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

Chapter 61

Finding an empty table wasn't a problem.

I didn't know until that moment, but Omega was a pretty intimidating guy—at least if you crossed him as a stranger, of course. He led me to a corner where a group of guys was busy drinking. Dozens of empty glasses were scattered over the table, making me wonder if they were staying there because they weren't finished—or, in their drunkenness, they forgot how to walk.

One look from Omega was all it took for the guys to split.

They all went in different directions, crashing into tables and making a big ruckus. Two skidded into several waiters, causing them to drop their plates on the ground, and the sound of glass breaking made me wince. To my astonishment, the drunkards immediately collapsed onto the ground and devoured the spilled food. One of the other men uncontrollably toppled onto the door, and the drunkards were released on the street. A bouncer emerged from a door, grabbed each of the hungry drunkards by the scruff of their necks, and chucked them out of the door before it could close.  The room was filled with a collective sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere became calmer. All this happened within a few seconds.

By the time I looked back, a waiter—a nervous young boy decked out with a velvet tunic—was already at our table, dropping a menu before clearing the table for us. However, at the speed he was cleaning, it would be a while before he was done. Meaning Omega, the waiter, and I would have to stare at each other in unnerving silence—for a few minutes.

However, Omega couldn't stand that. He snapped his fingers—and everything disappeared from the tabletop. Even the glasses the waiter had painstakingly put on his serving plate.

The waiter looked so shocked, as though he was going to faint then and there. He froze, not knowing what to do.

I shot Omega an incredulous look. "What was that for?" I exclaimed. "You're going to have to pay for the glasses as well!"

Omega just looked at the boy, who was still frozen. "Your manager in that kitchen is pleasantly surprised that you delivered so much dirty glassware in such little time," the primordial told the boy calmly. "He's thinking of giving you a promotion."

The waiter and I looked at him in surprise. Since when could he sense what people were thinking? I wondered.

The boy finally unfroze and bowed shakily. "Thank you for that, sir." He fished a notebook and pen out of his clothes. "What may I get for you today?"

Omega tapped his finger on his chin, as though he was thinking—but instead of at the menu, he was looking at the ceiling. "Hmmm . . . We'll get everything."

Once again, I found myself teaming up with the boy to shoot an incredulous look at Omega. "Are you trying to lose all your money?!" I exclaimed as the boy dubiously said, "Everything?"

"Well, everything except the alcoholic beverages," Omega corrected. "We don't want to turn into drunkards, now. Water will be fine." He paused for a moment. "And don't give any multi-serving plates."

The boy furiously scribbled on his notepad for a few seconds, then looked up. "That'll be . . ." he started.

"This should cover it," Omega said, throwing a small money pouch at the waiter.

The boy opened the pouch and gasped in shock. I leaned forward and found myself staring at dozens of small, polished, titanium coins. 

I didn't know how much it was but given the boy's reaction, it had to be a considerable amount.

But I still was surprised when the waiter, with a shaky hand, lifted one coin into the lamplight and said, "This will cover the cost and more. I'll get your change and meal delivered when they're ready."

"Keep everything," Omega said when the boy attempted to hand the money bag back to him. "Consider it as a tip."

This time, the boy stared at him in with so much shock I was worried about his stress levels. He gave a numb bow again. "Thank you so much, sir," he said, then pocketed the change page, and hurried into the kitchen.

Once he disappeared, Omega burst out laughing. "That boy was so shocked he almost had a heart attack!"

I glared at him. "Do you have a death wish?" I gestured around us. At the closest tables, people were looking at us with greed—as though they were going to mug us to get more money.

Omega just glared at them and the people quickly glanced away. He smirked at me. "I can handle mere mortals."

"Didn't look like you could back outside with those Chaos soldiers," I muttered, but he still heard it.

Omega immediately became serious. "That's different."

"How?" I challenged. 

"They're doing nothing but following orders." 

"And how the heck does that make any difference?!" Without thinking, my voice was beginning to rise. "They're trying to kill us."

"Not by choice," Omega countered hotly. "You wouldn't understand."

From the side of my eye, I saw a coterie of waiters emerge from the kitchen and march toward our table. At first, I was afraid they were going to kick us out, but then I realized they were carrying dozens of steaming plates of food, soups, and salads. They set down everything on our table, and then quietly left.

Until then, I didn't really realize how many items were on the menu. At first, when we were ordering, I figured that such a simple inn would have a pretty simple menu. But now, our whole table was covered with a variety of meats, sandwiches, salads, steaming plates of pasta, and things I couldn't even recognize. My stomach grumbled; everything looked delicious.

But I still had an argument to win.

"Try me," I said coldly. "I'm not as dumb as I look."

"What?" Omega looked at me in surprise. "That's not what I meant . . ."

I felt anger boiling in my veins. "Then what did you mean? Or are you too scared to admit that a regular Chaos soldier is stronger than you?" The second the words were out of my mouth—even in my enraged state—I knew I went too far.

Omega bristled—but this time, it was in anger. "I've honed all my powers and skills to perfection over hundreds of years," he said quietly, "but all of them are meant for assassination. Tell me, how do I win a fight without taking a life when all I've trained to do is to kill?"

The front door opened, and four men wrapped in cloaks entered. They would've looked like a normal group of travelers, except for three things: nobody sane would travel through Aurelia at this time; they wore cowls that covered their faces from view; and, finally, they immediately made a beeline towards us.

In any normal situation, Omega would've immediately clocked them as enemies. But this wasn't a normal situation. I had made him so furious and focused on our fight that he failed to even recognize that our food had been served. Then again, I'd caught a glimpse of the travelers but dismissed them as normal since I was desperate to stop this argument.

"I apologize for my accusations," I offered Omega. "I haven't eaten for a while, which has made me very cranky and detestable—"

The travelers finally reached our table. The leader slammed his fist on the table, making the plates jump and interrupting me mid-sentence. "Omega and Percy Jackson. In the order of Lord Chaos, you two are hereby under arrest."

With that, the Chaos soldiers drew their swords and pointed them at us.