Sorcery and Firedrakes Read online

  SORCERY

  &

  FIREDRAKES

  A GARGOYLE & SORCERESS TALE

  BOOK 7

  LISA BLACKWOOD

  COPYRIGHT

  Sorcery & Firedrakes © 2019 by Lisa Smeaton

  A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale

  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 the 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.

  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

  BLURB

  Sometimes it all just goes wrong.

  After the Lady of Battles orders a hopeless mission into gargoyle territory, only Captains Vaspara and Sorac survive.

  Now that they have escaped and everyone back home thinks they’re dead, the two captains see a once in a lifetime opportunity to escape their bloody destinies.

  But where can a succubus with a conscience and a firedrake who only wants to fly off into the sunset with his closest friend go to be safe?

  It might be foolish to wish for a quiet life after close to two thousand years of warfare, but Vaspara is nothing if not stubborn, and together, she and Sorac are determined to start a new life elsewhere.

  Unfortunately…there’s just one other problem.

  Sorac has a clutch of fourteen eggs hidden under the Lady of Battles’ fortress, and firedrakes never abandon their young.

  If they want to escape once and for all, they need to find a way to rescue his clutch.

  Oh, wait…

  There’s a third problem.

  A deadly djinn guards the nest.

  Chapter 1

  “Would you like a whip?” Sorac asked his companion as he limped along at top speed. Presently, that was piteously slow. Firedrakes weren’t the fastest creatures on the ground under normal circumstances, comparable to a horse, he supposed, but with only three good legs, his pace was more of a rolling shuffle.

  It was the best he could do with a mangled leg. Pain, blood loss, and the aftereffects of battling gargoyles had depleted his reserves, both magical and physical. It would be a day or more before he could run. Longer until he was flight worthy.

  He couldn’t recall a time he’d been as weak.

  “Would it get your big, lazy ass to move faster?” Vaspara replied in a flippant tone.

  “Not unless I thought there was a reward at the end of the journey…” He gave Vaspara what would have been a lecherous look if he’d been in the form of a man.

  On his saurian features, it must look humorous for she laughed.

  “In your current condition, sex with me would be the last thing you ever did. Then I’d have to explain to the Battle Goddess all by myself how her force had been so soundly defeated—I can think of better ends. You damn well better live to have my back.”

  “Always, my sharp-tongued one.”

  Their banter had been much the same the last three leagues since they’d exited the portal created by Anna and Shadowlight. It had dumped them here, on the eastern border of the Battle Goddess’ kingdom.

  While Vaspara tried to hide her emotions behind armor, her words did nothing to disguise the stink of fear bleeding through the pores of her skin.

  The stone-faced, heartless succubus captain was a disguise she wore, but deep down the thought of losing him terrified her. Her fear didn’t please him, but he’d be lying if he wasn’t happy that she cared enough to worry.

  “The valley where I stashed our servants from the blood witch isn’t that much farther. They have supplies and can bind my wounds.” He grunted in pain as he started up the next incline. “I heal quickly.”

  Thank the Divine Ones, he muttered the blasphemous statement in his own mind.

  Until he healed or Vaspara had time to feed upon a male, they were both easy pickings should they encounter one of the Battle Goddess’ other soldiers looking to advance themselves in the ranks.

  “We’re on the wrong side,” Vaspara blurted.

  Sorac glanced around at the mountain peaks to be sure he wasn’t more confused than he’d thought. But, no, he recognized the place. “We’re on the right track.”

  Vaspara smacked her fist against her armor-clad thigh. “No. The war.”

  Ah. That.

  He’d thought the same thing a time or two, but as half-breeds with a dark parentage, neither he nor Vaspara would be welcomed by the Light. Not after serving the Battle Goddess for close to two thousand years. Not that they’d ever been given a chance to find a different path.

  He huffed out a humorless laugh. “For what it’s worth, I agree, but it’s not like we had a choice.”

  “If we stay, we’ll eventually die at the hands of the Avatars or sacrificed to feed Captain Taryin’s blood spells. Even if we managed to kill the blood witch, the Battle Goddess would be swift to kill us herself.”

  Sorac agreed with everything she’d just said. “But where else can a half-blood succubus and firedrake go to find a safe haven?”

  “I don’t know,” Vaspara sighed. “But I haven’t lived this long to just give up. We need to find someplace to wait out the war. This is the perfect opportunity. The gargoyles killed the rest of the company. If we don’t return, the Battle Goddess will assume we have fallen along with the others. We’ll never have another chance like this.”

  Sorac huffed in surprise. Steam and a lick of flame curled between his teeth and out his nostrils. “What you say… is correct, but it won’t be easy.”

  “Nothing ever is.”

  “True.” Sorac scrambled the rest of the way up the slope and then collapsed at the top. “Just like this incline isn’t as easy as I thought.”

  “Sorac!” Vaspara called out to him as she raced up to the top and circled around in front until she could meet his gaze. Visibly relaxing, she scowled at him to hide her feelings. “Damn it to the void. Don’t scare me like that again.”

  He tried to get to his feet.

  “No! Stay down! Don’t move. I will share power with you, and then you will shift back into a man. I need to apply new bandages to your leg. That task will be easier if you’re man-sized while I do it.”

  “I’ll shift,” Sorac said guardedly, “but you can’t spare the magic. I feel how depleted you are already.”

  “Stop whining. We’re doing this.” Vaspara placed her hands upon his chest. Immediately he felt her power run along his skin. “Lower your shields you fool! Or I’ll just be wasting magic.”

  There was no fighting Vaspara once she’d set her mind to something, so he did as she said while secretly basking in her attention. Once he’d absorbed enough magic, he triggered his shift. Soon his body was shrinking, his wings retracting.

  When it was done, he felt lightheaded but was a man again. His enchanted armor had even made the shift with him. He hadn’t been sure the metal still possessed enough magic after the battle.

  “Good. Stay down.” Vaspara swiftly removed his shin guards and then unlaced both boots and pulled them off before reaching for his belt. Even though he knew it wasn’t what it looked lik
e, a grin spread across his face. “Knew it. You’re hungry and frantic to get me naked.”

  “Keep dreaming. I don’t care how nice your package is, the fertility god heritage is an enormous drawback. Absolute deal breaker.”

  Sorac continued to grin up at her as she unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. For fifteen hundred years, he’d been dreaming of bedding Vaspara, but he wanted more than that. She was the one he wanted to raise his brood.

  Unaware of his thoughts, she set aside the belt and moved to the remaining armor encasing his leg. A piece at a time she freed it. Not an easy or pain-free task with his leg broken in three places.

  Once the armor was off, she used her dagger to slit his pants from leg to boot cuff and then gently pulled aside the blood-soaked leather.

  He grinned at her. “I liked those pants.”

  “And I’d like you to live, so lay there and keep your mouth shut.”

  Sorac continued to grin as her warm fingers gently probed his ankle, working her way up. If it weren’t for the agonizing pain each time she found a fracture, he would have savored the feeling of her fingers upon his flesh.

  “Your touch almost makes the broken bones worth—” His half playful words ended in a scream as she shifted bones back into alignment.

  “Sorry.” Vaspara smirked, ruining her apology.

  “By the Mother Goddess, next time warn me before you do that!”

  Smiling innocently, Vaspara continued her examination of his leg. “I find it’s better if the patient does not know it’s coming.”

  A second snarl of pain escaped him as she set the next break. By the time she’d finished splinting and tightly wrapping the entire length of his leg, a fresh layer of sweat covered his body, and he shook like a newborn foal.

  Vaspara retrieved a water skin from one of their packs.

  “Here, sip this.” She held it out to him. He drank thirstily. “Easy. Not so much at one time.”

  Once he’d had as much as he dared, he leaned back and rested against the ground. He resisted the urge to close his eyes. If he surrendered to sleep, there was no guarantee he’d live to wake. A patrol might come upon them while he was senseless. He could sleep later. They needed to be farther away from the fortress.

  Trying to ignore the demands of his exhausted body, he looked up at the succubus instead. Her vizor was up, and dark bags under her eyes showed against her pale skin. Her complexion was almost grey. Dirt or a bruise lay like a smear of soot across one high cheekbone. Her blond braid had escaped from inside her helmet and thumped against her breastplate. The ends were a rusty red from dried blood. More gore splattered her armor.

  She looked about as bad as he felt.

  “Thank you for not abandoning me, Vaspara.”

  “You’ve never deserted me.”

  “I’ll never leave your side as long as I draw breath.” And there I go sounding like a lovelorn youth after his first sighting of a succubus.

  But Vaspara didn’t roll her eyes or unleash some sarcastic remark about idiot lizards. Leaning forward, her face came into focus, and he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes. One of her hands came up to cup his face, and she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Keep drawing breath, you fool. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Then the Captain Vaspara he’d known for a thousand years returned, chasing away that other, soft-hearted female who had touched his face so gently.

  “Come on,” she barked. “We need to keep moving, or we’ll never reach the camp before dark, and it looks like a storm is brewing.”

  Sorac struggled to obey, but she had to help hoist him up and then support most of his weight. He wouldn’t have been able to move on his own.

  “Leave me,” he urged. “If you and the servants leave now, you have a chance to put a good bit of distance between yourselves and the goddess’ patrols.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” She rolled her eyes at him this time.

  “Once I’m healed, I can take to the wing to catch up.” He didn’t mention the outcome would depend on if the patrols found him before he healed.

  “I’m not leaving you.” Her response came out more annoyed and harsher sounding this time. “You can’t even walk. There’s no way you can protect yourself. Now shut up and let’s get to the servants’ camp. Once we get a couple of meals in you and rest, we’ll be in better shape to make life-changing decisions.”

  “You can’t protect me, lovely Vaspara, not without first feeding, and I’m the only male here.”

  “I will not feed from you. You’re too weak as it is. We’ll make do.”

  Now that the severity of his condition was setting in, he worried; though, not for himself. If he was to die, so be it. He’d won hundreds of battles in his lifetime. There was no shame in being defeated by overwhelming numbers of worthy enemies.

  But Vaspara still had a chance.

  “I want you to leave me behind,” he begged one last time. “If I’m found, I’ll tell the others you were injured, and I was too weak to feed you, that you died.”

  “Shut up and come with me.”

  “Why is it so important to you?” he asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

  “Because I love you!” She screamed the words and then fell silent.

  Shocked by her outburst? Or perhaps the words themselves?

  “Vaspara, I—”

  “Shut up. I’m not leaving you behind.” Her eyes locked on his, her expression fierce and determined. “So, you can just shut up and walk. If not, I can club you over the head and carry you.”

  Suddenly, he needed to tell her how he felt. If he died without admitting his feelings, it would eat away at his spirit for eternity.

  “I’ve loved you for over a thousand years.” He stroked his knuckles against her cheek, and something else occurred to him. “That was far too long to make me wait to hear you feel the same way.”

  “Move, or they’ll be the last words you ever here.” Vaspara’s tone might be harsh, but she was as gentle as possible as she helped him along the path.

  Goddess, her sharp words always made him hard. Not that he was in any shape to do anything. Just then he jarred his broken leg and winced, which helped to cool his blood.

  Together they stumbled to their destination.

  Chapter 2

  Bleeding blight and damnation! She’d lost her mind and told the firedrake her feelings. There was no way to take her words back, and he’d been swift to confirm he felt the same way. That was so very dangerous for them both. They didn’t have time for emotional complications while they were still fleeing for their lives.

  Perhaps in a few years, if they survived that long and found a place to hide, maybe then they could revisit this situation with their disturbing emotions. But there was another concern, wasn’t there, she reminded herself. Sorac couldn’t just up and flee their old home as easily as she could.

  “Even if we escape and heal, we can’t just run off with no plan.” Vaspara frowned at the trail ahead, scanning for dangers even as she mulled over possibilities in her mind. “There are other considerations. Your brood for one.”

  Sorac stared at her with a shocked expression. “You know about them?”

  “I make it my business to know everything there is to know about my fellow captains.”

  In truth, she’d only found out about his brood fifty years ago. He’d kept that secret well-guarded until then.

  “How?” he asked at last.

  “You slept with a soldier under my command. Got her pregnant.” Vaspara huffed. “Brakaya couldn’t train during that time. Annoyed me more than a little.”

  “Sorry,” Sorac coughed. “Shouldn’t have poached from your ranks.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have, but you were also my friend, and you always seemed like the fatherly type, so I told Brakaya there’d be a big promotion if she didn’t rid herself of it.”

  “Ah. I wondered why she’d been so eager to keep it. I didn’t have to promise her as much
as I’d thought.”

  “Worked both angles for the best payout, did she?” Vaspara snorted. “Anyway, imagine my surprise when she presented me with an egg three months later. I told her to take it to you upon threat of death. At which point I followed in secret to make sure she obeyed and then later, I followed you to the cavern under the Battle Goddess’ temple.”

  “You saw my nest?”

  She nodded. “The succubus’ egg was number fourteen.”

  “Yes.” Sorac cleared his throat. “But that one was unplanned.”

  “Hmm. Tall. Blonde. Big breasts. Succubus. Sound like someone you know?” Vaspara could have been describing herself. Sorac had picked a female who looked as much like her as he could find.

  “It wasn’t actually intentional,” Sorac stared ahead, but Vaspara didn’t miss the bloom of blood under the tracery of fine scales covering his skin. “Had too much to drink when I was cycling.”

  Vaspara snorted. Although she was sure he was telling the truth. Mixed heritage sometimes caused unforeseen complications as she could attest to. She’d known Sorac for a very long time and knew he hated one aspect of his dual natures.

  He went into heat once every hundred years. She wasn’t sure if it was his firedrake nature or that of a fertility god that triggered his cycle.

  “I normally arrange it with a willing female from a battalion under my command and enlighten her to everything that will happen. I always make sure the female has no interest in raising the child.”

  Scales, shoulder spikes, and all, Sorac was one of the finest-looking males she’d ever laid eyes on. It wouldn’t take much convincing for a woman to fall into his bed. It probably didn’t take that much more to convince a few ambitious types to gestate an egg, especially if they didn’t have to raise the firedrake’s young afterward. But what was the point of collecting a big clutch of eggs and never hatching them?

  “Why the stipulation the female have no interest in the egg after she’s… birthed it?”