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

Chapter 56

"Let's go." Omega softly patted Fauvel on the flank, and the horse charged forward.

I leaned forward, transmitting to Charlotte that I was ready when she was. Even though it wasn't the first time I had ridden Charlotte, her extraordinary speed still caught me off guard. I was nearly thrown from the saddle. The humid air rushed past me, ruffling my hair—and at this speed, it became significantly colder. My eyes smarted. The thunderous sound of horse hooves filled my ears.

I didn't know where we were going—and neither did Charlotte, but Omega seemed sure, so we followed him. We wove through narrow cobblestone streets, taking abrupt turns that made me clutch the reins tight and think I was about to be thrown off. But through all of this, I could still hear the mounted soldiers boring down on us at a steady pace: clomp-clomp clomp.

I had a zillion questions flying through my mind. Why were there so many Chaos soldiers in Aurelia? Did they defeat the Void surprise attack? Or did they give up on defending and decide to attack as well? If that was the case, why did they have so many resources?

Upon hurtling through a corner, I spotted the north castle entrance: A pair of engraved oak doors with a drawbridge fully extended over the dry moat that surrounded the castle—now guarded by six Chaos soldiers. Four of them readied their bows, while the others raced down the stone steps towards the winch which controlled the emergency portcullis.

Up ahead, Omega directed Fauvel, directly charging for the soldiers with his sword out. They scattered, giving him a wide berth. As I neared, however, one of the soldiers desperately threw his sword, cutting the chain to the lever which locked the winch as Omega passed through. The winch spun wildly, uncoiling the rope. The portcullis hurtled down. With their swords out, the soldiers took positions in front of it, determined not to let me pass.

I gulped. The thunder of horse hooves behind me seemed to come closer with every ticking second. I was cornered.

We'll get through in time, Charlotte told me confidently. Though you'll need to distract those soldiers in front of us.

I didn't know if she was lying to make me feel better or telling the truth, but I knew one thing: if I didn't try, we would be killed no matter what. With one hand on the reins, I carefully pulled Riptide out of my pocket and uncapped it with some difficulty. As the bronze blade started appearing, I quickly threw it horizontally in front of me. The blade spun in the night air as the soldiers' eyes widened in fear and they scattered once more.

But now, we had the portcullis to worry about. It was already halfway down, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we weren't going to make it. I held my breath. At best, the portcullis spikes would hit me in the chest while Charlotte galloped through unharmed—

Charlotte suddenly doubled her speed, nearly throwing me off once again. The thunder of horse hooves became blisteringly loud in my ears. The air felt like it was trying its hardest to drag me back, while my bones rattled with the vigorous up-down motion. Eventually, we passed through the northern arch—just a few moments before the portcullis reached the ground, so close that even Charlotte had to bow her head a few inches lower.

The soldiers' horses on the other side whinnied in fear and skidded sideways, but most of the soldiers still collided with the iron gate.

"Our other soldiers will get you," the captain growled at me hatefully.

I gave him the most irritating smile I could muster. "If they're as incompetent as you, that won't be a problem."

I turned my attention to the room we were in. Given the hay and a few stables, I assumed we were in the northern stables. Omega was directly to the left of me, stabling Fauvel. I dismounted Charlotte and led her to the open stable next to him. She happily trotted inside, allowing me to close the gate.

I patted her mane. "You'll be okay here?"

The soldiers can't kill me if that's what you're trying to ask, Charlotte said. I'm immortal—and besides, Lord Chaos wouldn't stoop that low.

That nasty captain would, I wanted to say, but I managed to keep it in.

"We've got to hurry before these idiots start tugging on the chain as if it would raise with their weight," Omega scoffed, gesturing out to the soldiers who were still glaring at us angrily.

"Will that work?" I asked.

"I'm not staying here to find out." With that, he led me through the maze of hallways that was commonly known as Void's castle. I had no idea where we were going, but Omega seemed confident. Again, through our path, I saw nobody. All the hallways were deserted—which formerly, I had been excited about, but now, it seemed like a nightmare; nobody was there to help us.

Eventually, Omega skidded to a halt. I barely managed to stop before hitting him. I was ready to berate him but followed his eyes. My heart skipped a beat.

We had entered a large room lit by torches. The walls were blocked by gigantic shelves holding bins and bins of maps. It was not unlike the map room in Chaos' palace. 

Four Chaos soldiers had started a small bonfire in the middle of the room and were hurriedly running from the shelves to the fire, trying to burn the maps. They noticed us almost immediately and straightened up—drawing their swords.

Omega and I whipped out our swords too (well, I uncapped mine, but let me be normal for once), and attacked. Omega took on three soldiers, while I was left to duel with a brute.

We danced around the room, parrying time and time again. Given my opponent was bigger than me, I was forced mainly on defense, with seldom opportunities to attack. I caught a glimpse of Omega slamming one's head onto a table, spearing through the clothes of another, pinning him to the wall, and engaging the last in a sword fight.

However, I wasn't as competent as Omega on a good day—even with my powers. Now, I was exhausted from all the escaping from Chaos soldiers with no break, and my powers had been confiscated by a dracaena. The soldier I was fighting was getting stronger, sensing I was weakening. He doubled his attacks, forcing me to desperately be on defense. I stepped back onto a plastic circular case that used to store a map. It rolled under my foot. I crashed to the floor.

The soldier raised his sword, preparing to end me—when an arm wrapped around his neck. Omega's arm. The soldier he had been fighting was on the ground, unconscious.

Omega tightened his grip around the soldier like a vise. The soldier tried to fight back with his sword, but Omega swatted it away—knocking it a few feet away from him. A few seconds later, Omega dropped his limp body to the floor.

"He's not dead," Omega told me when he noticed I was looking at him with morbid fascination, not believing how easily he took out the soldier. Omega quickly walked out of the room.

I scrambled after him. "Thanks for saving me."

"It was nothing," Omega said dismissively.

After a few minutes, we passed a gallery full of windows and found ourselves outside the doors of the throne room. Omega pushed the engraved oak doors open . . .

Only to see Chaos, Psi, and Jessica—who had her hand on the green orb.