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

Chapter 44

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Rosaline exclaimed angrily at Psi, who was cowering away from her.

We were back up on top of the mountain, and nothing had changed; Charlotte and Aeschylus were still arguing, while Psi was staring down the cliff, maybe regretting his life choices, but I had the sense he was smirking. 

Though that changed the moment he saw Rosaline storm toward him with me trailing behind her.

The trek up the mountain was grueling and long; the "path" Rosaline had led me on was basically a part of the mountain that was barely flat enough for us to ascend. This meant that half of the time, I was catching myself a second before I plummeted down the mountain and killed myself for real this time.

It was terrifying—but sadly, this was one of the least dangerous experiences I ever had. It was like riding a bike for the first time. 

A bike, where if I fell off, I would die. 

On the flip side, this strenuous exercise of my muscles did well to warm me up. But it also did well to tire me out.

By the time we finally made it up, I was coated with snow and all I wanted to do was fall asleep right there and then. But the only thing that stopped me from doing this was my excitement of seeing Rosaline rag out Psi—and boy, did she do well.

At first, Psi tried to take the innocent approach. "What do you mean?" he asked, his fear only slightly noticeable since it was coated with fake confusion. "What did I do?"

"'What do you mean?'" Rosaline repeated incredulously. "Please explain to me why I had to catch Perseus out of the air while I was trying to get up here a moment before he died?"

I winced at what would happen next; Rosaline didn't use my full name often, but when she did, it was because I was in serious trouble—or someone else was for messing with me. Even though I hated Psi, I had firsthand experience of how painful Rosaline's punishments were—and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Or in this case, Psi.

Meanwhile, Rosaline's voice had been loud enough to disturb Charlotte and Aeschylus' argument. They now looked on at Rosaline and Psi, interested in what would happen next. 

"He might've slipped," Psi suggested diplomatically, with a hint of desperation in his voice. "I don't know. One moment I was looking at the horse"—he pointed at Aeschylus, who huffed, offended about how Psi addressed him—" and the next moment Percy was nowhere to be seen. I assumed he tripped and fell off, and the moment before you are I was trying to see if he was still alive."

I, for one, Aeschylus said, do not agree with his stupid human's account of what happened. Is he as bad at lying as he is at thinking?

Charlotte nodded in agreement.

Rosaline immediately caught on to the lie. "I would've accepted that story from anybody except for you," Rosaline said. "I am disappointed with you, Psi. I expected better."

However, Psi still tried to act innocent, even though he must've known his gig was up. "I don't understand," he said. "Why are you angry at me for something I couldn't have prevented?"

"Why don't I throw you off this cliff and see how many times I could've prevented you from falling," Rosaline said coldly.

If it was anyone else, that threat would be fake, and easily detectable as a bluff. 

But with Rosaline, she'd actually do it. (Of course, she wouldn't actually let him die—probably save him with a portal that would teleport him back on top of the mountain—but falling off the mountain range would still be terrifying.)

Psi gave up on acting innocent—but he really didn't have a choice. "What am I supposed to do now?" He asked, acting like his normal, sulky self again. "Apologize to him?"

"I mean, I would really appreciate it," I cut in as Rosaline opened her mouth to respond. "Especially if it was sincere. Like really sincere. Because I doubt I would accept a less-than-sincere apology for throwing me off a cliff and nearly making me die. But it would have to be—"

"In short, no," Rosaline told Psi, interrupting me. "You're going to pay in another way?"

"And what's that?" There was an undertone of nervousness in his voice.

I looked at Rosaline in interest, curious about how she would make Psi pay.

"I haven't thought that ahead," Rosaline said, throwing up her arms in exasperation. "Just it'll be something bad. Something that'll make you regret your actions."

"But what did I do to deserve such punishment?" Psi asked. "And such bullying?"

"You pushed me off the cliff," I reminded him. "I almost died. And I think bullying is the least of your problems. That already happens regularly."

Psi spluttered angrily at my indirect insult. "How dare you!" he raged. "I do not get bullied regularly!"

"You're just in denial," I taunted him. Truth be told, I wasn't doing this just to prove my point; I also wanted to get some petty revenge. I'm very big on loyalty—and heck, it's even my fatal flaw—which meant I took Psi's action as more serious than I maybe should've.

But it still felt good.

Psi stormed up towards me. "I'll throw you off the cliff again and we'll see who's the one getting bul—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Because Rosaline stepped forward and knocked him out with a swift karate chop that made contact with his neck.

Psi's unconscious body fell towards me, but I stepped out of the way so he got a face full of snow. "What do we do next?" I asked Rosaline. 

"We regroup. And think of a punishment for Psi."