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

hard at work, although I am happy to see that Gertrude managed to bring two of you to her before they could.”

“And me?” Aerona asked. “Why didn’t I end up somewhere else?”

“You have always had the strongest connection to Avalon. That is, until he used the Liahona.” She nodded at me. “You have it now?”

I pulled it out, holding it in my hand for her to see.

“Very good.” She nodded. “Continue to keep it safe. It will be the key to accessing the power of this world, you will see soon enough. But… now that the connection is open, I have a secret way of helping you with its security.”

With a wave of her hand, the Liahona vanished. I opened my mouth, confused, but she held up her hands to stop me. “Don’t worry. Whenever you want it, think the thought and it will appear for you. Want it gone? Same. The connection between you and the Liahona is strong enough to transcend worlds. It will be ready for action.”

“And you?” I asked. “Will you be… joining us?”

I hadn’t meant for that last part to sound off, but as the words left my lips I realized what ‘joining us’ could mean, considering the nature of our group and how the others were all either with me or considering being with me, in that special way.

She offered me a pleasant smile. “Alas, I cannot. My place is here.”

“You can’t leave… can you?” Ebrill asked.

“No, dear, I cannot.” She motioned to the land around her. “As much as I would love to join you all, in the final moments that led to me helping you all reach the Heart, I made a sacrifice that tied my energy to this place. I will be here when you need solace or more, but cannot join in your fight in the other world.”

I nodded in understanding, words not coming.

“One moment, if you would,” Rianne said, gesturing to Aerona, and the two started walking, discussing something that I assumed related to our quest and I would learn about in time.

“We need to go soon,” Ebrill reminded us. “Too much time has passed already.”

“But we don’t have much more than we did before we started,” Kordelia pointed out.

“We know someone was involved,” I said. “Maybe Aerona’s connection she felt here will work back there? If we’re close enough… maybe?”

“Agreed,” Aerona said, walking back over. “It’s worth trying. Back at the house, we have much to figure out. Keep the magical connection open, but it’s too much if we stay here.”

“Be safe,” Rianne said. “I look forward to hearing about your progress.”

We thanked her and wished her well, then we joined hands and were whisked out of there, and back to the house.

103

“At least Rianne is still around,” I said, stepping into the room. My hand instinctively went to my jacket to check for the Liahona, only then remembering that it wasn’t there. Testing, I held out my hand and willed the Liahona to come to me—it appeared in my hand, a rush of energy surging through my body. When I dismissed it, the energy went, too. “Whoa.”

“I sensed it,” Aerona said. “Like bringing it here flooded you with Avalon magic. Could be damn useful, when the gamble is right.”

“What use is Rianne if she’s not here helping?” Steph asked.

“Excuse me?” Kordelia turned on her, the others also jerking their heads around to glare.

“Steph,” I said, stepping between them, back to the others. “You don’t know Rianne like they do, or even I do. Actually, do you even know who Rianne is?”

“No.”

“Ah…” I chuckled, glancing back at the others. “See?”

“Someone important, clearly,” Steph said. “In her own right, and to each of you.”

Aerona grunted. “That’s right. Very important.”

When they started to back down, I wrapped an arm around Steph’s waist. “She is the magical leader of their group. If she was gone, I don’t know—I barely knew her at all, but I’d feel like Avalon had lost its soul.”

“Exactly,” Ebrill agreed.

I told Steph a brief version of the story, of my interactions with Rianne, and her eyes went wide, taking it in. When I was done, she looked at the others. “I’m sorry.”

“We’ve all suffered losses,” Ebrill replied, and put a hand on Steph’s shoulder. But, as she did so there was a spark like static electricity, only it ended in a trailing red light.

“The connection,” Aerona said. “You still have it open, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, there you go. As long as you have us connected, it’s like our powers are on overdrive.”

“But…” Ebrill looked at me, head cocked. “To be clear, Jericho is the only one who can open the way to Avalon, but…”

“Others might be able to use the portals, too, if they find them,” Aerona explained. “This is all in theory. But yes, the risk is contained for now… until someone with powerful enough magic is able to find these lights in the dark. Finding them should be less difficult with more frequent or prolonged use. When the Liahona is in Avalon, it’s worse.”

“That’s heavy,” I said, trying to process it. “Is the risk…?”

“Worth it?” Aerona scrunched her nose as she debated, then shrugged. “I don’t suppose there’s any other way.”

Damn, the way she looked when scrunching her nose was cute. I kind of wanted to say something else, find another way to get her to scrunch her nose again.

“But to be as ready as we can, to move fast…” She looked around, then to the door. “Is there a room here we can mess up? Get in some training?”

Damn, opportunity for scrunched nose Aerona missed, for now.

I put my hand on the wall, rearranging the old family room. “There is now.”

She laughed. “Perfect. We should try it out. Know what we’re capable of, so when it’s time to use this connection, we’ll be ready.”

“But I shouldn’t keep it open long, right?”

“Just long enough for us to see how this works.”

Steph gave me a curious glance, then held out her hand while we headed for