as watching him grow. The kid, her little brother, would be gone when she awoke.
As she wallowed in her emotional pain, Banrook came to a circular stairwell that led down into darkness. As they descended deeper, she noted a few details through her fading senses. The air wasn’t damp or stale. It was fresh and held the briny essence of the ocean, as strong as when they’d been above ground.
A slight breeze even ruffled the older gargoyle’s mane.
“There is great power here.” Shadowlight’s voice held a hint of awe, and he eased closer to Anna and Banrook until he could nuzzle her hair.
“Do you sense danger?”
“No.”
Despite his words, nervousness reasserted itself.
For his part, Banrook continued as if unaware of their silent exchange, though he’d already revealed his secret ability to listen in.
They walked in silence after that. A creeping lethargy soon spread through her limbs and a new, strange instinct to struggle out of Banrook’s arms was rearing up inside her. She needed to go find a place to rest.
Sensing her distress, Banrook crooned softly. “Fear not. You still have enough time to see what I wish and to speak your goodbyes to the child.”
Anna nodded weakly, having to trust in his words since Fate had taken away all other options.
“Ah, see?” he said only minutes later. “Here we are.”
Banrook descended the last few steps and then they were once again on level ground.
She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to see. They’d emerged into a chamber thick with shadows.
It was disappointing after all the buildup.
“Patience, young one.” Using his muzzle, Banrook gestured ahead of him. Three other gargoyles stood twenty feet from the stairs. “I’d like you to meet Master Verroc, and Adepts Soryn and Shorban. Together we will be Shadowlight’s primary instructors and mentors. Yours as well, once you’re healed and ready to start your training.”
If she’d been more alert, she might have been better able to assess the three new gargoyles, but as it was, she was having trouble remembering their names. Master Verr and Tor and Shore-something-or-other. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open.
“Kid, you still there?”
“Yes, Anna.”
“What do you feel coming from these three?”
“The one called Verroc seems suspicious of us, but he’s loyal to Lord Death and will follow his commands. The one called Soryn feels undecided. And Shorban—he and Soryn are brothers to judge by their scent—he is openly curious about us. Well, about you anyway to judge by how he’s studying you.”
“Huh, maybe he’s just wondering if Banrook will be carrying a stone statue in the next thirty seconds.”
“Anna,” Banrook called her name and gave her a little shake. “Stay with us for a few moments more. We’re almost there.” He nodded to the other three gargoyles, jolting her with the motion.
It was enough to rouse her into witnessing one of the gargoyles, Verroc maybe, reach out and run his talons along a stalagmite rising from the cavern floor. One of the brothers did the same to a second stalagmite situated six feet from the first one.
A moment later a ripple of power flowed through the cavern, shivering and shaking the air currents. More magic crackled upwards, circling each stalagmite, snapping and dancing in a fiercely beautiful spectacle.
When the blue radiance covered both pillars from root to tip, the power from the separate mineral structures arched towards each other. When they touched, a loud ringing filled the air.
Banrook raised his tail to shade her eyes and seconds later a blinding light flashed out from the two stalagmites. Even with a tail shielding her eyes from the worst of the radiance, it still took a few seconds for the spots to vanish from her vision.
Once her vision cleared, she continued to blink a few more times, just in case her eyes were playing tricks on her. But, nope. Where before there was nothing but space be
tween the pillars, a door to another place now stood.
The stalagmites had transformed into a large stone frame for a double set of iron-bound doors made of some pale wood. When one of the gargoyles—they’d all moved, so she didn’t know who was who—pushed on the right door, it swung open on silent hinges.
Beyond was daylight and the scent of green, growing things. She’d seen stranger things in the last few months, but this made her laugh until she was light-headed.
“Fantasyland has magic portal doors. Go figure.”
“She’s going into shock again,” Banrook said as he hurried through the doorway.
Once they crossed the threshold, they reappeared in a room that looked exactly like the one they’d just left, but Shadowlight’s cautious sniffing as he sought new dangers told her they were somewhere else.
Banrook continued to stride forward, then swiftly ran up the stairs that were identical to the ones in the other place. Before long, Anna found herself back on the surface of the island. Or an island. This one was far more lushly covered in trees and greenery than the one they’d just left.
Beside her Shadowlight exhaled a startled huff, seeing or sensing something more than she could.
Why was that important?
Her eyes drifted closed.
“Anna, they are all hamadryads.”
She cracked open one eyelid to scan the trees. Hamadryads? There must be a shit-ton of dryads hidden around here somewhere. But how was that going to help win a war with the Battle Goddess? Dryads were skilled at hiding and healing but were no warriors.
“The dryad nation answered Lord Draydrak’s secret summons. They have been mating my species to increase our numbers for many years,” Banrook explained. “It has been working rather well. We now have an army a hundred times greater than the Battle Goddess will expect.”
“The Lady of Battles will have spies,” Anna heard Shadowlight say. “She must know of this place.”
Banrook snorted. “Our enemy does not know of our plans, and she won’t learn of it until far too late. We are in a time before the Divine Ones used their Avatars to give birth to Lord Draydrak and his misguided twin. Here we are far in the past, but also outside the normal flow of time.”