Hades tossed Apollo the book, he then opened the new chapter and read the title aloud.
"Percy gets all the fun quest." the Strolls said sarcastically.
Apollo seeing as no one else was saying anything started to read.
(The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot. 'Well, well,' he said. 'You didn't get yourself killed.' 'You knew it was a trap,' I said. Ares gave me a wicked grin. 'Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV.' I shoved his shield at him. 'You're a jerk.' )
Ares growled at Percy.
Percy just looked at him unimpressed.
(Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back. 'See that truck over there?' He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. 'That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas.' The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS. )
"You want them to ride with animals." Hera said disgusted.
"I mean, they are basically animals themselves." Dionysus muttered.
Several of the Gods glared at Dionysus for his comment.
(I said, 'You're kidding.' Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. 'Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job.' He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me. Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos. )
"Why are you being so helpful?" Athena asked Ares suspicious.
"How am I supposed to know? It's the future." Ares told her but he looked disturbed at being so helpful.
(I said, 'I don't want your lousy –' 'Thank you, Lord Ares,' Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. 'Thanks a lot.' I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers – every jerk who'd called me stupid in school or laughed at me when I'd got expelled. )
"Yes, that's Ares's godly aura. Which he shouldn't be blasting so much." Demeter said as she glared at Ares.
(I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us. Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow. I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENCELESS BIKER.)
Apollo, Hermes, Hephaestus, and their kids burst out laughing at the mental image of Ares getting beat up by a 12-year-old.
('You owe me one more thing,' I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. 'You promised me information about my mother.' 'You sure you can handle the news?' He kick-started his motorcycle. 'She's not dead.' The ground seemed to spin beneath me. 'What do you mean?' 'I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept.' 'Kept. Why?' 'You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else.' )
Several of the Gods frowned at the mention of somebody controlling the demigods.
('Nobody's controlling me.' He laughed. 'Oh yeah? See you around, kid.' I balled up my fists. 'You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues.' Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. 'We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back.' )
"You are a child." Poseidon told Ares while glaring at him. "My son has an excuse as he's new to Greek protocol and he's twelve. You are several hundred years old."
Ares grimaced at the talk he had just been given.
(He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street. Annabeth said, 'That was not smart, Percy.' 'I don't care.' 'You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god.' 'Hey, guys,' Grover said. 'I hate to interrupt, but…' He pointed towards the diner. At the cash register, the last two customers were paying their bill, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck. 'If we're taking the zoo express,' Grover said, 'we need to hurry.' I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver. We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big lorry, closing the doors behind us. )
"Well, at least you guys got transportation." Katie said happily.
(The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for. Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each got a polystyrene tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL! Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.)
Artemis, Apollo, Demeter, Dionysus, Hermes, and Poseidon all growled at how the animals were being treated.
"There is no way, that is a legal zoo transport." Demeter said snarling.
"The people transporting the animals must be Black market sellers." Artemis said seething.
('This is kindness?' Grover yelled. 'Humane zoo transport?' He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down. We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favour of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips. I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope. )
Artemis nodded at Percy in thanks for him fixing the animal's food bowls.
(Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for the night. Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty- first. We could make it in plenty of time.)
"I think you just jinxed yourself there." Dakota pointed out.
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth all grimaced, remembering what had happened after the ride.
( On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it – he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods.)
All the Gods frowned and looked to their kids to find them all staring at the floor or ceiling.
( 'Hey,' Annabeth said, 'I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy.' 'That's okay.' 'It's just…' She shuddered. 'Spiders.' 'Because of the Arachne story,' I guessed. 'She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?' Annabeth nodded. 'Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you.' 'We're a team, remember?' I said. 'Besides, Grover did the fancy flying.' I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, 'I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?' Annabeth and I laughed. She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. 'In the Iris message… did Luke really say nothing?' I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. 'Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree.')
Everyone who didn't know the story leaned forward.
( In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions. Grover let out a mournful bray. 'I should've told you the truth from the beginning.' His voice trembled. 'I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along.' 'You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus.' )
"You!.." Zeus roared before Percy and Thalia stood and interrupted him.
"It wasn't his fault." Thalia told her father, glaring at him.
(He nodded glumly. And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…' I looked at Annabeth. 'That was you and Luke, wasn't it?' She put down her Oreo, uneaten. 'Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were… amazing monster fighters, even without training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us.' 'I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp,' he said, sniffling. 'Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought… I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker…' )
"That's perfectly normal to freeze up, especially when it's the Kindly ones and a pack of Hellhounds." Artemis told the satyr.
Grover smiled at the Lady Artemis in thanks.
('Stop it,' Annabeth said. 'No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either.' 'She sacrificed herself to save us,' he said miserably. 'Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so.' 'Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?' I said. 'That's not fair.' 'Percy's right,' Annabeth said. 'I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says.' )
"Yeah, no one likes them anyway." Nico said to Grover, smirking.
(Grover kept sniffling in the dark. 'It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy.' 'You're not lame,' Annabeth insisted. 'You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now.' She kicked me in the shin. )
"You know I was going to answer anyway, right?" Percy said to Annabeth, smiling.
Annabeth blushed.
('Yeah,' I said, which I would've done even without the kick. 'It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan.' I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep. 'How does he do that?' I marvelled. 'I don't know,' Annabeth said. 'But that was really a nice thing you told him.' 'I meant it.' )
"I still mean it." Percy said to Grover, who grinned back at him.
(We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully. Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts. 'That pine-tree bead,' I said. 'Is that from your first year?' She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing. 'Yeah,' she said. 'Every August, the counsellors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress – now that was a weird summer…' )
Every Greek demigod that was there for that summer shivered.
('And the college ring is your father's?' 'That's none of your –' She stopped herself. 'Yeah. Yeah, it is.' 'You don't have to tell me.' 'No… it's okay.' She took a shaky breath. 'My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have got through his doctoral programme at Harvard without her… That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him.' 'That doesn't sound so bad.' 'Yeah, well… the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood.' )
Athena frowned at how her daughter's father took being a demigod's father.
('You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?' She wouldn't meet my eyes. 'Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain.' 'You shouldn't give up,' I told her. 'You should write him a letter or something.' 'Thanks for the advice,' she said coldly, 'but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with.' )
"It was actually a pretty great piece of advice, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said to Percy, smiling fondly.
Percy grinned back.
(We passed another few miles of silence. 'So if the gods fight,' I said, 'will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?' She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. 'I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you.' 'Why?' 'Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?')
Thalia stood and looked around the Greek demigods and said to Percy, "We'd fight next to you, too. I mean, we already have but the point still stands."
Percy grinned at her and the other demigods.
"Thanks, guys. Cause I think when we get back we're gonna have another battle."
The others nodded grimly, knowing what he said was probably right.
( I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep. I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes. )
"Dream sequence, here it comes." Gwen said full of dread.
( My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, Come on, Percy. You're not stupid are you? Pick up your pencil. )
"I think we've had plenty of those dreams." Conner said, waving a hand between him and his brothers.
Other demigods nodded, saying they had dreams like that too.
(Then the dream strayed from the usual. I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a strait jacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus. )
"Wow, You got everything about me right except the eyes." Thalia said surprised. "I'm not the only one to find this really creepy?"
"Nope." Will said emphatically.
Apollo narrowed his eyes knowing that this was not a normal demigod dream. The green eyes reminded him of the color of his Oracle.
(She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration and snapped, Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here. She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.)
Hades raised his eyebrows at Percy.
Percy just grinned back at him and shrugged.
( The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the classroom floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm. Percy Jackson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see. I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else. And he suspects nothing? it asked. Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest. I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.)
"What exchange are they talking about?" Athena muttered.
( Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent. Truly, my lord, said the voice next to me, you are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly – You? the monster said in scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened. But, my lord – Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands… but wait. He is here. )
The Gods all paled as Apollo read the nickname of their father/uncle.
"He is awakening." Hestia muttered
"He can't be." Zeus denied.
The demigods shared looks and rolled their eyes. All of them knew that Zeus would deny it until he couldn't anymore.
(What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned him, my lord? No. The full force of the monster's attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. Blast his father's blood – he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither.)
"That shouldn't be possible unless you were a child of Hypnos." Apollo said, squinting at Percy.
"I don't know. I've always had the weirdest and most informational dreams." Percy said frowning.
( Impossible!the servant cried. For a weakling such as you, perhaps,the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me. So… you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige.The scene changed. I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched. I tried to step towards her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armour crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp. The evil voice began to laugh. Hail, the conquering hero! )
"That was absolutely terrifying." Rachel told Percy, quietly.
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
(I woke with a start. Grover was shaking my shoulder. 'The truck's stopped,' he said. 'We think they're coming to check on the animals.' 'Hide!' Annabeth hissed. She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips. )
Everyone snickered, happy to leave the dream behind.
(The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in. 'Man!' one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. 'I wish I hauled appliances.' He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes. 'You hot, big boy?' he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face. The lion roared in indignation. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' the man said. Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous. )
"Would you care to join me and my hunters as we hunt down these animals?"Artemis asked Grover.
He grinned and nodded.
(The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. 'How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!' )
"I'll make that there is a special place in the Underworld for them." Hades said, eyes burning.
(The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me. There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: Free me, lord. Please. I was too stunned to react. There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer. The trucker inside with us yelled, 'What do you want, Eddie?' A voice outside – it must've been Eddie's – shouted back, 'Maurice? What'd ya say?' 'What are you banging for?' Knock, knock, knock. Outside, Eddie yelled, 'What banging?' Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, 'This transport business can't be legal.' )
"We figured that out already." Jason snorted.
('No kidding,' Grover said. He paused, as if listening. 'The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!' That's right, the zebra's voice said in my mind. 'We've got to free them!' Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me, waiting for my lead. )
"This was the first time I had ever seen a horse in my life." Percy said smiling. "I had no idea till right then that I could talk to horses."
(I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability… I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it? )
Poseidon snorted.
(The zebra said, Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that. Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage. The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. Thank you, lord. Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.)
"I don't know how you knew I was doing that."Grover said to Percy, who just shrugged.
( Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas. Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, 'Hey! You need a permit for that!' 'Now would be a good time to leave,' Annabeth said. 'The other animals first,' Grover said. I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra. 'Good luck,' I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos. 'Will the animals be okay?' I asked Grover. 'I mean, the desert and all –' 'Don't worry,' he said. 'I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them.' 'Meaning?' 'Meaning they'll reach the wild safely,' he said. 'They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live.' 'Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?' I asked. 'It only works on wild animals.' )
"Soo, it will work on Prissy to then." Clarisse said smirking.
Percy rolled his eyes.
('So it would only affect Percy,' Annabeth reasoned. 'Hey!' I protested. 'Kidding,' she said. 'Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck.' We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was forty degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention. )
"Thank the Gods." Hazel muttered.
(We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick. I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west. We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. )
All the Gods thought that the name sounded familiar.
(The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air conditioning that smelled like flowers – lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure. )
"You know it because it is a water flower." Poseidon informs Percy.
(The doorman smiled at us. 'Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?' I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, 'Whoa.' )
"What?" almost everyone asked in suspense.
(The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor water slide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine. )
"Whoa." everyone said as one.
('Hey!' a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts and flip-flops. 'Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key.' I stammered, 'Um, but…' 'No, no,' he said, laughing. 'The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides.' He handed us each a green plastic credit card. )
"Are they serious?" Will asked in shock.
(I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, 'How much is on here?' His eyebrows knit together. 'What do you mean?' 'I mean, when does it run out of cash?' He laughed. 'Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay.' )
Everyone stared at the book in shock, wondering why these people were just giving money away.
(We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas and crisps. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and waterbeds with feather pillows. A big screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub and, sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever have time to look at the view with a room like this.)
"It was most definitely not legal." Athena said grimacing.
( 'Oh, goodness,' Annabeth said. 'This place is…' 'Sweet,' Grover said. 'Absolutely sweet.' There were clothes in the closet, and they fitted me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange. I threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that any more. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store.)
Ares glared at Percy for getting rid of the backpack he had given him.
( I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of crisps, drank three Cokes and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something… I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait. )
"Oh, that's not good." Chris muttered.
"It can't wait." Demeter cried.
(I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating crisps to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. 'All those stations,' I told her, 'and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?' 'It's interesting.' 'I feel good,' Grover said. 'I love this place.' Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again. )
"That is not supposed to happen." Hermes said to himself. "Maybe the magic of the place is messing with it."
('So what now?' Annabeth asked. 'Sleep?' Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards. 'Play time,' I said. I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it. I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing – where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks. I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it. I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong. )
"ThankUs,he realized." Poseidon said loud enough to yell.
(Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottoms and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night. We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, 'Groovy, man. Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better.' )
"Excuse me, Groovy?" Travis asked confused. "Who uses that anymore?"
(Groovy? Later, while we were talking, I said something "rocked", and he looked at me kind of puzzled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before. He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen. I said, 'Hey, Darrin?' 'What?' 'What year is it?' He frowned at me. 'In the game?' 'No. In real life.' He had to think about it. '1977.' )
"Oh. That's not good." Hestia mutters.
"The Lotus Eaters! I remember now." Poseidon yelled.
"I thought we destroyed them all." Zeus muttered.
"Apparently not if they are set up in Vegas." Hades said.
('No,' I said, getting a little scared. 'Really.' 'Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening.' After that he totally ignored me. I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care. )
"They have been in the magic for too long. It would take Hecate herself to get them out." Athena told the demigods.
(Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it? I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My mother… for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III. )
"Yes. That's why you guys have to get out soon." Frank said.
"Who knows how long they have been in there." Hazel said to Frank, who nodded.
(I found Annabeth still building her city. 'Come on,' I told her. 'We've got to get out of here.' No response. I shook her. 'Annabeth?' She looked up, annoyed. 'What?' 'We need to leave.' 'Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers –' 'This place is a trap.' She didn't respond until I shook her again. 'What?' 'Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!' 'Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes.' 'Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever.' 'So?' she asked. 'Can you imagine a better place?' )
"Well, no." Conner said, conceding that magicked-up Annabeth had a point.
(I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game. 'Hey!' She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy. I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, 'Spiders. Large, hairy spiders.' )
"That oughta work." Clarisse said smirking.
(That jarred her. Her vision cleared. 'Oh my gods,' she said. 'How long have we –' 'I don't know, but we've got to find Grover.' We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter. 'Grover!' we both shouted. He said, 'Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!' 'Grover!' He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen. )
Everyone snickered and Grover blushed at how he acted.
(I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, 'No! I just got to a new level! No!' The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. 'Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?' 'We're leaving,' I told him. 'Such a shame,' he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. 'We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members.' He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever. )
"That's probably one of their last resort methods to stop you from leaving." Poseidon told the kids.
(Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, 'No, thanks.' We walked towards the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once… Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert. )
"Oh Gods, How long were you in there?" Reyna asked.
(Ares's backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about. )
Several demigods and Gods narrowed their eyes at that bit of info.
(I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth. )
It went silent in the Throne room.
(We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest. )
"Wow, and I thought our quest deadline was bad." Piper said laughing nervously.
"Yeah, I think we all had a small heart attack when we saw the date." Annabeth told her.
"Who wants to read next? I think we are almost done." Apollo said.
"Hand it here." Demeter told him.