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

curled up, caving in on themselves, and my balls drew up into my body and shriveled.

Fuck, that was a shitty feeling. One I was all too glad to have stopped as Mizoa and Glitonea grabbed hold of the witch from behind, their magic set to counteract hers, while Ebrill started healing me, so that my mind finally got enough of a grip to look at my defenses and reactivate them.

I fell away, coughing, and reached down to ensure that my balls were still there. To my relief, they were. Something about being a man—life and death is one thing, but the risk of losing anything down there seems incomprehensible.

Another attack hit in spite of the help, but this time I had my hands on the roof and was ready, calling on the power of the building and the runes within. A loud creaking sounded as the walls started shimmering and shifting, and then, to my horror, Fatiha’s power overcame mine and that of the house.

She fell to her knees under the assault that Mizoa and Glitonea launched at her, but even amid her screams and curses I could still hear her laughs and shouts of “Give it to me!” before she let out a final scream and vanished in a flash of zipping light that resulted in an explosion at the base of the house, where the runes had been.

I say ‘had been,’ because in that moment I felt them leave, felt the stones they had been carved into explode outward. The house collapsed and fell in on itself. I tried to counter it, to support the house or pull it back together, but nothing worked. We started to fall, but the gargoyles were quick to act, grabbing those of us who needed help and leaping. Mizoa and Glitonea followed, sending spells back in search of Fatiha as they rose into the night sky.

“Gone,” Mizoa said, floating down to me as we stood there watching the house collapse and burst into flames.

Glitonea hovered above us, still, her runes flashing and some going out. It seemed that at some point she had connected herself to the house, and had been feeding on the power from the runes in the basement. She finally sank down beside us and nodded. The rest of the team was there, watching. The red and orange of the flames reflected in their eyes, casting a gentle glow on their skin and deep shadows on their curves.

I stared at the house, unable to believe what had happened. It was gone, this time. For real… dead. Gertrude had died early on and that had affected me, but I hadn’t really known her very well. The house, on the other hand, had started to feel like a true friend, as odd as that might sound.

“Come on,” Ebrill said, taking me, flapping her wings to get me away from that spot. “We shouldn’t linger here.”

“What… I can’t…”

“Where do we go?” Megha asked, Riland and Shisa charging up next to us at that moment.

“The senator’s place,” I said. “Whatever issue I’m dealing with, it’s time we dealt with it.”

Some of them didn’t know what I was talking about, and the ones who did must’ve known it was the right choice. We were off, leaving the devastation behind us, still not fully sure what Fatiha had been after. If it had been there, it was now long gone.

145

“Thank God you’re safe,” Galahad said, rushing forward to meet us as we arrived at the senator’s house. Our new, and only, house.

“That’s nice of you,” I said, ready to tear into him, to demand answers. But to my surprise, he ran up to Aerona and embraced her before stepping back and looking her over.

“You’re not hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, why?”

“What’s going on?” I interjected.

Aerona looked at me with bewilderment. “Wish I knew.”

“It’s you she was after,” Galahad explained. “All of this tonight was to get Aerona.”

“She knows, then?” Glitonea said, and scrunched her nose. “Damn.”

“Sorry, but… what?” I looked around, trying to figure out who knew what. “Someone please explain.”

“As apparently Glitonea has also figured out, one of the stones is, essentially… Aerona.” Galahad cleared his throat, shrugged my way, and said, “The gold stone. I’ve been doing my research, trying to make up for our little spat before. And, well… Mizoa?”

“I didn’t realize,” Mizoa replied, “but it makes sense.”

“Really?” I turned to Aerona, waiting for an explanation.

“That’s what the dream is,” she said, slowly as the realization hit her. “I keep seeing myself in the water, moving toward something glowing—a golden light. When I reach out to touch it, everything flashes and I wake up.”

“Yes,” Galahad said, stepping toward her again. “You absorbed the power of the stone.”

“Hold on.” I moved into his path. “This is… we have a lot to unpack.”

Galahad nodded. The interns and guards shifted anxiously.

“This is kind of huge,” Ebrill said, taking Aerona’s hand. “If we have one of the stones, it means we can find the others. Or, have a better chance, anyway—like a magnet for magic, right?”

“That’s correct,” Mizoa said, grinning. “Aerona was the closest we came, but we figured she had been taken in a trap or something. I never thought for a moment that she had actually absorbed the stone. Become one with it.”

“Excuse me…” I was raising my voice, without intending to. “…but I really need to know what is going on here. Earlier today, I found out that the Order—or more—is made up of these orcs and Drow and other races. Or is it species? What the fuck is that all about? What else is going on that I’m in the dark about? Don’t you think it’s time you gave me the full picture?”

“Does it matter?” Galahad asked.

“The… fuck? Does it matter?” I stormed over to him, finger on his chest. “I might be the youngest here, I might be a straight out of high school prick, but I know enough to know that yes, it matters. It matters