Westward Ho! Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth by - (best books to read for self development TXT) 📕

He and Tristan moved slowly, crossing the barrier a short distance from the angels.

Instantly, they attacked. Tristan stood his ground, striking sword after sword as if he were a titan of old. Mark fought differently, moving, and weaving through them with the grace of a druid. The angels were fast, and strong, but even though two demons could have never survived against them, they were more than just demons. And they wouldn’t go down easily.

Mark was surprised when Surcy teleported away behind them with the old woman and Daniel. None of the angels rushed after them. In fact, none of them seemed to care.

An angel sliced his arm. He swore and rolled, prepared for the next attack. Two angels lifted off the ground. His gaze moved from them to the one who rushed him.

Tristan roared and severed the head from one of the angels. Then, the gargoyle turned to face the next opponent, his expression enraged.

Mark parried one sword and sent his blade through the chest of another angel. As he began to pull his weapon back, a sword went through his chest from behind. His blade slipped from his fingers, and blood spurted from his lips.

An angel’s arm came around his throat.

“We got you,” Frink whispered into his ear.

The world swirled as he was teleported away.

6

Surcy pulled Daniel and the woman with her to the ocean, erasing her teleporting trail, so that the angels couldn’t follow them. When she felt sand beneath her feet, she was breathing hard from the exertion. Opening her eyes, she stared at a sea of brilliant blue waters.

Her gaze moved to look all around them. White sands stretched out in the other directions. Empty of any kind of intelligent life.

Thank goodness, we’re safe!

Daniel sank from her shoulders, falling onto the ground. She looked down at him, her fingers itching to comfort him, but he forced a grim smile.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Of course that’s what he’d say while bleeding everywhere.

Deep down she knew he’d heal, but he didn’t have to act like it was nothing more than a scratch. She longed to ease his pain, if only by a little bit.

But I doubt he’d let me.

And then, she heard someone gasping. Turning to the old woman, she saw that Mertal was grabbing her chest, dragging in deep breaths, her eyes wide in panic.

Please, no…

“Are you alright?” Surcy asked, hesitantly touching the woman’s shoulder. Hoping she was just terrified after shooting a man, seeing a fight, and being teleported by an angel.

A terrified human I can handle. A curse? Not so much.

But this was not just terror. Mertal continued to gasp and grab her chest, her gaze growing more distant with each passing second.

Something was wrong, and Surcy had no idea how to fix it.

“What do we do?” she asked, but when she turned to Daniel, he’d passed out in the sand.

Panic clenched her heart. “Mark said you’d be fine, if we just took you here, so why aren’t you?”

Surcy didn’t understand, and her head felt light. The sun’s rays seemed to grow more intense overhead as she struggled to decide what to do.

The old woman collapsed, her knees sinking into the wet sands along the shore. Her face growing paler. Her eyes closing.

“What do I do?” she asked again, looking around. But for the first time, she found herself with no one to guide her. Should – should I teleport us back?

No, they’d be right back in the angel’s hands, but she couldn’t just let Mertal die either.

Taking Mertal’s hand, she knelt down. “I don’t know what to do. You’re some kind of goddess. Taking you here should have saved your life, but I don’t know what else to do.”

Mertal coughed and struggled to speak. “At… least… I got to see… the ocean.”

Surcy looked from her to the water. Some instinct she didn’t understand kicked in, and she swept the woman into her arms. Carrying her out into the water, she continued moving until the waves reached her chest.

The older woman smiled. Her breathing slowed. “I’m in the water. It feels… as good as I always imagined. After all of my dreams about the water, none of them compared to this.”

She smiled, grateful the water seemed to be helping the human.

And then, Mertal grabbed the seashell around her neck. “Let me go!”

Surcy frowned. “But—“

“Let me go!” And now, her voice held power.

Surcy obeyed, releasing the woman. Mertal sank beneath the water. Waves crashed over them, and Surcy lost sight of her under the water. When the foam cleared, the older woman was gone.

Her heart sank. “Mertal? Mertal!”

Looking around herself in a panic, she dove beneath the waves. Over and over again she searched, but there was no one to be found. Time stretched out, and still, there was no sign of her.

Staring in fear at the beach, she saw that the waves had reached Daniel. Stomach turning, she slogged through the water and onto the beach. Dragging Daniel further from the water, she stroked his hair while he lay in her lap. Then, pulled back his shirt to see his wound. Already the skin was pulling together, and the bleeding had stopped.

You’ll be back to yourself in no time.

And yet, she had lost the goddess they’d worked so hard to save. She felt sick, her stomach twisting and turning like a wild animal.

I’ve got to go back and get Mark and Tristan. She just hoped she could grab both of them and safely escape.

Something splashed in the water. Stiffening, she sat up and looked out at the waves. There was nothing… and yet, she’d seen something.

Another splash, and this time she was sure she’d seen a tail.

Gently setting Daniel’s head in the sand, she stood and walked back to the edge of the water. A minute later, a woman rose above the waves. Her hair was the color of the sun’s rays, and her eyes were the shade of a clear ocean. Her shoulders were bare, and her skin pale. She