The Spirits of the Universe (PJO)

Chapter 53--We Make Liam Upset

A/N--I have some personal matters to deal with, so, unfortunately, there will not be a chapter released next weekend. However, I hope this chapter keeps you satisfied!

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When we returned to the mayor's residence, it was still nighttime. I'd been worried that Ananke's Crystal would only return us to the city and we'd have to find a way to infiltrate into the palace without alerting the guards, but, fortunately, we appeared right in our room.

Unfortunately, we were dropped right onto a sleeping Liam. Before we could react, Aridne's feet slammed into his solar plexus, while I fell with all my weight onto his groin. I don't think any amount of apologizing is going to make him want to be my friend again.

Aridne and I scrambled off of him as fast as we could. We exchanged a glance, then looked at Liam's sleeping body.

At first, only his lips twitched. Thirty seconds later, he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Aren't you guys supposed to be sleeping like responsible guests?"

"Liam! You're . . . okay?" My voice came out more confused than relieved, but you couldn't really blame me. I'd been imagining many disastrous scenarios—many of them including Aridne and I desperately trying to silence a screaming Liam before the guards came to investigate. But Liam was acting like nothing had happened—as if we'd woken him up with a gentle tap on the shoulder.

Maybe you stimulated his pain receptors so much that they overloaded, End suggested. 

Wait. No.

That wasn't End. Those were my thoughts. I'd no longer have any help from the being inside my brain. I was on my own now, fighting against enemies that any other demigod couldn't even imagine facing against—

I'm still here, Order pointed out awkwardly. End . . . she's throwing a bit of a tantrum at the moment. She might be my sister, but I—more often than not—disagree with her ways. 

Okay, fine. I might not be alone, but I'd no longer have the sarcastic remarks that plagued my brain whenever something mildly entertaining happened. 

"I'm surprised you're not rolling on the ground in pain right now," Aridne said to Liam.

"What, with your measly weight?" he scoffed. "It didn't even hurt that much—I'm used to getting banged up much harder while sparring. It still hurt plenty," he hurriedly continued when Aridne took a threatening step forward. "There's no reason to do it again."

"It was an accident," I explained. "We're not going to hurt you again." I shot a warning glance at Aridne.

She looked away, grumbling something under her breath that I'm glad I didn't hear.

"Where were you guys?" Liam asked, changing the subject. "I thought we all agreed we'd get a good night's sleep."

"I just went on a walk—" I started, but then Aridne interrupted, "We scouted with Ananke's necklace."

I winced in anticipation of Liam's reaction. My friend was naturally a very adventurous guy—he found it hard to sit still even in the calmest of times. And, the one time he finally managed to suppress his reckless tendencies, we'd gone and done something exciting without him (well, not exciting for me, but Liam like anything dangerous).

I'd wanted to avoid this explanation for as long as possible. However, it was too late now. Aridne had ripped the bandage off without even consulting me.

Sure enough, Liam freaked out. "Are you kidding me?" Liam exclaimed.

"Shh," Aridne warned. "We're supposed to be sleeping right now."

Liam lowered his voice, but not by much. "I thought we had a deal. Spend the night here calmly, and then we could do whatever the heck we wanted to in the morning!"

"That was the plan. But Percy decided to wander off and start panicking, so I had to to think quickly to distract him."

Liam wheeled on me, and I couldn't believe how fast the the conversation had turned to attack me. "How is it my fault? I was minding my own business on a private balcony."

"I've been led to believe that giving you time to mull over your thoughts often leads to less than ideal outcomes," Aridne countered.

I began to argue, but then I realized that she might've had a point. I couldn't remember the last time that I'd dealt with my thoughts in a sane way.

No. It was much better to stuff all the grief, sorrow, and doubts somewhere I couldn't reach. I knew that it wasn't healthy. But there was too much—and not enough time to sift through all of it.

"I'm going to sleep now," Aridne said. "Don't disturb me."

"You didn't even tell me what you found!" Liam protested as she collapsed on the bed.

"Percy can do that. Keep your voices down, though—or I'll physically remove your voice box."

We gulped in fear. Then Liam turned towards me, and I explained everything—from the location to the caravan and even about End.

When I got to the part about seeing Niyomina, Liam's eyes widened in understanding. "No wonder Aridne seems like she's in a bad mood."

I looked at him curiously. "What do you mean? She always acts like this."

"I heard that," came a muttering from the mound of blankets on the bed.

Liam must've not wanted to test her patience, because he quickly changed the subject, lowering his voice. "So . . . is Lady End still not talking to you?"

"No. It's like she's gone—I'm not even sure if she's even listening anymore."

"In that case, your choice was right. I knew Lady End wasn't on your side. She must be horrible to deal with, reading your thoughts and all."

Um, Order said tentatively. She's not gone. Again, she's throwing a major temper tantrum in the corner, but she can still hear everything.

Oh, I said. 

Probably the best to not tell Liam about that.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," Liam continued, blissfully unaware. "Best to get some sleep."

If he could look into the future, he might've had some idea of how big of an understatement that was.