The sky was just beginning to lighten, painting the horizon with tentative strokes of pink and gold. Thalia trudged up the steep hill, her combat boots slipping occasionally on the dew-slicked grass. Her stomach growled loudly enough that she was pretty sure they could hear it back in the city they'd just left.
"Thank gods for five-finger discounts," she muttered, pulling the slightly squashed sandwich from her jacket pocket. The convenience store clerk had been too busy flirting with a customer to notice Thalia's quick hands. Amateur hour.
She unwrapped the sandwich as she walked, grimacing at the sight of wilted lettuce and processed cheese. "Gourmet dining at its finest."
Ahead of her, Amaltheia's fluggy white form glowed almost supernaturally in the pre-dawn light, hooves picking delicately through the tall grass. The goat had been acting weird all morning, more purposeful than usual, stopping every few minutes to look back at Thalia with those unnervingly intelligent blue eyes, as if to say, Hurry up, slowpoke.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Thalia grumbled through a mouthful of sandwich. "Some of us don't have four legs, you know."
The goat bleated impatiently and disappeared over the crest of the hill.
"Hey!" Thalia called, quickening her pace. "Wait up!"
She crested the hill, expecting to see Amaltheia waiting on the other side. Instead, she found herself completely alone. The goat had vanished.
"Amaltheia?" Thalia's voice echoed across the empty hillside. "This isn't funny!"
She spun in a full circle, her heart hammering against her ribs. The goat had never just disappeared before. Not like this.
"Come on, where are you?" Panic crept into her voice as she scanned the landscape.
That's when she saw it, a dark opening in the hillside, partially concealed by a tangle of vines and shrubs. A cave.
"No way," Thalia whispered, her fatigue instantly forgotten. She approached cautiously, spear raised. "Amaltheia? Did you go in there?"
No response came from the darkness.
A tiny spark of hope flickered in Thalia's chest. Maybe this was it, the sign she'd been waiting for. Amaltheia had guided her across half the country, always seeming to know where they needed to go. If she'd led Thalia here, to this specific cave...
"Is this from you, Dad?" she whispered, glancing up at the lightening sky. "Some kind of gift? A safe place, maybe?"
Her father had never answered before, but this time felt different. The air practically hummed with possibility.
Thalia took a deep breath and stepped toward the cave entrance. "If this turns out to be some monster's lair, I'm going to be seriously pissed."
She squared her shoulders, adjusted her grip on her spear, and stepped into the darkness. It was pitch black in the cave, and as she ventured forward the air grew thick, cloying with a stench that made her stomach turn, rotting meat and something worse, something ancient and dead.
"Amaltheia?" she called, her voice small against the pressing silence.
The smell intensified as she pressed forward, making her pull the collar of her jacket over her nose. It didn't help much. Whatever had died in here had been big, or there had been a lot of them.
Thalia's foot connected with something solid. The object clattered across the stone floor, skittering away with a hollow, rattling sound that echoed through the darkness. Her heart hammered against her ribs, adrenaline flooding her system.
"Shit," she hissed, freezing in place.
The silence that followed seemed to stretch forever, broken only by her own ragged breathing. Nothing lunged at her from the darkness. No monster's roar filled the cave. Just the oppressive silence and that awful smell.
Thalia fumbled in her jacket pocket and pulled out her only weapon besides the spear, a cheap lighter she'd stolen from a gas station three states back. The flame sputtered to life, casting a pathetic circle of orange light that did almost nothing against the crushing darkness.
But it was enough. Enough to see what her foot had struck.
A skull. Human, or at least humanoid, yellowed with age and cracked along one side.
"Oh gods," Thalia whispered, her throat tightening.
The feeble light revealed more bones scattered across the cave floor, ribs, vertebrae, long bones that had once been arms or legs. Some animal, some definitely human. The remains of previous visitors to the cave.
Suddenly, a low growl reverberated through the ground, sending vibrations up through Thalia's combat boots. She froze mid-breath, her muscles locking in place as instinct screamed at her to remain perfectly still.
The growl came again, deeper this time, like distant thunder trapped underground. Whatever made that sound was massive. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she began stepping backward, moving with excruciating slowness.
One step. Two steps. Her gaze darted frantically around the darkness, the pathetic flame of her lighter revealing nothing beyond the scattered bones at her feet.
Her heel connected with something that gave way with a sharp, brittle crack that echoed through the cave like a gunshot.
"Fuck," she whispered, the word barely audible even to her own ears.
The silence that followed lasted exactly two heartbeats.
Then the cave erupted with a roar so powerful it shook loose dirt from the ceiling and rattled Thalia's teeth in her skull. The sound was primal, ancient, a promise of violence that transcended language.
Thalia ran.
The lighter fell from her fingers as she spun and sprinted toward where she thought the entrance was, plunging her into total darkness. Her lungs burned as she gasped for air, legs pumping, arms swinging wildly. Behind her, something massive shifted in the darkness.
A wave of heat slammed into her back like opening an oven door, singeing the ends of her spiky hair. The stench of sulfur filled her nostrils, choking her. Fire. The thing had breathed fire.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Thalia gasped, ducking instinctively as another roar shook the cave.
A faint glow of daylight appeared ahead, the entrance. She pushed herself harder, legs burning with effort. Another blast of heat scorched the air inches from her shoulder. She could hear it now, the heavy thud of massive feet pursuing her, gaining with each step.
Ten yards to the entrance. Five. Three.
Thalia burst into the morning light, and she dived forward hitting the ground hard, rolling down the hill as heat seared her back. Her lungs burned from both exertion and smoke as she scrambled to her feet, the smell of singed hair filling her nostrils.
"What the actual—" she gasped, whirling around to face the cave entrance. before she could stop herself. She spun around, spear raised, ready to face whatever nightmare had been awakened.
A massive reptilian head emerged from the darkness, scales gleaming copper in the early morning light. The creature's nostrils flared, releasing twin streams of smoke as its jaws opened to reveal rows of jagged teeth, and it roared, the sound rattling her bones.
It crawled further out of the cave, revealing a body the size of a school bus, with wings folded tightly against its sides. Scales clinked like chain mail as it moved, claws digging deep furrows into the earth.
Thalia's heart hammered against her ribs as the monster emerged fully into the light of day. A dragon. A freaking dragon. Not the cute cartoon kind that taught you letters on PBS, this was twenty feet of glistening black scales, yellowed fangs, and eyes like molten copper that fixed on her with predatory intelligence.
"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered, tightening her grip on her spear. The celestial bronze tip gleamed pathetically small against the massive beast now unfurling bat-like wings that blocked out the stars.
The beast lunged forward, its serpentine neck extending as it snapped at her. Thalia dove sideways, feeling the rush of air as jaws closed inches from her leg. She rolled to her feet, heart pounding like a jackhammer against her ribs.
The dragon's nostrils flared, steam curling from them as it took in her scent. Its head swayed from side to side, like a snake preparing to strike.
Thalia's mind raced. No way she could take this thing head-on. Not alone. Not with just a spear.
"This is so not what I signed up for," she hissed, scanning her surroundings for anything useful. The hill was mostly barren except for a few pine trees and boulders. Barely any cover.
The dragon inhaled deeply, chest expanding like a balloon.
"Oh crap—"
Thalia dove behind the nearest boulder just as a torrent of flame erupted from the beast's maw. Heat washed over her hiding place, the air shimmering above the stone as it rapidly warmed.
"Some gift from Zeus," she panted, sweat beading on her forehead. "Thanks, Dad. Really appreciate the fire-breathing death lizard."
The dragon's tail slammed against her boulder, the impact nearly knocking her teeth loose. Stone cracked, and Thalia knew her shelter wouldn't last another hit.
She needed a plan, fast. Dragons in myths always had a weakness. Wasn't there that one story about a soft spot under the—
The boulder shattered, fragments pelting her arms as she raised them to shield her face. Thalia found herself exposed, staring directly into the dragon's golden eyes, pupils narrowed to reptilian slits.
"Nice dragon?" she tried, brandishing her spear with trembling hands.
It responded by lunging forward, jaws wide enough to swallow her whole.
Thalia's instincts took over. She dropped flat to the ground, feeling the rush of air as the beast passed overhead. In one fluid motion, she thrust upward with her spear, aiming for the softer scales of its underbelly.
The celestial bronze tip struck true, sliding between scales with a sound like ripping canvas. The dragon shrieked, its cry piercing enough to make her ears ring. Black ichor sprayed from the wound, sizzling where it hit the ground.
"Ha!" Thalia crowed, rolling away as the dragon thrashed in pain. "Not so tough now, are—"
The tail caught her mid-sentence, sweeping her off her feet and sending her flying through the air. The world spun in a nauseating blur before she crashed into the trunk of a pine tree. Pain exploded across her back, and for a moment, her vision darkened around the edges.
"Okay," she wheezed, struggling to her feet. "Still pretty tough."
Her spear lay halfway between her and the dragon, gleaming in the grass. The monster had noticed it too, reptilian eyes fixed on the weapon that had caused it pain.
"Don't even think about it," Thalia growled, though she wasn't sure if dragons could understand English. Or Greek, for that matter.
She brought her hand forward, and she commanded the winds, the spear shot back into her hand.
The monster circled her, it's eyes fixed on it's prey. Thalia felt a hysterical laugh bubble up in her throat. This was it. After everything she'd survived, her mother's neglect, years on the run, countless monsters, she was going to die in the middle of nowhere, eaten by a fucking dragon
"This is such a stupid way to die," she muttered, raising her spear. If she was going down, she'd go down fighting.
Lightning arced along her weapon, brighter now, responding to her desperation. The dragon hesitated, growling uncertainly at the display of power.
Thalia felt something shift inside her, like a door unlocking. The electricity wasn't just in her spear anymore, it was in her blood, her bones, crackling beneath her skin and demanding release.
"You want to see what a daughter of Zeus can do?" she snarled, planting her feet. "Come and find out!"
Thalia thrust her hand toward the sky, her fingers splayed wide. Her blood sang with power as she called to the heavens, to her birthright, to the storm that had always lived inside her.
"Dad," she whispered, "now would be good."
The air crackled. The hair on her arms stood on end. For one heart-stopping moment, nothing happened, then the sky split open.
A blinding column of lightning crashed down, connecting with her raised spear and coursing through her body. Pain and ecstasy intertwined as raw power filled her, more than she'd ever channeled before. The dragon reared back, momentarily blinded by the flash.
Thalia didn't waste the opportunity. She rolled sideways, putting distance between herself and the beast. Her skin tingled, electricity still dancing across her fingertips. The smell of ozone hung heavy in the air around her.
The dragon shook its massive head, smoke billowing from its nostrils as it tried to relocate its prey. Its golden eyes narrowed when it spotted her, wings unfurling to their full, terrifying span.
"That the best you've got?" Thalia taunted, though her voice shook. The lightning had left her dizzy, her limbs trembling with residual energy.
The dragon answered with a roar that seemed to shake the hillside. It charged, claws tearing gouges in the earth.
Thalia responded with a scream in response. Why was she always running? Why was she always the prey? She was a daughter of Zeus, lord of the sky, king of the gods.
It was time to act like it.
She met the dragon's charge head-on, electricity wreathing her form like a living corona. Her combat boots pounded against the earth as she accelerated, spear leveled at the beast's chest. Lightning danced along the celestial bronze tip, crackling with deadly promise.
Her spear connected with the dragon's shoulder, sinking deep between the scales. Black ichor sprayed across her face as the monster reared back, a shriek of pain splitting the air. Thalia twisted the weapon, driving it deeper, electricity coursing through the celestial bronze into the creature's flesh.
The dragon thrashed violently, wings beating the air with hurricane force. Thalia clung to her embedded spear, feet lifting off the ground as the beast tried to dislodge her. Her arms burned with the effort of holding on, but a savage grin split her face. She was hurting it. Actually hurting it.
"Not so tough now, huh?" she yelled, channeling another surge of electricity through her weapon.
The dragon's head whipped around, jaws snapping inches from her face. Its breath reeked of sulfur and charred meat, hot enough to singe her eyebrows. Thalia pulled one hand free and thrust it toward the beast's face, summoning every ounce of power she could muster.
A jagged bolt of lightning erupted from her palm, striking the dragon directly in the eye. The beast's agonized roar shook the hillside as it reared back, its ruined eye smoking and weeping black fluid.
"That's for trying to eat me!" Thalia shouted triumphantly.
Her victory was short-lived. The dragon's massive tail whipped around, catching her squarely in the chest. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs and tore her grip from the spear. Thalia went flying, tumbling through the air before slamming into the hard ground twenty feet away. Her spear clattered somewhere in the tall grass, out of reach.
Pain exploded through her body. She gasped, struggling to pull air back into her flattened lungs. Black spots danced at the edges of her vision as she tried to push herself up. Her limbs felt like lead, refusing to cooperate.
The dragon stalked toward her, its one good eye fixed on her prone form with murderous intent. Steam curled from its nostrils as it approached, each step shaking the earth. Thalia could see her own reflection in its remaining eye, small, broken, terrified.
She reached deep inside herself, searching for that well of power, that connection to the sky that had saved her before. Nothing. Just emptiness and exhaustion. Whatever reserve of divine energy she'd tapped into was depleted.
"Come on," she whispered desperately, fingers clawing at the dirt. "Just one more. Please, Dad. Just one more lightning bolt."
The sky remained clear. No help was coming.
The dragon loomed over her now, blocking out the sun. Its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of teeth like daggers. Heat built in the back of its throat, a glowing orange light that promised imminent death.
Thalia closed her eyes. After everything she'd survived, this was how it would end. Alone on some nameless hillside, eaten by a monster. No one would even know what had happened to her.
The dragon's chest expanded as it prepared to unleash its fiery breath. Thalia braced herself for the burning agony that would be the last sensation she'd ever feel.
Instead, a rush of air swept past her, and suddenly she was airborne again. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her effortlessly away from the dragon's path. The beast's flames scorched the ground where she'd been lying just seconds before, grass instantly withering to ash.
Thalia found herself deposited gently on the ground several yards away. Before she could process what had happened, a light chuckle sounded beside her.
"Now that was a close call, Sparky."
She looked up, blinking against the sun, and saw the silhouette of a boy who couldn't have been much older than she was. Silver hair caught the morning light, spiking up in defiance of gravity. The lower half of his face was covered by a navy-blue mask, but she could see the smile in his blue eyes.
"We'll talk later, kid," he said, turning away from her. "I've got to take care of this overgrown lizard."
The dragon, recovering from its surprise, roared in fury at the newcomer who had stolen its prey. The silver-haired boy seemed entirely unconcerned by the massive beast bearing down on him. He reached over his shoulder, drawing a celestial bronze sword.
Thalia tried to call out a warning, but her voice caught in her throat. She could only watch as the stranger casually strolled toward the raging monster, as if he were out for a pleasant morning walk rather than facing certain death.
"You know," she heard him say conversationally to the dragon, "I was going to sleep in today and catch up on some reading.
And then he vanished.
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Aaaand Luke is here people!!
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