Myths and Gargoyles Jamie Hawke (i read a book .TXT) 📖

know,” he guided me to an incline, which we ascended until we reached a point that allowed us to see over the trees to the south, “There was a time in life that, if I’d just turned away, not taken the leap, all of this could have turned out very differently.”

“How so?”

He stared out at the now dark sky, eyes piercing it as if seeing something beyond my ability to see. “I took the sword.”

“Excalibur?” I asked.

“That’s right. The sword that Merlin had cursed, knowing I was destined to be the one. The sword that turned me into what I became, that cursed me and my men to a life of the night.”

“But not anymore.”

“Not anymore.” He offered me a smile, then clasped my shoulder. “You’re making us all proud, my boy. Keep it up, and we’ll see victory.”

Warmth filled my chest, pride and a sense of duty. I wasn’t doing this for the pride of King Arthur, that was for sure. But it did help.

“I won’t’ let you down,” I replied, and we stood there like that, staring out at the night in silence, simply enjoying the moment.

53

As the sun rose over the Fae world, Arthur already had me up and heading back into the mists.

“You’ve grown strong, but it isn’t strong enough,” he insisted. “Keep at it, and as you gain prana, try thinking outside the box.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

He gave me a knowing smile. “I believe in you.”

I frowned at his cryptic answer, but stood tall at the thought that the legendary Arthur was giving me advice at all. That would never get old.

Soon I was back in the mists, my clothes no longer damp, but my mood… not so optimistic. While I loved leveling up and getting stronger and knew it was important for the fight to come, one day in the mists had been more than enough. At least, enough for my patience.

Even so, I didn’t balk at my duty. If killing Shades was what it would take to grind, to get to that next level and be ready to fight, so be it. Plus, Arthur and the ladies had pumped me up.

Gathering my bearing in the mists was tough, but I did my best to head back in the direction I’d seen the fairy. Too bad the sword didn’t lead me in reverse. Stumbling along, trying to see, I found something else strange—dark shapes like Shades, only they would move away from me whenever I got close, and at one spot I swear I’d seen a ripple of light and then the Shades vanished.

It was entirely possible I had only imagined it happening, but they definitely seemed to be vanishing, not just running away. By mid-morning I was getting irritated, and by mid-day, bored. So it was that, when I finally came to a ledge and looked down at a group of Shades moving along below like a river of black, I didn’t wait to assess the situation. Sword held up with both hands, I leaped down upon them.

Old me wouldn’t have done that. Hell, me from even a few days ago probably wouldn’t have done it. But at this point I was looking for something to kill, and was just glad it happened to be Shades. A few of them noticed me and swung up, but their attacks didn’t reach me, I was too fast. Landing with a burst outward that pushed back the closest ones and sent a group attack through the first wave, I was up and slashing a moment later.

Prana floated over as I charged again, starting to get smart and putting the cliff face to my back, to prevent them from surrounding me. I blocked and my energy shield popped up, then I dismissed it and went back in at them with wild strikes, my Tempest tattoos glowing, pulling in the mists, giving me strength.

As I was fighting though, I started to realize what a badass I’d become. The idea that I needed a wall was silly, and in fact I wanted more around me so that when I cut down one group, another would be waiting behind me to get killed.

So I jumped and, to my surprise, found that my tempest ability when charged like that allowed me almost to run on the mists! It was crazy, using it like I had in games with a double jump. I could leap up, push off of the mists—as long as there was mist to push off from—and then redirect my trajectory. With that new understanding of my powers, I was able to move about this group quickly. Soon I had taken down all in my vicinity, and moved for more in the direction they were going.

Three of them appeared, larger than the rest, but with a few swings of my sword two were without heads, the third cut in half at the torso. He soon had his head in half as well, and I moved on.

Suddenly I froze.

Past them, in the direction the horde had been going, was what I could only assume was a portal. Clear as ever one moment, barely visible by the mists the next. It was black, rippling, like oil on the ocean, but vertical.

“What’s this…?” I started, looking around for answers. All I found was death and some straggling green balls of light moving into me.

Moving toward the portal, running now as it started to fade, I noticed something—a face, turning to look my way, eyes piercing, and then… it was gone.

Those eyes were familiar, but from where?

Now that the portal was gone, along with the Shade horde, I turned, first thinking it would be a good time to upgrade. Then again, with all this prana in me and remembering how being a Tempest meant I should be able to manipulate the mists, I decided to try an experiment. Arthur had said to think outside the box, so I focused on my inner self as he’d said, but tried seeing