Sorceress Rising (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 2) (11 page)

She waited,
barely daring to breathe until Gregory nodded his head ever so slightly. The
small acknowledgement was enough for her, and she hugged him once more. She
hated every moment they fought. She’d only urged him on this time because she’d
sensed his self-doubt, the deeply rooted vulnerability that was his one great
weakness.

The verbal
sparring match had succeeded in drawing out his more alpha tendencies, enough
that she felt happier with Gregory’s mindset. She couldn’t do much in the grand
scheme of things, but if she could lift his mood and make what he had to do
just a little bit easier, then she would be happy to fulfill the role.

“Will this spot
do? Or should we go deeper into the forest to avoid detection?”

Gregory eyed the
area once more and gave a little shrug. “This is not where, when, or how I
would have liked to show you the finer points of being a gargoyle, yet this is
what we have. It will do. I sense no others near—human or Fae.

“Good. I don’t
want an audience the first time. I have a feeling learning to use four legs
will be more difficult than two. And, wings, those I don’t even want to
contemplate.” She tried humor to lighten the mood, though she wasn’t sure if
she did it for Gregory’s benefit or her own. The thought of the actual physical
shift scared her more than the end result. How much would it hurt? And what if
she fainted? Would she get stuck half way?

Strong arms
closed around her and pulled her into his warmth. “Do not fear your other
nature, it will come naturally to you,” Gregory said in a soothing voice. “Only
your fear, and perhaps mine as well, have halted the change this long. We are
now someplace safe from discovery—it is only your uncertainty holding back your
gargoyle side.”

After another
nervous swallow, she gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.

His hand came up
to caress her hair. “Relax, breathe deeply and put everything out of your mind
except my voice.”

She found the
combination of his voice and the rhythmic stroking of her hair relaxing.
Tension she hadn’t even been aware of, slowly eased from between her shoulder
blades. She buried her nose against Gregory’s neck and inhaled his scent. He
smelled like home.

“Don’t fear the
power within you. It is as much a part of you as your dryad side.”

With a snort of
humor, Lillian realized she hadn’t really accepted her dryad side, which may be
why she also feared the gargoyle half. She just wanted to be plain old Lillian.
Nothing more and nothing less.

“You’ll always
be ‘more’,” Gregory whispered into her hair. “You are an Avatar, you’ll never
be ‘less’.”

“I just want to
be me.”

“You will always
be you, whether you wear the hide of a dryad or a gargoyle, both are as much a
part of you as I am.”

Strangely, the
way he worded it made it more palatable to her. She’d always known Gregory was
a part of her. She accepted it without thought or complaint. Shouldn’t she be
able to accept her gargoyle bloodline just as easily?

Perhaps.

As if her
weakening resolve was a signal, magic filled her in a tingling rush, flowing
out from her heart, down both arms and legs, to the very tips of her fingers
and toes.

She gasped at
the pressure of the building power.

“Easy, it is
only your hamadryad sharing magic with you to make this first shift easier,”
Gregory said in his deep soothing voice. “Once you learn how, you will be able
to shift without needing the extra surge of magic to push you over the
precipice.”

Her skin became
super sensitized, her clothing felt two sizes too small. Heat intensified
between her shoulder blades and all along her spine. A great pressure built,
not pain, but not pleasure either.

“Slowly,” Gregory
crooned. “You’re in too much of a hurry again.”

“Maybe you
should go mention that to my hamadryad?”

He chuckled,
then his fingers left her hair and started to work the buttons of her blouse.
When it was freed, he pushed it off her shoulders and tossed it behind her with
little regard. Her belt soon joined the other articles of clothing on the
forest floor.

He paused and by
his expression, she knew he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to
word it.

“Just spit it
out before my hamadryad sends the next wave of magic.”

He flicked an
ear in her direction, uncertain. “Once you shift, you may find yourself as
attracted to my scent as I am to yours. You needn’t be embarrassed by how you
may react.”

“Ah, thanks for
the warning.” Lillian toed off her shoes and kicked them in the general
direction of her other clothing. He popped the button on her jeans, pushed them
down her hips and quickly disrobed her of the rest of her clothing. Naked, the
night felt much cooler than it had earlier. She shivered and tucked herself
against his side. One wing curled around her, covering her from head to toe in
a living cloak.

“Now what?” she
asked, but she knew.

“Surrender.”

His hypnotic
voice made it sound easy. She acknowledged the command in his tone, but she
also wanted to do something useful in her own right. Besides, a gargoyle was
far handier in a battle than a dryad.

She breathed in
his scent, tasted his ancient magic, and her essence resonated to his silent
call. Power flared within her. Gregory placed a hand on her back, between her
shoulders and pushed, forcing her to bend at the waist. Instincts flared and
she understood what he was telling her. She dropped to all fours as the power
crested within. A burning magic flowed just below her skin, rippling and
flaring with a mind of its own.

Lillian gasped
and bowed her back, her fingers clawing at the loamy earth. A hot, wet
sensation made its slow way over her back and down her sides as something heavy
burst from her back. She groaned in pain, but was distracted by a new ache
radiating from two burning points high on her forehead.

Everywhere, her
body shifted and changed. She grew light headed, her arms shook and she would
have collapsed onto her side had it not been for Gregory’s strong arm around
her waist. Another wave of power crashed over her body. Her vision sparked
white at the edges before going grey.

Panting and
disoriented, with her muzzle pressed into the leaf mold covering the forest
floor, she lay quietly for a moment. It came to her slowly. She must have blacked
out. She didn’t remember completing the change, however a glance down her body
confirmed there was no denying she was now fully gargoyle.

She fixated on
her tail, studying it in equal parts humor and uncertainty. Just lying there,
she could feel the weight of it against her legs, rather like a large boa
constrictor sleeping coiled against her. She flinched at the mental image and
her tail gave a reflexive twitch.

“You’re awake?”
Gregory’s voice rumbled in her ear and she realized she was resting against
another warm, living body.

She turned her
head and found it difficult to lift, as if the balance had changed.

“What?” she
started to ask and then wacked her horns against Gregory’s as she turned to
look at him. “Oh!”

Gregory laughed
and nuzzled her, purposefully rubbing against her so their horns clicked
together. It didn’t hurt but she rolled her eyes skyward to try to gage their
span. When she thought she knew their impressive size, she was careful to
disentangle hers with a muttered ‘Sorry’.

“You have
nothing to be sorry for. You did well.” His voice sounded husky, or maybe it
was her new ears.

“I fainted.” Her
own voice sounded strange, too. “I thought I had more backbone.”

“Hmm….backbone?”
Gregory’s arm came around her waist, dragging her a few inches closer. His warm
breath wafted against her shoulder and then his muzzle was shifting her hair
away from the back of her neck. A gentle lapping made her jerk in his hold,
partly in surprise and partly because it felt too good to hold still.

“What are you doing?
Shouldn’t I be…” her voice trailed off as he continued to lap at her sensitive
neck. A soft prickle of teeth against her skin froze the breath in her lungs
and tensed all her muscles. It felt nice….too nice.

“Gregory?” She
twisted in his arms to try to see his expression. “I don’t think this is a good
idea.”

“No,” he rumbled
with humor, “but it certainly feels good.”

He surprised her
again when he suddenly rolled away and came to his feet. Crouching next to her,
he looked her over with what could only be called interest. She eased up onto
her forearms. Her wings came with her, which shouldn’t have surprised her, they
were attached after all.

“Goodness,” she
gasped. “How do you move with these massive things dragging after you?”

He glanced over
his shoulder. “To be honest, I notice them no more than my arms, legs, or tail.
Yours will become natural to you too. Can you stand? Start with all fours. You
might find it easier.”

Baby steps.
Nice and slow
, she told herself as she rolled from
her side to her stomach. Almost of their own accord, her wings righted
themselves and fell into place along her back. Her tail shifted and she gave it
an experimental wave as she gathered her hind legs under her.

Gregory coughed
into his bent arm, but she could see the tears rolling down his cheeks. His
entire chest shook.

“Are you
laughing at me?” Lillian aimed a pointed glare in his direction and he only
laughed harder.

“No, yes…sorry.”
He cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes.

“Well, it’s not
very nice.” Then she realized she was resting on her forearms and the position
put her… “Dammit! It’s not funny at all.”

She pushed up
and came to all fours, curling her tail around her hips. It did nothing for her
nudity, and Gregory still watched her with avid interest.

“I know it
wasn’t intended as an invitation,” he cleared his throat, “but….in the future,
you perhaps should be aware…”

“It certainly
wasn’t an invitation! I’m still trying to walk. I wasn’t thinking of sex.”

She dragged in a
deep breath, and Gregory’s scent hit her squarely in the chest. She leaned
closer to him. He smelled good enough to eat. “Argh! Stop it!”

“Stop what? I do
nothing.” He spread his hands, showing them empty and then gave her a slow,
toothy gargoyle grin, and winked at her.

With a show of
her newly discovered motor skills, she flipped him the bird.

He laughed and
then came over and helped her up. “I did warn you about the likelihood of our
attraction. You’ve always smelled good to me. I suppose it only makes sense I
would smell equally good to you.”

She wobbled
around until she found her new center of gravity. Feeling like she might
actually be able to stay upright, she glanced at Gregory and was surprised to
see they were eye level. For the first time since she’d met him, she didn’t
have to crane her neck.

“Okay, points
for being a gargoyle.”

He tilted his
head in question but she ignored him in favor of getting a good look at her new
body. While she had his height, she was of a slighter build than him, less
heavily muscled, less bulky overall. But what she lacked in physical strength,
she’d bet she made up for in speed.

“I’m fast,
aren’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Why is my coloring
so different from yours? Do gargoyles have variations in skin pigment like
humans?”

Gregory cocked
an ear. “You’re a female gargoyle, there’s nothing normal about any of this.
But as for your coloring, no, it’s different than any gargoyle I’ve seen. The
Lady of Battles likes black and crimson. I can only assume she designed your
gargoyle body with that in mind.”

Lillian
flinched. “Kill joy. I didn’t need the reminder about her just now.”

“I detect
nothing evil within you. The changes are physical only. The Dark Goddess
couldn’t touch your soul, not even with the demon seed’s influence.” Gregory
dipped his muzzle to nudge her gently. “Soon we will be free of her taint
altogether and can face her in battle unhindered by her manipulations.”

Gregory seemed a
little over confident on that score, Lillian mused, but he had faced the dark
one in the past, so she would bow to his wisdom.

Dropping to all
fours, Gregory bound around her in a half circle. “Come,” he called, slapping
her flank with his tail as he dashed by. “Run with me.”

Gregory’s
enthusiasm was infectious, and she took a cautious step forward and then
another. She remained upright, more trusting of two legs than four. Her wings
and tail shifted naturally to aid her balance, requiring almost no thought on
her part.

“Lillian, the
night grows long.” Gregory darted out around her and she could hear him coming
up directly behind.

Not knowing what
he planned, she squealed in mock anger and started to run. Her new body
responded like she owned it all along, her stride stretching into an easy
ground-devouring lope. He came along side and kept pace with her for several
strides and then bound over a fallen tree.