Ares was waiting for us in the parking lot at the diner. "Well, well." He mused. "You didn't get yourself killed."
"You knew it was a trap." Percy stated. Ares grinned.
"Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."
"You're a jerk." Percy threw the shield at Ares. My breath caught in my throat. Oh boy… Ares spin the shield like a pizza and it became a bulletproof vest. He slid it onto his back.
"Se that over there?" Ares pointed across the road. I looked over and saw an eighteen-wheel truck. Across the side, the words 'Kindness International Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Animals' were plastered across it. "That's your ride. Take you straight to LA, with one stop in Vegas."
"Your kidding." Percy sighed. Ares snapped his fingers and the back unlocked.
"Free ride west, punk, stop complaining. And here's a little something for the job." Ares pulled a blue nylon backpack at Percy, who barely managed to catch it. He opened it up, and I peered over his shoulder. It was a set of fresh clothes for all of us, about twenty dollars in mortal money, a pouch full of Golden Drachmas and a massive bag of double stuffed Oreos.
"I don't want your lousy-" I slapped my hand over Percy's mouth before he could say anything.
"Thank you for the most gracious gift, Lord Ares." I said kindly, smiling. My cheeks hurt. I snatched the bag from Percy and slung it over my shoulder.
"You owe me one more thing." Percy said, taking my hand away from his face. "You promised me information about my mother."
"Are you sure you can handle the news?" Ares asked. "She's not dead."
"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."
"Nobody's controlling me."
"Oh yeah? See you around, kid."
"You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues." I grit my teeth, my smile still in place. I want to slap Percy...so hard.
"We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." And just like that, Ares tore out of the parking lot. The smile melted off my face as I rounded on the boy.
"What were you thinking?" I demanded, grabbing Percy's shoulders and gripping them tight. "You don't go around insulting Gods! I mean, yeah, I hate my mother and I talk about it a lot but I'll never say it to her face! You don't want a God as an enemy, especially Ares."
"I don't care." Percy muttered.
"Hey guys, hate to interrupt but…" Grover tailed off. He pointed inside the diner where two men in overalls were paying. They had a white logo on the front, one that matched the exact truck we were told to get into. "If we're taking the Zoo Express, we need to hurry. I let go of Percy, securing the bag on my shoulder before we ran to the truck. We got in and closed the door behind us. I almost gagged at the stench. Percy un-capped his sword, and the glow shone across a couple filthy metal cages. They held a couple different animals. There was a male albino lion, who's ribs I could see through it's fur, zebra's with gum in their hair, an antelope with a birthday balloon tied to it's horn, and a pair of geese, one male and one female. They were so thin they managed to slip out of their cage. "This is kindness? Humane Zoo Transport!?" The truck started moving then. We huddled in the corner near some of the feeding sacks. The geese waddled up to me and I sighed, pulling them close. I sat crossed-legged on the floor and let the two nestle in my lap. The two honked softly and curled up. Percy, Annabeth and Grover managed to fix the problems with the other animals slightly. I fell asleep like that, the lack of sleep from guard duty getting to me. As I drifted off, I could hear Grover and Annabeth told her about Thalia, how she died, and how we arrived at Camp Half-Blood all those years ago.
TIMESKIP
I woke when the truck stopped. I took the geese off my lap and hid behind the feeding bags. "Man!" One of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his face to rid the air of the smell of the caged areas. "I wish I hauled appliances." He hauled himself inside the truck and grabbed a water jug. He poured some water into the dishes and then turned to the lion. "You hot, big boy?" He then splashed some of the water into the lion's face. The lion roared in aggravation, feebly swiping at the man. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." The man said. I put my hand on top of Grover's clenched fists. The trucker tossed the antelope a squashed Happy Meal before turning to the Zebra and smirking. "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!" The zebra's eyes went wide and stared right at Percy. There was a trio of loud knocks from the side of the trailer. "What do you want, Eddie?"
"Maurice? What'd ya say?" Eddie shouted back.
"What are you banging for?" More knocks.
"What banging?" Maurire rolled his eyes, and cursing his partner for being an idiot, he left the trailer. Annabeth apepared a split second later, she must have been the one knocking.
"This transport business can't be legal." Annabeth stated.
"No kidding." Grover agreed. He paused for a second, listening to the animals. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers! We've got to free them!" Grover said. We turned to Percy. He was the Quest leader. Eddie and Maurice's voices were getting increasingly louder. Within a split second, Percy grabbed his sword and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage. It burst out, turned to Percy and bowed. Grover gave it a blessing before the zebra broke out of the trailer. I could hear police shouting after Maurice and Eddie who had given chase.
"We should probably get out of here soon." I suggested.
"The other animals first." I rolled my eyes as the other animals were freed and Grover blessed them. The geese, however, waddled up to me and honked. "They want you to take their egg." He translated. I glared at the animals.
"Don't you realise what we're doing? I can't take your egg!" They honked again.
"They said that they...know who your mother is." My eyebrows frowned together. "And they know that with you, their gosling will be safe with you." My eyes fell to the egg in the corner of their nest. "They know they won't last much longer."
"Fine!" I snapped. I hobbed over to the egg and snatched it up, putting it in my pocket. "There, happy?" The geese honked one more time before scampering out of the van.
"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked. "I mean, the desert and all-"
"Don't worry." Grover said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. 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?"
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy." Annabeth commented.
"Hey!" Percy protested.
"Kidding. Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck." We jumped out of the horrid smelling truck and scampered away from the gathered crowds. We made our way down the Vegas Strip, passing the MGM Grand, the Monte Carlo, various pyramids, ships and small replicas of the Eifel Tower and Statue of Liberty. I think we took a wrong turn at some point, because we found ourselves at the dead-end of a street, standing in front of a building labelled as the 'Lotus Hotel and Casino.' The sign was neon, with a giant lotus flower glaring pink at us. Despite there being no foot traffic, the doors were open and the smell of flowers wafted towards us, pushed by the airconditioning inside. I finally noticed the doorman when he spoke for the first time.
"Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?" He asked with a smile. I eyed him suspiciously, but Percy nodded and took him up on the offer. With the knowledge I had a goose egg in my pocket, that seemed like it was days away from hatching, we entered the casino. Instantly, I knew Percy had the right idea. The lobby was a massive game room, and not those crappy old arcade machines you'd find dotted around diners. Water slides curled around the elevator, which seemed to stretch up for miles, a climbing wall on the opposite side, an indoor bungee-jumping bridge at the other end and massive TV's broadcasting hundreds of games. My jaw dropped open as I marvelled at the place.
"Hey!" Someone called. A man wearing a hawian shirt, shorts and thongs strolled up to us. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key." The man handed me a shiny key card with a lotus printed on it, the number engraved in what looked to be gold.
"Uh...we just…" I started, but the man cut me off.
"No, no. 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 restaurants and on all the games and rides." The man handed each of us a green card. We took them and Percy eyed it.
"How much is on here?" Percy asked.
What do you mean?" The man questioned.
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
"Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay." And he walked off. Percy, Annabeth, Grover and I shared a glance before racing to the elevator. We punched the button to our floor and checked into our room. The suite was massive, three separate bedrooms, a bar stocked with anything you could imagine eating, a direct line to room service, and...I nearly collapsed when I saw the massive bathroom.
"Oh, goodness." Annabeth breathed. "This place is…"
"Sweet." Grover bleated. "Absolutely sweet." I sighed happily, shedding Ares' backpack onto the floor. I made a rudimentary nest from one of the blankets in my bedroom and set the egg on it. I then went into the bathroom to have my first shower in a week. I stripped and turned the water to almost boiling. I scrubbed the grime off me and pulled on a fluffy white robe. I came out of the shower feeling refreshed. I headed into the main area and grabbed a packet of chips, opening them up and stating to munch on them. I stretched out next to Annabeth as she turned on the National Graphic Channel. Percy came in a little later, and stared at the TV.
"All those stations, and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?" Percy asked.
"It's interesting." Annabeth stated.
"I feel good." Grover said. "I love this place."
"This place has everything!" I groaned happily, "I don't think I could ever leave."
"So what now?" Annabeth questioned. "Sleep?" Grover and Percy glanced at each other, grinned, and pulled out their green cards.
"Play time." Percy stated. I grinned myself, changing into some clothes that the hotel provided. They fit perfectly. A grey Nirvana tank top with a black logo, black leather pants, and even a black leather jacket. There as even a new wrap for my arm which I thought was pretty cool. Once we were ready, the four of us descended onto the casino floor. It seemed that you were able to do anything here, and without any laws binding us, I let loose. I did shots with some of the bikers that had wandered in, put all my money on black eleven and won the best single game of roulette, and I even had a few ladies come warm my bed a couple of times, all consensual of course. I saw my friends a couple of times, but they seemed to be having fun so I let them be. It wasn't until a while later, as I was charming another lady, she was twenty, and loved the leather jacket, when I felt a hand on my elbow and yank me to turn around. I saw Percy and Annabeth staring up at me, frightened.
"What is it?" I hissed. "I was just about to-" I glanced back at my lady friend, but she had already lost interest and walked off. "You guys are the absolute worst. What do you want?"
"We need to get out of here!" Percy exclaimed. "This place is a trap!"
"How could this place be a trap, everybody here has been amazing." Annabeth stood in front of me and looked me in the eyes.
"Swans." She stated. "Large white water birds." That got me. I hate those nasty creatures. I blinked, memories flooding back.
"What the hell!" I hissed. "What the Hades have we been doing?"
"I don't know, but we've got to find Grover." Percy said.
"Yeah, lead the way." We went searching for out half-goat friend and found him playing a reverse hunting game, where the animals shot and killed the humans.
"Grover!" We shouted, racing towards him.
"Die, human!" Grover exclaimed. "Die, silly polluting nasty person!"
"Grover!" Grover turned and pretended to shoot us. I narrowed my eyes at him. I grabbed the back of his shirt and started to drag him away from the game. The wings on his shoes sprouted and were pulling me in the opposite direction, but I wouldn't let them.
"No! I just got to a new level! No!" Grover wailed. The bellhop seemed to notice this and seemingly appeared out of thin air.
"Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?" He asked.
"We're leaving." I told him.
"Such a shame. We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members." He held out four of the new cards, all platinum. I could feel Grover's hand reach around for it, but I yanked him away.
"No, thanks." Annabeth stated. The four of us raced to the doors. As we got closer and closer, the casino seemed so much more inviting, but I pushed it all back and ignored it as we burst through the front doors again, racing down the sidewalk. I had let go of Grover so he wasn't dragging me down. It looked like afternoon, just as we had entered, but instead of the gruelling heat we had endured, it was now storming, with lighting flashing against the sandy backdrop. I felt a weight in my pocket, and I felt that stupid egg there. Percy has Ares' backpack with him, but that was the least of our worries it seemed. We found a newsstand, and grabbed a paper. The year was the same, thank the Gods, but what threw me was the date. It was June Twentieth...the Summer Solstice was in one day...we had been trapped for almost a week.