Page 154 -- XVII.

Chapter Seventeen: ‘Hold thee dear...’
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Hector proceeded on, though the cruiser now sported a bent kickstand, a grass-smudged dent in the gas tank, and a missing left side mirror. His helmet had cracked open like an egg, and now he could feel the wind brushing the top of his head.

He soon stopped to refuel. He looked for a new helmet in the shop, but it didn’t have any.

‘Maybe you should just use your helm,’ the reaper suggested.

Hector reached into the satchel over the rear tire and pulled out the helm. The large gouge across the top right temple abruptly reminded him of his fight with Geoffrey.

‘Then again, maybe not.’

Hector pursed his lips to one side. ‘I think I... hmm...’ He pressed his palm to the metal and slowly moved it across the cut. In his hand’s wake, the sundered metal was filled in. Once finished, he held it up to look at his work. His iron was clearly darker than the rest of the helm’s sheet metal, so it looked like a kind of jagged scar with specks of iron splaying outward.

Garovel tilted his head. ‘Hey. Since when have you been able to do that?’

‘Uh... just now, I guess. I didn’t really think it’d work, honestly...’ He tapped a finger against it, and the iron rattled. ‘Ah, it’s loose, though. I couldn’t make it fit perfectly...’

‘Oh, why don’t you just cover the whole thing?’

‘Huh?’

‘Instead of just filling it in, add an entire layer of iron.’

He blinked. ‘That’s a great idea...’ He breathed deep and moved his hand all across the helm until it was completely darkened. The dents from the original molding were no longer visible. The new coating stuck fast, one solid chunk. ‘Wow... it’s a lot heavier now, but it’s a lot stronger, too...’

‘And it doesn’t look so shit anymore.’