Myths and Gargoyles by Jamie Hawke (interesting books to read in english txt) 📕

was long and turquoise and floated around her as if it were one with the water. Her eyes blue like the deepest part of the ocean, and skin a slight shade of blue.

“This is how you greet me, Myth?” the lady said, tilting her head to the side. “With a male’s genitals in your mouth?”

“We didn’t…” Pucky started, but simply took her seat and frowned, then glanced back to the other boat. I looked too, and saw that they had noticed something was amiss, and were heading our way.

“You were searching for me, no?” the lady asked.

“Again, sorry.”

The lady grinned, then shrugged. “We all have our vices, I suppose.”

“You are her, no?” Pucky asked. “The Lady of the Lake?”

“That is one of my many names, but I go by Nivian these days,” the woman replied, putting up a hand to our boat to stop it from moving. She nodded to the other boat, which was starting to head our way. “Friends?”

“Yes,” I replied, and then leaned forward in awe as I noticed a long tail below the surface. The Lady of the Lake was a mermaid!

She, however, thought I was looking at her breasts, it seemed, as she covered them. To be honest, I’d grown so used to my ladies being nude, I hadn’t even processed the fact that she was bare-chested. It had helped that her hair was floating around her in the water, providing partial concealment.

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s just, I’ve never seen—”

“A pair of perfect breasts?” She eyed Pucky’s now, considering. “Seems unlikely.”

“A mermaid,” I replied.

“He’s new?”

“He is.” Pucky took my hand in hers, noting that the other boat was coming to a stop slightly behind ours. I was relieved for the help, as this conversation was proving to be very awkward.

As soon as she saw Elisa, Nivian floated away, hands out and wards coming up. “Tore didn’t tell me you had a dark one amongst your ranks.”

Elisa put a hand on Sharon’s shoulder, standing but almost losing her balance. “She’s with us now. No longer with them.”

“Yet her shadow still lingers,” Nivian said, and then turned to me with a hint of scorn. “And now that I realize what it is, I sense it on you, too.”

“Who’s this, the Little fucking Mermaid?” Sharon shot back, clearly agitated.

“No—” I started, but Nivian shut me off, swimming over to their boat and rising just enough that she looked about to strike Sharon—and enough so that her breasts were now fully exposed, I might add, along with the section at her waist where her skin became glimmering fish scales.

“For a time I was, yes,” Nivian said. “And I’d thank you not to bring up that painful memory. Tell me you were involved so I can gut you here and now.”

“Involved?” I whispered to Pucky, very confused by what was happening.

“Nivian’s story as the Little Mermaid happened long after Arthur went dark… she fell for Prince Eric, but the Legends got to him after they wed and… destroyed him.”

I gulped, seeing how this could be a problem.

To my relief, Sharon shook her head and said, “As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even born at that time.”

“Not an original?” Nivian said this with almost as much distaste as when addressing her as an enemy, making me like this mermaid that much less.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I said, coming to Sharon’s defense. “In fact, in this case I see it as a positive and so should you.”

Nivian pursed her lips, lowering herself back into the waters, frowning but seeming to at least concede to my point.

“We’re not here to fight,” Elisa said.

“No?” I said, suddenly realizing something. “But if we’re looking for her, and she’s… with Arthur? Wouldn’t that make her our enemy?” All eyes went to me. “Well… no?”

“Arthur…” Nivian said, starting to back up, glaring. “Arthur’s in a complicated situation. The point is that he’s returned to me, and from there I will figure it out. I came here today as a favor to Tore, but really to warn you—back off. Leave Arthur alone, or you answer to me and mine.”

“Only problem with that,” Pucky said, “he’s our only link to finding Morganna.”

The mention of the name sent hatred into Nivian’s eyes, and she glanced around, then leaned in. “Hear me now—never say her name around me. Arthur is in my care. He will not be part of this fight!”

“There’s no other way.”

“I came here to tell you to leave us be,” Nivian said, seething, eyes taking on a darker tone, narrowing, teeth growing sharp. “I came to tell you to get far away from us, to never return—but if you won’t listen to reason… You’ve forced my hand.”

A sky that moments ago had been the perfect tourism blue with not a cloud in sight, suddenly transformed to one of swirling black clouds. Nivian dove, waters swirling with her as she moved, so that the surface rocked and sent us back and away.

From the shore came a burst of purple as Sekhmet and Bastet tried to get our attention, but we had enough going on here.

“For one so against the shadows, this feels pretty fucking dark!” Sharon shouted, eyes flaring red as she worked to fight whatever was going on.

“If she’s harboring Arthur…” Elisa started, but cracking thunder cut off her last words.

“She’s using the lake as a portal,” Pucky shouted from my side, “similar to how witches make portals, but this is different. She’s doing it as a Tempest would, and I can sense it on the spirit realm.” Pucky took my hand, eyes wide with excitement. “Get to her, grab hold. If you can access your new powers, like we did when making love, we might be able to keep the link open, to follow her.”

“How exactly?” I asked, standing and watching as a burst of light swirled below.

“Swim!” Pucky said, and in one quick motion she pulled Excalibur from my side and shoved me into the water.

“No!” Sekhmet’s cry carried over faintly from the shore