LoSP Side Stories Ch.4: The Bull Fight (Patreon)

The waves lapped up on the shore in a shade of molten gold. The sun sank under the waves, washing the sky in a shade of orange and pink.

“Beautiful.” I whispered.

“It is, isn’t it?” Artemis smiled. Her hair fluttered in the wind like an auburn halo around her head, her silver eyes shining. “Apollo is a drama queen, but he makes good entries and exits.”

I laughed. The children of Zeus did have a flair for dramatics like their father. Even Artemis did at times, even if she would never admit it.

“Which reminds me, it is time to make sure the moon chariot is on schedule.” Artemis closed her eyes, her body glowing a brilliant silver.

The sky darkened and a faint moon appeared in the sky, the glow around Artemis brightening. I looked around the beach to see if there were any mortals looking their way but there were none.

‘The mist.’ I looked back at Artemis, who was still glowing, her eyes closed.

A silver tinge shone in the waves as the moon shone in the sky, the sun dipping beneath the horizon. The glow around Artemis faded and she opened her eyes.

“Just when I thought it couldn’t get more beautiful.” I said.

Artemis turned, her eyes sparkling, and her cheeks a faint golden like the last vestiges of dusk. “Why, Percy? Are you flirting with me?”

“Oh.” I felt my heart clench. “I wasn’t— well, I didn’t— ughh.”

Artemis let out a tinkling laugh, the silvery cascade on the waves dancing.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take the compliment.” Pearly white teeth peeked through her lips. “And I won’t turn you into a critter for it.”

“I know you won’t.” I nodded. “I certainly hope you don’t.”

Artemis suddenly froze just as I felt the hair on my skin stand up. Above us, the sky darkened and thunder rumbled.

“Monsters,” she breathed. “The Katoblepones just appeared.”

A distance away, the shadows rose, revealing tall legs, long ivory horns.

Apollo hadn’t been exaggerating. The Katoblepones were the size of a small elephant, and their horns were bigger and thicker than my arm.

The mortals near them immediately fell to the ground, their green poisonous breath.

“Fuck.” Artemis’ silver bow sprang into her hands and she shot an arrow at the nearest bull.

The monster burst into golden dust, causing its companions to look at us,

“Are the mortals… dead?” I felt steel bands wrap around my heart as my trident appeared in my hand.

“Yes,” Artemis whispered, shooting another Katoblepone which burst into dust.

One of the Katoblepones kicked a mortal and stepped on him, crushing his hand. Its breath curled around his body, and it began to rot.

‘They were innocent. They had no business with these monsters.’ I felt rage well up in my chest. Behind me the sea churned and rose, the winds picking up. ‘These monsters tore innocent families apart. Killed people who couldn’t even see them.’

The sea shot past Artemis and me, slamming into the monsters in spikes of ice. The monsters burst into clouds of dust, raining on the dead bodies of mortals.

“Percy.” Artemis laid a hand on my shoulder as lightning flashed in the sky. “Calm down.”

“They killed mortals. Mortals who couldn’t even see them.” My armor appeared on my torso and my trident glowed. “I will annihilate them.”

“Percy, you cannot go near them with a trident.” Artemis’ grasp on my shoulder tightened. “Their breath is poisonous enough to knock out weaker gods and it’ll even make me sick.”

#Wear the helm, Percy. Their breath won’t affect you with the helm on.# Alexander said.

“Don’t worry.” The warrior’s crown appeared in my hand. “This helm is special. Their breath won’t affect me.”

I placed the helm on my head.

My rage faded away like a fire being doused and only embers remained. The water retreated back into the ocean and the winds slowed down.

“Now, where are these monsters?” I asked Artemis, extending my senses.

I found no monsters within several yards.

“All around the bay.” Artemis’ eyes glowed. “And we must act fast before they move inwards and begin trampling all there is in their path.”

“Let’s go then.” I declared.

“They’re both ways.” Artemis said. “Lesser on this side though. Spread around a total of five miles.”

I frowned. “That could be a problem. We could split—”

“Bad idea.” Artemis shook her head. “We should stay together. What we can do is teleport to the other side and carve our way through the five miles.” Artemis suggested. “I would’ve told you to just sink them but they’re not all exactly near the water.”

“What if we lure them toward the ocean?” I asked. “Toward us?”

“That would become a two-sided assault… and how would we do it?”

“Tasty demigod snack?” I pointed toward myself. “If I step into the ocean and spread my powers—”

“You’d be alerting every monster on the island that you’re here.” Artemis nodded. “And I suppose— I could give out a call of the wild.”

“They come toward us and we kill them. Plus, if we fight here, I–”

“Have the ocean.” Artemis beamed. “They won’t stand a chance. Let’s do it.”

I nodded and stepped into the waves. Taking deep breaths I gathered my power, raising my trident.

On the shore, Artemis shivered, her chest heaving.

“Okay, that’s something.” She mumbled, her voice being carried by the wind. “My turn now.”

Her hands glowed silver and she cupped them, bringing them to her mouth. A deep sound reverberated through the area, thrumming with the land and the sea.

Above us, the moon glowed brighter and birds chirped. I felt several fishes of all species nearing the shore.

‘No.’ I thrust my trident into the water. ‘Don’t come here. Stay away. This is the order from a son of Poseidon. Don’t come here.’

The fishes swam away and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Percy, they’re coming.” Artemis said after a few minutes. “Look.”

A huge cloud of dust rose in the distance, the clomp of hooves growing stronger as it neared.

“There are dozens.” Artemis’ eyes sharpened before she turned. “And they approach from that way too.”

“Then watch my back.” I stepped out of the turf, my trident shimmering into a sword. I felt a tug in my gut as I prepared myself, green flames licking the edge of the Thyella Kavalris.

As they neared, I let out a yell and swung my sword in a arc of green and silver. A column of Greek fire erupted from its tip, sweeping through the monsters, vaporizing several of them while the remaining scrambled immediately.

Only two charged straight at me, acidic green vapors curling around their faces, their horns pointed at my chest. I twisted, slashing my sword, smoothly cutting through their flesh. The monsters crumbled into dust, scattering on my pants and shoes.

Flashes of silver soared past me, and more monsters exploded, returning to Tartarus.

“Percy, there are some running along the shore or in the water.” Artemis shot another two arrows, taking two monsters down.

I turned around and waved my hand and the sea rose, swallowing several Katoblepones. I balled my fist, crushing them and scattering their dust in the ocean.

Another bull charged toward me, breathing out poisonous vapors.

Before the vapors could reach me, a silver arrow whistled past my ear, absorbing the gas and sinking into the eye of the monster. The Katoplebpone exploded into golden dust, its dying ‘moo’ echoing in my ears.

“I see what you mean by them being more cows than bulls.” I told Artemis.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a shadow flicker. A huge, dark figure emerged followed by a tall figure wielding a club.

I rolled out of the way, slashing at the Hellhound’s belly while Artemis took care of the Cyclops.

“Right. All monsters in Staten Island.” I murmured. “We should’ve only broadcasted to these—”

The clop of hooves echoed through the beach, growind steadily as I turned around.

“I told you they are on both sides.” Artemis smirked, shifting as the cloud of dust arose in the distance. “Let’s see who takes more down.”

“What does the winner get?” I asked.

“A pizza?”

“Sounds good.” I took a deep breath, calling out to the sea while Artemis readied her bow.

As she released her arrow, I felt the tug in my gut tighten. The sea exploded, a huge wave shooting toward the incoming monsters. I twisted my sword and the water swirled, spikes of ice forming with the water.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Artemis glared at me.

“You know I don’t fight fair.” I said. With a wave of my hand the water went back into the sea, the Katoblepones nowhere to be seen. “Are there more?”

“I’ll check.” Artemis touched the ground, her eyes glowing brighter. The moon glowed with her, and she stood up. “There are still a handful scattered through the island. Not enough to cause a problem but still…”

Her eyes trailed toward the bodies of the dead mortals.

#They had nothing to do with this. But fate decreed their demise today. There is nothing you can do except… well, get Charon to give them immediate passage into the underworld.#

“We should do something for them.” I said. “While we cannot judge their deeds, we can give them a passageway to Hades without having them wait.”

“Charon.” Artemis wrinkled her nose and nodded. “We should drop a drachma on their bodies before continuing the hunt.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter!

So, here we are, with the fourth side-story of LoSP. I hope you’re enjoying them. This was of course, set at chapter 43: The Fifteenth Birthday. The one before this(The Venison Date) was set post chapter 44.

As I had promised, you’d see more of Pertemis throughout these side stories. And a lot more action. (I will shortly be posting a poll to decide what the next side story will be.)

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A huge thank you to Mughil, and Nanu for betaing this chapter!

If you liked it, please like it (the heart icon)/ comment on it! Same if you’ve any questions!

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