Aegis

Chapter Twenty Three--Preparations for Altera

As soon as Kyros and the others met up with Pluto, the girl healed Kyros' wound and exerted her control over the boy. Keeled over from Pluto's control over him, Kyros tried to catch his breath. His head pounded from resisting Pluto's command to take the Orichalcum out of his bow.

Kyros failed.

Pluto scowled. Her foot tapped the wooden floor of the hut they were staying in. Reaper did its job in controlling Kyros, but the boy couldn't take the Orichalcum out of his bow.

"Perhaps the particles haven't set fully in the boys body? It has been less than a week," Reyna said.

"The particles should have set by now. It's been six days." Pluto said. "Aegis is just too strong. The boy can't take it out."

"What should we do then, Pluto?" Reyna asked.

Beside her, Ares and Reyna warily observed the girl. Kyros didn't understand it. Even though Pluto looked younger than Kyros, these two adults listened to the girl as if she were their leader.

"I have no idea. Well, Ares, if it's any consolation, having the other girl here wouldn't have helped us, since we can't get the stupid Orichalcum out."

If her restlessness was an indicator, Pluto hadn't gotten over the fact that Ares had let Erianthe escaped or the fact that Kyros had helped her escape. Pluto pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Would the Orichalcum accept Aegis as part of the bolt?" Ares asked.

"You want him to bind Aegis to the bolt?"

Kyros tuned out most of Ares' and Pluto's discussion about the nuances of his bow and the Orichalcum bolt. Out of habit, his fingers prodded the wound on his side. If he hadn't had this injury, Kyros would have ran a long time ago.

"It could work. The Orichalcum bonded with the metal from Delos. In theory, Aegis should be even more compatible. They're the same class of Imperis, not to mention the Orichalcum is embedded in his bow," Ares said.

Pluto sighed again and rubbed her temple. "Fine. As long as it works. I'm going to go rest." She pointed at Kyros. "He's going to be the death of me, I know it."

"It's just fatigue," Reyna said. "You'll recover quickly."

Pluto thanked Reyna then left the room. Just like last night, Ares, Reyna, and Kyros remained. Even though Reyna did not have to guard Kyros, she stayed with Ares anyway to watch him work.

Seeing Ares fiddle with the Orichalcum's holding device gave Kyros some entertainment even though the man was working towards finishing the bolt. As Ares' hammered at the metal, he'd sometimes he'd miss and tsk. Whenever something didn't work, the man would step back and kick the thing as if it would be fixed from brute force.

"I guess I need a forge after all."

"If you set the room on fire, you'd have a pretty hot forge," Kyros said.

"Yeah. I'm not doing that."

From her corner of the room, Reyna stood and walked to Ares. Her hand ran over the contraption's metal as if she were analyzing it with her touch. It wouldn't have surprised Kyros if she were. The power Reyna had displayed in Delos seemed to be tied to her eyes and her touch.

"The fire would not harm the integrity of the metal?"

"No. Actually, I have better idea. I can use Vulcan's hammer. It'll still work with the Orichalcum," Ares said. "And I can use it to re-shape the metal so that it fills in for the missing piece. And to attach Aegis now, apparently. Could you ask Pluto if we could stop by Vulcan's forge? He owes me a favor anyway."