Legacy of the Sorceress (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 6) Read online

  Legacy of the Sorceress

  By

  Lisa Blackwood

  A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale

  Book 6

  Legacy of the Sorceress © 2018 by Lisa Smeaton

  Version #2

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and characters are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any print or electronic form without author's permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Cover Art Designed by Heather Sender

  Edited by Tracy Vandervliet

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Back Cover

  A roll of the dice and Fate thrusts Corporal Anna Mackenzie into a new situation.

  With her soul hanging in the balance, the young gargoyle, Shadowlight, makes a deal with the Lord of the Underworld to save Anna’s life. The demigod saves her, then sends the pair to Haven, a city outside time, where they will heal.

  The price?

  Thirteen years. The length of time Anna will need to embrace the healing stone sleep of gargoyles. When she wakes, an adult gargoyle is waiting for her. He goes by the name Obsidian, but she’d once known him by another—Shadowlight.

  Obsidian might be a stranger, but she’d promised Shadowlight she’d never leave him. Now his older self wants her to honor that promise and stay, training alongside him to become one of Lord Death’s military leaders. To honor the memory of a gargoyle cub she’d once loved like a little brother, Anna agrees to join the Lord of the Underworld’s cause.

  Is she working for the good guys? Or has she traded in one Overlord for another?

  Either way she’s staying. Her promises don’t come with an expiration date and the more she gets to know Obsidian, the more she sees Shadowlight in him. There’s no way she’s abandoning the kid a second time.

  The Gargoyle and Sorceress Tales:

  Sorceress Awakening (Book One)

  Sorceress Rising (Book Two)

  Sorceress Hunting (Book Three)

  Sorceress at War (Book Four)

  Sorceress Enraged (Book Five)

  Legacy of the Sorceress (Book Six)

  Sorceress Eternal (Coming Soon)

  Chapter 1

  Really, there are only three types of shit storms. First, there’s the ‘this is some bad shit, but I’ll escape with only a few new scars.’ Second, there’s the ‘Oh, Mother of God, I’m screwed, but I’m damned well going to take down the other bastard before he kills all my buddies,’ and then as a grand finale there’s the ‘I’m fucked. You’re fucked. Everybody is fucked. We’re all going to die.’

  Anna decided her present situation was somewhere between the last two. She wasn’t at all sure if the four-armed, four-legged monstrosity holding her broken body in two of his massive hands was trying to heal her or kill her.

  To judge by the pain, she’d guess kill. But then again, the prolonged agony wasn’t what she’d pegged as Lord Death’s modus operandi. Wasn’t Lord Death supposed to be the ‘good’ twin? Before all this started, didn’t the Avatars consider him a friend?

  Just then another wave of Death’s acid-like power flowed across her skin and she screamed, her voice as broken as her battered body felt. Time was meaningless, the only certainty that she’d been screaming for a frigging long time.

  So much for a battle-hardened soldier.

  The endless onslaught of Death’s magic continued to rush across her skin and into her body. Deeper, always digging deeper. Was he trying to rip out her soul? God be merciful. Please let it end.

  “Soon,” a beautiful male voice whispered into her ravaged mind. “It will be over soon. And I promise you, once this is done, you’ll see that I am a friend.”

  Friend? Da fuck you say! The Avatars needed better friends.

  Anna blinked as sight slowly returned. Until then, she’d been blind to everything except the endless pain. A foot or two in front of her, a beloved and familiar, if a little blurry, image formed.

  Shadowlight?

  A muzzle dipped low and lapped at her face, washing the stinging sweat out of her eyes.

  Yes. That was the kid. Did that mean this was almost over?

  She blinked a few more times.

  No. Not over. Lord Death was still holding her in his two lower hands while the upper two poised above her, pouring a torrent of power upon her. Shadowlight was sitting next to her, perched on Lord Death’s thumb with his tail wrapped around the giant’s wrist.

  The sight made her feel something besides pain: tiny.

  She felt as insignificant as a mosquito.

  Her mind continued to clear. The pain grew less intense. Still dazed, she shook her head and blinked up at Shadowlight. The power was flowing across his skin as well, but he seemed unharmed.

  Anna licked her lips and forced her mouth to form words.

  “You okay, kid?” The words came out more of a wheeze.

  He bumped his muzzle against her cheek. “I’m fine. You’re the one who nearly died.”

  “Nearly? You mean I’ll actually survive this?” Whatever the fuck ‘this’ was.

  Shadowlight glanced up at Lord Death. The giant nodded but continued to focus on his work. Which, apparently, was not peeling her like an orange to get to the juicy soul within.

  Who would have guessed?

  “Lord Death is working to undo the damage the blood witch’s magic inflicted upon your soul,” Shadowlight explained. “He says it’s much more complicated when the soul is housed in flesh, but I begged him to save your life.”

  There was something more behind the words.

  Oh, God. What had the kid bargained to save her life?

  “Normally the Avatars lead my armies,” Lord Death’s voice wrapped around her, warm and strangely comforting. “However, the gargoyle half of that pair has been ignoring my summons. Now I wait to see if the female half will honor our old friendship.”

  I wouldn’t hold your breath
if I were you, she thought to herself.

  The Lord of the Underworld chuckled, then broke into a deep, quaking laugh. It shouldn’t have been a fear-inspiring event, and yet it was. The flash of deadly teeth, as long as she was fucking tall, caused her heart to pound. And that voice loud in merriment! Like thunder it boomed across the landscape and echoed back at them as she and Shadowlight rode out the god-created earthquake in this titan’s hands.

  She’d hate to witness his rage.

  “I, too, doubt the Avatars will return to take up their old roles again. At least not in this lifetime. I saw a surprising new path open before them the moment the female half of the soul reunited with her proper body.”

  The power flowing into Anna ceased altogether. A sigh of relief escaped her before she could prevent it. Though, she doubted this reprieve would last long to judge by Lord Death’s calculating expression.

  Well, if she had to guess, that’s how she’d interpret his slightly raised brow, somewhat narrowed eyes, and the slow flick of one ear.

  But she’d based her guess on the fact his upper body shared similarities with a gargoyle. The rest of him, from what she could see from her current vantage point, looked more like a winged centaur or sphinx.

  Lord Death tilted his head to study her with one eye. “If the Avatars will not lead my army, then I must find alternatives. And behold, the Divine Ones have delivered two powerful new beings into my keeping.”

  Yeah, that’s where she thought his little speech was going. Had she and the kid traded one evil overlord for another?

  “Not sure if it was your Divine Ones,” Anna said, trying and failing to make her voice sound strong.

  It was likely a foolish effort since she still twitched and shook worse than an addict overdue for a hit, but, hell, she wanted to at least appear less helpless than she felt. To her great annoyance, she couldn’t get her limbs to cooperate enough to sit.

  “Of course, it was.” Lord Death seemed entirely unfazed by her doubt. “The Divine Ones put two children in my path. I will see that they grow in strength and wisdom until they are one day fit to lead my army.”

  “Children? For the record, I’m full grown.” Baiting a titan probably wasn’t the wisest of moves, but she needed to mount a defense.

  Lord Death laughed like she’d said the most entertaining thing in the world.

  Okay. Fine. She supposed to a being who was a bazillion years old, her twenty-four years was less than a blink in time. Still, she wouldn’t just roll over, especially if Shadowlight had been forced to bargain to save her life. Time to find out the price of her continued existence.

  “I owe you my life and all. Thanks for that, but do we get a say in any of this?”

  “You always have a choice. Even when you were still my sister’s prisoners, there was a choice.”

  “Yeah, about that. It was more of a serve or die scenario. This time I’m hoping for something a little more… flexible… with a happy ending.”

  “Flexible? Happy ending?” The giant grinned, flashing his teeth to full advantage again. “Some would say I deal out many joyful endings. I am the Lord of the Underworld. I bring death to the universe so there can be mercy, renewal, and rebirth.”

  “Not quite what I had in mind.”

  “I am aware.” His toothy grin stretched wider for a moment before his expression smoothed into something more thoughtful. “Just because I wield a fearsome power, doesn’t mean I am evil or share my sister’s ambitions.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “I also don’t believe in enslaving creatures to serve my needs. Nor do I force children into my armies. You and Shadowlight still have much learning and growing to do before you are ready to make the decision that will end with leading my army.”

  Anna glanced at Shadowlight and relief washed over her. At least the Lord of the Underworld wasn’t planning to enslave the kid. This demigod seemed willing to give them a choice. Perhaps after she healed, he’d let her and Shadowlight go?

  Now you’re being naïve, Anna, she thought to herself.

  “I don’t enslave. I won’t force either of you to lead my army.” Lord Death’s expression took on a hint of slyness. “But Shadowlight is a gargoyle, so too are you. That makes you my responsibility. I guide and protect all young gargoyles, only releasing them into the world once they are ready, after many years of training.”

  “I know I’m young compared to you—a child in your eyes, but I am an adult and have been looking out for myself for quite some time. And I have responsibilities to my people.”

  “Yes. I see that in you. The need to report back to them with what you’ve learned. A good soldier. And once you’re fully healed and recovered, I will allow you to return to the humans if that’s your wish.” Another sly look. “However, Shadowlight is much more a child than you. He will stay with me until I deem him ready. Would you willingly leave him behind when you returned to your world and the Avatars?”

  Why the four-armed bastard! He already knew her answer. He’d crawled in and out of her head enough times to know she wouldn’t leave the kid.

  “Never. If you don't release Shadowlight, you’re stuck with me too.” The words would have had more impact if she’d been able to cross her arms and frown at him. Hell, it would’ve had more impact if she could sit up when she made her pronouncement.

  “Superb,” Death’s enchanting voice flowed over her, smooth, deep and rich, lulling her worries and soothing her soul-deep aches. “Sleep now, little hybrid. Find what renewal rest will grant you. Your long journey of healing is only beginning.”

  He bent his neck, his muzzle with its deadly fangs dipping far too close, and then he exhaled. His breath, warm and sweet, almost like flowers, blew over Anna. Her mind grew slow and her lids heavy.

  She only had time for one swift regretful ‘Fuck, I wasn’t finished with this conversation’ before she knew nothing more.

  Chapter 2

  Food. Anna dreamed of food, which, given what her dreams were usually like the last few weeks, was a departure she could embrace. The warm scent of bread—and something that smelled like oatmeal and some unidentifiable fruit reached her nose.

  Her stomach growled.

  Blinking open her eyes, she discovered it wasn’t a dream at all.

  Shadowlight sat on a cot across from her, scarfing down a bowl of something hot and steaming. She must have made a noise because he stopped eating and looked up.

  “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 repa
ired? 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.