Myths and Gargoyles

by Jamie Hawke

  “Better,” she said, moving out of the way of the kick and swiping my leg aside. “Now don’t get cocky.”

  “Dammit,” I grunted as she managed to get behind me, standing this time but still, blade to my throat.

  “And don’t get frustrated,” Pucky shouted from the sidelines.

  “You’ve seen how much I’ve been training,” I countered, annoyed that I was sounding annoyed, “I’ve been upgrading speed and strength like crazy, and still she gets me.”

  “A few days,” Red said, scoffing, “compared to a lifetime?”

  “But I’m supposed to be this grand protector, this—”

  I lunged, catching her off guard, and pinning her to the ground with a quick kiss. She shoved me off, at first mad, then laughing.

  “You scoundrel.”

  “Hey,” I stood back, sword ready, “taking advantage of the moment.”

  “Whatever it takes,” Elisa said, nodding in approval.

  “Try to get my sympathy again, see what happens,” Red said, brushing off her cloak.

  “Lucky me, I don’t need sympathy.” I charged again, this time hoping that she’d think I would try a trick, and it worked. She dodged where she thought I’d fake strike and come in at, but instead I went straight for her, so that her cloak whipped in the wind and pulled her out of harm’s way.

  Next, I spun fast and grabbed her by the waist—only to be flipped over and put in an arm bar, both of our weapons flying to the dirt nearby.

  “Well, it was a good effort,” she admitted, helping me up.

  Arthur was talking to Nivian and said he had to go, but directed us to keep training. Red took some time to show me more moves, some new blocks based on how fast and strong I was becoming.

  By the time Arthur returned, we were breaking for food and water.

  “Heard from Sekhmet?” I asked.

  “Actually, yes.” He gathered us all around. “She’s reported seeing what should have been large communities, empty. Thinks they’re making a move on Earth.”

  “That checks with what I’ve been seeing in the mists,” I said. “Portals, I think.”

  He shook his head. “This doesn’t bode well for our return, but…” His eyes focused on me, intently. “Portals? And you saw some sort of fairy queen, you said?”

  “That’s right.”

  He ran a hand along his jaw, then frowned. “It’s possible…”

  “She’s bringing them through?” Elisa offered.

  “That’s what I was starting to wonder about, yes.”

  “So we all go into the mists, seek her out,” Red offered. “Put a stop to this.”

  “I think the fact that she’s shown herself to Jack means something,” Arthur replied. “He’ll go back again, tomorrow. But this time—really focus. You’re not going out there just to train, though you should get every opportunity you can. Your goal is to find her. Got it?”

  I nodded.

  He patted me on the back, indicated Sharon, and said, “Work with her on the Shadows, making sure you can keep it at bay when challenged, and then get some sleep. Back at it tomorrow and then… We’ve been experimenting with the lake and Nivian’s powers, making progress, and I think it’s almost time you all made a return to Earth.”

  54

  The rest of them went off to gather more food and put together a fire, while Sharon waited for me, her arms wrapped defensively around her body.

  Her smile faltered when I approached, replaced by a look of apprehension.

  “That bad?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know, my stink or something?” I chuckled. “You got this super nervous look in your eyes as I came toward you just now.

  “No, it’s just…” She glanced around, nodded for me to follow her, and we walked off a little way into the woods. Stopping there, she took my hand, eyeing it apprehensively. “Shadows… you know. I’ve only really started to master this myself, and now I’m supposed to show you.”

  “Good point.” When her eyes met mine, I added, “But I believe in you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m putting myself in your hands, Sharon.”

  She smiled, gave my hand a squeeze, and then said, “In that case, try to keep up.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, but she was already running.

  I chased after her, jogging at first, then sprinting, wanting to ask her how she expected this to go. She knew I’d been leveling up, that her speed couldn’t match mine, unless… The realization hit me at the same time as she started to transform, first just wolf ears and claws, a tail, and then she was lurching forward, going full wolf on me.

  And when I say wolf, I mean a huge wolf. Her eyes met mine and she growled, then pushed on, at least twice as fast as I could go at my top speed.

  “There’s no way…” I started, and then blinked. Did she want me to actually become the wolf, too? Granted, there was still some of that left in me, but the only time I’d let it out, it had taken complete control. Then again, doing so made sense considering what she was trying to teach me. If I still had it, control was necessary.

  Dammit.

  I pushed on, reaching deep within, trying to find that wolf in there. It was no good, but it wasn’t like that was a surprise. More was needed to reach that point. Not just more focus, but a darker focus.

  Remembering what it had been like to be out there killing Shades, focusing on the anger that had taken over when I’d seen Red and the others in harm’s way before, and letting the rage boil over, I felt it coming.

  Trembling at first, everything around me darkening as if the shadows were reaching out for me. Then they were on me, taking hold, and I was growing, transforming, taking on the form of a wolf. Nothing like her as far as size goes, but nothing to laugh at either. And maybe she was going slower than normal, or maybe it was my upgrades, but I was catching up.

  She sniffed the air and turned to see me running up at her side, welcoming me with a howl, and then we were in the hills, running like nothing else in this world or ours mattered. Two wolves, owning the night, the wind coursing through our fur, the ground flying past underneath our paws.

  A growl caught me off guard and she lunged at me, but I pulled back, out of the way, and stared, confused. She was circling me, teeth bared, eyes ferocious. My shadow started to deepen, my desire to tear her limb from limb sending an acidic saliva dripping down my chin.

  Only here, eyes didn’t show shadow, they didn’t show a red glow or anything like that. This was her, testing me.

  With that in mind, I was able to focus on her, to remember the way she’d squeezed my hand before running off… and the shadow faded. Seeing her like that, now, still circling me, putting on a show, ignited another part of my wolf form that I hadn’t even considered. Having a wolf boner was a strange sensation, in part because it was about four times what I was used to, and also because it was dangling out for all the world to see.

  She noticed—how could she not? And paused. Was that a smile?

  With a nod toward the hills, she took off in a trot, starting to change back as we reached a cave. Our clothes were gone, lost somewhere along the way, likely torn. Maybe we’d find them on the way back. Hopefully repairable. But we didn’t care. I was following her into a dark cave, my eyes still not fully transformed so that I could better see where I was going.

  With a snicker, she disappeared through a corridor, but her laugh was cut off. I ran, worried something had happened to her. She was standing there, eyes full of wonder as she took in what I then saw was an underground network of pools of water.

  They were turquoise, a white and blue glow coming from the center of each, tiny speckles of light rising up like bright dust on a lazy sunny afternoon.

  “Spiritual pools,” she said, and began working her way down the slope toward them.

  I stood there, watching her bare back, her beautiful ass. She almost slipped, and I darted forward to catch her. She smiled up at me, licked her l
ips at my nudity, and then we helped each other the rest of the way down.

  Finally, Sharon led me to one of the spiritual pools of water, where she dipped herself in, and reached down to scrub. I started moving to join in, but she held up a hand, shooed me back, and then got out.

  “What…” I started, but realized what was going on when she got down on all fours, ass facing me, face just above the water.

  She didn’t have to say it, and this time, I was ready. I fucking loved her, just like I loved all of them. There wasn’t a thing I could think of I wouldn’t do if any of them asked. Okay, maybe a couple things, but this… Her cute little pink butthole was there just above her pussy, both calling to me. I knelt, looking around her to see that she was staring at her reflection in the water, and I had to ask.

  “What’s up with—”

  “I’ve always been curious what I would look like while you did this, so… that’s all. Call it an experiment.”

  I hesitated, then went back to my business. Kneeling, I took my cock and slid it up her thigh, along her pussy, about to slide in, when she reached back, a hand in the way.

  “How’s the saying go?” She glanced over, bit her lip. “You’ve got to lick it, before you…?”

  “Oh, sure, of course.”

  I got down, unsure what the best position was, going for her pussy from behind, but she said, “Um… Not there.”

  “Sorry?” I sat back up, hands moving up her thighs. She didn’t look back, so I assumed she was embarrassed, maybe? Then it hit me why. She didn’t want me to lick her pussy, she wanted me to lick what was currently above her pussy. Her cute little asshole.

  She had just washed it, thoroughly, I supposed. I’d never done that, and the idea made me squirm. Then again, this was Sharon. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for anyone on the team, so I repositioned myself, kissing her ass cheek, hand moving down between her legs, caressing her clit as my lips and tongue made their way to the center of her ass. She was squirming, clearly loving it, and when my tongue flicked the edge of her asshole, she let out a short gasp. Then a low moan.

  Damn, if it was going to give her that much pleasure, I was going all in. But first… a little tease. I moved around it, tongue darting out, lips kissing her closer, then a bit away. One more tongue along her pussy, and then was up on her ass, kissing it, licking it, doing whatever I could without having a clue what I was supposed to do.

  Her moans were reward enough, but when she finally pushed herself back and grabbed my cock, nuzzling her face in it and growling, I knew this was going to be fun. She took it deep in her mouth, hand massaging my balls, and then she looked at me with mischievous eyes.

  “Now, Shadow training,” she said, and started to transform. “If you lose yourself, focus on our connection. On me and you, not just physical, but emotional.”

  “But—”

  Her finger, a long claw on it now, went to my mouth. “Ravage me.”

  My eyes went wide, and before I knew it my instincts took over, the animal in me unleashing. We were both wolves, but it was like I wasn’t there at all, as I was on her, taking her from behind. The pleasure was intense, my ultra large wolf cock sensing each thrust with many times the pleasure spots than I was used to.

  Sure, getting the position was awkward, but soon we had it and she was yelping away, reaching orgasm in wolf form. I got close too, railing away on her and even starting to nibble at her shoulders, but then focused… reeling myself back in.

  As the last of her orgasm faded, we started our transformation back.

  Flesh, skin on skin again, no wolf fur, no animal noises. Well, maybe some animal noises. She reached back, slid my cock out, and then shifted her hips down, sliding it into another hole. Holy shit, it was tight.

  “Now you can cum,” she whispered, bracing herself as I slowly slid the entire length of my cock into her ass.

  It only took a few thrusts with how tight she was, how aroused I’d already been from everything we were doing up to that point. Pleasure took hold, not just from her ass but with all of the pleasure points from the experience before piling up, so that when my orgasm hit it was like she was there, pulling it out of me, until there was nothing left.

  My cock throbbed in her ass, my body giving out so that I had to collapse onto her, one hand on the ground to steady myself, the other reaching around to massage her breasts. I breathed heavily, kissed her back, and then slowly pulled out.

  She turned to me, folding her legs around like in a yoga stretch, and kissed me. “Now you’re getting the hang of this shadow business.”

  I laughed. “That’s all it took?”

  “We’ll work on it some more, I’m sure,” she replied, causing a surge of aftershock from the orgasm to go through me.

  I kissed her back, accepted her hand as she led me into the pool to bathe, and said, “I look forward to it.”

  55

  Arthur had me training in this sort of pattern for days. Going out into the mists to fight Shades and get stronger, testing my abilities, returning to work on the other aspects of being a protector each night. He kept stressing that there had to be more out there, and that I needed to find this supposed queen of the fairies again, but so far neither was happening.

  It got to the point that, although I’d never been stronger or so fulfilled, I was starting to doubt myself. Had I really seen the queen of fairies at all? Or even those large statues, which I hadn’t seen again since that first day. And the lion? The rest of it?

  On the morning of the fourth day, Pucky woke me up extra early, hand caressing my cheek, and her warm smile was a comforting first sight.

  “What’s up?” I whispered.

  She ran her hand down toward my crotch, then winked. “Just joking, I’m not that corny. Come on, I have something else in mind.”

  I glanced around at the others in the tent, still sleeping, so pushed myself up to follow her, trying to stay quiet. She led me out to one of the nearby trees, then stopped and turned to me, head tilted as she stared into my eyes.

  “What’s… up?” I chuckled. “For real, this time.”

  She grinned, and then I noticed her horns glowing. “Just wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing with the training. It’s not much, but hopefully enough.”

  “Is this another test?” I asked.

  Her eyes moved across my face, as if reading me, then one hand went to my cheek, caressing it, moving through my hair. I started to lean forward to kiss her, but saw that wasn’t what this was. Her hands traveled down through my hair and to my neck, as her eyes penetrated me. Then they were back to the front, on my chest, stopping over my heart.

  “You’re strong,” she said. “And I don’t mean just physically, though obviously the last few days have been kind to you.”

  “In more ways than one,” I said with a grin.

  She chuckled, then took my hands, and placed one on her cheek. “Look. See.”

  I wasn’t following, but figured doing what she’d been doing was my best bet, here. So, moving my hand along her cheek, feeling her soft, warm skin and enjoying the moment for what it was, I stared into her eyes, looking for whatever I was supposed to be seeing.

  “Look deeper,” she said, and moved my hand, up, so that as she dropped her hands back to my chest, I was caressing her temples, then her forehead. I paused, continuing to her horns. It’s a strangely erotic feeling, touching a woman’s horns. Every man knows the awkward feeling when they grab a cucumber or a banana and realize it must be similar to how a woman feels when she’s grabbing your cock. Well, horns like hers were similar, in that they weren’t bright blue or red or anything like that, but almost the same tone as her skin, and moving my hands along them I almost felt like I was stroking two cocks at once.

  Yeah, like I said, weird… for a straight guy.

  She bit her lip, enjoying the moment but also humored. “Focus.”

  I nodded, eyes roaming over her, seeing every bit of her, even the small freckles around he
r nose, the little mole at her hairline, just barely hidden, the glow that radiated off her horns. Then my hands were in her hair, and she was breathing heavily as they ran down to her neck, over her shoulders.

  That moment could’ve easily led into many others like it, but I knew that wasn’t the purpose of this exercise. Focusing, I ran my hands over to her heart, really trying to see, as she’d asked.

  A glimmer formed, something there but not there, radiating out of her, then all along her skin. Suddenly, I was seeing her! Really seeing her, and I don’t mean some other version of her physical presence or whatever, but her life was before me, moments as a young teenager running from trouble, first learning how to use her powers and teleport, to the extent that she did. Then there was her with her first crush, a boy who looked very much like Prince Charming, or maybe it was one of the other princes, but he wasn’t giving her the time of day. Teenage Pucky crying, teenage Pucky in the gym punching the shit out of a punch bag until it burst, teenage Pucky with friends over the years. I recognized some of those friends from fairy tales, including Bo Peep, the Huntsman, and Little Miss Muffet—who happened to have spider eyes. Creepy.

  “You’re seeing me,” she said, her voice carrying through his mind like a song.

  “I am,” he replied. “Are you sure you want to show me—”

  Suddenly my mind cut to her in a dark room, hand down her panties, as that’s all she was wearing, as she vigorously touched herself.

  She laughed. “Relax, I’m only showing you what I want to show you. This…” The image changed just as younger-her reached climax, switching to her reclining with a cup of coffee, eyes closed as classical flute carried to me from somewhere… distant, in the memory I guessed, though I hadn’t heard any sound with the other memories.

  Her smile felt different. Warmer.

  The way her fingers found mine, more sensual. With a nod, she said, “You’re going places, Jack. I’m glad to be there with you.”

  “Me too,” I replied, not really sure where to go with that, but knowing the moment didn’t allow for any joking or silliness.