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

I am and have always been only on your side.”

“I know.” Turning to Mizoa, I asked, “Is that possible?”

“Yes,” Mizoa replied.

“And with his magic, his transmutation, it might actually work,” Ebrill added.

All turned to me now, and feeling the pressure of the moment, all I could say was, “Agreed.”

“When?” Riland asked.

“Within the hour,” Steph said.

I let my hand move down along Megha’s cheek, stopping at the corner of her mouth. “And if this proves too dangerous? How will you get out of there?”

Megha grinned, playfully snapping at my finger. “You know I never meant to stay. This will just be another way of going.”

“Not funny.” I held her gaze, then turned to Mizoa. “You’ll help with this spell, so that I can see through her eyes?”

“Yes,” Mizoa replied.

“And my magic works when ‘in’ her like that?”

“Yes.”

Turning back to Megha, I smiled. “Then I’ll get you out of there.”

Yenifer grunted. “Have we now glossed over the fact that this witch was controlling me? Are we really about to jump in bed with her?”

As that phrase was so often literal for us, I had to keep myself from being awkward in the moment. Instead of cracking a joke or waiting for someone else to, I found a related question pushing forth.

“Maybe while Megha’s gone, you two can go over it in a friendly way,” I said. “But first, Mizoa might be willing to answer a question.”

“Such as?” Mizoa replied.

“You say you were working with Glitonea to find the stones and other aspects of the temple. Well, why hasn’t anyone mentioned the other one of the Nine who left? Maybe you have insight on this?”

“Morgen?” Mizoa’s face scrunched up in distaste. “What would you have me say?”

“Where is she? Did you two work together? Maybe she can help us—”

“Not likely,” Steph cut in. Turning to her, I saw her dark expression. Megha looked troubled as well.

“Maybe I should have asked before now,” I said. “But, since we’re on the topic, care to fill me in?”

“Morgen, also known as Morgana, Morgain, or other variations of the name. The simple answer is, we should not consider her path to be anywhere near ours.”

“She went a different way much earlier than Glitonea did, I’m afraid,” Mizoa elaborated.

“Well, shit. So, out of the Nine,” I held up my fingers, counting them off, “we originally had Morgen, Moronoe, Mizoa, Thitis…”

“Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, and Thitis,” Steph finished for me. When I turned to her, she said, “What? I’ve been doing my research, taking notes.”

“Actually, that’s eight,” Mizoa said. “You forget that Thitis is both Thiten and Thiton, now. They were two different people.”

“Ah, right. But we have you and Glitonea kind of splitting off, Morgen off doing whatever she’s doing, and Thiten and Thiton, who became Thitis, now absorbed into Fatiha. Meaning—”

“Only Moronoe, Gliten, Gliton, and Tyronoe remain of the original Nine.”

“But they reappoint, right?” Ebrill interjected. “So—”

“Not exactly,” Mizoa corrected her.

“Oh?”

“You’re not wrong, but it only happens when a super blue moon, as it’s called now, transitions into a blood moon. Thing is, all of the remaining Nine must be in attendance to name any new members of the Nine and transfer power, and those who have left were never replaced.”

“Couldn’t those four do it?” Megha asked.

“No. While Morgen is gone and I forsook the Nine, so both of us could be replaced, Glitonea never truly left.”

“So, if she sided with the remaining four, that could be very bad.”

Mizoa nodded. “Extremely. However, I believe we have you to thank for a slight return of her sanity.”

“Oh?”

“She came to me, told me of her time with you, what she saw. It’s possible she isn’t so lost as we might have thought.”

I couldn’t imagine Glitonea coming to our aid, swooping down in her griffin form or rising above a fight, completely nude with runes glowing all over her body. She was an odd one, but could certainly prove to be a valuable ally.

“Would it be a good or bad thing to have more of the Nine?” Riland asked.

“How could it be good?” I countered.

“If Fatiha is getting so strong, and she’s trying to absorb the Nine…”

“You mean, have the Nine fight our battle for us, essentially?” Megha asked, and turned to Mizoa for an answer.

“Each one of them could be as much of a threat as Fatiha, as naming someone one of the Nine amplifies their powers and gives them new magic.” Mizoa clucked her tongue. “We certainly don’t want that, as great as it sounds to simply send them her way while we sit back and watch the two destroy each other.”

“Wishful thinking, I guess.” I chuckled.

“I’m here. I’ll do what needs to be done.” Yenifer glared at Mizoa. “But keep her away from me.”

At that, she stormed off, each step causing the floor to shake.

“It’s understandable,” Mizoa said after she had gone.

“And me?” Aerona said, having been fairly quiet throughout. “Should I be angry? Right now, I feel simply… confused? Curious?”

“Ironically, I think we were having some major success with you,” Mizoa said. “When this is settled, I hope you will agree to work together to finish the task.”

“As long as I get to maintain control, this time.”

“Deal.”

“And I should probably check in with Galahad, apprise him of the plan, and ask if he knows anything they should be aware of,” I said. “Where do we set up?”

“Best to go where we can set up a defense,” Mizoa said. “Thing is, once the spell begins, it’s traceable. As you know, since it’s how you found me through the spell I was using to control Yenifer.”

“Meaning the house could come under attack?” I asked.

She nodded.

“We don’t have a choice,” Megha said. “If Fatiha has what we need in the coven, we need to get in there and take it.”

“But, that means we have a deadline,” I countered. “So, let’s get moving. Now.” To everyone else, I added, “Be ready for an assault. Better safe than sorry. Shisa, stay with me. We don’t want to break the link, and