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

were amazing, sure, but I looked forward to a bacon cheeseburger more than anything, really.

The queen’s eyes went from me to Sharon, then Pucky, and she smiled knowingly. “We’ll see.”

“I didn’t mean…”

Pucky put a hand on my arm. “Just let it go. Pretend it never happened.”

I nodded, staring forward.

Before long we were entering one of those purple forests, and I was pleased to see Sekhmet walking toward us. What I didn’t expect, though, was the way her eyes lit up at seeing me, or how she ran pounced, and tackled me to the ground. At first I started to struggle, but then realized she was sniffing my chest, the spot where my new tattoo was.

She looked up at me with her lioness eyes, and I got it. “Oh, yeah. We have a new friend.”

Releasing the lion in a burst of light, I grinned at the way Sekhmet pulled back, crouching, and Bastet the cat curled up around her leg, both staring at my lion in awe.

“Does he… have a name?” Sekhmet asked.

I turned to the lion, cocked my head, and said, “Do you?”

He appeared amused, but merely roared.

“There you go,” I said, chuckling. “Sekhmet, Bastet, I’d like you to meet Roar.”

“That’s not… funny,” Sekhmet said. “But I kinda like it.”

The lion approached her, let her run her hands through his mane, along his wings, and then turned back to nuzzle me.

“Are the Swan Brothers back from their mission? Have you seen them yet?” Arthur asked.

Sekhmet, almost unable to take her eyes off the lion, finally smiled and nodded. “They’re just over there, waiting at the portal.”

We all turned to see the direction she indicated, only now realizing there was indeed a spot among the trees darker than the rest. The purple forest provided plenty of shade, but this was more like what I’d seen before, like the ones I’d seen in the mists.

“Why couldn’t we use the ones in the mists?” I asked, already guessing at the answer.

“Too dangerous,” one of the swan brothers said, approaching and having heard my question. “Likely already connected to key output points.”

“And this?”

“We think the other side is calling their forces, but doing so randomly. If there were any on their side nearby, this might be where they’d go through, but we’ve been watching it and haven’t seen anyone yet.”

Sekhmet nodded. “I’ve been here, too, and haven’t seen any Shades or other creatures going through.”

“But it’s possible all portals lead to the same spot on the other side?” Pucky asked.

“Your guess is as good as ours.”

“And there’s more,” Sekhmet said, turning to Arthur. “I’ve been trying to figure this out, to remember my past. It’s… coming back to me.”

“How?” he asked.

She turned to Bastet, who looked at us, took a moment, then opened her mouth and spoke. “It would seem I can talk here in the Fae realm.”

We all stared.

Finally, Sekhmet cleared her throat, nodding to her sister. “Go on.”

“My memory came back quicker than my sister’s. See, we’re gods, like Ra, right?”

“Says you,” Pucky replied with a hint of scorn. “You’re fairy tales like the rest of us.”

“No,” Bastet turned to her pointedly. “We were just like you. But as Arthur knows, his friend became Ra, right? But that’s not the only way it can be done.”

“That’s what we’re trying to tell you, Arthur,” Sekhmet cut back in. “We know where to get the Golden Goose. Her eggs contain a magic that can bring you back, that can turn you into a god.”

He blinked, looked at Nivian, then shook his head. “To take that, if you’re right… it would make me a different person.”

“I don’t think so. Not if your heart is pure.”

“Pure?” Arthur laughed. “I’m a fucking vampire!”

“Actually, you’re not,” Sekhmet pointed out. “While you might still have the vampire powers, because of your status here, I think the curse has been countered.”

He considered this, feeling his mouth. “Well, I’ll be dammed.”

“No, you won’t,” Sekhmet said, grinning wide now in a way that showed off her own sharp teeth. “You’ll be saved, thanks to us.”

“Wait, but…” I scratched my chin, more confused than ever now, and in the process realizing I’d grown quite the stubble. “So we not only have to go back and stop Ra, we have to steal a Golden Goose?”

“Correction,” Bastet said. “In order to stop Ra, because we’ll need all the help we can get,” she nodded at Arthur, then the swan brothers, “we’ll steal the Golden Goose.”

“Great. How?”

Sekhmet and Bastet were quiet on this one, looking at each other, than each of us.

“You know where it is?” Red asked.

Bastet nodded. “Hekate will, anyway. Last we heard, the witches had it.”

“Chris!” I exclaimed. “So he can help us get it?”

“It would be locked away, behind strong magic,” Sekhmet countered. “Even if they know where it is, it’ll take some doing.”

“Only one person I know who can get past any traps and locks, no matter how much magic is put to trying to keep her out.” Red turned to Pucky, then Elisa. “We’ve got to find Goldilocks.”

“Ah, fuck,” Pucky said, but then laughed. “There goes the neighborhood.”

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Red gave me a look, but Elisa spoke up. “Anytime Pucky’s ever been interested in a guy, Goldilocks would try to steal him out from under her nose. And it worked every time.”

“Fuck you all,” Pucky said, looking my way a bit sheepishly.

“Pucky,” I said, stepping up to her and taking her hands. “No matter what, that will not happen here. I promise. Double promise.”

She squeezed my hand, chuckled, and looked away. “I’m not worried.”

“Good.” I kissed her hand. “Because you have no reason to be.”

“It’s settled then,” Nivian said, turning back to Elisa and her brothers now all together once more. “With the connection to Arthur, I believe I have the power to send the main group through the lake, back to the where your hideout is. If I can manage. Elisa, you’ll need to be the link point for that. Your brothers will stay here with