Chapter Text
Ares 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. Honestly, those water tricks did better than anyone expected.”
I shoved his shield at him. “You’re a jerk.”
Annabeth and Grover just sighed next to me. They were starting to accept that I wasn’t going to be respectful to the gods without reason.
Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest that he slung 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, printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
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.
I started, “I don’t want your lousy…”
“Thank you, Lord Ares,” Grover interrupted, wide eyes staring at me. “Thanks a lot.”
I grit my teeth, trying to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want anything Ares had touched. I get a warning from Dad not to trust gifts, and then Ares gifts me a backpack full of supplies? It didn’t feel like a coincidence, but I also knew I couldn’t refuse a gift from one of the Olympians.
Only a couple of customers remained inside the diner. The waitress watched us from the window, looking afraid. I wasn’t sure if it was of us or Ares. She dragged the fry-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. I really hoped we wouldn’t end up in the news again. I didn’t know how I was going to explain that to either of my parents when this was all finished.
“One more thing,” I told Ares, trying to keep my voice as respectful as possible. “You promised me information about my mom.”
“You sure you can handle the news?” He kick-started his motorcycle. “She’s not dead.”
“What do you mean?” Part of me was upset that his information wasn’t useful. I knew Mom wasn’t dead. But the other part wanted to know how Ares knew this.
“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.”
I frowned at him. “How did you know she turned into gold?”
Ares froze for a moment like he hadn’t expected my question. He snapped out of it and sneered at me with a mean laugh. “I’m a god kid, we know things your puny mortal mind could never comprehend.”
I couldn’t resist snapping back at him, “If you're so much better than us, why did you run away from some statues?”
Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. A cooler breeze came to contradict it, Dad’s familiar presence in the back of my mind. He was still watching even if he couldn't interfere directly. “We’ll meet again, Perseus Jackson. Next time you’re in a fight, watch your back.”
He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street. Within a few seconds, he was gone, leaving dust behind him.
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 toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their checks, 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 rig, closing the doors behind us.
The stench hit me immediately, the smell of animal droppings sticking to my nose. I uncapped Anaklusmos, casting a faint glow over the trailer. What we saw filled all three of us with rage and sadness. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the saddest animals I’d ever seen: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn’t know the name of.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, while the zebra and the antelope had each gotten a styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. I shook my head. I was a twelve-year-old who had limited knowledge about land animals and I knew that was wrong, how could adults mess it up when it was their job?
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.
“This is kindness?” Grover yelled. “Humane zoo transport?”
He looked ready to fight the two truckers himself, and I was ready to help him. Before we could do anything, the truck turned on and started moving. The trailer we were in shook heavily, forcing us to sit quickly.
Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor 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. 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.
Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. Meanwhile, I approached the zebra.
Hi Buddy, what’s your name? I tried to ask it, just like I would any other creature under my father’s domain. I had never spoken to a zebra before, but I thought it would work.
Hello, my Lord, my name is Francis! You are the offspring of Lord Poseidon, correct? He replied, pushing his head against the cage.
Yeah, that’s me. But you can just call me Percy.
At this point, Grover and Annabeth noticed me. Annabeth said, “What are you doing, Percy?”
“Talking to Francis,” I answered casually.
“Who is Francis?” I think she was starting to question my sanity.
“The zebra.”
“The zebra is named Francis? And you can understand him?”
“Well yeah. Zebras are under Poseidon’s domain, just like horses, I guess.”
She looked to Grover for confirmation, only to sigh when he simultaneously nodded and shrugged.
I turned my attention back to the zebra. We wanted to cut the gum out of your hair, but the ride is a little too bumpy. We’ll try when we stop, is that alright?
Oh of course, Lord Percy. That was probably the least formal he was going to get.
Listen, we want to get you guys free, I told him, stroking his side through the gap in his cage. Will we be safe from the lion if we let you all out for the night?
I did not feel like becoming a lion’s midnight snack, but I also felt bad leaving them all in the filthy cages.
Oh yes, Ashley is a sweetheart.
‘Sweetheart’ is not the first thought that comes to mind when I look at Ashley.
Despite my reservations, I let the others know what Francis had said. Because we had time, Annabeth decided to try and pick the locks on their cages. Pulling out two bobby pins and her dagger from our bag, she fashioned a makeshift lock-pick and went to work on the antelope’s cage.
“Where did you learn to do this?”
“Luke taught me years ago. Hermes kids are usually jack-of-all-trades, but sometimes they get extra abilities that would fit the messenger or thief parts. Like extra speed, or being sneaky. Luke has the full thief abilities. I mean, all Hermes kids know how to pick a lock as a point of pride, but Luke is the best.”
It took her a while, but Annabeth eventually got all three cages unlocked. With the animals out we managed to stack one of the cages on the other, giving the animals more space to walk around. Francis was right, the lion Ashley was sweet, coming to rub against each of us before laying down and promptly falling asleep in the corner. Francis himself, meanwhile, came and laid at my side. It was a comfort to be next to an animal of Dad’s domain.
With the animals somewhat settled, we decided to call it a night. Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; 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.
“Hey,” Annabeth said, “I’m sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy.”
“It’s okay, it all worked out.”
“It’s just…” She shuddered. “Spiders.”
“Because of Arachne,” 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.”
“Hey, it was a team effort,” I said. “You figured out we could cut the net and 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 and handed me half. “We got interrupted at the diner. You were going to talk to us about your conversation with Luke?”
I chewed my cookie as I thought about how to answer. My conversation with Luke had bothered me all day, only getting worse. While I had a lot of questions, I didn’t want to upset Annabeth and Grover. I decided to start with something that I had mostly figured out for myself. “Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn’t fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree.”
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.”
He nodded glumly. I almost wanted him to deny it. I couldn’t imagine the pain of guiding someone to camp, only to lose them like Thalia. Even if he hadn't been as close to her as he is to me, I could tell it ate him up.
“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 toward help. Thalia was twelve, Luke 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 traveled 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…”
“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 ridiculous.”
“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.”
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 went as if to kick me but stopped herself. I think she was worried about hitting Francis instead.
“Of course I am,” I said. “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.”
Grover let out a deep sigh. We waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, his breathing deepened until he started snoring.
“How does he do that?” I asked Annabeth, amazed.
“I don’t know,” Annabeth said. “But that was really a nice thing you told him.”
“I meant it.”
We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. Francis got up for a moment to eat a turnip, then laid back down next to me. The lion and antelope were both sleeping, their breaths in sync with Grover.
Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
“That pine-tree bead,” I said. “Is that from your first year?”
She glanced down at her hand; it was obvious she hadn't realized she was playing with her necklace. That was pretty common for ADHD kids, I know I did it with whatever I had on hand often.
“Yeah,” she said. “Every August, the counselors 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…”
“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 gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her… That’s a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk and said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him.”
“That sounds like a good thing.”
“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.”
“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.”
“But… You seem like you still want a relationship with him,” I told her. “You should write him a letter or something.”
“And how do you figure I want a relationship? I just told you how horrible it was.” Her voice was cold. I leaned over Francis to see into Annabeth’s eyes properly. They shined wetly in the dim light.
“Because you still wear his ring.”
She didn’t have a reply to that. I left her alone for a few minutes before speaking up again. “When I talked to Luke, he said camp is starting to pick sides.”
“I can’t imagine. I mean, Capture the Flag is one thing. But I’ve known some of the campers half my life, we’re family. I don’t want to fight them.”
“But you would?”
“If I had to, yeah.”
“He said Athena is backing Zeus against Poseidon.” I hesitated to say, but I needed to know what she thought.
“Yeah that uh… that sounds like my mom. But I don’t care.” She laid her head against the backpack from Ares and closed her eyes.
“What?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care 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?”
I couldn’t think of an answer, but I didn’t have to because Annabeth fell asleep almost immediately.
Our conversation had made a few things clear to me. First, I felt better when Grover and Annabeth called me their friend then when Luke did the same. With the two of them, I felt that their promises were personal. In this quest, they had seen the worst of me. And yet, they stayed at my side. They got mad when I tried to put their safety above my own. Maybe I just hadn’t spent enough time with Luke, but when I thought of him, it was his contradictory warmth and bitterness that I remembered most. It made me uncomfortable. And Luke, even though he called me a friend, did not promise to stay by me like Annabeth. She was willing to go against her mom for me, I knew what that meant. Luke would choose his ideas, his goals, and probably the other campers over me. And that was fine, I would choose my family over him. But the loyalty Grover and Annabeth showed me won out, hands down. They were literally going to hell for me, even though we all thought the bolt wasn’t in the Underworld.
Secondly, I couldn’t tell Grover and Annabeth any of this. They obviously loved and admired Luke. Everyone at camp respected him, but they had a special connection. I didn’t think it would go over well if I told them I couldn’t fully trust Luke. Along with not wanting to argue, I didn’t want to hurt my friends. Making them choose between me and Luke wouldn’t be fair.
Lastly, I couldn’t get the image of Luke as a suspect out of my head. Luke got the full thief abilities, Annabeth had said. You’d have to be invisible, Luke admitted. He could easily get Annabeth’s cap. Heck, she would hand it over without hesitation or question if he asked. And he was at the winter solstice. I shook my head. I was sure that the quest was weighing too much on me, making me paranoid. I tried to put my suspicions aside and sleep but had trouble. Eventually, I forced myself into the darkness.
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.
Then the dream strayed from the usual. I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her electric blue eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia.
She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, Well, seaweed brain? One of us has to get out of here.
I know, I told her. I’m going.
Thalia wasn’t here to fight anymore, it was up to me. I concentrated, trying to imagine freedom. A sea breeze floated in from one of the windows. 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 he wasn’t addressing me.
And he suspects nothing? The voice asked.
Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest. He seemed to suspect our decoy for a moment, but he became distracted easily.
I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.
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 voice said in scorn. The term used to address him, the Crooked One, confirmed my worst fears. The voice was Kronos, former King of the Titans, my grandfather. 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 brought us much. Zeus’ 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.
What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned him, my lord?
No. The full force of Kronos’ 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.
Impossible! the servant cried.
For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled. I did not feel complimented by his words. Then his cold power turned back on me. So… you wish to dream of your quest, young halfblood? Then I will oblige.
The scene changed. I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty 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 toward 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 armor 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!
I woke up with a start, tears in my eyes. Grover was shaking me but stepped back when our eyes met.
“The truck’s stopped,” he said. “We think they’re coming to check on the animals. Are you okay?”
“No time, we have to hide!” Annabeth hissed.
Annabeth slipped her cap on and disappeared. As Grover and I scrambled for a hiding place I noticed that they had managed to get the crates back to normal and the animals in their cages while I was asleep.
The doors cracked open, sunlight and stifling heat coming into the trailer.
“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. He was as angry as I had ever seen him. For a moment I thought he was going to jump out and challenge the trucker, but he calmed himself.
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!”
Poor Francis looked directly at me, fear clear in his eyes. Lord Percy, please. Free me.
Give me a few minutes, buddy. We’ll figure something out, I thought back to him. It calmed him down somewhat.
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 - Eddie’s - shouted back, “Maurice? What’d ya say?”
“What are you banging for?”
Another series of knocks sounded. Outside, Eddie yelled, “What banging?”
Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. Annabeth appeared beside me suddenly, determined gray eyes settling on me. She must have been the one banging on the trailer to lure Maurice outside.
“I think it's time to get these guys out, don’t you?”
I grinned at her. “Absolutely.”
Grover and Annabeth had re-done the padlocks when they put the cages back, but I quickly solved that. With three slashes of my sword, all the animals were freed from their cages once again. Grover took a second with each animal, holding up his hands and saying something in his goat speech that I couldn’t understand. I thought it was a blessing or something similar.
With all the noise, it was no wonder Maurice came back to the truck. When he peaked his head inside, Francis leaped over him and took off running. We could hear screaming and cars honking. The other two animals followed Francis out, the truckers running after all three of them.
Me, Grover, and Annabeth went to the trailer doors. All three animals were running down the streets of Las Vegas. Maurice and Eddie were chasing them but were followed in turn by a police officer who looked very upset at the two truckers. Some tourists screamed, while others stood back and videotaped everything.
“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.”
“So it would only affect Percy,” Annabeth teased.
“Hey!” I protested, nudging her with my arm.
“Kidding,” she said. “Come on. Let’s get out of this filthy truck.”
We stumbled out of the truck, the heat nearly knocking me over. Luckily, everyone was too focused on the wild animals to pay attention to three sweaty, dirty kids coming out of the truck.
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. We wandered down the streets for a while. I’m not sure if any of us had a plan, other than to find some food and shelter while we figured out a way to get to Los Angeles.
We found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. 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.
The doorman smiled at us. “Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?”
Usually, I would be weary of an offer like this. And especially after the last few weeks, everything was starting to have a downside. But something made me listen to this guy. Maybe it was hunger, exhaustion, the heat, or a combination of all three but all I felt was relief at his offer.
The three of us walked into the doors, immediately impressed. The whole lobby was a game room. There was an indoor waterslide 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.
I had never seen anything so amazing. It was like the place had been designed for kids. A few other kids were playing, but not that many, so there was no wait for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.
“Hey!” someone who I thought was a bellhop called to us. 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, 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. I knew there must be some mistake. It didn’t make any sense that he would just hand us cards like we were real guests.
I still 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.”
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 chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds 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, but I wasn’t sure who would care about the view outside when the inside was so amazing.
“Oh, goodness,” Annabeth said. “This place is…”
“Sweet,” Grover said. “Absolutely sweet.”
There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. Something about that felt wrong, but I was too impressed by everything to think about it much. I threw Ares’s backpack in the trash can, happy to be rid of it. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store if I wanted.
I took a shower, which was desperately needed after being in the zoo trailer for a full night. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three co*kes, 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.
I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips 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.”
“We just left a group of wild animals.”
“I feel good,” Grover said. “I love this place.”
The wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.
“So what now?” Annabeth asked. “Sleep?”
Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards. “Playtime,” I said.
The hotel was an awesome break from everything going on. I hadn’t had so much fun in months. The stress affecting my whole family, school, and then escaping to camp had been a lot of pressure. I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag. 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. It was slightly disturbing, but after seeing the conditions the truckers kept Francis and his friends in, I understood where Grover came from. I saw Annabeth playing trivia and design games. 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. It wasn’t my thing, but Annabeth loved it. Again, it struck me how perfect this place was. It was as if it was built to cater to each of our specific tastes.
Perseus, a familiar voice called me. I turned in a circle but didn’t see anyone looking for me. With a shrug, I went back to my game.
Perseus, my son, the voice was there again. You must wake.
What? I thought, I’m not asleep.
Perhaps not a traditional sleep, but you are in a trance. With each word, the voice became more familiar, like a beloved memory resurfacing.
I tried to go back to my game but was distracted.
Percy, stop right now!
C’mon Dad, one more level. I could hear the whine in my own voice. Suddenly, I was not in the Lotus Hotel anymore. I was mentally transported back to last summer. Mom and Dad had bought me a game system for my birthday but because it was the end of summer, I only had a few weeks to play it before leaving for school. I spent hours on it, even trying to skip my lessons with Dad. Those lessons were some of the only things Dad was strict on. At one point, I had complained I wanted more time and he had physically picked me up and carried me out to spar.
The memory snapped me out of gaming mode. I spun around again and called out, “Dad?”
I cannot be there in person son, but you are in great danger.
What do you mean? I answered back in my head.
Look at the people around you… the way they are dressed, the games they play.
I noticed then… everyone there was dressed in clothes from different decades as if they were wearing their parents’ or even grandparents' clothes. And the games they were playing ranged in age as well, from classic board games to the newest VR. I started going up to people, working to grab their attention from what they were doing. It was hard, so many of them were absorbed in their activities. Everyone gave me a different answer for what year it was, spanning decades. And with each answer, they told me how long they thought they were there. Even the ones who said it was decades ago claimed they had only been in the casino for a few days or weeks.
My stomach sank. Dad, what do I do?
Leave. You must find your friends and leave immediately.
I took his advice and went to look for my friends. I didn’t know how long we had been there, or how long we would have stayed if Dad hadn’t spoken to me. Dad kept speaking to me, telling me nothing important but the sound of his voice was a balm to my nerves. I clutched onto the memories he shared as a lifeline.
I found Annabeth still building her city.
“Come on,” I told her. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
When she didn’t respond 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. Zeus’ lightning bolt. The Underworld. Our quest!”
“Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes.”
“Annabeth, there are people here from almost a hundred years ago. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever.”
“So?” she asked. “Can you imagine a better place?”
I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game. I needed to get her out of her trance, like Dad had done to me.
“Hey!” She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.
I made her look directly into my eyes. I said, “Spiders. Large, hairy spiders.”
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 on the screen.
I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away, knowing it would be faster than talking. 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, voice so sincere that it made me feel guilty. “We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members.”
He held out the cards, and I wanted one.
Do not touch that card Perseus, I heard my father’s voice once again, this time his serious voice, the one I always listen to. I pulled my hand back.
Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, “No, thanks.”
We walked toward 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 clutched onto my memories of home and my family. I had to keep reminding myself that if I didn’t leave, war would break out and my mom would be lost forever.
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 lightning flashing out in the desert.
Ares’ backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in our room, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about.
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 nineteenth. We had been in the Lotus Casino for four days. We had only two days left until the summer solstice. Two days to complete our quest.
