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

“If you mean you’re flirting with me, I’ll take it.”

Her laugh was pleasant and every bit as seductive as her look. “I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time together, Jericho. Trust me, we’ll have our chance.”

At that, she turned to investigate my room, then paused briefly at the window where Steph had entered. My mind was racing as it tried to process what she had just said, the pressure in my pants showing that at least part of me had taken it to heart. In her mind, it was a foregone conclusion that we would end up fooling around? I didn’t know what to think about that, except for a big, fat ‘wow.’ Steph had been cute in that sit and spin, young college chick way, but this was a fully developed woman, and so much more.

A fucking gargoyle woman.

Feeling a sudden chill, I found my red jacket and threw it on, too, then went to her beside the window.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said, and took my hand. Warm tingles ran up my arm and the pressure in my pants increased. She didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, but I pushed my hips back in hopes of making it less obvious.

“Yeah?”

“Your aunt knew about your powers? As a transmuter, I mean.”

I frowned, trying to figure whether my aunt might have known. “It’s possible, sure. Maybe she spoke with my mom about it, or her magic had a way of telling her.”

“Therefore, maybe she would have passed on something more to you than just powers, but… known you could find a way to get what she wanted you to find? Maybe the item, or, who knows… but something.”

“You’re saying I should try to change my surroundings to somehow find whatever it is we’re looking for, based on my aunt possibly knowing this would be the case?”

Ebrill nodded, glancing over with hopeful eyes. “It’s worth trying.”

I nodded and then glanced around, wondering how best to do this. My first try was with holding my hand up, making the screen appear, and hoping for some transmuter language to appear. No such luck. Maybe it only worked for new spells I needed to learn.

Since that didn’t work, I only had one other idea, although I didn’t like it.

“Can you wait outside?” I asked. “In the hall, I mean.”

“Why?”

“It’s just… embarrassing.”

“You need to get naked or something to transmute?” She grinned. “Go ahead.”

“God. Nothing like that, but… Whatever, don’t laugh.” I went for the bed, sat near the headboard, and pulled my legs up to my chest. Ignoring her look of confusion, I closed my eyes and started rocking as I had all those times as a child. Focusing my thoughts on my surroundings and my aunt, I tried telling the house to reveal its secrets to me, to give me a hint, at least.

“Are you sure getting naked wouldn’t be the better option?” Ebrill asked.

I laughed, shushed her, and focused.

In my mind, the house answered. Opening my eyes to see Ebrill staring in awe, I saw the response had actually come. Floating there before me was a light like the one my aunt had created as she was dying. Only, this time it started to float around and then lead me. When I sat there staring in confusion, it even moved back my way, took on a sort of animal shape—small, kind of round with a pointed back—and then moved again.

Ebrill turned to me, pointed, and asked, “Did you just create a… hedgehog familiar?”

“Kind of? For some reason, as I was making it happen, images of Sonic the Hedgehog kept popping into my head. Maybe because I wanted it to go faster?”

“I don’t understand anything you just said, but we should follow your hedgehog.”

She had a point. I jumped out of bed, going with her in pursuit of the light. Apparently, the familiar, or whatever it was, hadn’t been the only thing my little transmuter exercise had changed about this place. It soon became clear that either I had totally misremembered the hallways of this house, or the light had led us down a turn that hadn’t been there before. The next turn, too, and when we entered a hallway lit by an eerie green glow that led to stairs descending to a basement, I was sure of it.

Not any old basement, or one that even began to fit with the glamour of the house. This was more like a cave, with its rock walls and jagged stone floor. In the center the stone rose into a pedestal, where a book rested at the top.

“The Llyfr Sillafu,” Ebrill said, looking at the cover. At my look of confusion regarding the strange symbols on the book’s cover, she explained, “Done in the Nennian alphabet.”

“Looks like runes in video games,” I replied. “If I still had my damn phone, I’d be able to look it up.”

She scrunched her nose in confusion but ignored the comment and stepped up to the book. “We should try simple ones at first, I suppose. Here, this one—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Explain why you know the Nennian Alphabet… and what that is.”

“I… don’t know.” She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Ah, but the second—it’s Welsh.”

“Welsh? You know Welsh?”

She shrugged. “Apparently. I’m fairly certain we’re speaking it at the moment.”

I laughed. “Forgot about that. My transmutation magic sort of helps me translate, so that we can understand each other. I used to think I was crazy so I never really told anyone, but… yeah, it’s always done that.”

“It’s more than that, I think,” she replied. “You know magic, and there’s something about Avalon and the connection between all magic users—you understand what we say because of your connection to magic, as would anyone else in the connection.”

“No shit?”

She gave me a pleased nod. “So, let’s try you with this spell. Move your hand like this,” she lifted a hand, fingers spread, “and say ‘tarian.’