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

a hand on my forehead, and whispered the same spell that Fatiha had cast on me earlier.

This time, though, as Ebrill said, “Gorffwys” and my surroundings faded to dreamland, I embraced it as a pleasant warmth tingled through me, a quick dream as my mind hazed and I imagined Ebrill’s hands in many more places than just my forehead.

88

In the third instance of me going back in time, or to Ebrill’s memory, I appeared in a bed. Ebrill was sleeping on her side. For the longest time, I lay there, watching her sleep, until her eyelids fluttered open and she saw me there.

Her mouth moved, her eyes showing confusion, but then, instead of saying anything, she leaned in and kissed me.

I blinked, caught off guard by that.

“They had me convinced that I was hallucinating,” Ebrill whispered. “That you only existed in my imagination.”

“I’m as real as you.” My hand went to hers between us, feeling her smooth, gentle skin. Odd, how it felt so much more delicate, almost fragile, compared to her gargoyle self.

She brought my hand to her hip and allowed me to move it, to…

Someone cleared their throat. I turned to see the redhead from before. At the moment, I couldn’t recall her name.

“You’re back.”

“Wait, you saw me last time, too.” I frowned. “How were you going to try and make Ebrill sound crazy?”

“You remember my name?” Ebrill asked, grinning wide.

“I do.” I paused, smiling and holding her gaze.

“And I’m Aerona,” the redhead said. “Sorry, but… there was simply no sign of you. We had to assume you were an illusion or something. Maybe a ghost.”

“Yet, you tried to tell me it was in my head,” Ebrill said, turning on her friend.

“Ebrill, you know you’re fragile, you know—”

“Fragile?” I practically laughed at the word in relation to her. When both looked at me with frowns, it registered that I had done something wrong. “What?”

“She…” Aerona hesitated, looking over to Ebrill, then closed her mouth.

“I have a disease,” Ebrill said. “They aren’t sure what it is, exactly, but the doctor is certain I won’t last long. Maybe a year, tops.”

“Something tells me you’ll live much longer,” I countered with a chuckle.

Neither seemed to appreciate the humor, considering that they didn’t know about her existence far in the future, but that triggered my memory and reminded me why I was there to begin with.

“The Liahona,” I said, looking them straight in the eye. “We’re going to need it.”

Both immediately reacted to the word, although in different ways. Ebrill perked up, eyes going wide, while Aerona pounced, took me by the shirt, and had a glowing wand in my face.

“You should not know such a word,” she spat, eyes full of disdain. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”

Mind racing, the only thing I could come up with was the truth. “Ebrill sent me to get it, to wake Kordelia, and maybe others. Seven in total, including those two. From the future, I guess.”

Aerona’s fierce, blue eyes moved from side to side, scanning me for any sign of lies, but finally she lowered her wand, then concealed it in her robes where it had been hiding before. She spun on Ebrill. “Explain.”

“How can I?” Ebrill asked. “He’s speaking nonsense.”

“You must have said something when you last met, cast a spell that skewed his memory, something.”

Ebrill shook her head. “Although, this does explain, in a sense, why he continues to show up and fade as he does. Some sort of strange, magical travel.”

I nodded. “And if you could tell me where I am…?”

The two ladies glared at me for a long moment, then Ebrill said, “Avalon, of course.”

Avalon sounded familiar, but as hard as I racked my brain, it wasn’t connecting. Maybe Avalon was some city in England? My magic was still doing the voice-translation thing, so I wasn’t actually sure if they had accents, and couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.

“Come, we’ll show you,” Aerona said. “If you’re who you say you are, then you might be the final piece of this puzzle.”

“Where to?” Ebrill asked.

“He needs to meet Rianne.”

“Are you certain?”

Aerona glanced back my way, then motioned us on. “Only if he’s telling the truth. At the moment, I’m taking the chance.”

Ebrill allowed a hint of a smile at those words, so I did too. Even more so when she took my arm in hers and whispered, “Stay by my side. I’ll keep you safe,” and offered a wink.

I chuckled, nodded, and we walked on.

We exited what appeared to be a guard post, since others were stationed outside with more along the wall, which seemed fairly far out there. These guards were tall and lean, some with dark skin and shocks of white hair. When one passed without a helmet and eyed us, it took me a moment to realize that her ears were pointed.

“Drow?” I asked.

“The best guards that money can buy,” Ebrill replied. “That seems to disturb you.”

“It’s just… where I’m from, they aren’t on the same side as you.”

“Oh?” Aerona shook her head. “Never have trusted them, but nobody listens. They haven’t given us trouble for as long as anyone can remember, and are worth every ounce they’re paid.”

“But you don’t trust them?”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t understand,” Ebrill cut in. “Why would they turn on us?”

“Sorry, I can’t answer that. I’ll just say to be careful. Keep an extra set of eyes on them.”

With a nod, she continued and led me to a path where I froze, unable to believe what I saw. Not far out were walls with more guards and soldiers posted, but beyond that was a long stretch of moving shapes and fires scattered throughout in the dusk light.

“What am I looking at?” I asked.

“The invading armies,” Ebrill answered. “We’ve been under siege for months now, but more armies arrive by the day.”

It reminded me of the house back in D.C., but on a much grander scale. “Why are they invading?”

“To get the Liahona, to control Avalon and its magic.”

“I thought we