Sorceress Hunting (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 3) Read Free Page A

lips as she was prone to doing when
she was planning. He found it an endearing trait and simply let the
conversation flow around him. They’d eventually come to the same conclusion he
already had.
    Knowing that, he reached out with a tendril of magic,
seeking the other two gargoyles in this realm. The first he brushed against was
a bright young magic, flashes of excitement and curiosity bleeding across the
link. Shadowlight, then. Lillian’s newly discovered younger brother. The sense
of happiness and willingness increased when the other realized it was Gregory.
    “Sorry, young one. It is your father I
need.”
    With a mental acknowledgement, Shadowlight vanished
from Gregory’s thoughts to be replaced by the more disciplined mind of Stalks
the Darkness.
    “Avatar, how may I be of assistance?”
    “We have learned the humans plan to study
the blood of all the townsfolk, hunting for differences which will allow them
to track the magic users.”
    There was mental silence, followed by a hesitant, “You
wish for me to seek out the humans behind the threat and deal with them before
they can unearth something you would prefer remained hidden?”
    Gregory missed working with others of his kind. Life
was so much easier viewed through a gargoyle’s viewpoint. Innocents were
protected. Threats were dispatched. Evil wasn’t tolerated. Life was good.
    Gregory sighed deeply. “Alas, no. This is not our
realm, and so we must abide by the Clan and Coven’s wishes in this. At present,
they are a touch divided but it looks like they will allow the samples to be
taken to offset suspicion and later we’ll replace those same samples with human
blood they have collected from other sources.”
    “I see,” Darkness said and
then launched into his own report. “The leshii, Greenborrow, warns of
another development. Several of our patrols have found human soldiers among the
Riven dead. Those already infected by the Riven were dispatched. Those deemed
uninfected have been taken to the healers to have their wounds treated and
their memories wiped.” Darkness paused before continuing, “I have more
disturbing news. When last I spoke with Greenborrow, he was looking for the Fae
leader, Whitethorn and a sprite by the name of Goswin. I believe I may have
found what became of them. During the last leg of my patrol, I caught the scent
of Whitethorn. I followed it and came upon a large group of humans in a meadow.
They were studying the area. By the smell of blood and the gore splattered
around the meadow, a vicious battle had been waged there. There were no bodies
present. Either other members of the Clan had been there before me and started
cleanup but had been interrupted before they could finish, or they hadn’t been
there yet and the humans had already removed the bodies.”
    “Can you tell if Whitethorn and Goswin
survived the battle?”
    “No, not after the humans had trampled all
over everything.”
    There was another pause, and Gregory sensed the older
gargoyle was talking with his son. “I’m sending Shadowlight on ahead to meet
up with Greenborrow. I don’t want my son near these humans.”
    “Agreed,” Gregory said,
belatedly feeling a little uneasy for allowing the gargoyle child out in the
field at all. “The leshii can watch over Shadowlight. Once he’s safe, return
to the cottage as soon as you’re able. By then, the Coven should have collected
all the human blood they will need. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can
learn.”
    Gregory released the other gargoyle’s mind and
returned to his body, becoming aware of the stone cottage and the warm homey
smells of the kitchen.
    The other conversation had run its course. Lillian and
the Coven members all watched him with silent patience. He touched Lillian’s
mind.
    Ah, they’d come to the same conclusion as he had
earlier.
    “I’ve spoken with Darkness, and he will aid us in
sneaking into the humans’ domain when it’s time. However, we have a new
development.