Entwined Realms Volume One Read online

  Laire, Fallon, and Aislynn looked on with curiosity. Not a sliver of sound reached Larissa, but from the way Wulver’s mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed, she knew he didn’t like what he heard.

  His eyes settled back on her. “For having the cleanest record I’ve ever seen, a whole lot of people want to meet you. What is your secret?”

  “Wulver,” Fallon called. “What’s going on?”

  Yes please, what the hell is happening now?

  Wulver sighed. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, the way people do when they’re expecting an explosion. “The Oracle has summoned her.”

  “Ah, hell no!” Fallon said, and Larissa flinched. Wulver really could have warned her about the volume Fallon could achieve, at least given her some ear plugs. “What do you mean summon? We only just got her to the safety of the compound.”

  Wulver stood, facing the swordswoman. “The Oracle commands that Larissa be brought to her at moonrise.”

  “The Oracle can also feel the backside of my boot.”

  Anyone who irritated Fallon that much couldn’t be all bad. This might be fun. And hey, she was an Oracle – hence the name. Maybe answers would finally be forthcoming.

  Larissa stood, looking to Wulver. “Can she tell me why all this has been happening to me? Is that why she wants to see me?”

  Wulver didn’t look like he believed that was a possibility, but after a moment he plastered on a smile and said, “I don’t know why you’ve been called, but yes, the Oracle may give you some answers.”

  “Wouldn’t count on it,” Fallon muttered.

  Wulver pinned his gaze on Fallon, command and authority in his bearing. Yes, this man was leader here. “She is to go to the Oracle.” Do you understand? was unsaid, but Larissa felt it.

  Fallon crossed her arms, slouching back against the mirror. “Yeah, got it.”

  Wulver left the room. The second the door closed after him Laire started jumping, a huge smile on her face and her body shaking in repressed excitement. “I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go! You don’t even like the Oracle. Let me.”

  Before the first words were out of Laire’s mouth, Fallon started to shake her head, and as soon as the green-haired woman took a breath, Fallon used it as her opportunity to say, “No way.”

  “Please please please.”

  “Let me rephrase. No way in the four hells.”

  Laire stopped jumping, a small pout coming to her lips. How she had been able to prevent an ankle fracture on those spikes, Larissa didn’t know. “Why not?”

  “Because if they have an orgy going on, you’ll want to join. And if they don’t have an orgy going on, you’ll want to start one. I’ll take Aislynn with me.” Fallon looked over at Larissa. “Congratulations. You are about to do something many mortals dream about but few get to experience. You’re about to meet the Oracle.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ‡

  The acolyte was a young elf male, no more than hundred years old. His hair was shorn in the way of all those newly pledged to their necromancer master while the scar pattern on his chest denoted who his master was to those that knew the code. His eyes gleamed with a feral and fierce devotion, one the gargoyles had yet to crack.

  Terak stood before him as he had the last several hours. “I ask again, why are you here trespassing on our lands? Your master knows my kind is resistant to your magic, so it is not in his best interest to court the wrath of gargoyles.”

  The high-pitched giggle teetered on the edge of sanity. “Perhaps my Master knows he has nothing to fear from a gargoyle obsessed with a worthless human woman. Tell me, Gargoyle, is what’s between her legs so unique that you let it take you away from your Clan?”

  There was nothing Terak wanted more than to feel flesh shred beneath his claws, but long training kept him still. This was the most the acolyte had offered all day. There would be time for vengeance later. Now there were only answers to be found. “Not so worthless. You have been unstoppable in your quest for her. Why should only necromancers possess that type of power?”

  For the first time, a gleam of intelligent cunning peeked out from behind the madness. “You don’t even know her secret.”

  “I know you want her so badly you go against the Guild to collect her. What else do I need to know to realize her worth?” Only when the words were spoken did Terak realize their truth. He had been so focused on the necromancers and the new knowledge of their ultimate plan he never considered all the other avenues where danger now lurked. She was a prize of great worth. His stomach wrenched hard at all the ways she could be now used to further various interests.

  “Our source never indicated you felt this way.”

  Source?

  Betrayal.

  A gargoyle was in league with this evil, feeding them information. Who? In exchange for what? He pushed the bitter burn away to think on later. To the acolyte he said, “I am Mennak. I am answerable to no one, and your master is pitiable if he does not know even that about my kind.”

  The acolyte made no reaction to the offense. Instead, his mad smile gleamed brighter. “Only time will tell us if your words are true, gargoyle. We should like to see you prove them.”

  And a gut-deep realization spread through Terak that he would get no more from the acolyte, no matter the methods he used.

  Malek waited outside the thick cell doors. “Does anyone else know he is here?” Terak asked once he cleared the prison. Malek had been the one to find the acolyte, and had come straight to Terak.

  “No, just as you ordered.”

  “You heard what the creature insinuated?” Terak wanted his second-in-command to gainsay him, to tell him he was wrong in thinking one of their kind turned on them.

  Instead, Malek nodded. “I wish I did not believe it, but it makes sense.”

  Terak placed a hand on his shoulder. “At this moment, I trust only you. Keep watch on the grounds. With the capture of the acolyte, the necromancer may try to force a meeting with the betrayer.”

  Terak headed for his chambers, but was waylaid by Krikus. “There is an issue with the human woman,” the old councilor said without preamble.

  Cold, sick fear spread through his stomach. “Is she hurt?” and even he could hear the terror the tone held.

  “She was captured by the Guild. We do not know where they hold her.”

  A powerful relief hit so hard he was dizzy, and he almost embarrassed himself with the need to lean against the wall. Instead, he forced his legs to stiffen and hold his weight upright.

  His first instinct was to pursue her, to gather warriors and fight. But even if he knew where she was held, he could not leave. His Clan was in danger, and he needed to find the threat within. With the Guild she was safe.

  Later, the Guild would pay for taking her. Now, they were the best option to keep her protected.

  To Krikus, Terak said, “Send out our scouts to be on the lookout for her. As soon as she is found, they are to send word. We will take her back…

  …by battle if necessary.”

  *

  “You would betray me, Valry?”

  She had arrived to her meeting with the accursed vampire with her shoulders squared and her head high, but now, as she saw Terak step from behind several rocks and Malek at his side, her body hunched over, losing her usual arrogance.

  She reached out, beseeching. “This is not betrayal. I would never betray you. Everything I have done was so our people can become great again.” She motioned to the vampire who was still several feet away. “He is here to offer a bargain.”

  “Which means you do not believe us great now, under my leadership and the leadership of my father. If that is the case, I wonder then why you would not betray me.”

  “You are a great leader, but you are blinded by a utopian vision of living in this world as equals among the other races, but they will never accept us. We must always live separate, and they must know our strength so they will never come against us!”

  It
should hurt more, the female with whom he had once meant to mate aligning herself with a man with the blood-red eyes, a mark of a true vampire and necromancer. It should tear at his chest, drive him to howl at the moon and claw the dirt around him.

  And he did feel that, but for another female. Larissa was apart from him and the ache in his chest would not abate. He could not lean over and pull her toward him. He could not see her little chin lifting as she fought him or those blue eyes laughing and inviting him to share in her joy. All he could not do was tearing at him, pulling him apart at the seams.

  He would get her back, and if the Guild fought him, he’d destroy them all.

  The only emotion he could spare for Valry was anger, anger that she was keeping him from finding Larissa.

  Betrayal or not, perhaps some good could come of this night if he could discover why it was Larissa these beings were obsessed with. Terak turned to the vampire. “What is your name?”

  The vampire cocked his head in surprise. “You would speak to me, Terak, Clan Leader of the Gargoyles?”

  “I would be a fool to not listen to your words now that you are here before me. Valry spoke of a bargain. Tell me what it is.”

  “I am Garof.”

  “And who is your master?”

  “That does not concern you, Clan Leader. That knowledge will not affect the words I speak. I hope my lack of answer will not stop you from listening to my other words.”

  Terak inclined his head. Vampires never gave the name of their Master; it had been a desperate attempt, nothing more. “I will listen to your words. What actions I will take based upon them is not guaranteed.”

  “My people want the woman. She is needed for a spell.”

  “She is needed to rip the Realms apart, this I know.” Terak watched the vampire closely, but to the vampire’s credit, the only sign this might have been a surprise was an extra-long blink. “How would she accomplish such a task? Why her?”

  Garof shook his head. “You do not need to know the specifics. What I am willing to divulge is that we need her and her alone. To possess her we would be willing to pay a very high price.”

  What did the vampire think to offer? “How high?”

  “Since you know the ultimate purpose the woman would serve, you will understand when I say this. Once we return the Magic Realm to its former state, we will have gargoyles rule over all, second only to the necromancers.”

  They would never quit hunting her.

  As Valry gasped and even Malek let out a grunt of surprise, this knowledge pounded through Terak. She would never be safe again. There was nothing he could do to blunt their interest. With his words and his covetous gaze, the vampire showed how much they desired her.

  For him to stay with her was to put his Clan in the direct path of the necromancers. They would go from neutral parties to fierce enemies.

  But to walk away from her was as good as handing her over to them.

  She was sunshine. She was light and laughter and the key to a part of him that had sat, unused and rusty, since his mother had died. She was gentleness that surrounded a will of steel, and a fierce protectiveness to her family and her students and whoever else she considered her Clan.

  She kept the secrets of a gargoyle and had fought to save him. She told him her secrets and let him wipe away her tears.

  Calm descended, thick and complete.

  She was his heart, his life, and he would forever protect her. Whatever he needed to do, whatever he needed to give up, he would keep her at his side and ally with whomever he must, as long as she was safe.

  The vampire was watching him with careful eyes. This channel had to remain open, for the hope of future information. “What if the spell does not work? What will you give that will serve my people here, in this realm?”

  The vampire looked surprised. “The Magic Realm will once again exist, Clan Leader.”

  “Do not talk to me of certainties. Yes, the Magic Realm may once again exist, but I will not make my people an enemy of several powerful Houses on that hope. I want to know what I will receive should this not come to pass.”

  “I would need to talk to my Master and ask him what he would wish to give.” Garof nodded at Valry. “I will contact the female in our usual manner when I have a response for you.”

  “You speak of this one?” Terak grabbed Valry’s wing and flung her toward Malek who caught and bound her.

  “Terak, no. How can you do this, when you yourself are talking to the vampire?” She struggled against Malek’s hold. “Let me go.”

  “This one,” said Terak, ignoring Valry’s pleas, “has betrayed her Mennak and kept secrets that might have placed my Clan in danger. Look at this female tonight and remember her face, Vampire, for you will never see it in the flesh again.”

  Garof smiled. “I have high expectations for our future conversation, Gargoyle. I will be in contact with you.”

  The vampire disappeared, teleporting away in less than a blink of time.

  Valry cried as they flew back to the keep, struggling against the ropes that bound her. They landed among several warriors. Terak ignored the questioning gazes on him and told Malek, “Lock her away.” Malek nodded and led her to the dungeons.

  Before anyone could voice their questions, a cry of “Mennak!” sounded through the crowd. A warrior broke through and stood before Terak.

  “What is it?” Terak asked.

  “The warrior Fallon has been seen in the Wilderness with two other females entering the Oracle’s domain. The one who spotted them wasn’t certain who the other females were, but one of the females had blonde hair.”

  There was no need to hear anymore. Terak leapt from the parapet, letting the rage and adrenaline that had been banked to come to the fore and fuel him.

  It was time to meet Fallon.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ‡

  For the first time in her life, Larissa found herself in the area known as the Wilderness. Several miles from the city, it was a mini-city in its own right, except here you could find any race, any beast, or any magic.

  Too dangerous, Dad had said when he forbade her or her brothers to ever go here, with the creatures that had only become known in the last few decades mingling with the humans who didn’t feel the need to separate themselves from everything new the realms offered.

  The building they pulled in front of was a dark-brown brick box, but the line of beings outside of the building was a sight from Larissa’s wildest imaginings – neo-hippie fairies, elves in leather corsets and collars, dwarven drag queens, and even the occasional humanoid beast in a business suit.

  Fallon and Aislynn rode in the front of the car, Aislynn driving. Car, what a laugh. Tank was more like it, everything thick and dark. Safe and suffocating.

  From the vantage point of the middle seat and observing in the rearview mirror, Larissa watched as Fallon’s expression got progressively darker throughout the trip, until now when it was near thunderous. “Should I be scared about meeting the Oracle?” She hated that she had to ask, making her appear weaker than she already felt.

  Aislynn looked back and gave a reassuring smile. “Don’t mind Fallon. She has issues with this place.”

  Fallon’s lip curled. “Oh, of all the beings in that place, I’m the one with issues?”

  “We’re expected,” Aislynn said, pointing toward the door.

  “Fine, fine.” Fallon looked back. “Stay with us, don’t drink anything, and roll your eyes at whatever the bitch says.”

  “Fallon!”

  Fallon didn’t respond to Aislynn. She got out of the car and waited until Aislynn and Larissa lined behind her. Once they were ready, Fallon walked across the street, aggression projecting from every line of her body.

  At either side of the entrance were two giants. Literal giants. They had to be about nine feet tall, both bald with grey-tinged skin. They were big and blocky, and Larissa didn’t want to be anywhere near them.

  Aislynn must have seen the qu
estion in her face because she leaned down. “Stone giants,” she explained. “Not full-blooded though. That’s why they’re so small.”

  Larissa nodded, not sure what she could add to that.

  Beside the stone giants was a man. He was human, unless excessive greasiness was a special characteristic of one of the new races. He was in charge of admittance – allowing entrance at his whim, denying those who seemed to have a problem with him putting his hand under their skirts. Anyone who voiced disappointment was given a look by one of the giants, after which they slunk away.

  As they walked toward the door, something that looked like a cherub with a mustache zoomed around them. When he saw Fallon, a small scream erupted from him and he headed for the door, waving chubby arms. “Boss, she’s here!”

  Fallon approached, her gaze focused entirely on the greasy man. Aislynn was on lookout, taking in their surroundings and the people around them.

  They stopped in front of the giants, ignoring the loud complaints of those in line they jumped in front of. Fallon said, “Seemus, nice to see you at the door today.”

  The oily man’s lips pressed together, his eyes giving a slow rake over Fallon’s body in an obvious and distasteful show of dominance. It might have worked if he wasn’t noticeably shorter than the swordswoman. “You’ve been summoned, I assume?”

  “Would I be here otherwise?”

  “You have to leave the sword,” Seemus said, taking a step back between the two stone giants, getting out of Fallon’s reach while allowing the giants a clear path to her.

  Fallon eyed the two giants and snorted. They did not like this probably rare display of fearlessness, for both brought themselves to their full height in preparation for a fight. Fallon took a step closer. “Tenro goes where I go, and as I’ve been summoned, I’m going inside.”

  Seemus made a small motion with his hand and stepped back even farther inside the doorway. “I’m afraid my orders are very specific. No weapons ever. You need to go now, and tell Wulver to send someone more respectful.”