The Golden Amulet (PJO, Sequel to The Silver Ring)

Chapter 22

Percy, Rosaline, Adriana, and Psi tensed and their hands tightened on the grip of their weapons, ready to defend themselves if the soldiers dared to attack them.

However, before the soldiers could even take a step, Chief Katuni spoke. "Stop," he commanded them.

The soldiers hesitated, not sure if they heard him right. "But . . . they're Chaos soldiers," the female soldier with blond hair said, stressing on "Chaos" as if she was talking about trash or a bug, instead of the person who created the universe—and admittedly, her.

"And I'm your commander," Chief Katuni said in a sharp tone, telling the soldiers he wouldn't take any more disobedience. "These people said they just need one night to rest. If we kill them mercilessly, Lady Void won't like it."

"Yes, sir!" The biggest soldier replied, but then muttered under his breath, "I really wanted to squash some people."

Percy gulped at what this meant. Thankfully, it seemed like he would have his life for at least one more night.

However, this seemed unreasonable since the soldiers glared at them as they reluctantly sheathed their swords.

Moreover, from the previous conversation, Percy had learned a lot of things. 

And none of them were good.

These soldiers worked for Void. Chief Katuni was their commander, so, by that thought, he was a high-ranking Void officer. That meant this village wasn't a village, and might as well be another defense base or something else that was crawling with Void soldiers.

In other words, they would be hunted as soon as they left the building.

But Chief Katuni seemed to be friendly, or, as friendly as one could be to one's enemy—neutral. So when he shifted his attention towards Psi, Adriana Percy, and Rosaline, they quickly took their hands off their weapons and tried to look as non-threatening as possible.

Chief Katuni didn't seem to notice their hasty movements. "One night?" he asked.

"One night," Rosaline confirmed, shaking his outstretched hand firmly. "Then we'll be out of your hair."

"I don't have any qualms about that." He glanced at his soldiers, who were still glaring at them. "Then again, it's apparent that I'm the only one with that opinion. I'd advise you to watch your back."

Rosaline smiled. "Many thanks for your generosity. We'll set up camp a few miles away from you, so we won't be in your soldiers' way."

"You must be hungry." Chief Katuni snapped his fingers and a servant—who was just a disgruntled Void soldier seemingly on probation—entered the room and offered them a plate full of cooked cod.

Given the troubled expressions on his comrades' faces, it seemed as though they were feeling as famished as him. But Rosaline wasn't accepting it for some reason, and Percy followed Rosaline, no matter how famished he was—and Adriana seemed to have the sense to listen too.

But Psi didn't. "Ooh!" he exclaimed like a little boy, reaching for one. "Thanks."

However, Rosaline deftly slapped his hand down.

"Ow!" he shouted, cradling his hand. "What was that for?"

"Your stupidity, you idiot," Rosaline hissed through gritted teeth, quiet enough that only Psi, Percy, and Adriana could hear. Then, she turned to Chief Katuni. "I think we've taken enough of your time," Rosaline said in a pleasant tone, pasting a forced smile on her face. "Thank you for your hospitality. We'll make our own food after we set up our camp."

"Not a problem," Chief Katuni said diplomatically.

Rosaline motioned for Psi, Percy, and Adriana to follow her out of the room. 

They immediately obeyed, even Psi, who was obviously angry with her; Rosaline was generally level-headed and pleasant, but she expected an order to be followed when she gave it.

Once outside, they immediately made a beeline away from the village. Rosaline's smile promptly dropped off her face.

Percy noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"And why did you hit me?" Psi added.

Rosaline glared at Psi, and he shrunk back. "You almost took food from our enemy, you blockhead."

"He was nice! And welcoming!"

"There's a reason why we tell kids not to accept candy from strangers."

Percy suddenly realized why she was so angry. "You don't trust him. He might've poisoned the food."

"Of course!" Rosaline exclaimed, making people from the nearby houses peer out curiously. When they saw who it was, however, they looked disgusted and immediately went back inside. "He seems too smooth. Heck, if I was in his place, I would've poisoned the food too and be done with it!"

They passed the northernmost house. Instead of setting up camp a few miles north, Rosaline turned towards the forest.

"Where are we going?" Percy said, speeding up to catch up with her.

Rosaline glanced at him. "Isn't it obvious? The forest."

"Hey!" he cried out, offended. "Give me a break. I'm not that stupid. You told Chief Katuni we'd be 'setting up camp a few miles away.' We are a few miles away, but it doesn't seem like we're going to stop."

"You're correct. Why would we set up camp where Chief Katuni knew exactly where we were? We'd be vulnerable. I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend precious days reforming lest he decides to attack."

At the same time, he saw Adriana take a long glance at the village. There was an unfamiliar emotion on his face, one that his brain bugged him to figure out, but he pushed it aside. There were other things to worry about.

Like not setting up the damn camp inside a forest that was thicker than a bear's hide, and had thorns almost everywhere. In addition, sunlight could almost never penetrate the roof formed by thick branches and leaves of trees, while there was no way he was going to sleep on the muddy and wet ground punctuated every inch with hard acorns.

Essentially, his nightmare.

Rosaline pulled out her sword and began hacking a crude path through the shrubbery, making appear as though his newfound fear of camping would be tested. 

"Besides," Rosaline continued, "we're not going to 'camp,' if that's what you're worried about. I'm not that much of a monster."

"But we are going to stay in the forest?" Percy asked.

"Yep!" she confirmed happily. "Enjoy our stay!"

Her voice was drowned out by the drawn-out groans her confirmation received.