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

Is that’s what is happening here?” I kept my eyes on the winged lion.

“Of course, you have to earn its loyalty, don’t you?” The fairy danced over into my line of sight. “But for some reason, it hasn’t outright abandoned you yet.”

“I see that.”

She smiled at me seductively. “Must have a strong reason, must see something in you, something special. I wonder what that could be?” Her long eyelashes batted my way, but then she turned, smile fading. “Ooh, chat later. You’ve got company.”

More fucking Shades. Only, this time when I swung my sword and took out two, I turned to see the lion mauling three more before flying up and dashing at another. Holy hell, fighting with a spirit animal was going to be fun. We tore through the rest of them in no time.

Basking in the glory of my kill, I watched the glowing runes float up from my sword, checked over my stats, and assigned them. Or I started to, but when I applied the first to strength, I noticed a line I hadn’t seen before, connecting me to the lion. One that faded slightly. I applied another point, and the line faded more.

Odd. This time, instead of using the points I focused on that line, focused on redirecting the points there, and then seeing the green start to flow, I concentrated all of my unused prana on that connection and the lion.

With a roar, the lion stood tall, shook its mane, and then charged me. I almost had a heart attack, but instead of attacking, it pounded up next to me, rubbing its face against mine. That big, bushy main was there, rubbing against me, and I felt stronger and more awake.

Had I just formed some sort of bond with it? Some sort of spirit animal connection, I imagined. My guess was that I could now use any future prana to upgrade my stats, or strengthen this bond, maybe even bond more, if needed.

Either way, this was amazing. It purred, turned, and then circled me before glowing blue and fading into me. That was a trip, but when it was gone, I looked down at my chest to see a tattoo that was in an outline shape of a winged lion.

He’d just become one with me, formed with my Tempest abilities so that I could call on him when the time was right.

Holding my hand to that spot, I closed my eyes and saw him there, looking at me, waiting to see if I needed him.

“Not yet,” I said, and gave him a nod like a bow. He returned it, and then I lowered my hand. This was intense.

“See, your spirit animal,” the fairy said, appearing again, seemingly materializing from the mists right next to us, growing larger until she was the queen of fairies again.

“You…”

She gave me a regal bow, then to the lion. “Keep him close, and you can’t go wrong.”

She faded again, leaving me to say, “What the fuck? Why’s she keep doing that?”

The lion just looked at me.

“Come on then,” I said, and started walking, glad to see the lion following. After a bit though, we paused as something caught my eye. Looking up, it was at first a shift in the mists, nothing more. Swirling white, a bit of gray. Then more gray, and there was a shadow. Only, of what? It seemed to rise over fifty feet into the air, humanoid, lumbering past me at a distance.

The lion was there at my side, growling at the shadow.

Darting forward, very much aware that maybe this would be a creature I stood no chance against, I had to get a better look. Arthur would’ve told me if things like this existed in the mists. He’d told me about the Shades, and as explained, they weren’t these massive colossus beasts, or titans, or whatever this was.

The lion took up a defensive position. But as soon as it noticed the tall being, it was gone.

One minute it was there and then darkness and swirling mists, and the large, lumbering form had disappeared again. All gone.

Something here didn’t fit, and I was pretty sure it warranted me telling the others. With that in mind, I turned, sword out, and started making my way back. My spirit lion seemed to understand and in a flash, the line formed between us again and it absorbed into my tattoo, gone from sight.

56

My return to camp in the middle of the day seemed to have caught the others off guard. For one, nobody was gathered around waiting for me, which made sense but was confusing. I spotted Red and Pucky sparring, throwing some wicked punches and kicks, and heard moaning coming from one of the tents. Waiting for it to finish, I found it was what I assumed when Arthur stuck his head out and grimaced.

“Oh… Oh.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”

“Can you… I mean, as a spirit, or?” I asked.

Arthur chuckled, glancing back at Nivian. She was stepping around him, emerging from the tent as she dressed, not bashful in the slightest. “Not that it’s any of your business, but he can please me on a spiritual level that he never could when only a man.”

“Meaning no,” Arthur said. “Not in the same ways.”

“Oh, sorry.” I’d only been joking around, not thinking it was really an issue.

“Well,” another voice from behind said, and I spun around to see the queen of fairies materializing behind me, “when we get you your true body back, you’ll be able to cock-please her as long as you’d like.”

“Queen Mab,” Arthur exclaimed, exiting the tent and staring from me to her. “Is this… this is why you returned early?”

“Actually, no,” I admitted, and willed the lion out. It formed nearby, eying the queen of fairies, or Queen Mab apparently, with a look of suspicion. “This.”

His eyes went wide at that, and Sharon, appeared groggily from another tent, apparently having been napping. The others were making their