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

my magic knife back, it wouldn’t do shit against something like this other than anger her, so when she turned on me her eyes actually had red mixed with the black. She inhaled a giant breath, then blew it out, flinging me back into a pillar behind me. I slumped to the ground.

Red was back in for the attack, this time with Elisa using her swans to affect the wolf’s sight, and together they managed to get her to the ground. Red helped me up and was already moving on.

“Leave her!” Red shouted.

I glanced back to see Sharon’s eyes turn normal for a moment as she looked up at me and then away, as if trying to not see me go, trying to fight whatever was going on in her head. As much as I wanted to understand the wolf, this wasn’t the time or place. Right now we had a mission to accomplish, lives to save.

So I took off, joining my team to make for the booth. We were running, Sharon starting to get back up behind us, while the Normie conference-goers were running to get out of our way. I had no idea what they thought was happening, but if they knew the truth they’d be running even faster.

“Let’s hope Mowgli was able to—oh, shit.” Elisa gripped my arm as she froze mid-stride. I stopped too as I saw why—a crowd gathered around the booth as several figures herded everyone back. There was a woman who looked very much like a female version of Dracula—young but immaculately dressed, fangs exposed, black hair pulled back to better show off her very white, pale face. Beside her, Peter Pan noticed us and grinned as he held up a rifle in the air, shouting for everyone to stay back or he would shoot.

Then Pucky’s half-sister stepped up onto a table behind them.

“Riak?” Pucky said. “What’s she doing here… up there?”

“Apparently, about to reunite Excalibur with its essence,” I said, pointing to the stone I’d pulled out of my pocket and the display that showed Excalibur’s location as right where Riak stood.

Sure enough, she held the most beautiful sword in the air, laughing hysterically as a purple fog started to roll in, scaring the bystanders as it floated around to form a circle around the three Legends. Then she lowered the sword, running her hand along the blade as she sprinkled something over it, something that caused a new, bright blue gleam to appear.

Before we could do a damn thing to stop her, she leaped down from the table, swinging the blade on her descent, cutting through the first line of bystanders. My first thought was Oh, shit, and then I pulled myself together, drew my blade, and prepared to charge in there… against Excalibur.

23

Screams filled the conference hall, more people running and trampling each other, more swings of the sword and laughing as the purple fog intensified.

Pucky was shooting, but the blade blocked the shots. Then Red and Elisa were fighting against the vampire lady and Peter Pan as they moved in to engage us.

“You’ve brought us just what we need,” Pan said with a boyish laugh. “The ritual calls for sacrifice, the magical kind as well. I imagine your friends will do.”

He lowered the rifle and took aim, but Pucky grabbed hold of me and transported us to the other side of him, so that he was left without a target as Red darted left and then came back at him. A spray of bullets hit the wall as she knocked the rifle from his hands, and the two went at each other in a display of knife-fighting that put everything I’d been shown in training to shame. She’d block and strike, he’d move her arms around in a twisting motion, stepping to the outside and coming back at her, which she’d block in a motion that almost cut him. Each time there was a counter, each time another block.

Meanwhile, the vampire lady had moved for Elisa, and Pucky joined that fight. Each side was closing in. I kept my eye on them as I tried to work my way into a position to intercept Riak before she killed any more bystanders. The vampire was too fast for Elisa and Pucky, but then Elisa summoned her brothers. They moved in fast, white streaks of light becoming true warriors, like strong, holy paladins. They had the vampire surrounded but still this woman put up a fight. She would dart from one brother to the next, moving fast, striking and trying to bite them. But these three white knights moved together as if of one mind, striking and kicking her back fast enough to keep her at bay but not quite enough to defeat her.

Elisa cast blinding white bursts of light when she could, along with protection spells that threw invisible layers of shielding on us each time right before a powerful strike would hit, but she clearly wasn’t the hand-to-hand fighting type.

Finally, seeing that this was futile, the vampire burst free. I tried to go after her but Riak was pressing the attack. I dodged, blocked strikes, and pushed her back. A glance over showed the vampire and Elisa grappling, the swan brothers doing their best to protect their sister, a thud hit me—a good strike from Riak that left me on the floor, struggling to stand. Pucky came to my aid but then magic came from Riak’s outstretched hand, hitting Pucky in a way that made her face contort in pain, then forced her to her knees as if she were bowing.

“Riak!” Pucky called out. “This isn’t you!”

“I’m not sticking with that name,” her sister replied, holding Excalibur at the ready, purple fog swirling around her legs like a living beast ready to strike.

“What are you talking about? Come back to us, abandon the agents! Whatever they have you doing…”

“The agents?” Riak laughed, casting off her cloak to reveal a dark dress with silver and red cords woven through