Kai and Cara both laughed out loud as I stepped away from them.
“You should step back,” I said.
Cara took a small step back, but Lady Kai remained standing where she was. I smiled at her confidence.
I lifted the huge weapon and swung it in a lightning fast arc around my head before slamming it into the ground. The shockwave blasted through the ground around me, rocking the nearby trees and sending a flight of startled birds shrieking up into the air. Kai lost her balance and stumbled a few steps backward. Cara, who had been expecting the shockwave, reached out and caught Kai’s arm to steady her.
I swung the mace again, up and forward this time in a two-handed grip, as if deflecting a blow. With that thought, power rushed up from the earth through the soles of my feet, up through my chest and out through the mace.
There was a crashing sound like rocks slamming together. To my amazement and great satisfaction, a thick sheet of stone, smoothly curved and about six feet across, appeared in front of me. It looked like it was functioning as a kind of earthen barrier. I stepped away from it and swung the staff again at the stone shield. The rock-hard edifice shattered into hundreds of pieces, the whole thing falling harmlessly to the floor.
“To think I’ve been wearing that power around my neck ever since I came of age,” Kai marveled.
“The Persona magic is incredibly powerful,” Cara said to her. “It’s only through Leo that I’ve been able to discover just how powerful.”
“So you are not a Soul Binder yourself?” Kai asked. She seemed surprised.
Cara shook her head, smiling as she looked at me. “No, Leo is the Soul Binder. I am able to share the power through my... connection with Leo.”
“Is that right?” said Kai, and I could see her musing on Cara’s words.
“If you wished it, I’m sure Leo would be willing to share the power of the Personas with you also,” Cara suggested, her smile growing a little wider. “I’m sure he’d take great pleasure in doing so. Perhaps I could watch? Or, if you’re willing, I could join?”
“Perhaps I might have that honor one day.” Kai smiled politely as she said it, but I could see from her face that she was still not entirely sure what form the connection between Cara and I took.
I thought it might be time to change the subject. “Shall we test the new mace?” I suggested. “I think it would be good to test it out against some projectiles.”
“I know just the thing,” Cara said.
Kai stepped back a bit. “I think I’ll stay out of the way.”
“Ready?” Cara asked, looking at me.
I held the mace up and spread my feet into a fighter’s stance. “Ready. Give it all you’ve got.”
She whipped out her bow and nocked an arrow quicker than you could blink. I flipped the monstrous head of the mace up and drew the power from the earth to summon the stone shield spell. A hail of arrows flew at me, but the shield sprung into being around me. This time, it was larger, like one side of a curved stone dome which had the potential to completely surround me, even though it didn’t do so just now.
The arrows rattled harmlessly off the outside of the stone. When I broke the spell, the wall shattered, but the pieces hung suspended in the air in front of me. I felt the power of the nameless Earth Persona surge through me, and I hurled the shattered shone-shield away from me. A wall of sharp stone shards flew across the clearing, where they hit a tree and scattered.
“That would cut an enemy to pieces!” Cara marveled.
“I can certainly see it coming in very useful,” I agreed. “Let’s up the stakes a little. Let’s try one of your ice and fire explosions against my stone shield.”
“Are you sure?” said Cara. “What if it doesn’t work?”
“In that case, the Ironside armor will protect me from the blow. Come on, I’d like to try it.”
The excitement of experimentation flashed in Cara’s eyes. “All right then,” she said with a smile. There was a shimmering around her, and she changed from her Tree Spirit Persona to her manifestation of the shinobi outfit.
“I’m looking forward to this,” Lady Kai said as she folded both arms over her ample breasts.
“Ready?” Cara called, her hand hovering over the shuriken belt.
“Ready!” I called back.
I slammed up my stone shield again, and Cara spun a flight of icy shuriken stars whistling through the warm air across the clearing at me. They thudded into my shield, and I heard the crackling sound as the ice sheet formed on the outside of the stone barrier. It took an effort of will to maintain the spell, and I braced myself for the impact of the explosion. A fire arrow hit the ice, and the thick orange flames rolled over the edges of the shield. It was very impressive to see the power of Cara’s fire and ice from this angle, and very satisfying to realize that my new spell could easily resist such power.
I dropped the stone wall, letting the pieces fall to the ground.
“Well, that worked!” Cara said, seeming a little breathless.
“It certainly did!”
Her eyes dropped to examine the Ironside armor I was wearing. “And your armor has changed, too.”
I glanced down at myself. She was right. The Ironside suit had always been big, but since I’d merged the nameless stone-spirit’s power with it, the metal plates had expanded even further. Angular runes were intricately traced in glowing blue and black detail across the edges of the plates. Despite the increase in size, the suit felt like it had become streamlined. The angles had smoothed out, the sharp edges had become curved. It felt light and easy to move in, as if the suit of armor bore its own strength that was supplementing mine.
“You look ready for whatever challenge life throws at you now,”
