The Silver Ring (PJO)

Chapter 27

The second stab came from my left. Since I was ready for it, this time I simply moved back a step, letting the weapon go past me in the front harmlessly. Then, I grabbed the wooden shaft of the spear and tugged on it, knocking the second attacker to the floor.

While I was doing this however, a third attacker came behind me and stabbed me in the back. The only reason I didn't die was because of my armor. The sharp steel of their sword clanged harmlessly of the metal, making me stumble forward in surprise to the strong hit.

I jumped backwards, dodging another hit from the first attacker. The third assailant was closer behind me than I realized, meaning I collided with their body. They grunted in surprise, their guard down for a split second, which you better believe I took advantage of.

I quickly disarmed them by twisting their wrist to the point they had to let go of the sword. By the time the weapon clattered on the ground, I had pinned their arms behind their back with one arm, and put my sword on their neck. Feeling the sharp metal on their neck, they stopped struggling to escape.

I blindly dragged the attacker to a corner, hiding behind them as though they were a human shield. Now, I was protected on all sides, guessing that they probably wouldn't hurt their own kin to get to me.

"Take one more step and I'll gut him!" I shouted to the dark, pretending I could see the other people. When my hostage grunted, although this time sounding more annoyed, I realized my mistake. "Uh . . . I meant her!"

Someone in the room unsuccessfully tried to stifle their laughter. Then, I heard the distinct sound of them getting elbowed in the gut to shut them up.

Now, my hostage started shaking, as though she was crying. I quickly realized she was silently laughing. Why isn't she scared of dying? Unless . . .

I groaned out loud. "If this is a test, I swear I'm going to go crazy." This was addressed to no one in particular, as I had no idea—if I was right—who was running this plan of sorts.

The girl I was holding—threatening, really—stiffened in surprise, giving me my answer. 

Exactly two seconds later the lights turned on in the room, blinding me. I instinctively let go of the girl and dropped to the floor. A millisecond after, a throwing-axe was flung to the spot I was at, thudding into the wall.

"Carson!" a voice said in a scolding tone. "Don't kill my favorite demigod!"

"Just look at him!" a whiny voice exclaimed, who I thought was probably Carson. "He's pathetic!"

Recognizing the first voice, I slowly got up, knowing I wasn't in danger anymore. I looked around the room, observing that there was no furniture or anything to make it seem lived-in. It just had four walls, a door, a roof, and a floor.

I turned my attention to the people a few yards away from me. Thirteen were in the center, all in very beautiful or handsome adult forms. Each had a unique and suppressed aura around them, matching to each throne in the throne room. Primordials.

Sure enough, there stood the familiar forms of Nyx and Gaia, staring at me in amusement. Normally, I would've immediately attacked them, but my realization held me back. 

Then, there were six people standing beside them. One was dressed in full black with a hood on, covering his face. He was proudly standing up straight, giving me the sense he was a person holding high power, not to mention the fancy designs on his uniform. Next to him was an average-build, seventeen-year-old with dirty-blond hair. He was slouching, and held a throwing-axe in one of his hands, no doubt the twin of the one he threw at me, making his name Carson. He had an arrogant expression on his face, and was scowling at me with hatred in his eyes. With all these hints, I immediately classed him as a spoiled, rich jerk.

Next to him were two women and a man, all wearing the same black uniform as the cloaked person, although they were plain, probably marking them as regular soldiers. I surmised that they were the people that had "attacked" me. They were staring at me curiously, as though they wanted to see how I would react to the insult.

I turned my attention to Chaos and raised an eyebrow, standing where I was. "Am I right to assume that you weren't actually sad?" I asked.

Chaos had opened his mouth to respond to Carson, but upon hearing my words shifted his attention to me. "Well, of course!" Chaos exclaimed. "Did you really think I have such absurd mood swings?"

"Oh," I said in a way that made it seem as though I hadn't, deciding to mess with him. "I already told my friends how I made the Creator of the Universe heartbroken . . ."

"You did?" Chaos asked, a bit of worry trickling into his voice.

" . . . and how he burst into tears," I continued, repressing a smirk. 

"That is preposterous!" Chaos spluttered out. "I did not break into a bout of tears!"

By now, I had caught the soldiers biting their lips in order to stay silent, while the primordials were looking on in amusement. They all probably had never seen Chaos act like a child. 

"Then did something fly into your eyes?" I asked innocently. "I was sure I saw your eyes welling up."

Carson decided to cut into the conversation. His face had gotten redder and redder the more I talked. "How can you let him talk to you like that?" he exclaimed to Chaos. 

Then, he marched up to me, holding his weapon up threateningly.