The Silver Ring (PJO)

Chapter 20

"Is there a chance that the people we heard were guards?" I asked, hot on the soldier's heels.

We slipped through several passages, not staying in one for too long. At first, I thought it was so that the strangers couldn't spot us, but there was a part of my brain nagging that something was wrong.

Something was wrong, and I thought the "wrong" were the unknown people. So I just ignored the feeling.

"All of the soldiers wear specific boots that make a specific noise," the guard replied. He wasn't even panting, which was incredible, since the armor he was wearing was no doubt hundreds of pounds. It was meant more to protect the user by sheer strength rather than agility. "Those definitely were not soldiers. In fact, I'm not sure they're wearing shoes at all."

"Do you know if there're any guards we can ask for help?" 

"The remaining ones are in the bedroom, Your Highness. The protocol for an attack is to protect the outside entrances, not the actual palace itself, and also the royal family. We're almost there. I ask you to not talk anymore, Your Majesty, as they might find us."

I was about to tell him to call my "Percy," but then it occurred to me that saying it would be disobeying his request. So I just closed my mouth. 

I capped Riptide again but kept it in my hand, since it was easier to run that way without fearing I would say something. 

The soldier motioned me to start slowing down, which he was also doing. With one more turn through a hallway—the castle was literally a maze—he opened a blue door and motioned me to go inside, while he scanned the hallway quickly.

I stepped into the dark room, my instincts immediately screaming at me of danger. Get out of there!

"Are you sure this is the right room?" I asked warily, uncapping Riptide and holding it In front of me.

The only reply I got was the door slamming shut behind me. The room was now fully pitch black, and my heart was beating so fast I was afraid it was going to burst. 

I slowly backed towards the doorway, feeling behind me for the door handle. When my hand touched the cool metal, I almost shouted (not screamed) in fright, showing how jittery I was. But when I realized what it actually was, I immediately capped my sword and desperately pushed it down. I slammed into the door, making it open. Light spilled into the dark room, and I ran without sparing a glance backwards . . .

At least, that was what was supposed to happen. Instead, I bounced of the door like was a metal trampoline, barely catching myself before I fell to the ground. I didn't know what to do, and I was thinking I would be stuck in there until the attackers were—hopefully—put down and everything went back to normal.

Or, they would just find a pile of bones on the floor after a few years. There was no point in yelling for help; there was probably no one out there, and as far as I knew, the door was a few inches thick, and it would muffle my voice.

I was brought back into reality when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Run!

I dropped onto the floor a moment before something hit the door with a shriek of metal clashing on metal. If I still had been standing, it would have probably killed me.

"Welcome Perseus," said a female voice that filled me with dread. "Or should I rather say 'tourist'?"

I immediately scrambled up to my feet and uncapped Riptide. "Nyx. Why are you here? This isn't your domain."

Nyx laughed in a way that made fear crawl down my spine. "Do you think I don't know that, son of Poseidon? I can go wherever I want."

Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, making me dubious if she was actually in the room. "Are you the reason Atlantis is getting attacked?" 

"Actually that was somebody else, I just used this opportunity to get you alone," Nyx said sarcastically. "Of course it was me!"

"Are you here for revenge?" I dropped my sword on the floor. It clattered on the ground and rolled a few inches away from me. "You can kill me. Just don't destroy Atlantis."

There was a pause before Nyx spoke again, and she spoke in a tone that made me think she was surprised. "What good would it do if I killed you?"

"You just threw something at me!"

"That was for intimidation," Nyx said dismissively. "I knew you were going to dodge it."

I almost sighed in relief, but then realized what she meant. "You know I won't join you."

"Maybe, maybe not," Nyx hummed sardonically. "What if I told you I could get you out of your marriage?"

"What do you mean?" 

There was no way she would know about Chaos. At least, I thought she didn't.

"What do you think it means?" Nyx asked. "I know what Chaos did. I can get you out of what he asked. Or you could die. Your choice."

I gulped. This "vacation" wasn't really turning out to be relaxing.