Adore

Chapter Seventeen

A Night Out in Vegas!

Okay. I'm sorry, but, the first thing that entered my mind when we entered the so called free ride that Ares so kindly gave us was that the smell was really overbearing. Really. It smelled eerily like Ares' personality. It stunk. It was really dark inside when we all climbed up, so I got out Riptide and uncapped it, making it elongate to it's true form, its shimmering form providing us light. And really, what we saw had me almost tearing up. 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 a poor gazelle.

Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. I mean, really! Are you that stupid? The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum. The gazelle had a silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL! Obviously, with the poor treatment it was getting, 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. Dear gods.

"What in the gods' name is this!? This is KINDNESS!? HUMANE!?" Grover roared, a murderous glint in his eyes. He took one step towards the trailer door, with all of us following, intent on giving the lowlifes driving this gruesome truck a taste of their own medicine, but the engine suddenly roared to life, and we were careening towards the highway, which forced us to sit or fall down.

We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the heat, the smell, the dark, the flies, the utter helplessness we felt at that moment, staring at the poor animals. Grover tried to talk to the animals, but they just stared at him sadly. Luke was all in favor of breaking the cages and freeing the animals, but Ethan vetoed the idea. He said that it won't be much use if the truck's moving the way it was. I just ignored them all and went to the gazelle, trying to calm it down, intent on cutting off the stupid balloon on its horn. Grover saw what I was doing and talked to the gazelle. He must've gained the gazelle's trust because when I raise Riptide to cut the balloon string, all the gazelle did was stare at me with its beautiful eyes.

Luke and Ethan, meanwhile, switched the mismatched food of the animals, with the turnips going to the zebra and gazelle, and the hamburger meat to the lion, using one of Ethan's Xiphos swords.

"Hey Mare, can you clean this water? It doesn't look like water at the moment." Grover's voice floated down to me, making me look at where he was. He was crouching over some clear jugs that contained what looked to me like brown juice. I growled under my breath as I approached Grover. How dare those people outside call themselves humans? They've got no right! I stopped in front of the jugs, and looked at the murky stuff, willing the water to separate from the dirt. I felt a tug somewhere on my navel and watched as the water slowly separated itself from the dirt, with the water on top. I opened one of the jugs and collected the clean water on an empty jug, stopping when I reached the dirt. I then filled the animals' bowls.

"Can we at least cut off the gum from the zebra's mane?" I asked the others as I spotted the animal staring at me with glimmering black eyes.

"We can't risk it, sis. With the truck's bumping around, we could injure him." Ethan said, looking at me apologetically. I sighed as I sat down near them, my eyes still on the poor animal.

"When the truck stops, we'll cut the gum off, and possibly free them. How's that sound, Damsel fish?" Luke said as he laid a hand on my arm. I tore my eyes off the animal to look at him gratefully.

"Thanks, Luke."

"Hey, no problem, Damsel fish." He said as he tossed his pack down. He then tossed the pack Ares gave us to the opposite side of where we are. The four of us watched as the blue backpack sailed out of our sights.

"Shouldn't we take a look at it first? Who knows what's in there." Ethan said as he stared at the spot where the bag had roughly landed.

"That's exactly why I don't want to open it. Who knows what he's packed in there. There may be rats or something." Luke said as he stretched down on the floor, using his pack as a makeshift pillow. Ethan sighed as he did the same, copying Luke as he sprawled down on the floor. Grover and I looked at each other and shrugged. He then curled up on a turnip sack while I sat there, staring contempletatively at Riptide.

What happened to Aphrodite's plan? Was it a success? I hope so. She's already done so much for me. My participation in her plan to be happy is the least I can do for her. And besides, the snakes were a little overboard for me. Hephaestus really went the extra mile with that one. I really hope that Dad didn't watch the video. I really don't want to look like a fool in front of him.

"Drachma for your thoughts, Damsel fish?" Luke's voice floated to my ears, distracting me from my thoughts. I blinked as I looked the others. Ethan had his eyes closed, and Grover was already snoring. I smiled a little as I scooted closer to Luke, with him sitting up to make room for me beside him.

"Just thinking about the Tunnel of Love ride. I don't know what Dad's reaction might be if he saw that, but if Triton saw that video, he'd march over to Hephaestus and fillet him alive, nevermind he's only a minor god." I grimaced as Luke shuddered when I mentioned Triton.

"I'm sure he'd be reasonable and understand that Hephaestus only wanted to humiliate Ares, and that Ares was at fault, don't you think, Damsel fish?"

"I hope so. Dad's got enough on his plate with his problem with me. He really doesn't need more stress." I smiled sadly at that reminder. Yeah. All of this. Everything happening is because I'm alive. My friends are in this stupidly dangerous situation because of me. The world might end in one week because of me. All because of me.

"Hey." A hand caressed my cheek, with a thumb flicking over my eye, taking away the unknown tears that were accumulating there. I blinked as I turned to look at Luke, finding determined blue eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Percy, and the answer is no. This whole thing isn't your fault. It's because Zeus can't find it in himself to admit that he's being a hypocrite with doing this to Poseidon. It's because of him, not you. Never you. If anything, you're the victim. And trust me, I won't let anything happen to you just because the King of the Gods is too stubborn to admit he's wrong."

I smiled at him, teary eyed. "Thank you, Luke."

He just smiled and laid back down, patting the floor beside him. I nodded as I laid down beside him, snuggling, as he curled his arm around me protectively, encasing me within a warm hug. I sighed contentedly at his actions, which elicited a warm chuckled from him. "You're a secret cuddle bug, you know that? Last time we were in this position, you did the exact same thing."

I jabbed him lightly at his chest. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Casanova."

"What? I think it's cute." He looked down at me and smiled that smile of his; a little quirk of his lips on one side, making him look handsome in the dim light Riptide provided. I suddenly was thankful for the darkness, 'coz I was sure my face was burning red at the moment. I averted my eyes from his, making it land on his bead necklace. Wow. This is the first time I've seen one up close. Most campers were very protective of theirs. Luke must've noticed my gaze, 'coz he picked up the necklace with the hand that covered me, rubbing the beads. "This? Well, at camp, in August, the camp councilors pick the most prominent happening that summer and paint it in on that year's beads. I've got Thal's Pine Tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur on a prom dress – a really weird summer, that – a -"

"Can you tell me about Thalia?"

Luke stopped babbling to look me in the eyes, making me blush at his intense stare, though I never took my eyes away from his this time. He must've seen something in my eyes, 'coz he nodded. "I ran away from home at nine. Don't ask." Luke said when I was about to ask him why he ran away. I closed my mouth and nodded. Luke smiled softly and continued. "I was twelve when I met Thalia. She was fourteen. We joined up against the monsters that kept coming for us. A little while later we found Annabeth, and Thals and I decided that we'd be proper parents to little Annie. See, Annabeth had a father that didn't want her, a stepmother that was worse than Cinderella's, and two stepbrothers that saw her as someone with an incurable disease. She'd never known a proper family. That's why Thalia and I decided that we'd be her parents. We had a blast together. A little while later, a satyr found us to take us to Camp. But Hades was furious with his brother for breaking their oaths, so he sent every single monster in his domain to torment us. Well, we made it to Half Blood Hill before Thalia had enough. She literally pushed us down the slope while she stood at the top, defending herself. Well, I think you know the rest." Luke smiled sadly at me, making me nod.

"Grover was the satyr, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. That's why he's like that. He actually thinks he's the lamest satyr ever. And he thinks his luck was so bad that he found Thals, one of the most powerful demigods in the century."

"That's not true!" I protested. Grover wasn't lame. He was just a late bloomer!

"True. He also found you, my Damsel fish, a demigod as powerful as Thalia." Luke smiled his illegal smile again, making me scoff and jab his chest in embarrassment.

"I meant that he wasn't lame!"

Luke shrugged. "That too. But I'm happier that he found you and delivered you safely to my arms, right?" He winked at me, making me huff.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get some sleep, Casanova." I said, snuggling closer to him. He just chuckled as he once again wrapped his arms around me, making me sigh in contentment. As I drifted off to sleep, I vaguely felt him hug me tighter.

Okay. My nightmare started out like this. 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." Really? Was the teacher a retard or something?

Well, after that, the dream suddenly went weird on me. I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was roughly younger by a bit than Luke, 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, Daughter of Zeus.

She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, "Well, Kelp Brain? One of us has to get out of here." She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going to the Underworld. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind! 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. Oh dear gods. I was back where here.

"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 she suspects nothing?" the voice asked.

Another voice, one I almost recognized, though I was certain it was female, answered at my shoulder. "Nothing, my lord. The bint is as ignorant as the rest." I looked to my side, startled, but there was no one there. She 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. "You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened."

"It wasn't my fault-!"

"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. She is here."

"What?" The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. "You summoned her, my lord?"

"No." The full force of the voice's attention was pouring on me, freezing me in place. I couldn't move. "Damn her father's blood – it is too unpredictable. She brought herself here."

"What? But that's impossible! She had never shown that level of aptitude before! The Daughter of Zeus is the only one to have that kind of power!" the servant cried, incredulous.

"It shows what you think, you imbecile. Your anger clouds your actions. This is why I stepped in when I could." The voice snarled at the invisible girl. But then, it turned its full attention on me. "So, the little halfblood wishes to dream of her quest? Then who am I to interfere?"

The scene changed.

I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty throne was made from onyx carved into human skulls. At the foot of the dais was a two foot long cylinder of bronze, Celestial Bronze, with the ends crackling with electricity. I tried to step towards the bolt, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for it, 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.

"Hail the conquering heroine." The voice mocked.

I woke up with a loud gasp. Luke was shaking me, his face worried. "Damsel fish? Percy? Wake up. I think the two guys are coming here. The truck's stopped." Ethan was torn between watching the door and cutting Luke with his gaze only, and Grover was shaking with mixed anger and fear. We heard voices outside.

"Hide!" Grover's fear apparently, took the best of him as he took out Annabeth's cap and slammed it on his own head. He shimmered out of view. Ethan and Luke grabbed me and we huddled behind the feed sacks.

The trailer doors creaked open. Light and heat poured in. One guy climbed up the trailer.

"Man!" the guy who climbed up the trailer said, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. "I wish I had hauled appliances if I'd known about the heat." He then poured some water from one of the jugs. Thank goodness he didn't notice the unnaturalness of the water. He noticed the lion looking at him with hungry eyes. "You hungry, hot stuff?" He then splashed the rest of the water on the lion, which roared in indignation.

I felt the hand that was clenching my shoulder tighten. I looked to my side to find Luke looking at the man with a hateful stare. I looked to my other side, finding Ethan thinking about something as his eyes narrowed at the man.

The trucker threw the gazelle 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!"

NO! I thought. The zebra, wide, fear-filled eyes, looked straight at me, and spoke inside my head. "Free me, my lady! Please!"

I stared at the zebra, shell-shocked. How the hell is he, or she, or whatever, capable of speaking to me!?

There was a loud knock knock on the side of the truck.

The man looked up from sneering at the zebra. "What'd ya want, Eddie?"

A voice outside, most likely Eddie, shouted back. "What? Maurice? Ya say sumthin'?"

"What're ya bangin' for!"

Knock knock knock. With a start, I looked at Ethan, who had a smirk on his face as his fist banged on the side of the trailer.

Outside, Eddie yelled. "What bangin'?"

Maurice grumbled under his breath as he stomped to the trailer door, cursing Eddie for being an i***t. Once he got outside, Grover materialized in front of us. "Hurry! We must free the animals, now! This can't be legal! It's inhumane!"

"They must be smugglers or something." Luke said as the three of us stood up from our hiding place.

"Your mate is right, my lady." The zebra said inside my mind. Blushing at the implication, I stared hard at the zebra as the others worked out how to break the locks. Why could I understand what he was saying? Then I thought: horses. Poseidon was the one who created horses, and zebra's were close enough with their equestrian cousins. Maybe that's how I can understand it.

The zebra implored at me. "Open my cage, my lady. Please. I will be fine after that."

Outside, we could still hear the two idiots arguing, but they'd be back in here soon. I grabbed Riptide, who, thankfully, was behind a feed sack so that Maurice didn't see a sword, and slashed the lock of the zebra's cage. The zebra burst out of its cage and bowed to me. "Thank you, my lady. You have my gratitude." Grover held out his hand and spoke something, like a blessing.

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. Isn't that peachy?

Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"

"Good idea, sis!" Ethan said as he grabbed his pack and took out one of his Xiphos swords and punctured the lock of the cage holding the gazelle. Luke nodded as he got his Makhaira sword from his pack and slashed down on the lock of the lion's cage. Grover then raised his hands and spoke the same blessing to the animals. The two then burst out of their cages and went off together on the streets, eliciting screams from the people outside.

"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover as we watched the two animals get farther and farther away.

"Don't worry, Mare. I put a Satyr's Sanctuary on them. They'll always find everything they'd need for them to survive. Now, come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten 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. 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. 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 blossoms.

The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

Now, the past few weeks, I'd definitely learned that if a demigod's asked that question by a complete stranger, it was a trap. But then I looked at the others, at Grover who was looking longingly at the entrance, and I felt my conviction collapse. Besides, one look at the doorman confirmed him as human, also seeing that Grover wasn't skittering like he had spiders in his pants. So, I nodded and we all came in. One look at the lobby and all I could say was, "Wow."

"Ditto." I heard Grover's astonished exclamation somewhere to my left.

"Wicked." Luke said as Ethan nodded, gaping.

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 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. 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.

"Someone pinch me. I must be dreaming." Ethan drooled as he spotted the video games.

"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop 'coz 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."

"What? But, erm," I stammered. What in Hades?

"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, loom 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 four plastic green credit cards.

"Err, thanks?" I said, off kilter. What the Hades is going on here? Who paid for all of this?

We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. The instant we poked our heads inside the room, all my fears melted away to be replaced by awe and glee. It was a suite with four 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 g*n. 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 find time to look at the view with a room like this.

"Dear Hermes. This place is absolutely sweet!" Luke said as he launched himself on one of the bedrooms, straight to the bed, bouncing from the recoil. "This bed is heaven!"

I laughed as Ethan released his baggage and repeated Luke's actions with the next bedroom, with him laughing like a little child as he bounced up and down on the mattress. "Dear gods, he's right! You have to try this, sis!"

I just laughed and dumped my bad down by the main door as I closed it. "Nah. I'm going to take a long, hot, relaxing shower!" I squealed. Luke and Ethan both laughed at my reaction, with Grover shaking his head as he dumped his bag next to mine.

"Just don't take too long, Mare, or else you'll get all wrinkly!"

"I don't do that. Perks of being a Daughter of the Sea God." I stuck out my tongue at him, making him laugh and shoo me to the closest bedroom. I just grabbed my bag and dragged it to the bathroom inside, intent on using all of the soap inside.

After I took a shower, I changed into fresh clothes, the ones we got from Waterland, and came out of the bedroom. I found that the others were already there, clad in clean clothes. 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.

Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Ethan cranked up the HBO, which was currently playing Pirates of the Carribean. Luke was glued to the screen. I just laughed and joined them.

"I feel so good. This place is awesome." Grover sighed happily as he curled up further on the couch.

"So, what now? We sleep?" I asked them. Ethan turned off the television as he, Luke and Grover exchanged mischievous glances.

"No way, Mare! Did you see those games downstairs?" Grover said, looking at me with shining eyes.

Before I could say anything, though, Luke had slammed his hands on the coffee table, earning our attention. He had this gleam in his eyes. "You guys just leave everything to me. Now, let's change into more appropriate attires, shall we?" Before any of us could ask what in Hades he was thinking about, Luke had retrieved my pack from my bedroom, and took out three suits. He then handed me the pack and ushered me to my room, saying that I should be done in an hour tops. He then closed the door with a loud snap. Uh, what?

Once I stopped gaping at the door, I looked at the pack, only to remember that Silena had packed us some clothes to wear for Vegas. I slapped my forehead for forgetting about that promise. Silena would kill me if I didn't do it! I just sighed and dug deeper into the pack, pulling out a dress that had me gaping. Once I regained my senses back, though, I let out a single word to express my feelings at the current moment. "ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

After the allotted hour, someone knocked on my door. "Mare, are you done? It's been an hour already."

"No way am I going to go out looking like this!" I yelled back, looking at my reflection in the mirror forlornly.

Grover, wearing a normal black tuxedo, opened the door, then closed it with his back still on me. "Come on, Mare. It can't be that bad...." He trailed off as he turned around and looked at me. He then continued to imitate a goldfish, much to my rising embarrassment.

"Come on, out with it. I look horrible, don't I?" I said, miserably tugging on the golden chain that served as a sort of belt for the dress. It looked so loose!

"Are you crazy, Mare? You look like a goddess!" Grover yelped as he went to my side and began poking and pulling the dress to straighten it out. When he was done, he looked at me with stars in his eyes. "Silena sure did pick a wonderful dress! You don't even look like twelve!" I blushed at his compliment. Did I really look good, or was he just pulling my leg? Grover must've read my emotions because he grabbed my shoulders and gave it a comforting squeeze. "None of that, Mare. You look beautiful. See?" He then pulled me a little ways from the mirror, making me see the full effect of the dress I was wearing. It was a silk gown, amber in color that was what you would call "flowy". It flowed in waves around my body. It only had one strap and the rest flowed from that point, much like a toga. But the thing that had me fidgeting was the really high slip of the dress. It was at least three quarters up my thigh, exposing my legs. And, forgive me for saying, but with my early start on puberty, I had some curves that were actually complimented by the dress. Add that with my natural golden tan, I actually widened my eyes at the picture I made. Grover was right. Silena sure knew what she was doing! I looked stunning!

"And leave your hair down and don't put on make-up. You'll knock Luke back to Camp with that dress!" Grover laughed as I reddened at his insinuation. Still, I did what he said and just brushed my long raven hair, making it curl at the ends. Grover nodded and went to the door. "You, my dear Mare, definitely need an introduction with your outfit." He then opened the door and closed it. I just sighed a little as I got the matching golden handbag Silena had wrapped in the dress with the golden heels I was wearing and waited for Grover's dramatic unveiling.

"I present to you fine gentlemen, our lovely star, Percy!"

As he opened the door for me, I stood there, looking at the floor, afraid to look Ethan and Luke on the face. I was so embarrassed! Though, after a few minutes of silence, well, apart from Grover's snickering, I looked at the two and a smile had bloomed on my face. Ethan had this surprised face that was half elated and half horrified.

"Err, Ethan?"

"Gods. I have to fend off every guy in the hotel." He said as he came forwards and hugged me. "You look beautiful, sis." I smiled at him as he let me go.

"You don't look half bad yourself." Really, I wasn't exaggerating. He looked stunning in a black double-breasted suit, silver vest and a silver tie to complete the look. He smiled and let me go. He then looked conflicted about something, but Grover cleared his throat and Ethan let go of me with a grimace. He then gestured towards Luke. I turned to look at Luke and giggled a little seeing as he had the most hilarious face I had seen. Complete with wide eyes, gaping mouth and raised eyebrows. And, err, was that drool?

"Luke? Are you there?"

Luke shook his head when he heard my voice, but then looked at me with the most adoring look I had ever seen on his face. "You look gorgeous, Percy. Absolutely gorgeous." He then sidled up with me, with us making a striking picture with his black double-breasted suit, pale yellow vest and yellow stripped tie. He offered me his arm, with me sliding my arm through his with a smile.

"Anyways, why in Hades' name are we going to the lobby dressed like this, Luke?" I asked as the four of us exited our suites and headed for the elevator. Luke looked at me with his sexy smirk, with Grover and Ethan chuckling a little and shaking their heads in exasperation.

"Why, Damsel fish, we're going to the casino!"

I really don't know when I first realized that something was wrong with the place. Maybe it was that there were people that were dressed like the fashion sense in the 70s, but, hey, you've seen people dressed like solar systems, so it didn't even cross my mind as weird at that time. Or maybe it was when those people had these expressions that were seriously outdated, like "Groovy!" or "Peace out!" But, really, I think that the thing that snapped me out of it was when I asked someone the date, the guy looked at me weird and told me that it was 1978. HOLY HADES! I asked them how long exactly they've been here, and he told me he was here for only two freaking weeks! That snapped me out of our carefree mood when we entered this hotel. I tried to remember how, in the first place, I got here.

For one scary moment, my mind provided me with a blank, but then it all came rushing back to me. Dad. Zeus. The Bolt. I stammered an apology to the guy I was talking to, but he wasn't even looking at me. He was looking back at his slot machine.

I ran towards where I last saw my three friends, and, sure enough, they were in the same spots I left them in, with Grover betting on the dice game, Luke playing Blackjack, and Ethan was surrounded by these women who looked to be like those in beauty pageants. I tried Grover first.

"Grover? Come on, we need to go!"

No response.

"Hircum, please. Look at me."

Grover looked at me, but his eyes continually slid back to the game. "Yeah?"

"Come on. We need to go! Our quest, remember?"

"Uh-huh. Just a minute, Percy. I almost won!" He then turned his back to me. Great. I turned to try Ethan, but one look at the hoard of girls surrounding him had me backing out of that one too. So I tried to wrestle Luke from his game.

"Luke?" He looked at me and smiled, but he immediately turned back to his cards. I slid beside him, shaking his arm. "Luke, listen to me. We need to get out of here!"

"Just a little more, Percy, and I'm going to win that awesome car." He then pointed to the middle of the room where a black Maserati was proudly on display. I just shook my head and pulled his arm, making him look at me with a raised eyebrow. I took his face into my hands.

"Luke, I swear, if you don't snap out of it, I'm so NEVER going to kiss you!" Well. It worked better than I thought. Luke's glazed eyes suddenly cleared as he jerked like he was forcibly taking off some kind of restraints.

"Dear Hermes. How long have we-?"

"I don't know! Listen, I'll grab Grover while you haul Mr. Ladies Man there out of his seat!" Luke nodded and he left to pull Ethan from the harpies surrounding him. I found Grover still concentrating on his game, so I knocked over his pile of chips, making him look at me incredulously. I then took a firm grip on his arm and forcibly dragged him towards the exit, with him shouting that he was still playing. In the corner of my eyes, I could see Luke in the same position with Ethan, though he had a harder time because of the girls surrounding him. I put a hard knock to the head on Grover and he stopped struggling, seeing as he was nursing his head. I then dragged him towards Luke to help. I reached out with my unoccupied hand and took hold of Ethan's arm while glaring at the bimbos. "Back off! He's already engaged!" I snarled at them as I helped Luke drag a still kicking Ethan towards the exit.

Though, our progress was hampered when the bellboy who first greeted us hurried towards us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards? These cards would even give you an easier time in the casino, and we have a special floor dedicated to the gamers who have these cards! What do you say?" Ethan and Grover were reaching out, but Luke and I yanked them back.

"No thanks. We're leaving."

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 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.

Ares' blue backpack was on my shoulder, which was odd, since we left all of our packs on our rooms, and didn't we leave this pack on the trailer truck? But at the moment, I had other fears.

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. Oh dear gods. We've been in the Lotus Casino for five days. We only had one day until the Summer Solstice. One day to complete our quest. Damn.