The Spirits of the Universe (PJO)

Chapter 18--We Piss Off Another Important Dude

A/N--I definitely didn't publish this part a day early and then panic. Definitely not. Just like how I definitely don't want you to enjoy this chapter :)

(But for real—enjoy :))

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The partygoers sitting beside the Wolf sprang up, unholstering their weapons—a bobby pin transforming into a mace, an aluminum bracelet into a spear, and a watch into a sharp dagger. It was clear that these guys were more than friends—maybe bodyguards?

"Why do we always have to piss off the wrong people?" I complained while Aridne pulled off her claw clip, which shifted into her two swords. Her flawless black hair fell to her shoulders in a way that was way too distracting.

"There's no time for jokes," she said as the crowd finally caught wind of the weapons. Women, children, and men screamed, and some people even fainted on the spot. "They're coming."

"Right." I quickly uncapped my pen, which, in hindsight, was a really bad idea. Seeing my weapon, the crowd now ran away from me. In a matter of seconds, the bodyguards had a clear path toward us. 

"Get them!" the Wolf ordered in a gravelly voice that I definitely wasn't jealous of. 

He would make a great bass in my choir, End noted. Don't hurt him too much, will you?

You have your own choir? I had to ask. 

I did. A millennia ago, before—before all of this. Some of them are probably still alive, which makes the issue of us separating from you a lot more urgent. 

Fourteen guards charged toward us. Aridne took seven, which might seem fair—but I barely caught her smirk as the biggest of the bunch made his way toward me with a scythe with a blade that Demeter would've been proud of. Great. Now, I actually have to try. 

The first four were on me. I quickly disarmed one of them, using him as a human shield as I weaved through the soldiers. I stabbed Riptide through the thigh of the man I was holding. As he groaned in pain,  I grabbed several plates from a nearby table and smashed them on any skull in my vision. Ten seconds later, six guards were groaning in pain in a sea of glass shards on the ground. Only the big guy was left.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as I jumped back from a scythe swing—only to find it cleave straight through a table. "I just want my friend back, then I'll leave you and your boss alone! How does that sound?"

"The Wolf wants you dead," Giant grunted, "so you die."

"It's always the biggest ones that are the most loyal," I groused, stumbling back into ready position.

Meanwhile, Aridne wasn't doing much better than me. She'd gotten four of them down with nasty gashes on their limbs, but the last three hooded ones proved to be much more experienced. They circled her cautiously, leaping in to attack her only when her back was to one of them.

"Why don't you fight like real soldiers," she snarled. "Then I'll show you what the art of the blade really is."

The guards looked at each other for a moment, then lunged at her as one. But Aridne was ready for them, parrying two blades with one swipe and using her other sword to disarm the remaining strike. She swiftly kicked the couple in front of her, stabbing forward with her swords . . .

But she'd completely forgotten about the third one. He jumped forward into a scathing stab that would've shish-kebabbed Aridne's spleen if she hadn't dived out of the way. Her swords clattered out of eyesight as she hit her head on a fallen chair. 

"Die!" the third soldier snarled. 

Before he could raise his sword, though, a shout rang out. "Aridne! Watch out!"