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

wore red and gold, and had her black hair pinned up in a bun. “And with the information Elisa and the Protector’s team brought us,” heads moved my way, curiously, “we know the enemy is preparing to make a big move. But where?”

Nervous glances around the table. Finally, one of them stuck a hand in the air. The man had a piggish look to him, and as I looked closer, it was possible to see that maybe he actually was a pig who moved like a man. One of the three little pigs?

“My team believes they have something,” the pig said. “But… it’s a stretch.”

“Go on.”

“A Lost Soul. They’ve heard talk among the Legends, some of our undercover agents have… and they believe the Legends are trying to revive a Lost Soul.”

There were a few scoffs around the table, Myths rolling their eyes or shifting uncomfortably, but Mowgli leaned forward, curious.

“A Lost Soul, “Mowgli said, turning to me, “if you haven’t guessed by the reactions at the table, is not supposed to be something that one can bring back.”

“But they’ve found the snake leaves,” the pig cut in.

“Right,” Mowgli said, frowning. “I was going to add, aside from having recovered that, which in itself some doubt exists.”

“I have firsthand reports of seeing the leaves,” the pig countered.

“And the body of a Lost Soul?”

“That part… I’m more confused about. Also, of course, confirming that the leaves are indeed the actual leaves.”

I leaned over to Pucky next to me and whispered, “Leaves?”

“An old legend about some leaves a man used to bring his wife back from the dead, after seeing a snake do it,” she whispered back. “Real hokey stuff… not sure we should worry. There was that story, another related to true love—several, actually, depending on how you define dead, and there’s more out there related to necromancy as an artform. But… as far as we know, actually bringing a Myth or Legend back from the dead has never been done.”

Even they had their lines, their fairy tales that seemed no more than stories, then. Except that the Legends believed they had one of these items.

“Keep your ears to the ground, ladies and gents,” Mowgli said, and with a glance at Bagheera, added, “We’ll be on the streets ourselves, you can count on that. You can also be sure that if Pan is out there using his shadow network, whether this Lost Soul thing is legitimate or not, they’re up to something and it’s going to be big.”

The discussion continued on, with questions being raised about the pizza hideout and Elisa giving her briefing, along with Red. I started to get a sense of what having a real job and going to meetings must be like, and was damn glad that didn’t seem like it was going to be a major part of my life. From time to time it’d be like this, sure, but mostly it would be going out there on the streets, fighting and, I hoped with a smile back at Pucky, fucking.

She apparently had the same idea, because her hand found my leg and caressed it in a way that totally brought my mind back to that moment in the car with her, when we’d left my DNA trail with the agents.

Oh, shit, I thought. What about my family? Friends?

“If they have my DNA,” I said to Pucky, voice barely a whisper now. “Doesn’t that… I mean, won’t that… my family?”

She frowned, eyes glancing around to remind me we were surrounded by Myths in the middle of a meeting. “Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry…?”

“Yeah, we took care of it.”

I sat, waiting.

“Fine.” She leaned over. “I was giving you a hard time about the DNA, earlier. At the safe house, I had the car demolished, all evidence destroyed.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I sent over the hell hounds. The fire they breathe… no way that car or anything in it would’ve survived.” I sat back, relieved, only then noticing that Myths were starting to stand and make for the door. “We’re done?”

Red and Elisa were coming our way, others working past us. Pucky stood and said, “Looks that way. Feeling up for a challenge?”

“In what way?” I asked.

“While they’re looking for answers, we’re going to be kicking your ass to get you trained up. I’ve got my good kicking shoes on, just hoping your ass can take it.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said, grinning.

“To be clear, I’m not flirting when I say this,” she explained. “We’re really going to kick your ass. It’ll be tough.”

I laughed. “And I’m really, truly, looking forward to it.”

“Good,” she said, then leaned in and said, “and maybe we’ll find time for that other stuff.”

As if I needed the extra incentive. I tried to play it cool, but the damn grin on my face gave me away. The others reached us and we made for the car, on our way to make me into this great warrior of a Protector.

16

We didn’t linger, instead heading straight for the closest safe house. Now on the other side of Anaheim, the car took us to a residential neighborhood. The farther up the hill we went, the larger the houses were. Some had grand columns and balconies, all were more magnificent than anything I’d ever had the fortune of setting foot inside before. At a turn with palm trees leading to an elaborate driveway and electric gate, we pulled up at a large house—it had to be one of the more expensive ones around—and stopped.

“Here?” I asked.

“You expected something else?” Elisa asked.

“We stopped by one of mine earlier,” Pucky grumbled with a glare at this place. “It wasn’t quite so…”

“Glamorous?”

“Showy.”

“Doesn’t it stand out a bit?” I asked. “Draw attention to itself?”

“That’s kind of the point,” Elisa replied. “Who expects a hideout to be so marvelous? If there’s going to be a hideout with people preparing to go to war, you generally don’t think it’s taking place in a neighborhood like this. You’d assume it’s off in some warehouse or basement.”

As