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

Chapter 33

" . . . It'll take him more two weeks to heal," an unfamiliar voice said in pity.

I woke up and tried to open my eyes, but they felt like heavy sandbags. My full body felt numb, but that was way better than I had felt after being gouged by the hellhound. Still, given how shallow my breaths seemed and how I felt restrained, there was a chance I was wrapped in so many bandages I looked like a mummified corpse.

"We don't have that much time," A familiar voice said in a panic, one that I still couldn't quite place. "Anything you can do to shorten the recovery?"

My head felt as though someone was banging on it like it was a drum—but I don't know why that was the case since all the damage happened in my chest region.

"Unfortunately, no," the unfamiliar voice I identified as a young doctor said apologetically. "His body has to heal on its own—and two weeks for this much damage is a very speedy recovery already. Unless he has some powers that could help?"

"Water!" the familiar voice exclaimed, and I finally recognized who it was; Psi. "I've seen him heal deep wounds with water!"

Oh no, I thought, worried.

"We could try that," the doctor said skeptically. "But I've never seen any hydrokinetics do that before."

He left the room, and after a few minutes came back. Given his rougher breathing, I assumed he was carrying a very large vat of water.

"Here," he said breathlessly. "I'm going to need help pouring this on him."

"We can't put him into the water?" Psi asked, sounding like he was frowning. 

"He really shouldn't move right now. He's in a fragile state."

Screw that, I thought, determined.

They counted down from three so that they could coordinate their efforts. But little did they know that I wasn't a willing patient, and I wasn't unconscious.

Three. I gathered my strength, feeling the remaining energy in my body bunch up in my arms and legs for my desperate move.

Two. I took a deep breath—or as deep as I could with all the bandages tightly wound across my ribs—and envisioned the space. The doctor and Psi were on my right, which meant I couldn't go that way lest I knocked them over and injured them. Since there was no background noise, it was safe to say I was in a private room, and there would be adequate space to my left for whatever I was going to do.

One. In one coordinated move, I pushed myself off the bed with my remaining strength just as the water was splashed onto the location where I just was—it never touched me, but it was so close that my skin cells cried with joy.

But there were two things I couldn't estimate; the height of the bed and the type of floor I was going to fall on.

Turns out, they were both bad for a fall.

I fell for what seemed like minutes but was probably a few seconds—then landed on a marble floor. The numbness receded, followed by a sharp wave of pain that made me gasp and open my eyes.

It turned out that I was right about the room; it was a private bedroom. There were no windows, which didn't allow me to know whether it was day or night, while everything was clean and tidy. Doors on the sides led to a closet and a bathroom. The furniture seemed to be at the minimum—enough to live on for months, but not in immense luxury—making me think these rooms were meant to be for injured people.

Psi and the doctor were staring at me in shock—but I had to guess about Psi, since he was still wearing a hood, albeit a new one. They were holding a vat big enough to house dozens of fish comfortably, but the water it had held had been absorbed by the king-size bed I had been sleeping on.

I had also correctly estimated the doctor's age; he was young, only a few years older than me. He wore a black uniform with a sword strapped to his side. Given his muscular figure, he was a soldier in addition to his medical expertise.

"Now what was that for?" Psi asked me, his shock beginning to recede. He helped the doctor put the vat onto the ground to free their hands.

"What was that for?" I repeated incredulously. "You were about to dump several gallons of water onto me!"

"So?! You love water!"

"Not anymore!" I bit my lip, trying to contain my secret, but it was too late.

Psi's confusion skyrocketed. "You don't?"

Before I could say anything, the doctor cut into our conversation. "Obviously, your friend doesn't want water dumped onto him," he told Psi, "so you should respect his opinion."

Psi glared at him. "Look here, buddy. It's either violating my friend's consent to help him heal or letting us lose the war. I think it's an obvious choice. We do not have two weeks."

The doctor scoffed, gesturing towards my bandages. "Even with all the world's water, you're not going to heal all of his injuries."

"You'd be surprised how effective water is towards him."

How effective it's at restraining me, I thought grumpily.

"Why can't you take a high-ranking Chaos soldier with you instead of him?" the doctor asked. "He looks tired as hell."

"Do you know who Rosaline is?" Psi said. "The third in command?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I know about her? She's one of the best warriors and leaders the universe has ever seen—and my role model."

"Well, my friend here"—Psi pointed at me—"has defeated her several times."

The doctor looked startled. He suddenly drew his sword and pointed it toward me. "He's a Void soldier?!"

I gulped. My future did not look good.