Aegis

Chapter Four--Into the Fray (Pt.3)

Kyros hopped over a piece of rubble. The entire area was littered with stones and blood marks. Strangely enough, the place was devoid of any corpses. He didn't want to imagine why.

Neither of them spoke. Any sound might attract the lions or alert them.

Erianthe tapped on Kyros' shoulder. She pointed at a particularly large pile of wooden beams and rocks. Unlike the others, a stack of straw laid on the bottom. It was the stable, at least the surface part of it. A large slab rested on top of the underground door. Its huge size and the red prints on its surface attested to the fact that it was too heavy to lift.

Kyros scanned the area. It was empty for now. It wouldn't be soon. With a quick stride, he stood right next to Erianthe and whispered into her ear.

"Can you break it?"

Taking a deep breath, Erianthe nodded. She motioned for Kyros to step back. As Erianthe raised her sword and got ready to attack, Kyros prayed that the horse was alive.

Erianthe's sword thrummed with electricity and glowed a bright white. Erianthe took a step back. Then she brought her sword down. The blade swept in a large, brilliant white arc and struck the slab with a thunderous crack. Fissures ran through the slab as if it had been a piece of pottery that had fallen to the ground.

As expected, the lions roared again. No doubt they would be drawn in by the sound.

"Hurry, hurry," Kyros said.

Together, the two of them threw off the rocks shards until they could lift the door. Each of them took a side and forced the wooden door open. Kyros peered inside. Rocks, dirt, and straw covered the underground stable. By some miracle or by the silver poles reinforcing its walls, the enclosure was intact. Relief washed over Kyros' body when he saw the horse alive and trotting around in its stall.

"I'll stay out here and guard the door. Get the horse saddled up," Kyros said.

"Call me if you need help," Erianthe said.

After Erianthe stepped down into the stable, Kyros straightened his posture and readied his bow. He notched a real arrow onto the string. Having his bow create the bolts was convenient but tiring. His hearing and his sight sharpened. HIs senses waited in the silence of the area for any foreign sound or sight.

Down below, Kyros heard the horse neighing and stomping on the ground. Erianthe tried to soothe it with calming words and a low voice. He heard a metallic clink, which he assumed was the bridle or saddle.

The precious minutes passed.

A few yards away, Kyros heard a metallic scrape. His muscles tensed. Turning around, he aimed his bow before adjusting it to shoot his target.

For one lion, the monster was more intimidating than Kyros thought. The Nemean lion's golden coat gleamed with the firelight from the few remaining torches as if the beast had just leaped from an inferno.

At its snarl, Kyros shot his arrow at the monster's eye. Sending the lion into a fit, it grazed the whites.

"Erianthe!" Kyros called.

He readied his bow again and fired one arrow after another. Besides his first shot, all the arrows glanced off the lion's hide. The arrows did, however, infuriate the beast.

Erianthe bolted out of the stables toward the lion. Her shoulder bumped into Kyros.

"Pardon me," she said.

Before the lion could pounce, Erianthe engaged it with her blade. As she kept the lion's claws busy with her sword, Kyros fires another shot at its eyes. The arrow grazed the side of its head without leaving a scratch. Infuriated, the lion broke away from Erianthe only to feel her sword whack its side.