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

Chapter 71

The soldiers in front of us stepped aside as Charlotte and I galloped closer to them, revealing the open gate once again.

It was clear: They were giving us a chance to flee.

I glanced around hopelessly. It seemed impossible to escape the clump of soldiers, let alone reach Chaos and challenge him. 

But as I stared at the gate, an idea formed in my mind.

When the soldiers moved, Charlotte slowed down, not knowing what to do. I tugged at the reins. Keep moving, I told her, as I stood up, this time wary of any soldiers who wanted to jump on me.

She did, her hooves pounding up clouds of dirt. I noticed the soldiers surrounding us lower their weapons, thinking we chose to run away. I smiled. You all don't know anything.

The whinny of horses behind me caught my attention. I spun around, only to find the two soldiers that'd been chasing us right behind us.  Given their murderous demeanor and weapons, they weren't going to allow me to "escape."

As Charlotte passed through the gate, I leaped towards the arch holding the portcullis with Riptide. The sword stabbed into the stone, and I found myself hanging half a story in the air above a mob of soldiers that wanted to kill me.

Below, I heard several startled shouts, and then half the soldiers streamed up the towers again, aiming to intercept me before I could climb up. The other half stayed below me, looking like they wanted to butcher me to pieces.

Charlotte thundered away from the city, not looking back. Within a few seconds, she disappeared into the forest without a trace.

At the same time, the archers on the roof aimed at me, no longer letting me be. The sound of bow strings twanged through the air, and I suddenly found myself being bombarded with arrows.

Meanwhile, the two soldiers on horses leaped off their mounts towards me. I quickly lifted myself up. My arms burned and I was panting with exhaustion, but I didn't stop until I was standing on Riptide. The soldiers' swords scraped the stone right where my abdomen was a second ago.

From my vantage point, I could see a good portion of the city block, including the street I'd just been on. The soldiers from the alleyway had swarmed into that same road. There were so many I could barely see the cobblestones.

Crack. 

Behind me, a rock broke away from the wall and plummeted to the ground, followed by a yelp of pain as it hit a soldier.

When I looked back, my heart stopped. Riptide was slowly breaking out of its hold in the rock; my weight was too much for it to hold.

Below me, the soldiers jeered as a few more pieces of the wall dropped down—it was apparent they knew what was going to happen.

I knew what was going to happen too and I didn't like it. I looked desperately up at the top of the wall, where I could barely see the merlons, the protective extensions of the wall stretching out to reach the sky. There was no way I could get over there . . .

An arrow thwacked into the stone, only a few millimeters from my chest. I quickly set my foot on the shaft and pushed up to stand on it. I then found the edge of the wall a few feet above me. With some luck, I'd be able to grasp it.

So I lunged for the edge. My fingers caught, but before I could pull myself up into a better position, an arrow sliced into where my head just was. Distracted by the sound, one of my hands subconsciously released its grip, and a second later, I found myself dangling helplessly.

Suddenly, a head peeked over the wall. It was Jessica, and a small smile grew on her face when she realized my situation. 

"Don't you dare," I warned her as she approached closer to my position, moving on the parapet. 

Jessica said nothing, but the smirk on her face conveyed everything she wanted to say as she reached down, grabbed my hand, and pushed it off the ledge.

Jessica groaned in disappointment when I simply landed back on the arrow shaft again. "Don't try to come up here. I won't let you."

I've heard that one before, I wanted to snap back sarcastically, but I caught myself. Jessica was right; I was caught in a vulnerable position where I was under the fire of archers and my only safe place was where she was. I was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue, but I still had a lot to do.

Jessica's voice had too much sweetness in it when she spoke. "You're running out of time."

I glanced to the side. Indeed I was. The soldiers had made it halfway up the tower, and weren't showing any signs of stopping. Their plodding footsteps could be heard over the sound of bows and arrows, and the shouts of the soldiers beneath me.

"You're right," I said to Jessica. "Maybe I should do something about it."

Jessica's smirk disappeared off her face when I launched myself up. She lurched forward, but it was too late. Both of my hands had a solid grip on the ledge.

Still, Jessica didn't give up. She pried one of my hands off—and when she did, she tried to throw me off.

But unlike last time, I still had one hand to support me as I grabbed her wrist and used her weight to pull me onto the parapet.

Jessica drew her sword with a hateful expression on her face. "I won't spare you."

I gulped; Riptide was still embedded in the stone below me, and it wouldn't reappear in my pocket for a good minute.

Jessica advanced with a murderous smile. I matched her, backing up. My back hit the merlon, and I almost plunged over the wall. I windmilled my arms, and when I got my balance, I turned back again—only to find Jessica two steps from me. 

She smirked. "Goodbye, Perseus."

Before I could say anything—or Jessica could stab me, I heard the sound of something slicing through the air.

 Jessica's eyes widened in surprise, and I realized she was looking behind me. I quickly ducked, rolling to the side, landing in the shade of a merlon.

Jessica wheeled on me, raising her sword to cut me down . . .

When an arrow pierced through the sleeve of her sword arm.

Jessica stared at it for a moment, as if she couldn't believe she'd gotten hit. Then she yelped in pain, dropped her sword, and ran into an arch behind her. It led into the nearest tower. 

I smiled, studying the shiny silver droplets of Jessica's blood on the parapet. Maybe luck is on my side after all.