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

my back last time I faced Fatiha, and there was no telling how powerful her little friend might be.

We ran through room after room, out along what felt like a servant’s tunnel, and then past a security checkpoint where the guards were down and out. Exiting the Embassy through the delivery entrance, we charged out into a circular parking lot. A shadow came over Lex and I looked up to see Kordelia about to take him down.

“Not him,” I said, indicating the shouting coming from behind.

One of her wings lifted and she veered off course, slamming into a nearby dumpster instead of him. With her force, she pushed it to block the door, then turned back to us as the others arrived.

“Introductions later,” Ebrill said, indicating the front of the Embassy. “There’s trouble out there. Civilians fighting civilians.”

“The Order,” Lex said. “The good ones fighting those who have turned.”

That got a raised eyebrow from Aerona, but she was already in action mode, moving for the road as two men and a woman leaped down from the roof toward the street. A blast from her took out two, and she spun as a shot from the remaining attackers nearly hit her. Wings already moving out and about her, the claws at the top of one tore into the attacker’s throat.

“Move it!” Aerona hissed, and we all charged out of there, Ebrill and Kordelia taking the high ground.

“Some friends you’ve brought,” Lex said, eyes up.

“You haven’t met them all, yet,” Steph replied as more attackers came. She had her wraith knights there, charging out in a wedge.

I wasn’t about to let them have all the fun, so I turned toward the sound of clanging, casting ice claws out at three of them that raced out from the way we had come. My next attacks finished them off, but then Fatiha and her little friend were there, darting out, shadows thrusting them toward us.

“Shit,” I muttered, and suddenly had my staff and Liahona, not about to take any chances. Blasting them back, I was surprised to see that the strike was countered by the shadows. Imagine light hitting a wall of dark water that gave, letting streams of it in, but yet still held as a protective shield. Others around them fell, but not those two.

The attack had been enough, however, to give me a level increase. My screen popped up as I spun, running and sending out frost footing and ice walls. A quick glance at the screen showed:

Level 9 MAGE

Statistics

Strength: 25

Speed: 23

Luck: 20

Charisma: 20

Mana: 810

New Spells

Gorffwys (sleep); Frost Footing; Ice Wall; Ice Claw; Frost Bite; Flurries; Frost Remnant

New Magic Type

Access to Avalon

Rune Magic: Illusion Breaking, Cloaking

Seeing “Rune Magic” up there was pretty sweet, making me feel more confident in my abilities. Maybe I could find a way to make a screen showing specific rune spells and ways to use them, eventually. At the moment, though, we had work to do.

We reached the driveway as police sirens rang out, filling the night. Growing closer. The gargoyles pulled back into the trees, Ebrill motioning for me to come along. Lex, however, was at the gate with three others in black suits, each with a glowing diamond of yellow beneath their right ear.

“A sign for you to know us by,” Lex said, indicating the glowing diamond, taking me by the arm and gesturing. A black Town Car pulled up and Lex motioned for me to head toward it. “Get in. Before it’s too late. Go!”

I glanced back at Ebrill, gave the inside of the car a look, and then nodded. The gargoyles would be able to follow by sticking to trees and rooftops, but right now I needed to learn as much as I could.

“In,” Lex said, and gave me a semi-salute. “If I see you again, I imagine it’ll be after this is all over. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” I replied, in a bit of a daze over all that was happening.

With that, the man, stepped back, closed the door, and we drove off. Man, I sure wished we could have brought Shisa along. The little lion-dog would’ve loved all the action.

113

Driving through D.C. with the sounds of sirens in the distance and knowing they were related to an event I had been involved with was a bit disconcerting. My stomach churned, Steph beside me clutching my hand. We were alone in the car, speeding away from the French Embassy, although at times I caught glimpses of my gargoyles moving through trees or along building tops.

“Where are we going?” I asked the driver, and leaned forward to see an older African-American man with his eyes on the road.

“You’re Mr. Jericho Daynes, correct?”

“Daynes?” Steph bit her lip, trying not to laugh. “How did I not know your last name all this time?”

I ignored her. “That’s right.”

“Then I can tell you. Senator Funai has requested your presence, and sends his regrets about not being able to make the event. We tried to find you, to intercept, but you’re hard to track down.”

“At times,” I admitted, glancing over at Steph. Her eyes showed the same surprise—a Senator? It didn’t make sense. Then again, I supposed anyone could be involved, so why not someone of that status? Actually, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Before moving out here, my parents had encouraged me to watch a lot of news. They told me that kids shouldn’t go off to college still ignorant of the world, so I should know who was who and what was going on with current events.

Senator Funai was, if my memory served me right, one of the Presidential hopefuls in the next race. That was still a little over two years away, but a lot of the news channels seemed to consider him a sure thing for the office.

On the one hand, I wanted to ask why someone considering the office of President would be interested in me, but on the other, I realized real fast that anyone with