Dawn of the Sorceress: A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale, #0.5

By Lisa Blackwood

When an Avatar to the gods wakes to a new life, he finds the female half of his soul is missing. He soon learns she has been captured by their oldest enemy—the Lady of Battles. To save his Sorceress, he will risk everything.

 

Chaos and romance ensues in this epic tale unlike anything you've read before with noble gargoyles, an action-packed plot, rich world-building, and a little romance tossed in for good measure.

 

Join the battle today.

Gargoyle & Sorceress Tales Reading Order:

Dawn of the Sorceress (A prequel story)
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))
Sorcery & Firedrakes (Book Seven)
Scion of the Sorceress (Book Eight)
Sorceress Eternal (Book Nine)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Blackwood
• Release date: Nov 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386137825

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

He always hated this part. The drifting. The nothingness. A fading agony was the strongest sensation in his lightless world. This was familiar though. He had done this many times before, hadn’t he?

Murky recollections bubbled up from the depths of a vast power.

One surfaced and restored a lost memory.

The agony—it was from severing his soul in two.

Another memory bubbled to the surface.

He’d been reborn as a gargoyle. Though he hadn’t yet actually been born. He was unfinished still, sleeping, dreaming, and growing.

Many lifetimes had started like this. That acknowledgment unleashed a floodgate of memories. Slowly they filed themselves into order. Though he sensed there were many more still to return, lifetimes of memories.

That vast and ancient power? That was him, his magic and essence.

But that was only half of it. He was missing something vital still—his other half.

He now knew who he was, what he was.

The male half of the Avatar. The most ancient servant of the Divine Ones.

His divine parents had a sense of humor he supposed, for he was far from ancient at this moment, an unborn gargoyle growing within his dryad mother’s tree.

It would be two more years before he emerged fully mature and ready for battle.

Hmm, he mused. He could remember that much but not his name? He had one, surely? All creatures did. Even if they were secret names only known to the Divine Ones.

But recollection was an imperfect thing, even for him. He was sure his elusive name would come to him in time.

More memories surfaced from the core of his essence and with them the knowledge of how to wake his other senses. Ah, that was a handy memory. Better than a name.

Calling a thread of magic, his soul looked outside of himself, seeking his location and that of his other half. Like him, she’d been known by many names, but to each other, they were the Mother’s Sorceress and her Gargoyle Protector.

The female half of his soul should be near. He reached farther and still couldn’t find her. Impatience turned to concern.

The female half of their soul always followed him from the Spirit Realm, choosing to be born close to him. Never had he come to consciousness without her already there, touching his mother’s hamadryad tree.

While he always chose a gargoyle body for himself, his other half had much more varied tastes and picked a different species each time. But still, she chose a species with a much shorter gestation span so they could be closer together sooner.

His senses expanded further. This planet had made eight revolutions around its sun since his soul had journeyed here to this vessel. Time enough for his other half to find him.

Had something happened to her?

He scoured his memories, but they were still fuzzy and muddy.

Within his mother’s tree, he shifted and twisted restlessly, determined to escape his prison and find his missing half. But then another memory surfaced and returned reason to his spinning thoughts.

If something had happened to the Sorceress, she would merely be reborn.

The Divine Ones always protected their Avatars until they were mature enough to defend themselves. Still, he would not wait two years to learn her fate.

He drew on a greater flow of magic and reached out with it, seeking, searching, hunting… ah, there!

Relief washed through him. She was alive.

My Sorceress? his first inquiry bounced off her mental shields.

What was this?

They never blocked each other. With a renewed sense of concern, he tried again. This time, he felt her awareness turn toward him and a small crack opened in her shields.

My Durnathyne, my Hunting Shadow. Her love wrapped around his mind, warm and welcoming. I have missed you. Welcome to this life.

Durnathyne. Yes, that was his name. The one she’d given him in their last life. Daryna was hers, his gift to her.

Daryna? He reached for her again, his mind growing stronger from the contact with his other half. What has happened? Why are you so far from me?

"My love. There’s no time to explain fully now. But you need to know it’s dangerous for us to talk