𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐩. 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

Evangeline gets an apprentice

The chapter is extremely long!

They were wandering the streets of Las Vegas a place Evangeline never wanted to come back to, they were looking for a place to eat and rest away from the heat. Soon they arrived at a place that was the brunette's old home, she didn't want to come back there, but if she said anything the other three would start asking questions so she planned to let them rest and eat and then get out, and not fall for the hotel's tricks on the mind. Simple plan.

"Whoa," Grover said.  The doorman appeared and smiled at the four. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor water slide 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. Everything you could think of was there. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. Not waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food imaginable.

"Hey!" a bellhop said. He was the same bellhop when Evangeline was there she was silently hoping he wouldn't recognize her. 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."

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, 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 them each a green plastic credit card.

Evangeline was already getting hit by deja vu. Percy was holding the card when he asked, "How much is on here?"

The bellhop's 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."

As they were walking the bellhop stopped the brunette and said. "Welcome back, Miss Merlyn."

Evangeline faltered but didn't say anything as she caught up with the other three questers.

They took the elevator upstairs and checked out their room. 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 waterbeds 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 they could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with the gun.

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

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

Evangelin was getting restless waiting for the other three to finish their small vacation. Grover was eating chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth and Percy fought over the TV remote.

"All those stations," Percy told Annabeth, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

"It's interesting," she insisted.

"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."

Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again...