More memories returned—newer ones—crashing into her mind like waves racing to shore. Blinking down at herself, she acknowledged she was fully dressed. So was he. Well, as much as gargoyles ever were. No one had roofied her.
Still, her spotty memories didn’t explain what she was doing in a strange gargoyle’s bed. A moment later, the male in question released his hold on her, likely so he could protect his nuts from further damage. Anna wasted no time in rolling away from him and to her feet.
The room spun, and she feared she’d collapse face-first into the pillows and blankets. Worse, the fabric was threatening to tangle up her feet and trip her. But after a few stumbling steps, she righted herself and crawled out of the strange nest.
The male was still hunched over in pain, so she glanced around the room, searching for other dangers. Power glowed, bright lines of magic forming a protective framework over the carved wood of the walls behind. She scanned for an exit, but nothing jumped out at her.
Great.
She didn’t spare the room further study, swinging her gaze back to her opponent.
The gargoyle was straightening up. And, fuck, was he ever a big, brawny beast. Shoulders, wider than even Gregory possessed, flexed and rippled with strength as he stretched, limbering up stiff muscles. Thighs like proverbial tree trunks and biceps that might actually be bigger around than her waist only added to the ‘I will break you in two’ look he had going.
She desperately hoped he was big, slow, and dumb—a living stereotype. Otherwise fighting her way free would really suck.
She supposed she should try reason first. Though, really, what excuse could he come up with after she’d woken up in this dude’s bed getting groped?
“Hey, big fella, mind explaining what’s going on here?” While she talked to distract him, she inched her way closer to a rack of weapons she’d spotted on one wall. There was an assortment of quarterstaffs, spears, bows, swords, and knives.
A sword would be the most useful. She’d done a little training with a quarterstaff while under the tender care of the Battle Goddess’s captains but didn’t want to trust her life to those skills just yet. And a knife probably wouldn’t even make him flinch.
She was within four feet of the weapons rack when the big fellow released a deep, unhappy sounding huff.
“Don’t you know me?”
Know him? Huh? No. “Never seen you before. And it’s not like I’ve met a lot of gargoyles. Would’ve remembered one as big as you.”
“Is your nose still stone?” He paced closer. “It’s me. How can you not know me?”
His scent wafted stronger the closer he got, and perhaps he was partially correct. Fully awake now, her sense of smell sharpened, telling her something impossible.
No.
Hell. No.
It couldn’t be, not unless Shadowlight and Lillian had an older brother or… years and years and years had spun by while she’d slept and healed in her stone sleep. Like the elder gargoyle had said.
But it felt like she’d only just fallen asleep.
Surely it hadn’t been…
She studied the big gargoyle standing across from her. Ears drooped, wingtips dragging on the floor, tail curled around his midriff, he looked the picture of absolute dejection.
“Shadowlight?”
His one ear flicked forward before flattening against his mane, but he inched forward in the slow, methodical way the kid sometimes would when he wanted a treat he knew he shouldn’t have but was stubbornly determined to have it anyway, consequences be damned.
Even though she was half expecting the crushing bear hug, his speed and strength surprised a gasp from her. Then his arms and wings were folding her in a fierce embrace, and the magic of their link flared to life as if it, too, were just waking from a long sleep. But there was no denying the evidence of their mental and magical link.
“Shadowlight!” she shouted his name and hugged him back.
He was shaking with emotion. She probably was too.
“I missed you,” he said, his voice deep, thickening with raw emotion, or maybe it was normally a baritone now. He snuffled in her hair, nuzzling the side of her neck.
“I’m sorry I left you alone.” And she was. But now she had questions. “How long?”
“Years. You slept for years like Banrook said you would. I didn’t want to believe it would be that long. I always thought you’d wake sooner than this. I never stopped hoping.” There was a world of loneliness in his words, and she’d examine them later, but, for now, she had more significant concerns.
“How many years exactly?” Anna leaned back to look up into his face, trying to see something of the Shadowlight she’d known. It was there, she realized with a sigh of relief. There was still something of Shadowlight’s familiar soul reflecting back at her when she looked into his eyes. But, gods, how he’d grown!
“Almost thirteen years.”
“Thirteen?” God. That long. But she supposed she should be thankful since it could have been far longer. No wonder she hadn’t recognized him at first. He’d be, what? Twenty-one now?
Well, at least he was still younger than her. While he might not permit her to call him a kid anymore, he was still her little brother. Nothing would change that.
“Far too long,” he agreed.
Shadowlight leaned down and gave her face a big swipe with his tongue. Then, his voice deepening with accusations, he said, “You thought I was big, slow and stupid. You didn’t even recognize me!”
“Er. Sorry?” Anna rubbed at the back of her neck, only then realizing her hair wasn’t in its customary rows. Damn it. Some do-gooder had taken them out. Or maybe that had happened when Lord Death had blasted away much of the blood witch’s taint with his chilling power.
She glanced down at her clothes in more detail this time. A pair of plain drawstring pants and lace-up shirt covered her from neck to ankle. It was the same outfit she’d been wearing when she’d first woken up in the healer’s quarters after Lord Death had finished working on her.
To her, it felt like no time had passed. But looking upon Shadowlight, she knew so much had changed.
“I…Oh, Shadowlight, I don’t even know where to begin or what questions to ask.”
He bumped his muzzle in her hair and dragged in a few deep breaths before speaking. “Well, I go by the name Obsidian now. Journeyman Obsidian. Or Rasoren if we’re being formal.”
“They changed your name?”
If they’d forced a new name upon him what other things had been forced upon him as well?
“Be at peace. It’s part of the gargoyle legion’s hierarchy. Novices keep the names their dryad mothers gave them until they reach Journeyman status. Once at that level—when a gargoyle is what you would call a young adult—we take on a new name of our choosing. I chose the name Obsidian Shadow.”
“Huh.” Well, at least they hadn’t forced a name upon him. Though she was curious why he’d picked that name, she had other more immediate concerns.
“What’s it like here?” She tried to use their mental link, wanting to feel the emotion behind his words, to see if he was hiding something, but she came up against a smooth impenetrable barrier.
Obsidian grinned at her startled look. “I’ve been training hard for over a decade, and my command of magic is almost greater than my mentors’. Since gargoyles naturally use mind magic more than other races, one of the first things my mentors taught me was how to erect a mental wall when privacy is required. It’s far more advanced than what we learned in the Battle Goddess’s domain.”
“Oh.” He didn’t want her in his head. She supposed she didn’t blame him. They were almost strangers to each other now. It drove home how unprepared she was for this new life. He knew so much more than her.
He’d no longer need to look to her for guidance. That knowledge left a hollow ache in her heart. She’d look at those tangled feelings in more detail later.
Unaware of her turmoil, Shadowlight… er… it was
Obsidian now wasn’t it? He merely wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her over to a bench to sit.
“Come, sit. You’ll be weak. Your body’s resources depleted after so long in the stone sleep. Let me get you a drink.” He went over to his weapons rack, took down a canteen and returned to her side swiftly. “Here, drink this. It’s a tea fortified with minerals and herbs to replenish a weary body. Its taste leaves much to be desired, but it will hold you over until I can hunt up something more solid for you to eat.”
Anna took the offered canteen, hesitated a second as she scanned Obsidian’s expression—there was no deceit evident—and then drank deeply of the liquid. It was room temperature and had a mildly bitter, metallic sort of flavor to it. Kind of like chewing on a vitamin pill, Anna decided.
Not the tastiest drink, but now that moisture had hit her mouth, she realized how parched she was and swiftly took several more swallows. After she’d drunk half the contents of the canteen, she sat it on her lap and looked up at Shadowlight again.
“It’s Obsidian,” he said in gentle reminder.
“You can read my thoughts, but I can’t read yours. That’s hardly fair.”
“I’m much stronger than I was last time you were awake. Our link is now imbalanced. I don’t trust that my mind won’t overwhelm yours. Best we wait until your body is strong before we embark upon the first of your new magic lessons.”
“Fair enough.” For now, she agreed. But later she planned to get inside his head and gather intel about this place and her new, mature Rasoren. Maybe then she could reclaim some of the old Shadowlight.
Anna wasn’t a complete emotional cripple. She’d known she’d loved the kid more than her own life. He was family. He was oh so easy to love. He’d been the first to breach the barriers she’d built around her heart after the ‘incident’ three years ago and to her surprise, she’d been fine with that chink in her armor.
He’d been safe, void of threat or peril. Because of that, she’d been able to love him in a platonic way that didn’t risk stirring memories better left buried.
But looking at him now, she feared that love was lost—impossible to reclaim because he was no longer a safe, uncomplicated child. He’d grown into an adult. It was like Shadowlight had died.
Sorrow welled up. New pain to add to all the old. With a great deal of difficulty, she shoved all the emotion back deep inside. She wouldn’t think or feel. She’d just adapt and survive like she always did.
“I’m still him. Still Shadowlight. Never a threat to you.” He knelt before her. “A name change doesn’t erase all that I was. Now I am just more. You’ll come to see that before long. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer questions you might have while you eat. Afterward, if you still don’t trust me or are unsatisfied with the answers, we can attempt the link.”
Right. Mind reader.
“I promise I will answer all your questions, but first you need food. Come with me.”
Food was always an excellent way to break the ice with a gargoyle and get him talking. Besides, he was correct. She was starving. But she needed to do a couple things first.
Anna patted her hair and glanced down at her baggy clothing. “Don’t suppose you have a proper change of clothing and a magic wand hanging around to tame this?” She pointed at her hair.
She spoke only half in jest.
If she was to venture forth where she might meet other gargoyles, she’d at least like to be presentable. Underwear was always a good start. Followed by real clothing and a tamed bedhead.
Obsidian’s brow scrunched in thought. “Your hair will take too long to braid again, but you can borrow one of my mane tiebacks.” He went over to a row of shelves along one wall and produced a strip of leather.
Anna took it and then finger combed her hair into a tamer version of its earlier self and tied it all back at the base of her neck.
Next, Obsidian rummaged in a lower drawer until he pulled out a few items. She recognized the beaded loin cloth preferred by gargoyles and accompanying it was what looked a little like a matching beaded sports bra.
“I knew you’d eventually wake and need these. Plus, it will be safer to wear something that will shape-shift with you until your gargoyle nature is entirely under your control. While you might be weak and hungry now, once you’ve sated your hunger and replenished needed stores, your gargoyle nature will reassert itself swiftly.
In other words, wear clothing that shapeshifts with the wearer to avoid wardrobe malfunctions.
“You can change and attend to other needs through there.” He summoned a small bit of shadow magic and then gestured to a door that suddenly appeared in the wall and opened into another room. Camouflaged doors would take getting used to. Though, the carved wood of the walls and hidden door had a pretty artistry she admired.
Glancing inside the room, a rudimentary bathroom met her gaze. After testing a few handles, she discovered both hot and cold water. Basic plumbing. Things couldn’t be all bad.
Chapter 5
When Anna exited the bathroom a short time later, she found Obsidian rummaging through his shelves again, randomly shoving items into a satchel. She drew close and peered into the sack.
“Water, rations, and more of the rejuvenating tonic to hold you over while I build a fire and go hunting.”
“I won’t perish, but I can gather wood and build a fire while you do the hunting.”
“It’s my duty to look after my Kyrsu while she is still recovering.”
“Do I look like an invalid?”
He glanced sharply at her, his expression turning thoughtful. “I didn’t say you were. But, Anna, how many times did you see to my protection and needs while I was a child? I’d like a chance to return the favor.”
Eh?
Damn. He had a point. Besides, it would give her a chance to think.
She took the offered bag with a shrug. Never hurt to have supplies.
With that Obsidian triggered the door’s spell and led her outside. She got the first look at her new surroundings, which didn’t tell her much since it was the dark of a moonless night, but her eyes still picked out the outlines of leaves and branches. From the size of the branches, they were a good way off the ground.
“The third moon has just set. It will be dawn in an hour. You’ll be able to see it better then if your gargoyle nature doesn’t reassert itself before and give you back your night vision.”
Anna nodded, adding that detail to the little she knew. This place, whatever it was, had three moons like the Magic Realm. Though, if she remembered Banrook’s words correctly when he’d carried her here, this land was outside time. In a past that had never been.
“Your memory is correct. Though this place has a name: Haven.”
“Haven, eh? It’s an island, right? Even nose dead me can smell the brine. So that means you live in tree houses, on an island, in the middle of an ocean? You sure Lord Death hasn’t left his temple in eons? ‘Cause this sounds like the setting of Swiss Family Robinson.”
“I’m unfamiliar with that family.”
“Fictional book. Old classic. Should have found time to read it to you when you were a kid. You’d probably have liked it.” The reminder that the Shadowlight she knew was gone caused another spike of pain.
To distract herself, Anna walked to the railing. It circled the sides of the dwelling not attached to the tree’s trunk. Leaning over, she asked, “How high up are we?”
“About two-thirds of the way to the top.”
Which told her absolutely nothing since she didn’t know the height of the tree or how far away the ground was, obscured by the sweeping branches of the gigantic tree.
“It’s not a tree. It’s a hamadryad. They continue to flourish and grow as long as the dryad lives,” Obsidian explained. “And these hamadryads are larger than most, fed by gargoyle blood to keep them strong.”
“Huh.” Studying her surroundings, she picked out other such structures in nearby trees. Between them stretched
bridges and ladders.
“We should go. It will be dawn before we know it and others will come looking for me the hour after sunrise.”
Obsidian gestured for her to take the walkway leading right. She did, walking ahead of him and following his softly uttered instructions when they came to interconnecting bridges. At last, they came to a large platform she’d taken for a dead end until she spotted the ladder.
“I’ll fly you the rest of the way.” He squeezed past her and dropped to all fours, dipping a wing for her to mount.
“I don’t think I’m ready to fly yet.” She kept the nervous note out of her voice. “I’ll take the ladder and meet you at the bottom.”
“We’re high up. Flying down will be faster.” But he folded his wings back tight to his side and reared to stand on two feet. “But if you think you’ll fall off, then I’ll carry you.”
The one-way mind-reading thing was getting old.
Obsidian chuckled. “If I’m honest, I doubt I’d stop it even if I could. It’s been so long since I felt your conscious mind, I can’t close myself off from you completely. It will stop once you recover enough to rebuild your mental shields.”
The link flared briefly, proving it wasn’t as one way as she’d thought. It let her glimpse a tiny peek into his mind. Just a fraction of a second but it was enough. In that moment of absolute clarity, she knew as difficult as she was finding this new situation, it had been much harder for him. “The link—or at least its absence—it was difficult to endure, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” His expression was placid, but he couldn’t fully control the agitated flicking of his tail.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, and he turned his head to nuzzle her fingers.
“You’re here now. That is a blessing I shall thank the Divine Ones for daily.”
The link that bound them had claimed a heavy price. She saw that now. Her absence had left him feeling like a part of his soul was missing, just beyond his reach. As a child, his mentors had thought it grief, but as he grew older, both he and his teachers came to understand it was more.
Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset 2 Page 46
