Sorceress Hunting (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 3) by Lisa Blackwood Page A

magic and skills a pickpocket
would envy solved that particular hurdle.
    But the speed with which he was accomplishing his task
did nothing to sooth Lillian’s growing anxiety. He could smell the tang of her
fear even inside the building.
    “Do not worry,” he
sent using their mental link. “I am almost finished here. Just. One. More.
Ah, there. See, no epic disaster.”
    “Well good for you, now hurry up and get
out here. I just smelled a hint of Riven.”
    Gregory paused, the last vial he’d switched half way
back to its case. “I’m on my way.”
    He placed the vial back with its brethren, the human
at the workstation none the wiser. With that done, he made his way out into the
cooling evening air.
    Lillian waited for him next to the building, concealed
within the greatest concentration of shadows she could find. He joined her
after a quick scan of his surroundings. As he dragged in a deep breath, he
caught the faint whiff she had noted.
    “Yes, that’s Riven. Very faint. As we
speculated, they captured or found Riven remains.” Gregory’s
protective instincts flared to life.
    He needed to hunt out the source of that scent and
destroy every last trace, so its evil couldn’t find a new host. Yet he needed
to keep Lillian safe, too.
    “They may have Whitethorn and Goswin. We
need to rescue them if they do,” Lillian said, adding another
complication to an already complex situation.
    But she was correct.
    “I’ll remain in this form for now and see
how far I can get. I imagine where ever the scent leads will be as brightly lit
as the place I just left. Shadows will not be plentiful, so don’t risk exposing
yourself. We can send your father back here later to rescue Whitethorn and the
sprite, should we find them.”
    Without the collar limiting him, Gregory knew he could
be in and out with no humans the wiser. He didn’t want to say as much to
Lillian. He’d hurt her enough with his accusations about her failure in
judgement concerning the Siren and the collars created by the Battle Goddess.
That wound didn’t need picking at.
    “Very well.” Lillian’s whisper drifted to him from the
shadows to his immediate left. “Let’s do some recon.”
    Her excitement at the thought of finding news of
Whitethorn and Goswin washed over him in a spicy wave. As he started in the
direction of what had been the town’s community center and arena complex, but
was now the military’s main headquarters, he realized he felt better with a
task to perform. Freeing himself from the collar might be beyond him at the
moment, but friends, those were within his ability to save, or at least locate.
    “You’ve got a plan?” she
asked as they approached a closed gate with guards standing off to either side.
    “Yes, banter around the names of the two
top scientists I plucked from the human’s memories.”
    “Handy that.”
    He didn’t bother with a reply and stopped smartly
before the gate. After saluting an officer who was exiting, he turned his
attention back to the gate guards. One seemed familiar from his borrowed
memories.
    “Are Doctors Fleming or Rogers still inside? Major
Resnick found something interesting and he wants them to have a look.”
    “Something more interesting than what is inside?” the
guard questioned, a hint of surprise in his expression.
    “No idea,” Gregory bluffed, “Major Resnick didn’t tell
me, just ordered me to find Fleming and Rogers ASAP.”
    “I saw Rogers return fifteen minutes ago, and Fleming
hasn’t taken a break in hours. Whether you can pull them away from their labs
long enough to come with you is another question altogether.” The guard shook
his head. “It’s like the fucking Twilight Zone around here.”
    “Tell me about it.” Gregory gave the guard a somber
nod of agreement as they passed him through the gate, Lillian an invisible
ghost at his heels.
    He made his way deeper into enemy territory. It was
busier here, with a number of personnel going about their