Struck by Lightning

XXIV

A/N

Including this chapter, I have seven chapters planned for this story before its conclusion. This includes three chapters for the rest of the second arc (including this one), three "finale arc" chapters, and one epilogue chapter. Next week will not feature an update, but I will (hopefully) update every Monday after that for six consecutive weeks, concluding with the epilogue on October 1st, the one-year anniversary of this story's beginning.

The three-part finale arc will take the place of the third arc of this story, and each chapter will likely be longer than normal. I hope you are all still enjoying the story, and without further ado, I present Chapter 24: A Pyrrhic Victory.

Percy was grateful when they finally landed on the shore of the island of Lemnos. It had been just a few hours since Alcaeus had been put to rest in the Aegean Sea, and since then, the boat had been completely silent. Even though he was at sea, something that normally calmed him and gave him confidence, Percy felt a sense of melancholy wash over him like a wave in the ocean.

Alcaeus had been the solid pillar of their group, the metaphorical glue that gave Percy and Kassandra a common point of connection. He was, though not officially, the de facto leader of the group – his age and experience had more than qualified him for the role. Even though he ultimately deferred to Percy's decisions, Alcaeus was always the one to carry them out, and more than once he gave precious advice on the situation and what Percy should do, though it was not always what he did do. He always made sure that they were keeping up on their strength, making sure to account for their issues in the overall goal to complete the Mycenean King's quest. All things that Percy, as the actual leader of the quest, should have done.

And now he was gone.

Jumping off the boat, Percy, along with Kassandra, wordlessly pulled it onto the sandy shore. The demigod shook his head as he did so, trying to compartmentalize his tumultuous emotions and thoughts of Alcaeus; they would do him and Kassandra no good on this island, and he needed to focus on the task before him. Brushing away the last thoughts of his late companion, Percy took stock of the environment around them.

They had landed upon a rather rocky shore – around the small section of sandy beach were rocky cliffs and a scattering of short trees. Percy jolted with a start when he heard a loud series of metal clinks behind him, turning to see Kassandra hoisting up and dropping a large black cloth bag. She had a wry smile on her face after seeing Percy's surprised expression.

"What?" she asked, a playful tone in her voice.

"Uh, what is that?" Percy replied, pointing at the large bag that had partially sunken into the soft sand.

In response, the young woman tore open the tied cloth bag, revealing an assortment of swords, axes, bows, arrows – in a quiver, and other tools and weapons. She arched an eyebrow at the veritable arsenal, though many of the weapons were old and rusty.

"Need anything?" she asked, a sense of sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"I think I am fine for now, but thank you," Percy responded in kind.

She gave a small nod and picked up the bow for herself, testing out the pullback. She nodded to herself and picked up the quiver to go along with it, slinging that around her back. Tying the bag back up, she stashed the unwanted weapons behind one of the larger rocks on the beach so that anyone who faced the sea would not see it.

"Ready?" Percy asked his companion, to which she nodded. The two set off down a rocky path that led through a crevice in the cliffs.

The trek was on a rough collection of rocks and stones rather than a path, which fit Percy's initial assumption that they had landed at a relatively untouched and uninhabited part of the island. On one hand, Percy liked the idea that no one would be alerted to their presence, but on the other, that made their hike all the more difficult – being far away from potential onlookers also meant that they would be far away from their ultimate destination. Coming to a stop as they finished scaling the rocky cliff, Percy sighed with relief. By the end, they had to vertically scale the cliff, free climbing up the rocky surface with only the certainty that any fall would be a quick end.