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

curry powder—and then went about adding carrots and celery to the pot, first. “Half of this stuff doesn’t look like anything we had in our day, but… it’ll be amazing, I’m sure.”

“What’s happening?” I asked as Ebrill and Kordelia stepped forward to help.

Megha moved in, too, sliding her dress’s black sleeves up her arms. “Communal cooking. A moment of bonding and new beginnings.”

“Oh.” So, it was basically their way of helping Aerona through the grief. Some old practice from before. With that in mind, I stepped up, too, tossing my jacket onto a nearby stool.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Riland said from his spot behind me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

All the ladies had turned to stare at me in confusion.

“Helping,” I replied. “Of course.”

Another moment, and then they all started laughing. What followed then was me and Riland finding Galahad, the three of us sharing some of the senator’s whiskey and shooting the shit, while the ladies bonded with some girls’ time.

“It’s so strange that I wanted to help cook?” I asked.

Riland chuckled as if that was a joke in itself, but when he saw that I wasn’t laughing, he said, “Oh, yes. It’s usually servant work, but otherwise falls on the women. Never men. Why? Has that changed in this time period?”

“It has,” Galahad answered, as I was too dumbstruck to reply at first.

I took a sip of the whiskey, loving the spicy smoothness in my throat. “I guess that’s how it might have been once, but… yeah, guys cook all the time now. Wait, what about during wars and stuff, when there weren’t women?”

“And the servants were dead?” Galahad thought about this a moment, then turned to Riland. “Did you ever cook?”

“I knew this guy who did—because he loved to,” Riland replied. “Usually stew when we had long hours to wait—during a siege, for example—but he was also wonderful at salting beef.”

“You all are crazy.” I chugged down the rest of my glass and held it out for another.

“Speaking of crazy.” Galahad nodded at the glass but poured. “Don’t forget, we might have to head out soon—we don’t know. Better to not be over-the-top drunk at this point.”

“Right.” I eyed the glass, debating. Another sip.

“Wait, so you… know how?” Riland asked me. “To cook, I mean. Like, what do you cook?”

I chuckled. “My favorite? Maybe this lasagna recipe my dad got from his mom. I’m talking cheese out the yin-yang here, you know what I’m saying?”

Both of them stared at me blankly.

“I’ll make it for you all sometime,” I said, shaking my head at the thought that anyone might not ever have experienced lasagna.

“This right here,” Riland said, raising his glass, “is outstanding. Food and drink have really gone a long way since our time.”

Galahad laughed, taking a sip. “To say nothing of buildings, technology, transportation…”

“All of those things are important, but I’ve always enjoyed the simple things in life.”

“To the simple things,” I said, raising my glass.

As complicated as life was, he was right. While I enjoyed the magic, the wings, the horns… all of this insane life I had recently been thrown into, what really mattered was the moments like this, the kisses with the ladies, the simple things. Then again, the horns and wings and magic and all that was pretty fucking awesome.

“Who am I kidding,” I said, another sip down, “it’s the simple and the complex. I love it all.”

“To having it all,” Galahad said, this time raising his glass.

We all drank to that, and I couldn’t stop the silly grin taking over my face. It was all too true. There I was with a team of amazing lovers, some human, others less so—at least now, two amazing mansions in D.C., and a weird prospect of becoming a senator. Who knew where that could lead!

From there, Riland and Galahad took turns regaling us with war stories, tales of their adventures that are best left for another time, and a very different version of the King Arthur legend than I was used to. Let’s just say, curses weren’t so rare back in those days.

“Ready,” Aerona said, looking much cheerier where she stood beckoning to us from the doorway.

We joined them at the table, along with the interns and others in the building, while the ladies who had once served Rianne now served us our meals.

“It’s done,” Aerona said, when the conversation moved away from small talk and we went over the way one of the Nine had intercepted me before. “Draedar was a great man, may he rest in peace.”

“May he rest in peace,” the others said, and I repeated it.

I was in an awkward situation, what with having started a semi-romance with Aerona, but I could understand and be there for her.

“In your day,” I asked, “how did you mourn? And… bury the dead?” When Galahad perked up, I added, “We should do so, for both of our recent losses.”

Aerona looked at me for a long moment, opened her mouth, then closed it as she turned to Ebrill. Catching the hint, Ebrill put a hand on hers.

“First, a ritual that involved the body covered with mirrors, closed curtains…” Her eyes moved back over to Aerona. “I mean, in this case it’s not easy to complete the ritual, even if we had the herbs and mirrors and all.”

“In a gwynlos,” Kordelia cut in, “the deceased would have company, gifts, many gathering to eat bread and cheese. We would have wine.”

She glanced around, took a hunk of bread, and then nodded at an intern bringing in wine.

“There’s more,” Aerona said. “But this is a different time. And as has been established,” she nodded to Ebrill, putting her other hand on top of hers, “we don’t have the bodies. As far as I’m concerned, they’re better off now.” After a moment, her eyes moved to me. “What about you, huh? How do you all say your farewells to the dead these days?”

“Me?” I shook my head. “There’s what they show in the movies, and then there’s my