Gargoyles Over London: Fantasy Novel

W.A.Hary & Alfred Bekker

London - five months before the 300th anniversary of the throne of His Majesty Henry IX, the almighty Mage King of Great Britain and Ireland, Regent of the Empire, Commander of the Airship Navy and Emperor of India....

Thick fog rose from the Thames and pushed its way through the narrow streets. These swaths looked like gray, shapeless monsters when they parted and enveloped the houses like the tentacles of an octopus-like monster.

The moon was only a washed-out, pale spot and the sky so cloudy that not a single star could be seen. And yet the sky was full of lights. They were the lights of thousands and thousands of airships that buzzed around London day and night. People and goods from all countries of the Empire and beyond arrived in London with them.

Somewhere on one of the city's countless towers, a cat-sized, stone-gray gargoyle spread its wings and lowered itself into the depths. The dragon-like mouth, armed with several rows of pointed teeth, opened. A hissing sound emerged from it, then what sounded like a hungry growl. The small monster's eyes glowed red and were intently focused on the narrow streets below. The fog that spread more and more in the streets did not limit its vision, because it was the magic of a very dark spell that animated this creature and took away its power. A look that was able to penetrate everything and from which nothing could remain hidden, was also part of it.

Suddenly, the creature plunged into the depths. Aimed at a man in tails and a top hat, who was walking along the street, the gargoyle came crashing down. The man in the top hat opened his eyes and let out a shriek just before the gargoyle pounced on him.