DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

8

"We haven't gotten any good news since you kidnapped us," Keith said, rolling his eyes.

"You humans are so dramatic," Hecate scoffed. "This would hardly be considered kidnapping."

"Oh, yeah?" Keith said, rising to the challenge, his nausea seemingly disappearing. "You took us from our homes against our will, and now we're forced to do your bidding. I don't know about my teammates, but I'd call that abduction any day of the week."

"Definitely considered kidnapping," Josh agreed, nodding.

"You all did very well," Ares said, strategically changing the subject. "But Hecate is right; you will face much tougher battles on your journey."

"What's the bad news?" Rose asked nervously.

Ares sighed, massaging his temples to ease the headache that had been building since early morning. The humans' constant whining and nagging did nothing to help. "Alexander is headed to the underworld sooner than we expected."

This was just perfect. They'd barely managed to take down the Manticore—a creature more horrendous and terrifying than anything they could have imagined. How would they handle something worse? These thoughts swirled in all the young demigods' heads.

"What does that mean for us?" Jasmine asked.

"It means you'll set sail tomorrow," Hecate said. "Your first stop will be the island of the Cyclops."

"You really think we're prepared for that?" Ban scoffed. "Sun boy here couldn't even fight on his own! He had to rely on Rose just to keep from puking!"

"Oh my God, Ban," Keith gritted his teeth. "You wanna start something?"

"There's nothing to start!" Ban threw his hands up. "Clearly, you can't fight alone."

"How about I show you that I can?" Keith said, a flame bursting into his palm.

"Oh, so now you want to fight since the scary monster is gone?" Ban taunted. "Fine. I should beat your ass after that stunt in the arena. Our teammate could have died!" He pointed at Rose.

"But she didn't!" Keith shouted. "No thanks to you, by the way. Don't think we forgot how you fumbled that poison talon that nearly hit her! You know who caught it? Me!"

"Because she was controlling you!" Ban screamed. "Don't take credit for her power!"

"And don't take your shortcomings out on me," Keith retorted, finally throwing the fireball at Ban's head.

Ban anticipated the move, letting his skin become translucent so the fire soared straight through him, leaving no mark. He charged at Keith with rage painted on his face.

"Stop fighting, you idiots!" Jasmine yelled to deaf ears.

Ban landed a punch on Keith's cheek, sending him to the floor. Keith grabbed Ban's ankle, scorching it ruthlessly. Ban hissed in pain, kicking Keith off hard enough to cave in the ground slightly beneath him.

"Incredible strength," Ares remarked approvingly.

"Stop it, both of you!" Rose snapped as Jasmine and Josh restrained Keith and Ban, keeping them apart.

"No one died. I'm right here. I don't need either of you holding guilt—the talon didn't hit me." Rose ran a hand through her hair, clearly aggravated. "And frankly, it's a little insulting. My powers may work differently, but I'm still a demigod, just like you."

"Besides," Jasmine said, holding Ban tightly in case he tried to charge again, "we need to be in kumbaya mode by the time we set sail tomorrow."

"What even are Cyclops, anyway?" Josh asked, holding up Keith's bloody face.