Aegis

Chapter Twenty Eight--The Kraken

Kyros jingled the chains on his wrists out of boredom. After two weeks of being with the Rogues, Pluto had finally given the order to have Kyros restrained. Kyros did not include Reyna or Ares in the decision since they argued against it.

"It's unnecessary," Ares had said.

"He needs to be restrained," Pluto had said.

After healing Kyros again, Pluto had gone to the deck.

Kyros didn't blame her. After his escapade in Delos, the girl would have to be the most naive prison guard ever to leave him unrestrained when she had access to cuffs. Ironically, Kyros was sure he could pick the lock on the cuffs anyway.

"Eat the octopus," Ares said.

Ever since the Rogues had set sail on the week-long journey to Altera, Ares had made a point to spear some weird sea creature and bring it for Kyros to eat. Oysters, clams, horned-fish, sea spiders--every variety of animals. Kyros usually ate them.

For the fifteenth-hundred time, Ares offered Kyros a bite of the slimy, charred eight-legged fish thing. For the fifteenth-hundred time, Kyros refused to even touch the weird animal. The legs could've stuck in his throat.

"It looks like a monster."

"It tastes good."

"No thank you."

The ship jerked up from another large wave. Since they were under the deck, every time the ship shifted, the movement was unexpected for both Kyros and Ares. Fittingly like the monstrosity it was, the octopus fell off of Ares' eating stick. Ares ate it anyway.

"Someone's coming," Ares said.

Kyros sighed. Without his bow, his hearing wasn't sharp enough to pick up sounds before Ares could. Before their visitor came below deck, Kyros leaned forward, spread his arms out, and slipped his feet through the loop. After a bit of work, he managed to get his hands behind his back again.

"Captain," Ares greeted.

The captain, a naval warrior from Pluto's hometown, greeted Ares with a sharp nod.

"How is the prisoner?" the captain asked.

"Kyros is doing fine. He hasn't been any trouble, as I said before."

"He's a prisoner."

"If we were to speak strictly, we kidnapped him," Ares said. "Either way, he won't be any trouble, Captain. Good night."

Ares gestured for the Captain to return above deck. Obviously irritated, the captain left Kyros and Ares. Again, Kyros was perplexed over the hierarchy outside Delos. Ares, a man as old as his father, followed Pluto, a girl his age. The captain, the leader of the ship, listened to Ares, a passenger.

"He listened to you pretty quickly," Kyros said.

"Imperis wielders and people dubbed 'heroes' hold a lot of weight in the Decapolis," Ares said.

"You're Rogues."

"Pluto's city's one of the ones who are unofficially in our support," Ares said.

Swaying again, the ship tipped Kyros over onto his side. Irritated at his hands position, Kyros repeated the process of slipping his feet through the opening in his arms and getting his hands in front of him. In the meantime, Kyros continued talking.

"My point was you call yourselves heroes when you endanger innocent people," Kyros said. "You are heroes. Is it worth it to defeat the Chimera if you hurt them?"