Sorceress Rising (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 2) (27 page)

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.

“As my mistress
commands,” he purred happily as his magic rose within him to do her bidding.

All around them
the chilled magic of the Spirit Realm poured from him and flowed across the
ground in an ever increasing circle.

It rose above
the ground, floating and whirling slowly like thick fog born of cold air upon
warm ground. He let it build for three more beats of his heart, then he ordered
it into a hunting spell, shards of shadow and light that sought out the nearest
Riven with vicious accuracy.

The magic
stabbed deep into the nearest creature, shattering it from within, reducing it
to specks of light and vapor. It died in silence, unable to cry out in pain or
warning to any of its fellows. Even as the first blew apart, his magic sought
more, first in ones and twos, then in greater numbers as his spell spread out
before him.

He followed the
trail his magic had cleared, drawing closer to Lillian’s hamadryad. More magic
poured from him, becoming shadows and light and in turn hunting more of the
Riven.

Another ten
Riven fell before his magic, their bodies still disintegrating when an
anguished wail drew his eyes back toward the siren. Several of the demons had
gotten past her defensive spells and were savaging her with claws, and the dark
glimmer of what could only be demon blades.

The area between
his shoulder blades twitched with phantom pain as he remembered all too well
the agony those things inflicted. He sent a current of magic across the
distance to the siren’s aid. His spell caught four of the attackers but several
managed to jump clear. They retreated to the far side of the stream.

A wave of magic
rose from the water and slammed them into the cedar walls twenty feet away. The
cedars swallowed their newest victims in a swift, hungry fashion.

Tethys continued
to lash out with power, even as her blood turned the stream red. From what he
could see, two demon blades were still embedded in her side. Hissing in
frustration, pain, and anger she blasted more Riven out of existence.

Several Riven
continued their attack, venturing into the water only to discover that ancient
siren blood was as toxic to evil as gargoyle blood.

They screamed as
they died. Gregory nodded to the siren over the distance and she returned the
gesture in kind, then bared her teeth at the next wave of demons descending
upon the hamadryad.

Gregory turned
his magic upon the ones coming closest to the tree. Shadows and moonlight
hunted them while he dealt with the ones near his person in the more mundane
manner of tooth and claw.

The battle raged
on for many more minutes. Lillian called encouragement the whole time until
suddenly there were no more enemies within striking distance.

There were still
a few other battles raging on, but even those would shortly be won.

Lillian’s mother
and father had moved off to aid Gran and Shadowlight. Other Clan and Coven
members were finishing off the few Riven still within the glade.

Gregory loped
over to inspect Lillian’s hamadryad. The tree seemed whole and unharmed, and
there was no taint of Riven essence upon her. They’d managed to prevent that at
least.

Lillian
dismounted for a better look.

A black shadow
circled around from behind the tree and Gregory nodded to the pooka. The
unicorn joined him a moment later, and they took up positions on either side of
the tree, acting as sentries. He was about to thank them for their loyalty when
Lillian whispered his name and then tapped him on the shoulder. He followed
where she pointed, and he soon spotted Tethys where she lay in the stream, half
up on the bank.

“Guard the
tree,” he ordered the two equines.

They bobbed
their heads in unison.

With Lillian a
step behind, he approached with caution, but none of the Riven bodies piled up
three deep along her stream banks showed any signs of movement.

Tethys lay
almost as unmoving as her conquered enemies, only the slow flutter of her gills
and the slight rise and fall of her chest showed she still lived. No part of
her body was untouched, and blood still welled sluggishly from a hundred
wounds. She might have survived all that, but her own trident had been broken
and both parts speared her body. The lower shaft had been driven through her
chest and it pinned her to the bank. The three pronged crown was buried in her
abdomen.

It looked like
it had been plunged in several times before the hand that had wielded it had
given out, or more likely, had been killed by Tethys’ dying will.

“Tethys, can
you hear me?”
he asked directly into her mind,
hoping a spark of her fierce nature and pride were still there.

“Yes,
Avatar.”
She answered in kind, though her essence
was weak and pain filled.
“But even you can’t save me. Grant me a boon and
give me a merciful ending.”

“It is as you
said. I can’t save you. But I can thank you for protecting Lillian’s
hamadryad.”

“It was the
least I could do after what my actions almost allowed. The Riven would have
violated this Realm far more quickly and far more thoroughly than the humans
ever could.”

“I am glad
you saw that before the end.”
Gregory pulled her
broken trident from her abdomen and then wrapped both hands around the broken
shaft, just above where it speared through her chest.
“But there is one more
thing you can do for me, one last task only you can perform.”

He yanked the
shaft free and Tethys issued a weak, bloody gurgle, but her eyes blinked open
as he lifted her into his arms.
“I can send you back to the Magic Realm, in
spirit at least. Before you pass on into the next life, I would ask you to
carry a message to the Lord of the Underworld for me. Tell him all you know and
have seen here. As a reward, he might gift you with more time to seek vengeance
for what the Riven have done, but I cannot promise you that.”

“Send me
then, and I will tell Death everything before I venture forth into the next
life. It matters not if he gives me more time. I do not deserve or crave it,
but if it is granted, I promise to spend it well.”

Gregory nodded
at the words. There was no deception in her, she meant what she said.

He bowed his
muzzle to her forehead and placed a kiss there.
“Go, regain your honor.”

He lowered her
body to the ground at the base of the hamadryad, but her spirit was already on
its way, speeding toward the Magic Realm and Lord Death.

Gregory could
not say how the Lord of the Underworld would react to the news of everything
that had happened here tonight, but at least Tethys could give him some
valuable details, especially about the Riven army amassing at the edge of his
twin’s territory.

And Death would
be clever enough to see Gregory had just given him a way to dispatch that army
without violating the duality curse that held the Lady of Battles imprisoned.

Gregory smiled
harshly as Tethys’s body turned to sea foam and seeped into the ground under
the hamadryad. Lillian made a surprised exclamation. He merely tucked her
against his side to reassure her.

“What was all
that about?”

He waited until
Lillian’s parents, brother, and grandmother joined them under the hamadryad
before explaining.

Vivian’s
expression hinted that she already knew the answer, and her smile grew bigger,
turning into what Lillian had always called her grandmother’s shit-eating
grin—which was a repulsive human adage, but that smile always drew an answering
one from him.

“What I wouldn’t
give to be there to see the outcome of that,” Gran said with a chuckle.

Lillian’s
parents merely watched Gran with puzzled looks.

“Come,” Gran
said in a tone that was all business once again. “We need to see to the
wounded, dispose of the Riven’s remains, get cleaned up, and then sit down for
proper introductions.” She eyed Shadowlight with open interest. “If I’m not
mistaken, I believe I just inherited another grandchild. More the merrier, I
always say.”

Shadowlight
practically vibrated with happiness. He was as bruised, battered, and bitten up
as the rest of them, but he galloped over to Gran and bumped his muzzle under
her hand. With a chuckle, she obliged. But she multitasked even then, giving
Lillian’s biological parents a once over that was civil, though a touch cool.
“We’ll divide into groups and triage the scene. Lillian, you can take
Shadowlight and introduce him to Jason and Alan. You’ll be aiding Uncle Alan in
cleansing the tainted blood.” Gran turned her attention to her next set of
victims. “Gregory, I would like you and...” she glanced at Lillian’s father
with a raised brow.

“Stalks the
Darkness,” he supplied, “though my daughter finds Darkness an easier mouthful.”

Gran smiled,
“Darkness, I would like you and Gregory to lead another group in disposing of
the Riven corpses and dispatching any stragglers. When you find allies, please
report them to Whitethorn and Greenborrow. They will be in charge of bringing
the wounded to me. If Lillian’s mother is willing to help?”

River nodded. “I
have done many healings.”

“Good. We’ll
need as many able bodies in the healing tent as soon as possible.”

Lillian, who had
been silent until then, perked up. “You taught me basic first aid. I could
help.”

“You could
indeed. But only after several rounds of full biohazard decontamination
protocol. You and Gregory both smell like you’ve been wallowing in a cesspool
for the better part of the night.” She made a vague full body gesture at
Lillian. “At present, you’d kill more souls than you would save.”

Lillian blushed,
but nodded in agreement. “We ran afoul of a bog. It was richer than most.”

“To put it
mildly,” Gregory rumbled, unable to keep quiet on the topic.

“Dawn isn’t far
off,” Gran said and then paused as a newcomer approached. A tall sidhe warrior,
her bow still at the ready and dressed in full battle armor, came up to them
and executed a graceful bow to Gregory and Lillian before she pulled Gran aside
for a moment. Gran conversed with the Fae for some time, and then met Gregory’s
eyes. “It seems we have a more pressing deadline than just the rising sun. The
human military is gathering itself. Some of their number must have made it back
to base and notified their superiors.”

Lillian muttered
an expletive and for once Gregory was inclined to agree, and perhaps add a few
of his own.

Gran just sighed
at them and took command. “Change of plans. The siren may have provided us our
scapegoat when she sent all the townsfolk north. Lillian, you’re still on
cleanup detail with the gargoyles. You’ll just have to do it without your
brother and uncle. I need them to lead the Coven members that are uninjured and
gather any Clan that can pass for human and take everyone to join the townsfolk
as quickly as possible. Once there, they can pretend to blat in fear and
confusion with the townsfolk, all the while using persuasion magic to swing the
blame firmly on some super-secret government experiment gone wrong. The human
authorities can spin it anyway they want. I don’t care, as long as we aren’t
exposed to the general public.”

“That’s the
craziest plan I’ve ever heard, but people will be more willing to believe that
than the truth about magic and demons.” Lillian gave her head a little shake,
her expression darkening as another emotion slid across her face. “The average
person might believe that tall tale, but the military personnel in the woods
tonight know otherwise.”