Chapter Twenty Nine - Fun and Games

"Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino," the doorman said as we entered. "We've been expecting you and your party."

"You have?" Andromeda asked, warily. I couldn't blame her.

"Indeed," the doorman nodded. "Go on up to the front desk for your room key. The bill is already fully taken care of for you, the minibar is stocked and complimentary as well. Oh, and before I forget, here are your complimentary Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurant and on all the games and rides."

"Um, but..." I started to say, but the noise outside seemed to be growing louder.

"Thank you," Annabeth said, grabbing the green plastic cards and handing them out to Grover, Andromeda and me. "Come on."

This place was incredibly suspicious, but it beat the alternative of possibly getting caught up by the mortal authorities. I'm not sure what the charge would be for setting a group of wild animals loose in a populated area, but it was probably not great. So, reluctantly, we made our way to the front desk as instructed, and the receptionist greeted us with a smile.

"Hi there," he beamed. "Reservation for four, checking in right on time. Here's your room key. Just take the elevator to the top, and please enjoy your stay."

We exchanged a look, but after the stench of animal waste and sleeping on lumpy, moldy sacks of feed while the trailer we were in bounced along poorly maintained roads, we were all too keen on getting cleaned up. If the other shoe was going to drop on us, I'd prefer if we weren't dead on our feet for it. Besides, we'd made great time getting across the country, and still had over a week left. L.A. would still be there in the morning.

The room number on the card said 4001. Did this place actually have forty floors? Maybe it was bigger on the inside. Sure enough, the top floor was the fortieth.

The room turned out to be a full suite with three separate bedrooms and a main gathering area that had a big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet as well as a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips as well as a direct hotline to room service. The balcony had its own hot tub, which I was going nowhere near, and the view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.

Oddly enough, there was also 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 safe, let alone legal, so I decided to give it a pass. Besides, I couldn't even aim a bow, there was no way I was going to try with a firearm - I'd probably kill some poor pedestrian.

"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."

"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."

I tossed the backpack that Ares gave me onto the bed and checked the closet. Inside was several sets of fresh clothes, and they all fit me. That was a little odd, but then again, maybe this was just a super fancy V.I.P. High Roller Dove Suite because we were in Vegas. That thought made me feel better, so I put the issue out of my mind and went to check out the bathroom.

There were alcohol scrub wipes available, so I decided to clean off. Even being 'self cleaning' thanks to the lingering blessing from Aprhodite's claiming, there was something refreshing about actually cleaning myself off after the night in that trailer - even if the wipes came back spotless. Afterward, I went back to my room and changed into clean clothes, ate two rolls of soft bake cookies, a bag of M&Ms, and chased them down with three cans of Coke. 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. I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth, Andromeda and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the Weather Channel.

"As you can see, Bob, we've got thunder and flooding and hurricane level winds," the reporter was saying, standing in a high water flood zone wearing a bright yellow coat and struggling to keep a grip on her umbrella while her other hand held the microphone. "We urge all citizens to stay off the road, and don't–"

"All those stations," I said, "and you turn on weather. Are you insane?"

"The weather's getting worse out there," Andromeda said, frowning.

"I'm sure it'll calm down once we get the bolt back," I said.

"Yeah," Andromeda said, changing the station. "Yeah, you're right."

"So," Annabeth said. "What's the plan?"

"We stay in the room with the doors locked and then leave here first thing in the morning," Andromeda said.

"Or, and hear me out hear, it's still pretty early," Annabeth said. "We could play some games."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Besides, they gave us these play cards for free. If this does turn into a trap, we might as well bleed 'em dry first, right?"

I could see Andromeda was wavering, but it was Grover who sealed the deal; "If we stay up here, we'll just end up getting bored."

"Fine," Andromeda sighed. "But keep an eye out in case there's trouble. Something about this place has me on edge."

"Awesome!" We grinned.

We left the room and made our way back to the elevator. Once we were back at the ground floor, Andromeda leaned over toward Grover and asked; "Do you smell any monsters?"

"No," Grover said. "No monsters here."

"Is this like the water park?"

"Hey that's not... I mean... Okay, I guess that's fair," Grover looked away, sniffing slightly. "Actually, the air smells nice. Really nice. Like they're pumping in extra oxygen or something since there aren't any windows."

I looked around, noticing that he was right.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" I asked.

"It's a pretty normal tactic in casino construction," Annabeth said. "They deliberately build them without windows so that you lose track of time and end up spending more money."

"How do you know that?"

"I looked it up," She said. "Architecture is kind of my special interest. Everything from modern marvels to ancient wonders - I look at it and my imagination runs wild. My mom expects her children to create things, you know? Someday I want to make something that will outlast myself."

"That's... Kind of cool," I said, grinning. "What about you, Andromeda? You got any special interests?"

"I like history," she said. "Well, okay, I don't like history. Anyone who says they like history either never paid attention or learned the wrong lessons. But, I think the subject is fascinating."

"She corrects her school text books," Annabeth said with a grin.

"If they're going to use them to teach kids, they should at least get the information correct!" Andromeda stomped her foot.

"So," Grover spoke up, getting our attention as we entered the game room. "What should we do first?"

That... was an incredibly good question. The main room was dominated by a huge, fake mountain that had a rock wall leading up to a water slide on one end and a ski slope with snowboarders on the other. There was also a zip line at the top that lead to a bungee jump somewhere near the fifth story. Giant multicolored LED signs above doorways leading off the main room advertised an Arcade room, computers, movie lounge and more. The flashing lights, bright colors and loud sounds were a total A.D.H.D. overload.

We split up. Annabeth and Grover headed off to check out the arcade, while Andromeda and I raced each other up the rock wall to the zip line. Neither of us were particularly interested in getting cold or wet with the other options. We bungee jumped together at least ten times before splitting up ourselves to check out other things. Andromeda headed off to the V.R. Tag room while I decided to check out the card games.

I was expecting gambling - I mean, we were in a Casino after all - but it turned out to be various T.C.G. tables instead, which was much cooler in my opinion. I passed tables of teenagers playing Magic: the Gathering and Pokémon, as well as some Egyptian themed card game. Just as I was about to leave, my attention was grabbed by a table in the back corner advertising Myth-o-Magic. I remembered my discussions with the Hunt about the game, and decided it would be a fun distraction to play a game, so I headed over.

There was a boy at the table arguing with the attendant as I walked up. He looked to be maybe ten years old or so, wearing a dark grey button-down jacket and shorts that stopped several inches over his knees, with long socks and slightly scuffed black shoes.

"Sorry, kid," the attendant at the table was saying. "Gotta have a minimum of two players for a game."

"But you can play," the boy said, stubbornly.

"I can't," the attendant said, shaking his head. "I have to oversee the game."

"I'll play," I said, walking over.

"You will?" The boy beamed up at me with hopeful, wide eyes.

"Yeah," I nodded, pulling out my green card. "But, I'll need a deck. I don't have any cards myself."

"That's not a problem," the attendant turned to me, smiling. "Go ahead and pick whichever you like and take a moment to familiarize yourself with the cards while I set things up."

I did so, grabbing the pack closest to me and ripping it open to check out the cards. Each deck came with a certain number of Hero-class cards, one Patron card and several weapons and boons. I got Perseus, Autolycus and Atalanta as my heroes and Ares as my patron. The image on the card was almost as ugly as the real god.

"Oh, that's lucky," the boy said, looking at my cards. "Both Autolycus and Atalanta are quick, and Ares gives a good boost to attack. That'll be a tough combination to beat."

"Should you be looking at my cards?" I asked, turning them away even though he'd already gotten a good look at them.

"Nope," he grinned. "But you were flashing them."

"Alright, everything's set," the attendant said. "Are you ready to play?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Yes, sir," the boy replied.

With the press of a button, the table came to life - filling up a holographic scene depicting ancient Greek ruins. Whenever we played a card, a holographic representation appeared on the display, letting us really get into the action.

"Oh, that is so cool," I said, eyes wide.

"Definitely," the boy grinned. "Normally you have to use little figures and move them around yourself, but with this set up you just call out the command and the game responds."

"Begin," the attendant said, and we were off.

True to his earlier declaration, Ares provided a hell of a boost to the combat abilities of my three heroes, but unfortunately I only had the vaguest idea of what I was doing and the game ended in the boy's favor. Still, not to be outdone, I quickly bought up a couple extra decks and some boosters before building a deck focused on fire. That round ended even faster than the first.

"You can't stick with only one type," the boy said. "It makes you predictable and easier to counter."

"Oh," I said. "Yeah, that... That makes sense. You're really good at this, you know?"

"Thanks!" He grinned, unwrapping his prize figurine. "Oh, I got Zeus again. You want it? I already have doubles."

I looked at the unpainted miniature figure of Zeus, brandishing a crackling spear that must have been representative of the lightning bolt and suddenly felt really dizzy.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"I... Y-yeah," I said. "Um, it was cool playing with you, but I've got to go."

"Aww, man," he whined. "Do you? Can't we play just one more game? You're getting really good."

"Nico di Angelo, there you are!" A girl said, walking over. "I told you not to run off like that. Honestly! I was worried you were lost."

"It's fine, Bia," the now-named Nico said. "I was just playing a game."

"Shush, you," she said, turning to face me. "I hope he wasn't any bother."

"It's fine," I said. "He gave me some good pointers, actually."

"Well, that's good," Bia said, then turned back to her little brother. "Now, say goodbye. It's time we head up for bed."

"Bye," Nico said, glumly, before following his sister out of the card room.

I blinked. It had to have only been around noon. We hadn't been playing that long, right? As if on cue, my stomach growled. I remembered what Annabeth had said about the lack of windows messing with your perception of time, and decided it was probably best to hook up with everyone else before checking out the restaurant. If Andromeda had her way, we'd definitely have an early morning ahead of us.

Passing through to the main room, I couldn't see Annabeth, Grover or Andromeda anywhere, so I blinked on my Aura Sight to make it easier. Instantly, I realized that something was wrong. Normally the colors of the world around me fade to grayscale, only picking out auras of godly or magical energy. This time, the entire building was an oddly calming shade of pale blue that seemed to form arms that wrapped possessively around the grey bodies of the mortals. There was even a handful of demigod auras, none that I recognized, that had the same strange blue wrapping around them.

We were waiting for the other shoe to drop, unaware that it already had! I ran up to one person and tried to get their attention, only to be ignored completely. I scanned the crowd, desperate to find someone who wasn't completely out of it, and saw one bright pink figure that had traces of green spider-webbing around her chest. Not wanting to seem like a creep, I averted my gaze and blinked away my Sight - No, I swear I'm not checking out your tits, just your aura. Yeah, totally believable. The girl was Latina with wavy pink hair that had obviously been dyed that way. Something about her felt familiar, but I brushed it off as I approached.

"Hey," I said, getting her attention. It took a couple of attempts.

"Huh, what's up kiddo?" She asked.

"You're a daughter of Aphrodite, right?" I asked, and her unfocused eyes sharpened their gaze.

"Wha..?"

"No time," I said. "Look, I don't know the right combination of words for a dove call or whatever, but I need your help."

"I don't know that I can, but I'll try." Pink said, warily.

"I'm looking for my friends," I said. "Two other girls and a satyr. We're on a quest, and we stopped in here to get away from the cops, but something about this place is messing with people."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Like, it messes with your perception of time. I swear it's only been like an hour or two, tops, but that doesn't sound right compared to how I've spent that time."

"It could be your A.D.H.D." Pink said.

"It could," I agreed. "How long have you been here?"

"A day or two," she said.

"And what day do you think it is?"

"Monday," she said.

"Of the year," I pressed.

"September twenty seventh," she said. "Two thousand and five."

I felt a shiver run down my spine, "It's two thousand and six."

"What?" She said, eyes wide. "No. No, it can't... You're not having me on, are you?"

"Hey, I said, grabbing a passing teenager. "Hey, what year is it?"

"The heck?" He blinked, confused.

"The year," I said. "What is it?"

"Nineteen ninety... Hey!"

I walked over and grabbed another person, turning them away from the prize ticket counter, "What year is it?"

"Two Thousand One," he said.

"You see?" I said, turning back to a now horrified daughter of Aphrodite.

"How... What?"

"The Lotus Casino," I said. "Lotus eaters. Like in the Odyssey. I need to find my friends and we have to get out of here!"

"How?" She asked.

"Like this. FIRE!" I shouted, throwing a fireball into a nearby trashcan. The contents quickly ignited and the smell of smoke began filling the air. Around us, people started to break out of their fugue-like states, but it wasn't enough.

"Are you insane?" Pink asked.

"It's working," I said, defensively. "But just one trash can isn't enough. Go, get out of here while you can. Try to lead the others to safety. I'm going to smoke the rest of them out while I find my group."

"You are insane," she muttered, but did as I'd instructed.

Moving quickly, and setting multiple small fires along the way, I finally met up with Annabeth, Andromeda and Grover in the arcade room.

"Penny! What's going on?" Annabeth asked. "Why did you suddenly decide to burn this place to the ground?"

"Was it monsters?" Andromeda asked.

"No," I said. "Worse. This place is a trap. It messes with your sense of time."

"What?" Grover said.

"How long have we been here?" I pressed, and felt my stomach clench when none of them seemed to know how to answer. "There're people here from decades ago that think it's been hours or days."

"We need to go," Annabeth said. "Now."

"Agreed," Andromeda and Grover nodded, and we took off running for the lobby. We were almost clear when one of the game room attendants tried to stop us on our way out the door.

"Ah, terribly sorry for the inconvenience," she said, stepping in front of me causing me to stop short. "The situation is fully under control now, and the game room is open for use. To make up for the delay, please take our new upgraded Platinum Cash Card."

"Thanks," I said, grabbing it. Unlike the green card, this one was made of what looked and felt like stainless steel. It was certainly heavier than the plastic card had been. "Bye."

"The game room is this way, miss," the bellhop said, grabbing my arm - seemingly unbothered by the heat.

"The exit is this way," I said, wrenching my arm away. I activated my sight and recoiled. She was mortal, no doubt about it. But whatever influence this place was putting out seemed to have taken her over completely. Unsettled, I quickly turned off my Sight and took a half step back. "I'm leaving."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she said, her voice suddenly toneless. I prepared for a fight, but then she dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"What the...?" I blinked, only for Annabeth to appear out of thin air with her Yankee's cap in hand.

"Come on!" She grabbed me with her free hand and dragged me the rest of the way out of the casino.

We burst out onto the Las Vegas strip surrounded by dozens of mortal victims of the Lotus Eaters all standing around blinking in confusion or staring at the buildings all around us. It was about mid-afternoon, but the weather overhead was even worse than when we'd entered.

"Guys..." Annabeth's worried voice caught my attention. I turned to see she was holding up a newspaper.

"Please tell me we weren't in there for years," I said.

"No," she shook her head. "We got lucky. Kind of."

"Kind of?" Andromeda asked.

"It's been just over a week," Annabeth said. "The solstice is tomorrow."