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

thought he was noticing this too, and apparently surprised by that fact. Very interesting.

“There’s still time. You can still reject them, join us.”

“Respectfully, sir, you can go fuck yourself.”

And with that, I bolted for the door, taking the gamble that since he was surprised there had to be something outside of his control going on here. I needed to make an effort to escape. The door apparently wasn’t the problem though, because as I crashed through it I found myself tumbling into a storm of purple fog blowing past me, and that purple woman with the horns was there, walking toward me.

I went to take a step away, somewhere between almost pissing my pants and wanting to scream. But I stood my ground, put up my hands, and shouted. Dammit, this whole thing mom taught me about not hitting women needed to be clarified. Did it apply to werewolves or whatever that Sharon character had been? How about weird horned ladies like this one? I was clearly either out of my mind or I’d been taken to another dimension.

My eyes caught a glimpse of something nearby, a grasping hand in the fog, then it was gone. Petite, one I might have recognized, but couldn’t be sure.

“Jack!” Pucky’s voice caught my ears, sounding distant and scared.

“I’m coming!” I said, charging over toward the spot where I’d seen the hand.

The purple fog intensified, wind blowing strong and fast so that it started swirling around me, and yet I saw that woman with the curved horns as clearly as ever. Suddenly, inexplicably, there were two more dark, almost shapeless forms coming in for the attack.

What the hell was I supposed to do here? I was in some crazy mind-fuck with shadow monsters charging at me. As they grew close their forms morphed, red eyes appearing, hands outstretched and sharp teeth one minute, the look of the dead the next. I had no idea how to fight other than the stupid kung fu class my mom had made me take when I was in junior high.

But I sure as hell wasn’t going to back down, so I continued running, charging right for them. As I did, what little I knew came back to me and I jumped, attempting a flying kick. It probably looked stupid, but apparently that wasn’t what mattered because a force within took over and flung me, straightening my leg and causing green energy to fly from my foot as I made contact. The dark form fell back, exploding as it hit the ground and leaving behind a faintly glowing green light that eerily was sucked into me.

I landed, wondering what the fuck had just happened then turned, more ready than ever to take on the next opponent. This dark form doubled in size and made a horrible screeching sound as it tried to come at me, but I was confident now. Somehow I’d beaten the first one, and this one was going down too. When I attacked, that green light came out, stronger now, and a guiding force took my fist, connecting with a substance that felt cold and liquid. The darkness exploded, more green light sucking into my body, and then I saw the hand again, reaching for me through the fog. I grabbed it.

My surroundings instantly faded, all purple fog and any sign of that purple-horned lady gone. Instead there I was at Pucky’s side, her hand in mine, that black car skidding to a stop ahead of us as other cars drove around it, trying to avoid a collision. No such luck for them, but great for us—three cars all hit at once. We ran, ducking into a side street. We found the back door of a restaurant and ran through.

“I thought you said safehouse?”

“That’s right. A safehouse doesn’t have to be an actual house. How obvious would that be?”

“Oh.” I felt kinda stupid. She turned and led me down a hall, past a kitchen entrance where a man on a wooden crutch who looked like a pirate walked by and nodded at us. Another Myth, I imagined, though I was thinking that he had to be Long John Silver, the cook from Treasure Island, so was confused.

“Pirates… aren’t all bad?” I asked.

She shook her head, stopping to scan her hand on a section of wall that looked like all the rest. A green light flashed then faded, and a door appeared.

Apparently, that’s all the answer I was getting on the matter. She led me into a darkened room with a dim orange glow. The walls had images on display, even Excalibur, but when I approached to see and maybe even touch them, they turned out to be projections—not really there. There was a bench on one side of the room, a nicely-made foldout bed, and a bookshelf with several books, mostly fairy tales.

“So… back there.” I turned to her, waiting for an answer. She had a screen open next to the door, inputting information. Probably who we were and when we’d arrived, I assumed.

“Purple mist?”

“You know, then? It was real?”

She nodded, finishing up and looking my way now. “They basically pulled you into another world, or more like a place between the two worlds, that’s more heavily influenced by the other side.” She went to the opposite wall, sliding her finger along sections that made screens appear with images of the streets and walls nearby. “No sign of them, but… damn, that was close.”

“And Agent Torrind—” I started, but she spun at that name, eyes wild.

“You met him? Was he alone?”

“No, actually. I mean, yes I met him, but he was with a woman. She had horns, kind of like yours, but longer, curved.”

Pucky processed this, then nodded. “Now, here’s the question.” She put her hands on her hips for extra emphasis. “Are you in, or out?”

“Ah, you mean, this Protector thing?” I frowned. “Do I still have a choice?”

She simply tilted her head, waiting for an answer.

“I…” Talk about pressure. This wasn’t an easy one