DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

11

The next morning came faster than anyone wanted it to. Everyone was still exhausted from the previous day. They hadn't gotten much of a break—they'd had to fight two monsters, come face to face with Alexander, and barely escaped an intense fire.

Luckily, Rose was feeling much better. She had just hit her head on the wall too hard and was knocked unconscious but was otherwise perfectly healthy.

The group made their way toward the boat that would be taking them to the cyclops island. It was a large sailboat with plenty of space below the deck for dormitories. The group took to exploring and discovered a kitchen with a stocked pantry so they wouldn't have to worry about food, a bathroom, a small common area with a couch, and two bedrooms.

It was clear the journey they were on would take multiple days at the very least, but it could be even longer depending on what happened. It was reassuring to know that, at the very least, the gods had made sure they had the bare minimum supplies to survive.

"How do we know we won't get lost?" Jasmine questioned.

"The sea will guide you to where you need to be. Poseidon's power may be drained, but he still has enough strength to guide your boat," Ares explained.

"Try not to rely on him too much," Hecate warned. "All of his power could be drained at any point. You need to pay attention to the compass and map at the head of the boat."

"Right..." Jasmine trailed off. As much as she hated to admit it, it filled her with a loving warmth that her father was taking the time to guide them on their journey across the sea. Logic screamed at her in the back of her mind that he was only trying to save his own skin, but her soft heart wanted to believe that he cared about her deep down.

"Well, you lot had better be on your way." Ares crossed his arms as he stood next to the sailboat on the dock beside Hecate. "Good luck. You'll definitely need it."

Hecate remained silent, her expression seemingly neutral as to not give away any of her emotions. One would even think she didn't have any to begin with, but if you looked closely, you could see her jaw clenched and her right foot tapping softly. She was very nervous about how the demigods' mission would fare.

Without giving a proper goodbye, both gods disappeared, leaving the half-bloods alone on the boat.

Keith and Ban took to raising the anchors while Josh pushed the boat off the pier and jumped on. The water immediately began to pull them in the direction of their destination. It would take one day and one night to reach the cyclops island, so they had plenty of time to strategize about how they wanted to go about their mission.

They decided to hang out at the top of the deck, considering the weather was pleasant. The sun was shining brightly, but it wasn't casting down harshly, and there was a soft breeze that tickled their skin.

"In the story of Odysseus, he had to escape from a cyclops named Polyphemus. In order to escape, he had to cut out the monster's eye, blinding him. He then had to hide within the monster's sheep to escape the cave where he was being trapped," Jasmine explained. "If I had any guess on where Aphrodite's armor is, it's probably in Polyphemus's cave."

"That would make sense." Rose nodded. "Would Polyphemus even still be alive? It's been centuries since Odysseus fought the cyclopes."

"Honestly, I don't have an answer to that." Jasmine cracked her knuckles as she glanced down at the water.

"We should prepare for him to still be alive," Ban said. "Greek monsters live much longer than humans do, so it could be possible that he's still alive."

"Well, if he's blind, then he doesn't seem like much of a threat," Keith shrugged.

"Odysseus barely survived even with Polyphemus being blinded," Jasmine scoffed.