Chapter 9 Hephaestus’s Dagger #2
“I don’t just use my horns,” he replied with a smirk.
It was suddenly back to business when Bronte said, “I’m going to stay here with the other soldiers and watch over the refugees here.
Tiffany will stay here too…” She paused to raise her hand toward Aster before reassuring him.
“And don’t worry, I’ll keep her safe,” she said, giving him a pat on his shoulder, not at all intimidated by his size as many others would be. But then again, neither was Tiff.
It was a shame Bronte wasn’t going to come with us, but she was right. She was the best one to protect everyone here while Aster and I went to Atlas’s aid.
Aster nodded down at the dagger in my hand and approached me with the belt.
It had sturdy buckles and twin straps dangling at one side.
He took the scabbard from my hands again and secured it so it angled for a quick, clean draw.
Wrapping the belt low around my hips, he positioned it so the scabbard was on my left side, seeing as I was left-handed.
Next, he fastened the buckle and tugged at it gently.
“Too tight?” he asked. I shook my head in response, and he stepped back, eyeing his work. I went to put the dagger into the scabbard, but Bronte held out her hand.
“I need to add the lightning,” she said, making him smirk.
“Well, that will be handy to have.” And well, I couldn’t agree more, because I had seen it in action and knew what it could do. Which was why I was eager to pass it over to her.
“Okay, so Aster and I will take it from here,” she informed me, before instructing me to take the horses and give them space… lots and lots of space.
I took hold of the horse’s reins, and I walked across the street close to the opening of the abandoned café.
One whose windows and doors had been smashed at some point, but the glass looked to have been cleaned up.
In fact, most of the city seemed to have been maintained in some way, despite being deserted.
The streets around the State Building, for example, had been cleared, and they looked generally well-presented and not exactly as apocalyptic as everywhere I had been these past few years.
As for Aster and Bronte, I watched from afar, leaning slightly into the dappled grey horse to get a slight whiff of the leather and the warmth that reminded me of the travel to the Rift with the King.
In fact, being around horses again, despite my previous nervousness with them, reminded me of a lot of things about my time with Atlas.
Mainly, how good it felt being held against him with his arms around me as we travelled along the trail to the Rift.
I shook myself free of thoughts of missing him, focusing instead on what was happening ahead.
Aster pushed the dagger’s blade into the grass until it was sticking out of the earth by itself.
He then pulled back, walking toward Bronte, who was once again digging her fingers into the skin behind her eye guard.
Blood poured down her face and her hands, making me wince and almost try to stop her.
I even took a step toward them, ready to shout for them to end this, when I realized that she knew what she was doing better than I did.
She scrunched her face up like before, handing the guard over to Aster as thunder boomed above. The horses reared and neighed, startled by the loud noise, but soon calmed. They were the horses of soldiers, so they were used to noises like that.
I watched as Aster pulled the bottom of his shirt away from his stomach and wiped the guard. Their mouths moved, but I didn’t hear the exchange of words as thunder boomed again.
Then, A bright, blinding light flashed wide, blocking both Aster and Bronte from view suddenly. My natural instincts kicked in as I held a hand up to protect my eyes. The horses pulled on their reins again, with this being a lot more than they were used to.
I pulled them back, shushing them as the reins burned through my hand from their protests.
I took their bridles in either hand and held on tight, hoping they wouldn’t run the opposite way to each other.
Squinting through the light, I forced my burning eyes to watch as Bronte controlled the lightning, focusing it so it arched through the air directly into the dagger's pommel.
The clear crystal swiftly came to life, shining brightly as it absorbed the lightning and slowly began to solidify.
Now taking on a light blue tint that matched Bronte’s eye color.
The lightning stopped abruptly, and it took my eyes a moment to catch up before I could see Bronte leaning against Aster's chest. His enormous hands covered her face, pushing the guard back into place.
She looked exhausted as Aster helped her sit down on the ground, before wiping the blood from her face.
They exchanged a few more words, no doubt Aster asking if she was alright, as I saw her nod yes in return.
After that, he pulled the dagger from the ground and started to make his way back over to me.
Clearly, the gods had spoken.
They had gifted me their power.
And now, there was nothing left but to…
Hope fate was on our side.