Page 52 of Taurus's Quest
“I have them,” Asterion stated as he emerged from the portal room, drawing Leo’s notice. The warrior reached for a weapon, only to find his hip bare. Warriors didn’t tend to go around armed in the sanctity of Tower.
“Behind you, Taurus!” Leo balled his fists, ready to fight.
“No need to freak out. Asterion is here as my guest,” Taurus explained.
“You brought back the minotaur?” Leo exclaimed with a dropped jaw.
“And the plans for the device. Mind handing them over?” Taurus cast a glance over his shoulder.
“Seeing as how you held up your end of the bargain, time for me to do the same.” Asterion put down his cat and pulled the sheets of paper from his vest. Taurus took them with a nod of thanks before holding them out to Leo.
“Can you get these to Aquarius?”
“Why can’t you?” Leo asked, even as he took them.
“I gotta go back for Circe.”
“You left her in the Labyrinth?” An exclamation made by a round-mouthed Leo.
“It was the only way Asterion would agree to give us the plans. Speaking of whom, can you get him settled?”
“Sure. I’ll bet Tower’s already got a room ready for him.” Leo strode toward the minotaur and held out his hand. “I’m Leo.”
Asterion stared at the hand before sliding his slightly hairier grip into it. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“First thing, let’s get you situated in an apartment so you can bathe because, dude, smells like you haven’t touched soap in a while.”
“A few centuries at least,” was Asterion’s sheepish reply. “Supplies became scarce when Labyrinth stopped receiving visitors.”
“Well, that won’t be a problem here. Tower supplies everything we need.”
As the pair headed off, the cat trotting in their wake, Taurus briefly wondered what Aries would say about their new resident. Probably nothing, so long as the minotaur didn’t cause trouble.
With Asterion and the schematic for the Antikythera mechanism heading to Aquarius, Taurus exited the building, only to halt abruptly at the sight of the smooth sandbox. His diagram from that morning had been wiped clean and his sheet with the calculations, also gone, tidied by the efficient Tower.
Bloody hell. It meant he’d now have to waste time jogging up the many flights of stairs to get Aquarius to print out a new copy. He sprinted and took the steps three at a time, unlike Asterion and Leo, who walked up casually, the cat perched on the minotaur’s shoulder.
Leo paused when he heard him coming. “Forget something?”
“Need my math,” Taurus huffed as he passed them without stopping.
“That is a man in love,” Asterion stated almost, causing Taurus to lose his rhythm.
Love? It might explain his desperation to return to Circe as quickly as possible.
Upon hitting the administrative level, Taurus ran into Aries exiting his office.
“Back so soon? How did it go?” his boss asked.
Fuck. Taurus paused, hands on his hips, breathing a little rough since he’d pushed himself hard. “Got the plans. Actually, Leo does.”
“Why the rush?”
“I need to return to Crete to fetch Circe.”
“You left her behind?” Aries arched a brow.
“Part of the bargain I made with the minotaur, who, by the way, is currently getting the grand tour of Tower with Leo.”
