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

Chapter 57

Chaos, Psi, and Jessica spun around as we opened the throne room doors. Their eyes widened in surprise as they realized who we were.

There was a tense silence. Finally, Omega spoke to Chaos. "I see you have recruited my son to be one of your commanders."

Son? My mind whirled. The only one old enough to be Omega's son would be Psi. But he didn't act anything like Omega . . .

And then I knew.

Psi was annoying, arrogant, and irritating. Carson—the only son I knew Omega had—was annoying, arrogant, and irritating. Plus, Psi had seemed very concerned about the state of Omega.

Psi was Carson.

However, I didn't get one thing: Why did Psi never take off his cowl? Normally, you would wear one to hide your identity, but I already knew his identity—and so did Rosaline, and probably our other quest members. Psi wore it like a piece of religious clothing—I doubt he even took it off in the bathrooms we had crossed during our adventure.

"It was my only choice, considering I'm missing my best one," Chaos replied in an accusatory tone.

Even though we were on opposite sides, Chaos still acted like the Chaos I knew—which was relieving. So I decided to speak up. "I very much doubt you don't have any other person who would be competent in Omega's role."

"That's true," he admitted. "But Psi convinced me—"

"You just wanted to stop hearing him complain," Jessica muttered. She was on the last step up to the throne, still with one hand on Void's orb.

"He did not!" Psi exclaimed. "I got this position fair and square!" He turned to Chaos expectantly. "Right?"

Chaos looked speechless; as though he didn't know how to respond without making someone in the room angry or doubtful. Fortunately, Omega saved him.

He'd noticed where Jessica was in the room. "Now that we're having a friendly conversation, why don't we all gather away from the room?" Omega said in a calm tone, but there was a tenseness behind it.

Jessica noticed it and smirked. "Why? Scared I'm going to grab Void and run away?"

That's Void?! I thought unbelievably. Previously, I'd thought the orb was her power. But now, knowing that Void was the orb . . . it was a full game changer. 

We weren't trying to protect a person. We were trying to protect an object—something that could be lost and kept by the opposing side easily.

"No," Omega replied. "I'm scared Lady Void's going to hurt you."

Jessica laughed condescendingly. "Look. I don't mean to insult such a powerful entity, but if she can't make a physical body for herself, how is she going to—?"

The orb pulsed, releasing another wave of energy. It threw Jessica into the air like she was a scrap of paper. A few tense seconds passed before she crashed into the far wall. She probably would've broken through it if it hadn't been made out of the glowing, godly white stone the full castle was built out of. But now I was worried the wall broke her bones.

Psi rushed towards her, but Jessica groggily sat up, using the wall for support. She swatted Psi's hands away as he tried to help her stand. "I just crashed into a wall, idiot. I can barely see straight, and you think standing up is a good idea?"

Psi shrunk back like a kicked puppy. "Sorry," he muttered.

Omega softly elbowed me in the side, making me look at him. "Help me stall for a bit longer," he hissed.

"Me?" I asked incredulously. "Why? You're doing fine on your own."

Omega glared at me. "I just caused Jessica to be thrown into a wall."

"And how is that a problem. She's not on our side, isn't she?"

He looked at me incredulously, as if confused why I hadn't understood yet. "Lady Void is really close to reforming. But that takes a lot of power. And she just threw Jessica, a primordial into a wall hard enough to stun her . . ."

"Which takes some of the power she needs to reform," I finished, finally able to discern what was happening. "And, in turn lengthening that time."

"Exactly. Don't let Lady Void use her powers—Oh, no."

I followed his eyes—and my heart thumped anxiously.

Chaos, Jessica, and Psi were nowhere to be found. The only evidence that they'd been here in the first place was that one of the windows was broken, allowing us to hear the chirping of birds in the early morning. 

I rushed towards the window, stumbling the last few steps as I looked down, assessing the distance to the ground. Fifteen feet. If I jumped perfectly, I probably would have no injuries. I looked up, towards where the window was facing. I was staring into the castle's large central courtyard. I spotted three figures sheathed in black pass through the southern arch which led to the city.

Omega pointed towards the throne, where Void's orb was no longer present. "They took Lady Void."