MAURICE AND EDDIE ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"
"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.
"The other animals first," Grover said.
Percy cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.
"Good luck," Grover told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.
Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.
"Will the animals be okay?" Percy 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?" Percy asked.
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.
Cassie laughed and smiled at Annabeth.
"Hey!" The boy protested.
"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."
They 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.
They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica.
She wasn't sure what they 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.
They must have taken a wrong turn, because they found themselves 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.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?'
Cassie had learned to be suspicious. She figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and one could see. Besides, she was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that she nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."
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 baks all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.
"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bell-hop. He wore a hite-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
Percy 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, loom 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or what-ever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed them each a green plastic credit card.
She took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
His evebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"
"When does it run out of cash?" Percy added.
He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."
They took the elevator upstairs and checked out the 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.
The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though she doubted they'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.
"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."
"Sweet." Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
There were clothes in the closet, and they fit her. She frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.
She took a long shower and changed. She kept her back converse but changed into a pair of jeans and a pink flowered top. (Photo at the bottom).
Percy came out of the bathroom.
"All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"
"It's interesting." She shrugged.
"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."
Without him even realizing it, 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 Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time," Percy said.
Cassie decided to eat a cookie before going to the arcade. So she didn't go in the elevator with her friends.
She rushed out of the room and called for an elevator.
There was a blonde boy, with a little scar on his upper lip. He had electric blue eyes and looked about the same age as her.
"Demigod too?"
She looked at him, "huh?"
He laughed, "you don't know about the gods?"
She smiled, "you too?"
He smiled back, "Jason Grace."
"Cassiopeia Bradbury."
The elevator opened in one of the upper floors, he turned to her. "Nice meeting you, I have to look for my friend- but it was nice meeting you Cassiopeia."
She grinned, "Cassie- oh and, good luck!"
The doors closed, making a smiling Jason Grace disappear from her view.
She got to the lounge, she decides she was hungry.
She took a table and ordered two nugget servings and a milkshake.
"Twenty-two!" The speaker yelled.
Two kids got up at the same time as her. Two siblings by the looks of it, an older brunette sister and a younger black haired boy.
"See Nico, I told you out number was twenty-three!"
She turned to the two, she had the tray in her hands.
"Want to sit and share?" She asked them, with a little smile.
The younger boy grinned excited, "sure! Can we Bianca?"
The older girl looked like she wanted to hide. "Um- sure."
They sat at a booth and began to talk about the most ridiculous topics.
"You're a kid Nico!" Bianca exclaimed at something Nico had said.
"Don't call me kid," he grumbled.
Cassie laughed and split the last nugget into three.
She lifted her nugget, "for new friend ships!"
The other two joined their nuggets with hers, like a brindis.
"Cassiopeia."
She turned and found Percy.
"Percy! We're eating nuggets and shakes, wanna join?"
Percy didn't even look at the Di Angelo siblings, he looked worried about something.
He grabbed her hand and dragged her with him.
"Hey-!" She glared at him, "I couldn't even say goodbye!"
He turned to her, "think of your future, you need to get out of here to get what you want."
She snapped out of it.
"It's a trap, time moves different here, we have to leave."
Annabeth and Grover were waiting for them at the entrance.
The blonde was worried, "where were you!"
"Um- having nuggets but-"
The blonde grabbed her hand and dragged her.
The Lotus bellhop hurried up to them. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"
"We're leaving," Percy told him.
"Such a shame," he said, and she got the feeling that he really meant it, that they'd be breaking his heart if they went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."
He held out the cards, and she wanted one. Cassie knew that if she took one, she'd never leave.
Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."
They walked toward the door, and as they did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. She thought about our room upstairs, the blonde boy, the DiAngelo's.
They could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...
Then they burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day they'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's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder, which was odd, because she was sure he had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment they had other problems to worry about.
She ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in. Then she noticed the date: June twentieth.
They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.
They had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete their quest.
________________________
-thoughts??
flo<3