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

Luckily, my stats upgrades, defense boost—and maybe the fact that its attack had slowed thanks to my ice wall—kept me alive. Another strike came at me and this time I went deep within, reaching through the ground and connecting to the beast itself, for a moment taking over! Holy shit, I had just warged! It turned around and struck a flying creature like a baseball, sending it to slam into more of their allies. I wasn’t strong enough to hold the rock troll, I realized as I was kicked out and back to my spot on the ground, feeling drained.

Ebrill was at my side, pulling me up, eyes wide. “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” I said, moving my fingers like jazz hands in my semi-delirious state, feeling like I might pass out.

She laughed, pulling me with her and placing a glowing hand on my forehead. “Do it again, will you?”

A rush of energy flowed through me and this time I was the stone troll, turning on my companions and smashing the first across the jaw, then pummeling into the next and slamming it to the ground. Neither hesitated to fight back, but both had been caught off-guard by my attack and were at a disadvantage. One died after I got its head on the ground and gave it three good stomps. The other plowed into me and we rolled over goblins, squishing them as we grappled, and then he pulled both fists up, about to bring them down on my head.

“Get out!” a distant voice ordered, and I was back at Ebrill’s side, watching from a distance as the rock troll obliterated the other’s head.

My energy waned, but another touch from Ebrill and I was at least strong enough to walk.

“That was amazing,” she said, and we watched as Aerona and Gertrude hit the remaining rock troll with enough explosive magic to end the last of them. “You’re not hurt?”

I shook my head. “But you think I would’ve been if I’d stayed in there when it was killed?”

“It’s beyond my area of expertise, but better not to find out the hard way.”

“Agreed.”

A glance around the mountains showed that we had done a fair amount of damage against our pursuers. While they regrouped and tried to break past the walls we had put up, we were able to make an escape. We fell back to another path through the hills, only to see a figure with streaming light forming, blocking out all but a silhouette. I was about to attack but Ebrill placed a hand on my shoulder, her eyes focused, waiting.

“Irla!” Ebrill shouted, and the light faded as their friend Irla appeared and ran over to embrace Ebrill, then turned back to the rest of us. Her eyes showed a mixture of confusion and determination.

Seeing the look of determination in my eyes as my hand moved to cover the bulge of the Liahona where I’d stowed it, she simply nodded, then turned and joined us as we charged down that path.

91

We entered a valley next, slowing as we went. The enemy wasn’t in sight although the clouds overhead were swirling. My heart thudded. Irla and Aerona led, keeping watch, while Yenifer and Ebrill fanned out at my sides. The others were behind us. Our only injuries so far seemed to be on the soldier who had saved me, who I had since heard Gertrude refer to as Riland, and Aerona seemed to walk with a bit of a limp although it didn’t slow her down.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Gertrude said, moving behind me with cautious steps. The shadows danced across her smooth skin, light catching her armor in occasional flashes. She wasn’t the woman I knew from my time, that was for sure. I had to wonder what had changed between this time and then.

“I’ve cast a cloaking spell over us,” Ebrill explained. “It’ll take them some time to locate us but it won’t keep them off our trail for long.”

Working our way down the gravelly hillside, we passed an area where gnarled trees grew out of the hillside at an angle, likely from strong winds that were giving us a break at the moment. It reminded me of a beach we had visited on the way to my grandparents’ house when I was younger. Skipping along, playing with my cousin Sarah, my dad singing “The Sky Boat Song.” That had been a much simpler time. But, looking around at this team, at what I was part of, I wouldn’t trade it for all the peace and simplicity in the world.

“Tell me your story,” Riland said, walking closer now, his posture more relaxed now that he knew we were cloaked.

“Not much to it,” I said. “Until very recently, I didn’t even know that magic existed.”

“One of them,” Ebrill said with a chuckle.

“Excuse me?”

“No offense meant.” She gestured out to the mountains far in the distance. “Past those peaks, there’s a land of men who don’t believe. But… I take it you’re not from there, exactly.”

“My land… Isn’t discovered by our type, yet.”

That earned a confused look from Riland, but he gave a grunt. “You learn fast. That’s good. Stick close to this one,” he gave Ebrill a nod, “and you’ll be safe. Healing, defenses, you name it. Then there’s Yenifer—one of the best warriors alive. I say one of the best, only because she and I haven’t gone toe-to-toe yet.”

Yenifer heard this and scoffed. “Riland, you get your sword anywhere near me, I’m yanking it off for a trophy.”

“Not what I meant,” the man said, but chuckled. He gave me a wink, which I took to mean he wouldn’t mind getting his ‘sword’ near her.

“And Rianne?” I asked.

“She can take care of herself,” Ebrill replied, but glanced back the way we had come, unable to hide the worry in her eyes.

We reached the bottom of the valley and turned left, moving along where foliage above hid us from prying eyes.

“Rianne has been fighting