RED ¹ / Percy Jackson !

17

GROVER SHOOK PERCY'S SHOULDER WITH AN ALARMED LOOK ON HIS FACE."The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.

She had it easy with her cap,Viviene wanted to say. She,Grover,Blake and Percy had to dive behind feed sacks and hope they looked like turnips.

The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.

"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.

Viviane saw how Grover tensed,and for a second she thought he'd get up and murder the man.

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'regonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra stared at Percy and Viviane craned her head curiosly.Percy had a shocked expresssion on his face.

There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.

"What do you want, Eddie?"The trucker inside with them yelled,

"Maurice? What'd ya say?"Eddie shouted from outside.

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"What banging?"

Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.

A second later, Annabeth appeared next to them all. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer."This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

"We've got to free them!"Grover said. The rest of the group looked at Percy,who still had a weird expression on his face.

Percy suddenly took out riptide and slahed at the zebra's cage,opening it. The zebra bowed at Percy.Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, 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. They all 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. They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

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.

Viviane helped Percy cut the locks of the other cages with her dagges,both of them mumbling small 'good lucks' to each animal. For every animal,Grover held his hand up and spoke a blessing to them.

"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 theyneed until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" He asked.

"It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Viviane reasoned.

"Hey!" Percy protested."I thought we were friends,red. That hurt me."

"Kidding."

"Come on,let's get out of this filthy truck."Annabeth grimaced.

They walked passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the small replica of the Statue of Liberty. Somehow,they found themselves on 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.

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

"We'd love to."Percy tiredly nodded.

"Whoa."Blake and Grover said at the same time.

The whole lobby was a giant 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. 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.

"Hey!" a bellhop said. 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."

"Um,but..."Percy stammered.

"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up tothe 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 them each a plastic card.

"How much is on here?"

His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

"Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."He laughed.

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 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.

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

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