Myths and Gargoyles Read online

  “And… our kind being?”

  “The low down—the good ones amongst us are called Myths, and that’d be us, who you see here, and others you’ll meet. The bad ones are called Legends. Why it got divided that way beats me, but probably it was some early Protector who labeled it so.”

  “And I’m supposed to save you from the Legends?”

  “Not exactly, though we’ll definitely have to fight some along the way.” She leaned in, and I had to force my eyes to stay up. That loose green shirt fell in such a way that I was pretty sure I’d just seen a nipple.

  “What then?” I said, shifting as I felt a surge of blood flowing south. Now wasn’t the time, I tried telling myself, but these women weren’t helping.

  “Because the Legends haven’t played nicely. Now your government has sworn to indiscriminately eradicate all fairy tales, Myths and Legends alike, from the face of Earth. Your job, as was the Protectors before you, is to stop that from happening.”

  “You want me, a college kid with no military training or anything like that, to stand up against my government and defend fairy tales, all while possibly fighting monsters and crooked myths?”

  “Up until that last part,” Red said. “Remember, Myths refers to the good ones.”

  “What the fuck ever,” I replied, trying to stand again, only to have Red step forward and slam me into my seat this time.

  “You have to take this seriously,” she said through gritted teeth. “Too much is at stake.”

  “There’s no way I’m going up against my government,” I replied, trying to stay calm but finding my voice rising in irritation. “And I’m not going to fight a bunch of monsters and fairy tales on my own!”

  “You wouldn’t be alone,” Pucky interjected. “Protectors have teams. Red and I, for instance, are on your team. We can get more members along the way.”

  For the first time, I wanted to listen to them. Even if everything they were telling me was pie in the sky insanity, they had basically just said I’d get to hang out with them more. Wasn’t part of the reason why I’d come to this fest to meet a woman? Now there were two who wanted to spend time with me, and prospects of more. Plus some woman definitely had attacked me on the stairs, and somehow these two did know about her biting me, which seemed to be out of nowhere.

  But then again, they were nutso.

  I was about to shake my head to refuse, when the shouting started and then I heard an explosion of gunshots.

  5

  My eyes went to the two ladies. They were already up, weapons drawn, shouting commands to the others. Another round of shots rang out, followed by some strange sounds like explosions, but mixed with twangs like music.

  “Magic,” Red explained, and then took off toward the noise, red cloak streaming behind her in a way that seemed unnatural at first. Then it was shooting out like long tendrils and she was in the air, only a stream of red where she had been, shooting toward the wall and then gone.

  Pucky grabbed my hand and said, “You’re with me. Stick close,” as she pulled me toward the door opposite the commotion.

  “Wh—where’s Red?” I shouted, unable to control the volume of my voice now, and starting to really freak out. If this was some sort of game or setup, the special effects were out of this world.

  But after seeing what I’d just seen, combined with everything else, out of this world was beginning to sound about right. Pucky’s hand was still clasping mine though, and she’d paused, staring back at the sounds of the fighting, her chest rising and falling, her jaw clenched. For the first time I realized this wasn’t only about me. Whether they were crazy or all of this was legit, her feelings were real and she was terrified. Maybe for our safety, or maybe for that of her friends. Either way, I put my other hand on hers so that I was holding it with both of mine, squeezed gently, and said, “I’m here with you. Don’t worry.”

  I don’t really know where the words came from, they just felt right. And they seemed to work, because when she turned back to me her posture straightened and there was a curl to the corner of her mouth.

  “There you are, Protector, showing your true colors.”

  “Sure,” I replied with a laugh, now very aware of her small hand still in mine, the warmth of her flesh, the way she was glancing down at my hands and biting her lip. Trying to keep focused, I added, “I just… wish I knew what was going on here.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” Pucky said, kicking open the door and pulling me into the dark of the night—when the fuck had it become night?—only to come face-to-face with three men in black suits, one even wearing shades. They looked every bit the part of Secret Service.

  One had a pistol drawn, the other two were reaching. Only they weren’t normal pistols at all but had strange canisters on the side that were filled with blue and green liquid, I guessed, like squirt guns. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or run.

  But Pucky wasn’t playing around. She pulled me close to her, so tight that those breasts I’d accidentally caught a glimpse of moments ago were now pressed against me, her head to my chest as she whispered, “Hold tight.”

  I did, freeing one hand and wrapping my arm around her. Then one of the men cursed as they fired. Time seemed to almost stop: everything seemed to happen in slow motion. First came the pistol shot, then a bullet that was glowing… see-through, even. Except they were all kind of transparent, and Pucky and I were sort of coming in and out of focus. I felt our bodies rocking like the world had fallen off its axis and then we were between them, coming into focus again and then gone, finally flashing back in and time resuming as we stumbled at the far end of a parking lot.

  “Into the car!” she shouted, indicating a black one that I was quick to assume belonged to the agents.

  “If they’re FBI or Secret Service or whatever—” I started, turning to see that the agents were confused, but one had started to turn our way.

  She took me by the back of my head, fingers gripping my hair, and said, “Sorry to do this,” before thrusting her lips on mine. When she pulled back, her horns were glowing a soft pink and she hissed, “In the car, now.”

  No debate this time, I scrambled to do her bidding as fast as I could while she took the driver’s seat. She held up her hand that had been free during our crazy whatever-the-hell-had-happened moment and revealed keys, then quickly stuck them in the ignition and we took off.

  “Phone!” she shouted.

  “Huh?”

  She held out her hand. “Give it, now.”

  I handed over my cell, and watched in horror as she crushed it in her hand then tossed it out the window. First, holy shit was she strong. Second… “What the fuck?”

  “Traceable,” she said. “They’re the government, remember.”

  Damn. I sat back, watching trailers and buildings fly by, totally freaked that she was about to crash the car, unable to comprehend what had happened back there… and suddenly wondered where the hand on my leg had come from. A glance down showed her small hand gently squeezing mine. I followed it up her arm to her head, where the glow on her horns was just fading.

  “Now, Jack, I want you to know that I had to get you out of there, to protect you.” She quickly glanced at me, then back to the road to focus. “When this wears off, you’re going to be mad, you’re going to—”

  Her horns were back to normal—as relative as that word was in the case with a young woman having horns. Suddenly I burst out with, “WHAT THE FUCK?”

  “See, Jack, I’m telling you—” she tried again, but I wasn’t hearing it.

  “I don’t know what you did back there, how we got past those guys, or what sort of crazy bullets they were using, and I’m not even sure I want to know what sort of spell you put on me to get me in the car. All I want to know is why the fuck is this happening to me, and how do I get out?”

  She moved her hand up my thigh a bit, sending a tingling sensation through my body. I breathed in and out a few times, and then her hand was right at the edge o
f my package, moving along my inner leg, massaging it.

  “I’m not a slut or whatever but I need you to calm down, and I hear males are less focused on all that other stuff when this is going on.”

  “No, don’t try to—”

  “Jack,” she said, this time gently, seductively, as her hand finally moved up as if accidentally brushing against my balls. I bit my lip, closing my eyes, trying to focus only on that feeling. “Are we good?”

  Eyes still closed, everything back there was starting to piece itself together and my mind was coming back to me. I had every right to lose my shit, but right now that wasn’t the best option, not if all of this was real—as I was now pretty damn sure it was—and not if Red and the others were in trouble.

  “Are we good?” she repeated, and started to pull her hand away.

  “Don’t,” I said, more of a pleading moan than anything. She hesitated, and I opened my eyes, turned to look at her, and said, “Don’t stop.”

  She frowned, took the wheel with both hands to turn suddenly and avoid a red light, and then, while going down a side street, reached over and brushed the side of my bulge again. Then she took it in her hand, cupping my balls and running her hand up so that she felt it as my cock grew at her touch.

  Her heavy breathing showed that she liked it too, and I reclined my seat so I could enjoy it, but also so I didn’t have to watch her crazy driving. There was no doubt those agents were chasing us and right now I needed answers, not more reasons to worry.

  “Okay,” I said, loving the way she was moving as if measuring and loving every inch of me down there. “First, did you teleport?”

  “In a sense,” she replied, squeezing my base with her fingers, a shiver running through her. “It’s more like time and place manipulation, which you could call that, but… in a sense.”

  “Fine, good enough.” I closed my eyes again, feeling the blood throbbing in my hips, then my cock. I was fully erect now. Oh, god, I wanted her to rip open my pants and jack me off right there. “Second, did you use mind control on me?”

  “Only to get you in the car,” she said. “It’s a little thing that happens with… intimacy.”

  I opened my eyes and looked down at her hand on my crotch. She froze, noticing.

  “Has to be skin on skin,” she said then added, “and no, I’m not controlling you right now. You’d see the glow. Should I… stop?”

  “Only if you want to,” I replied. “It’s not like I’m using mind control to force you.”

  That came out harsh, and for a moment she paused, hand pulled slightly back, but then she was at it again.

  “Third,” I continued, “what happened to the last Protector?”

  “Um…” She pulled into an alley while checking the mirrors, and then into a downward-sloping driveway. Her hand kept working, only now it went to my zipper and undid it, then the button—no belt—and she reached in, under my underwear. Her fingers were warm, her touch gentle as she explored the tip of my cock, letting her fingers get to know it, and then she reached down and grabbed it. Another loud breath, and she pulled it out, pretending not to look as she did, but totally staring out of the corner of her eyes. “Died. Just like the one before, and the one before that.”

  “Oh, died,” I mumbled as she started stroking me, then leaning over to take my balls in her other hand and start caressing them. Suddenly I was alert and blinked, looking at her in horror. “DIED?”

  She shrugged and moved her hand across my balls and kind of juggled them before taking my cock in both hands. “I hope you know that death isn’t a requirement of the job. We discourage it, actually.”

  “Oh?” I replied. “And… this?”

  Her eyes darted to my cock in her hands, and then her brow furrowed as she pulled her hands free, using one to slap me. “Did you just accuse me of being a glorified hooker?”

  “No. Shit.” I glanced down, not sure if I should put it away or what. “It’s just, we’re talking about the job, and you’re clearly doing this to calm me down while telling me I might die, and…”

  She put a finger to my lips, stopping me. “Sorry. Sorry for slapping you, sorry for putting you in this situation, and sorry for… jacking you off.”

  “Don’t apologize for that,” I said, almost laughing.

  “No, I… it was wrong. All of the other Protectors have been women. I’ve used the mind control thing, but only via hand touching and the occasional kiss when in a hurry. Aside from that, no time for relationships. Too focused on keeping us safe, you know? All of this,” she looked down, timidly reached out and took hold of me again, “it’s new to me, and you kept wanting more, so—oh, shit, I’ve fucked this whole thing up, haven’t I?”

  I couldn’t help but notice that she was stroking me again. She grinned.

  “I won’t tell if you won’t,” I promised.

  She laughed. “What, tell Red? She’s the biggest slut I know. Don’t tell her I said so though! But… yeah.” She laughed then looked down again, worried. “It’s not gonna, like, splurt on me, is it?”

  “Only if you keep doing that, and faster. But… we don’t have to get to that point. Remind me again, what’s our situation exactly and what have you fucked up?”

  “I’m on your team, you could say. You’re the Protector, the first male since I came on board, and you’re supposed to have a team working with you. It’s how Myths have survived this long, and the only way to keep on surviving.” Her hand was going faster now as she spoke, stroking me harder and with more passion. It was getting hard to focus, but I absorbed what I could.

  “Okay, so you and Red are the team.”

  “For now,” she said. “You’ll want more, and Red has some ideas of who we’ll need. The Swan Princess, for instance, though the enemy’s been targeting her for a while.”

  “The… swan…” My body shuddered, pleasure warming in my thighs, my abs tightening, “… princess?”

  “Right. Among others, and….” She stopped, focusing on jerking me off, and said, “Wait, are you close?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Because this is their car. This will be perfect. Turn if you can, to face me. Kinda, yeah, like that.”

  She had me on my side, hips kinda in the air, and then she was going hard and fast, and started asking if she was doing it right. I just closed my eyes, moaned, and felt the orgasm hit. My cock throbbed with each release, my hands clutching leather, and then she was slowing, and I was done.

  I opened my eyes to the sound of her laughter. She had this look in her eyes like she’d just opened the best Christmas present ever, or went to Disneyland for the first time. But this was far from that. She was excited because, if she were to be believed, she’d just made a man cum for the first time. More than that—she’d managed to move my dick around with the various spurts so that my jizz was all over the back of the car.

  “You’re twisted,” I said, laughing.

  “What, you didn’t like it?”

  “Anytime you want to do that to an enemy’s car, I’m ready,” I said, moaning again as she gave me one last tender caress, and then we exited the car.

  “Come on, there’s a safe house nearby,” she said, waiting for me to tuck myself away and stagger out after her. My legs were like jelly, my body still all tingly.

  I caught up with her near the end of the block. She suddenly turned and grabbed me, pulling me close and kissing me passionately. Her hands went through my hair, then ran down my back and grabbed my ass, while her tongue explored mine ferociously. When she pulled back, I looked around worriedly.

  “What, are they close? Was that to hide us?”

  She laughed. “No, I just can’t get that image of your face, the way you looked when you were orgasming, out of my mind.” Her fingers lingered on my earlobe, and she gave me one more quick peck on the lips. “Sexy.”

  “Are we like, a thing now?” I asked, as she took me by the hand and led me around the corner. This time she shoved me aside, diving after me as
two black cars drove by, pulled a U-turn, then drove down the street where they’d find the car we’d just left for them. “Shit,” I said at seeing this.

  “A thing?” she asked, still squatting out of sight in case they returned.

  “You know, I mean… I haven’t done this in a while, and the only two girlfriends I’ve had were also the only two hookups I’ve had.”

  She scrunched her nose. “Girlfriend… Huh.”

  “No?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “I… I don’t know. We just met.”

  “Exactly.” She beamed. “No labels. Come on.” She was up again, pulling me to dart across the street.

  Halfway across the street, however, another black car came swerving around the corner. Pucky was pulling me, time starting to slow—and then it wasn’t and our connection was gone as she stumbled forward, hitting the far curb as the car slammed right into me.

  6

  Being hit by this car was nothing like I’d expected. As it approached I tried to go faster, to jump or do anything I could to avoid it, but it felt like a magnet pulling me toward it and freezing me in place at the same time. When it made impact, I didn’t go flying and I didn’t roll up onto the windshield.

  Instead, the car seemed to go right through me, and then I was inside the limousine-like vehicle, falling into a seat in the rear, time outside seemingly frozen. Sitting across from me was a woman with horns similar to Pucky’s, but longer and twisted, her skin purple. And next to her, staring at me through thick glasses, hair receding but with high cheekbones and broad shoulders, was a man in a suit like the others.

  He simply smiled wide, revealing perfectly white teeth—one of them chipped—and said, “You’re welcome,” as he held out a hand for me to shake. At my confused stare, as I desperately looked around, he added, “For saving you.”

  “And you are?” I asked.