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

fade as you take on more of him. As you master his Funai-isms.”

“Funai-isms?”

Galahad smiled, clearly trying to make a joke. I was too weirded out to appreciate it.

“Can he, I mean, can you…” I turned to the remnant of the senator, but the remnant simply stared back.

“It’s not that advanced,” Galahad admitted. “The senator had to cast the spell in a hurry, as he only learned what would happen at the last moment and then had to rush out to help you.”

“I see.” The fact that the senator had known he was going to die but still ran out to do his duty was a bit overwhelming. Would I be able to do the same? Sure, I had fought insurmountable odds, but with my magic and my team of gargoyles and witches, it simply didn’t seem like dying was a possibility.

“Are you ready?” Galahad asked.

“He died for this,” I replied. “Best not waste any of the time his sacrifice has given us.”

“Indeed.” Galahad motioned to the remnant of the senator. “Become him.”

I frowned, not sure I knew exactly how to do that. Often, my transmutation powers worked by instinct or in moments of great pressure. As of yet, I had never simply ‘become’ anyone.

Still, I focused on doing so. Eyes on the remnant, I tried to become him. It didn’t make sense, the idea of staring at a ghost and trying to take on his look, but then again, not much I did seemed to fit into the world of normal.

A glance at Galahad showed that nothing had happened yet, so I reached deeper. For a moment, I felt my hair shift and my skin slightly burn.

Then it was gone.

“For a second, there, you started to show something,” Galahad told me.

“Wonderful,” I said, annoyed that this wasn’t happening easier.

I tried again in frustration, but after a few minutes, he took me by the arm and said, “Forget about it, for now. Come with me.”

He released my arm and started walking.

“What are we doing?” I asked, jogging to catch up.

“I will acquaint you with the work of the senator, so that you might at least fit in at first. Something tells me this whole battle won’t last long, and when it’s over, you’ll have more time to try and fit in.”

“When it’s over, I was thinking of a ski trip. Or maybe a week in Costa Rica.”

He eyed me. “Jericho, you might be joking, but let me assure you that this is not a laughing matter. The fate of the country, the world, and much of the beyond now relies on you and your ability to pull this off.”

“We’re all fucked,” I muttered, but when his eyes narrowed, I nodded. “Understood. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

We went to a back room and up a narrow, spiral staircase that led to an office. It was very subtle, much less flashy when compared to the rest of the place. Bookshelves lined the walls surrounding a solid oak desk littered with yet more books. Looking closely, though, I saw the desk was also covered in barely visible runes, parts of it—and the books—glowing in a way that reminded me of The Matrix.

“What…?”

“The senator’s, or I should say, your, private office.” Galahad stepped up to the desk, running a finger along one of the runes.

My analytical tools—a digital screen that I’d set up using my magic, basically a weird way that helped me to visualize the use and effects of my magic—quickly picked up the runes. This was odd, as the runes back in Gertrude’s mansion, or under it, were still a work in progress in terms of understanding them.

These, however, were very clear.

“Comprehension runes?” I asked, studying my screen and then the table, joining him closer to look over them. “Runes that will help me absorb all of this, digest it much faster?”

“Correct,” Galahad replied. “How did you think we train those in power? This is the only way people can have as much knowledge as they do—it’s unnatural, for the very reason that it comes from magic.”

“So basically, you plug me into the system, and then what, I know kung fu?”

“Don’t be absurd.” He pulled out the chair and gestured for me to sit. “You have to study, but… give it a go.”

At the moment, the last thing I wanted was to sit down and crack open a book on politics or economics, but I sighed and did as he asked. The first book he slid my way looked like it was straight out of the college textbook realm and was titled “Understanding Political Theory.”

To my surprise, as soon as the page was opened I saw letters glowing, floating off the page and up toward me. Then it wasn’t only letters, but my mind taking in full passages, whole chapters at once. It was like I was there, hearing Thucydides discuss the Peloponnesian war, instantly understanding the major role it played in the school of realism. Charts appeared, and I was walking through game theory, then moving on to another book that opened up my eyes to the checks and balances of our governmental system. The Constitution flowed through my mind suddenly, as clear and simple as that damn Baby Shark song.

I blinked, sat back, and closed the book.

Galahad was there, handing me another, but I held up my hand. “It’s… too much.”

“No such thing, not anymore.”

“I thought you said the kung fu reference was absurd?”

He chuckled. “It is. Your body can’t suddenly have muscle memory and cat-like reflexes without physical practice. Mental kung fu, however? Sure, thanks to your unique magic.”

“You mean…?”

“While these runes would help anyone, your transmutation power essentially puts all of your learning on a fast track. What took the senator years to understand, you will have down in weeks, maybe even days.”

“Holy hell.” I glanced around, the perverted mind that I had instantly going to the point of wondering what would happen if I got my hands on the Kama Sutra. Shaking that