The Spirits of the Universe (PJO)

Chapter 13--A Death Order Spells My Name Wrong

Okay, I might've been a little too dramatic. But when something spontaneously erupts right in front of you, you don't hang around to check out its size.

As the free half of the card flipped onto the ground and exploded, Liam and I dove out of the way. My legs slipped into the cover of the stairwell just as a piece of molten hot plastic burrowed deep into the handrail. I'm glad that wasn't my head.

For once, I'll have to agree with you, End said.

But she, along with Order, were the only ones that approved of our actions. Aridne glared at us from the top step. "Great job, guys. Why don't you start shouting as well? It'll bring the soldiers over faster."

"We get hurt, and you don't even ask us if we're okay?" I asked incredulously.

"We almost got hurt," Liam corrected.

"It doesn't matter! You still put us in a dangerous situation! My plan would've been so much better."

"It's not like mine didn't work," Liam countered. He gestured back at the explosion.

I peered through the gap between the handrail and a support beam. The smoke had started to dissipate, allowing me to see the doors—or what remained of them. They lay on the ground like defeated soldiers, their hinges a mess of torn Chaos silver. A two foot wide semicircle had been carved straight through the edge of the door, and the rest of the material had been blackened by soot.

"Why is it so overpowered?" I asked as I pulled myself painfully up. 

Liam brushed some black dust off his sleeves. "All our badges are like that. Instead of your Greek Fire, which would be confiscated on sight, these badges are meant to be used as conspicuously as possible. And as you can see, they're pretty effective."

Maybe too effective, I thought to myself as we stepped over the remains of the doors into a . . . filing room?

"This is where all the confidential orders are kept," Liam explained as he grabbed a stack of files and began flipping through them. "If Chaos really wants to find someone . . . well, they're going to be here."

Following Liam's lead, I grabbed my own stack of papers. There was a line of desks on the nearby wall, but something told me that I didn't have enough time to take a seat.

That explosion was something, End agreed.

 Those cards . . . they hit harder than some minor gods' weapons, I said as I squinted at the letters dancing in front of my eyes. How is it possible to make such a powerful thing?

It isn't—unless you're my sister. You tend to skirt the rules of the universe when you're the one who made them.

Then why doesn't she just magically find her book, then? It would sure save all of us a lot of trouble.

Eternity is a powerful entity, Order said. Even Chaos has to tread lightly when it comes to matters with her—one small misstep, and a few dozen galaxies could be erased within a moment.

That sounds lovely, I said sarcastically.

Why don't you focus on finding the man who can prove your innocence rather than a hypothetical war? End snapped. 

I was trying my best. But even after working in five minutes of silence, there were only normal situations—reports of monster hunts on faraway planets, records of glimpses of Eternity soldiers on Chaos territory, and news of Chaos soldiers disappearing on multiple planets.

What the hell is going on? I'd enjoyed my time on Planet Chaos—up until the whole traitor thing, obviously. Never once had I heard of people going missing or enemies approaching us. But as I read deeper through the reports, dread coiled around my heart. I'd seen this happen before. This wasn't peacetime. This was the beginning of a—