When Time Runs Out-Chapter 2

“Oh my gods, my brains on fire!” Aisling shouted into the air as she scratched her head in frustration. Several owls turned to look at her and give her warning looks, which she saw and shrank into herself. “Sorry about that.”

The owls looked at her for a few short seconds before continuing with their work. Aisling had spent what felt like an eternity in the library looking for anything she could find on the Elementals or the location of the remaining spheres to control them, but nothing seemed to be helping. On the other hand, she was happy that she even had the chance to reenter the library, as last time she had pissed off a pretty big owl. Her grandmother, Metis, had sorted it all out so she could enter, but was on strict probation. No running, no loud noises, no food, no drinks, no killing people, and no taking books out of the library.

“Any luck so far?” Metis said as she dutifully placed books on the shelf behind her.

“Nothing yet; a lot of these books are so old that they don’t translate well into the modern world because they are too vague to even start to get an idea,” Aisling grumbled. “Ash has the water and earth spheres, but the Collector has the Elemental of fire, as well as half a dozen others.”

“I’m sure it isn’t that bad,” Metis said, looking at the concern on her granddaughter’s face, but still knowing her well enough to see the over exaggeration in her voice. “Yes he has captured a few of the fundamental forces of nature and no one has been able to track him down…”

“You really know how to make a struggling legacy feel special,” Aisling interrupted.

“I can’t help that I’m blessed with an overabundance of logic my dear. However, keep in mind that this Collector does not control them or has gained their trust, only earning their resentment. May the gods help him if any of them manage to escape from him,” Metis mused.

“You can be pretty intimidating when you want to be,” Aisling noted before returning to her books.

“Where do you think your grandmother got it from? Not Zeus, I can tell you that much,” Metis said before returning to her work as the librarian for the largest library in existence. Aisling on the other hand kept looking for anything and everything until she got so bored that she had absentmindedly reconstructed the Washington Monument from book.

“Guess that’s my grandfather’s influence,” Aisling said to herself. Hermes was always known as a traveler and a real trickster. Every time Aisling got bored, she was almost compelled to break a few rules. Another owl turned its eyes toward her and she waved a hand at it. “I’ll put it back, don’t worry.”

The owl just rolled its eyes and flew off, something Aisling didn’t know owls could do until she spent enough time here. She began to disassemble her masterpiece of creativity, but unfortunately her and slipped and the entire thing fell over one top of Aisling and she fell to the floor with an avalanche of books falling on top of her.

“Ow,” Aisling said to herself as she checked for any minor injuries. She leaned back against the shelf she had fallen against and took a quick breather. She had defeated some of the most dangerous monsters and Elemental creatures alive and she was defeated by a pile of books. As she shifted, she looked up just in time to see a book fall off one of the shelves and have the corner hit her square in the forehead before falling into her lap. “Ok, that one really hurt.”

She rubbed her head and could already feel a lump forming, but when she was just glad that there didn’t appear to be any blood. She tried once again to collect herself and found that nothing was seriously hurt except maybe her own pride. She looked down and found that the book had opened up to the story of Perseus. It was a story that she had heard a hundred times before in Greek Mythology class from Chiron or whoever was leading the class. Perseus had to get the head of Medusa, so he collected a bunch of magical items like the flying sandals, Hades’ invisibility helmet, and a shield he used to see around corners so he never looked directly at Medusa. In a way, Perseus’ shield was the first version of the mirror shields used at camp.

“I heard a ruckus; is everything alright? Oh my gods, what happened?” Metis said as she rounded a corner to see Aisling covered in books and a bruise on her forehead. Metis almost ran over and took a look at the growing bump, so she kissed her fingers and placed it on Aisling’s forehead, causing the small lump to fade away to nothing. She then helped Aisling up and began to pick up the books, with some help from a few owls as well. She then saw the open book in Aisling’s hand. “So, find anything interesting?”

“No, just an old story about Perseus and the Gorgons,” Aisling remarked. “The book fell on my head and I need a break from studying. I was just thinking that Perseus’ shield was like the mirror shields we use at camp to spy on the other teams.”

“I remember that shield well. Athena drew up the blue-prints herself and had Hephaestus make it. Once finished, she gave it to Perseus as one of his many gifts,” Metis said, looking over the passages of the book.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I never heard that version,” Aisling argued. “Pretty much all sources said it was just a shield that was highly reflective, that’s it.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“You’re right, it isn’t like I was alive when the shield was made or anything so how would I know,” Metis rebuked, giving Aisling a stern look as if asking for a challenge.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Point taken,” Aisling conceded. “But then why is it only glanced over in the myths if it was so special?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Because Perseus didn’t want anyone taking his most valuable prize,” Metis said, but Aisling only looked at her in confusion. Her eyes on the other hand were filled with the need to know more and Metis waited just long enough to make Aisling almost go crazy from anticipation. “The winged shoes and helmet were fine tools by themselves, but the shield had a power by itself. Much like your mirror shield as you call them, his shield could also see great distances. In fact with it, he could see almost all of the known world and with pinpoint accuracy. In fact he could just say what he wanted to see and the shield would move on its own. Really Hephaestus and Athena could make the most useful of tools when they worked together.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“And this shield could see anything?” Aisling questioned, the gears in her mind turning as a plan began to form in her mind.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Almost anything, but as long as you knew what it was you were looking for you could most likely find it,” Metis informed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Any idea where one could find this shield?” Aisling asked, ready to explode from excitement.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Nope, lost to the sands of time I am afraid,” Metis said, waving her hand as if to brush off a thought floating around her head. “Anyway, a librarian’s job is never done and I need to get back to work.”

<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as Metis left the room, Aisling called one of the owls down and asked for a pen, paper, and a stamp. She then frantically began writing a letter to Ash. With all the shifting weather patterns, Iris Messages had become unreliable as signals began to cross with other messages. The OPS was really the only way to get into direct contact with anyone.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hope you get this,” Aisling said and placed the letter in the outgoing mail bin, as well as a single golden drachma. The two items disappeared and the sound of snakes could be heard echoing around the room. She then turned around and yelled into the library. “Goodbye Grandma and thanks for everything! I need to get back to Camp Half-Blood; I think I have a plan!”