chapter ten
❛ all-in-one hotel ❜

━━━━━  THE WAR GOD was waiting for the four in the diner parking lot. His eyebrows raised into his hairline as he saw them trample forward. "Well, well ..." he greeted. "You didn't get yourself killed. Great news!"

              Percy stomped up towards the god, his face set into hard lines. "You knew it was a trap."

              Ares gave him a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

              Percy unstrapped the shield on his arm and shoved it into Ares's chest. "You're an asshole," he decided, scowling up at the god.

              Josephine, Annabeth, and Grover caught their breath. Cursing the gods' names — that was one thing. Cursing the gods' names in front of the very god you're cursing ... Well, that was just plain stupid.

              However, Ares only took the shield and spun it in the air like an extra hard pizza dough. In the air, it changed forms — glowing brightly as the metal warped into the shape of a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back, shifting the weight of his feet. "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, which Josephine could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

              Her jaw dropped, "You've got to be kidding? Uh — Lord Ares."

              The War God snapped his fingers, and the door of the truck was unlatched. "Free ride west, Posie." He peered at her a bit closer, as if finally taking the time to examine his audience. "You know, you're a lot like your father, kid. TV suits you."

              That's the last thing you want, isn't it? that cruel voice spoke up, its tone surprisingly soft. To be compared to Apollo. But Ares isn't wrong. You and Apollo are alike in many ways.

              The god rubbed the top of her head, jostling her head back and forth. Josephine scowled, smoothing down her head when the god unlatched his fingers from her skull. "But — Lord Ares — those are live animals!" she protested loudly.

              "Stop complaining," Ares snapped, rolling his molten-colored eyes. "Anyways, here's a little something for doing the job."

              The God of War slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy. Inside the bag were fresh clothes for everyone, twenty dollars, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a pack of Double Stuff Oreos.

              Percy was scowling. "I don't want your fuck —"

              "Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, sending the son of Poseidon his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks — like — a lot."

              Josephine grabbed Percy's upper arm, giving him a cautious look. He reluctantly slung the backpack over his shoulder. The daughter of Apollo glanced back at the diner, which only had a couple of customers now with the evening having come around. The waitress who had served the questers was watching them nervously out the window, as if afraid Ares might hurt the four. The lady dragged the cook from the kitchen to see. She said something, and he nodded to her, holding up a disposable camera and snapping a picture of them.

              Josephine rubbed at her sore eyes, closing them in frustration. Great, she thought. Just what we need — another article to come out.

              "You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares, his voice wavering with anger. "You promised me information about my mother."

              "You sure you can handle the news?" The god kick-started his motorcycle, giving the black-haired boy a once-over. "She's not dead."

              Percy looked as if he was ready to faint. "What — what do you mean?"

              "I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die." Ares rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

              "Kept," the son of Poseidon repeated, frowning to himself. "Why?"

              "You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

              "Nobody's controlling me," Percy said stubbornly.

              The god laughed. "Oh yeah? Sure, believe that. See you around, kid."

              The boy's knuckles were white with the force he was balling up his fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

              Behind the war god's glasses, a fire started to glow. A hot wind smacked Josephine in the face. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson," Ares promised. "Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

              He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.

              Josephine looked at Percy. "That was a bad idea," she told him. "You don't just make fun of gods. Especially don't insult them."

              "I don't care."

              "You should," she insisted angrily, stomping her foot slightly. "You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god. Not Ares."

              "Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..." He pointed towards the diner. At the cash register, the last two customers were paying their bill, 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."

✿

The first thing Josephine noticed (as it smacked her in the face) was the smell in the back of the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck. It almost smelled like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The longer she stayed inside the trailer, the more her eyes watered and her nose burned. The place was dark until Percy pulled out Riptide. The sword cast a faint bronze light over a very maddening scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages, three of the most pathetic zoo animals she had ever seen — a zebra, a male albino lion, and an antelope animal she didn't know the name of.

              Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each got a polystyrene tray of hamburger meat. 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; however, the poor animal was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him as he panted 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, his voice rising several octaves. "Humane zoo transport?"

              He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes (and Josephine would've helped him), but before he could — the truck's engine roared to life. And unless they all wanted to fall on their butts, they were forced to sit down as the truck started to wheel away.

              They huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell, the heat, and the roaming flies. 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 Percy pointed out it would only do any good once the truck had stopped moving. Josephine understood where Percy was coming from. Besides, she had a feeling the four might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips or even the hamburger meat ...

              Josephine found a water jug and refilled their bowls. Percy used Riptide to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope. Grover and Josephine calmed the antelope down, all the while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. Josephine wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but they decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. The three demigods told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them more in the morning, then they settled in for the night.

              Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened their bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly; Percy slumped against his back, staring at Riptide; Josephine tried to cheer herself up by concentrating on the fact that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth. The Solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. That was six days. Six days was plenty of time. However, she had no idea what to expect next. And she hated the unknown. With the unknown, you obviously didn't know what to expect. The gods were only making it worse as they kept toying with the questers and their quest. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it — he'd put up cameras and advertised them as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, Josephine had a feeling they were being watched. They were the gods' current top choice of demigod amusement.

              Annabeth broke the silence first; "Hey ... I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park."

              "S'okay."

              "It's just ..." The daughter of Athena shuddered. "Spiders."

              Percy looked up at her, the golden glow from Riptide illuminating half of her face. "Because of the Arachne story," he 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."

              Percy looked at Josephine. "So ... snakes? Apollo has some history with them?"

              Josephine grabbed an Oreo, snapping it in half. "Python," she answered. "A serpent Apollo killed to avenge his mom, Leto. That's enough grounds for a grudge, but my dad also took control of the Delphic Oracle. Double whammy, I s'pose. Just like spiders, Python's offspring always find children of Apollo. They're horrible ..." She shuddered, quickly shaking her head (and subsequently, the old memories away). She ate one half of the broken Oreo. "Anyways, thanks for killing Medusa. Gods know I couldn't have done it. I owe you."

              "We're a team, remember?" Percy said. "Besides, Grover did all that fancy flying. Even later on. At the Tunnel of Love ride, you know?"

              Josephine thought the satyr was asleep, but from the corner he was curled up in, he mumbled; "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

              The three demigods laughed. Josephine held out the other half of the Oreo to Percy.

              Annabeth's brows furrowed as she thought over something. "In the Iris message," she started, "did Luke really say nothing?"

              Josephine stayed silent, looking to Percy for answers. He munched on the broken cookie she offered him, taking his time to answer. Admittedly, the conversation between those two had been bothering Josephine all evening — it seemed to be doing the same thing to Percy. "Luke said you two go way back, Annabeth. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. That nobody would turn into a pine tree."

              In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read anyone's expression.

              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."

              The satyr nodded glumly.

              "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to Camp ..." Percy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"

              The blonde 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 was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ..." her eyebrows knitted as she reminisced, "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," Grover admitted, 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, you see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ..." He took a shaky breath. "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 told him, frowning deeply. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

              "She sacrificed herself to save us," the satyr bemoaned miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."

              "Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy asked, his eyebrows knitting together. "That's not fair."

              "Percy's right," agreed the blonde. "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."

              Josephine leaned forward, rubbing the satyr's shoulder. "You're not lame, Grover! You're braver than any other satyr I've met. You've even got the biggest heart. None of this's luck, it's fate."

              You don't believe that, that voice said, the cruel tone back now. Even you understand how much luck has to play in fate. You're a bad omen; an unlucky child.

              "Besides, Percy is really glad you're here right now," Annabeth said, kicking the boy in the shin roughly.

              The son of Poseidon flinched. "Yeah. It's not luck that you found Thalia and me. You do have the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."

              There was a deep, satisfied sigh. Josephine waited for Grover to say something, however, his breathing only became heavier. When the sound turned to snores, she realized he had fallen asleep.

              "How does he do that?" Percy marveled.

              "I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."

              "I meant it — without you having to kick me to say it, either ..."

              "Sorry."

              (However, Annabeth didn't sound very apologetic.)

              The three half-bloods rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at them hopefully. Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.

              "That pine tree bead," Percy started, looking at Annabeth. "Is that from your first year?"

              Annabeth looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing. "Yeah," she answered. "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 ..."

              Josephine grinned slightly. That was her first summer at Camp, and it had to be her favorite bead. It was always a fun story to tell new campers when they asked.

              "And the college ring is your father's?" Percy pressed.

              "That's none of your busin —" Annabeth stopped herself. "... Yeah. Yeah, it is."

              Percy watched her for a moment. "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've gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her ..." She looked down at the ring. "That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

              "That doesn't sound so bad."

              Josephine raised her eyebrows silently. It didn't sound bad, but it was. There was always a catch when you were a half-blood.

              "Yeah, well," Annabeth shrugged, "the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom — she was the same as ever. She didn't want her mortal 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?"

              Annabeth wouldn't meet Percy's eyes. "Please," she scoffed, though it sounded pretty half-hearted. "I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

              "You shouldn't give up," he insisted. "You should write him a letter or something."

              "Thanks for the advice," Annabeth snapped, her tone back to its usual iciness, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."

              Josephine met Percy's eyes. She gave him a silent message: Drop it.

              They passed another few miles of silence.

              "So if the gods fight," Percy started, breaking the silence again, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

              Annabeth put her head against the backpack Ares had given them and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

              He frowned, as if the answer surprised him. "Why?"

              "Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"

              He didn't seem to have any more questions for Annabeth. Instead, he asked Josephine; "Were Apollo and Poseidon on the same side?"

              She nodded. "They sided with the Trojans. Apollo and Poseidon have never really had any spats — at least, between them specifically. So no picking between my father and my friend." She nudged his shoulder lightly, trying to smile at him.

              He smiled back at her, his eyes flickering to the peeling band-aids that littered her forearms. "How are those scrapes healing?"

              Josephine glanced down at her arms, shrugging. "Fine, I guess. Though — they aren't looking any better — like at all. It's odd ..."

              "You don't think you could — like — heal them with that green mist thing-y, right?" Percy asked.

              She blinked, having almost entirely forgotten about the green glow, coughs, and boils (which is exactly what she wanted). "I — I don't think so. We don't even know what that power is. I don't even know if we should call it a power. I mean, it gave Em boils ..."

              "But it got us out alive," he insisted. "And ... you don't know what that power is? The green mist and the green glow? You know, back at the Arch when you got those mortals out?"

              Josephine shook her head. "I have no idea. Before we met ... Aunty Em, I'd never done anything like that before. I — I don't want to do it again."

              "What do you think it is?"

              She shrugged. "Lee and Michael have never talked about anything like that before. I think Annabeth has ideas, but ..." She looked at the blonde. The daughter of Athena had dozed off, bracing her head with the back of her arm, her other draped over her stomach.

              "That's Annabeth." Percy nodded. "She's always scheming and thinking."

              Josephine smiled slightly. "I'm glad you guys aren't ... being weird about the powers and all."

              Percy glanced at her. "How would we be weird?"

              "I dunno ..." She shrugged, embarrassed she had even said anything like that in the first place. "Judging me. Being wary around me — things like that."

              They don't have to, even if they should, that voice added. You're scared of yourself enough for all four of you combined.

              "'Course we wouldn't," said Percy, shrugging casually. "I can breathe underwater, Posie, so I'd be an asshole to judge you for that. Besides, it's helped us a lot on this quest. It even helped those mortals back at the Arch."

              Josephine gave him a grateful smile. "But stop calling me Posie."

              He frowned. "Why do you hate that?"

              "It's ..." she sighed, "a nickname with memories. I guess that's the best way to put it."

              "Oh." Percy shifted. "Did your dad call you Posie or something?"

              "No, he didn't. He — uh — wasn't one for nicknames."

              "Who started calling you Posie, then?"

              The daughter of Apollo took a deep breath, wondering if it was better to just be honest. It's not like it can't hurt anything, she thought to herself. He already knows about Mrs. Hall.

              What if he makes fun of you? that voice countered. Calls you stupid? Naïve?

              I hate you, she thought bitterly. All you ever do is make my anxiety worse.

              I'm here to help you see more — whether or not I make your anxiety worse is not my problem, I'm here to help you understand.

              See what? she asked. Understand what?

              In due time, that voice responded. Telling you too soon will scare you away.

              Another few miles of silence rumbled by as Josephine argued back and forth with that odd voice in her head.

              "Forget it." Percy's voice broke her out of her stupor. "You don't have to tell me."

              "Oh." Josephine straightened. "It's not that. I — I don't care to tell you. Posie came from Mrs. Hall. She started calling me Posie after I gave her a bouquet of wild — well — posies I picked for her birthday. She did it once and then it just stuck."

              "Lee calls you Posie," Percy noticed. "You don't mind him doing it."

              She worried at the musical charm on her necklace. "He was the first to welcome me into Cabin Seven. He always tried to make me feel better when I felt ... out of place."

              Percy's eyebrows knitted. "Out of place?" he repeated.

              The daughter of Apollo chewed on her bottom lip.

              Go ahead and tell him, that voice said. Josephine could practically hear the eye roll. Since you told him about Posie, go ahead and confess your whole life story.

              And she did — sort of. "I told you back at Camp, I felt out of place first arriving, right?" She looked at Percy

              He nodded. "I thought you said it to just make me feel better," he admitted.

              "Well ... partially," she admitted, "but it's true. I was never good at anything Apollo's the god of. And it took him a month to claim me. Longer than any other kid in my cabin. I'm horrible with a bow, that's why I use daggers. I cause more injuries than I heal. I — Point is, I never felt like I was a daughter of Apollo."

              "So ... what?" Percy looked confused. "You think Apollo wrongly claimed you or something?"

              "No, I'm his kid," said Josephine, shaking her head. "I just think I'm horrible at everything he's the god of. Besides —" She cut herself off, her fingers stuttering over the musical note.

              "Besides what?"

              She glanced at the son of Poseidon.

              Tell him, the voice urged. Let him see just how crazy you are.

              "Forget it," she said quickly, looking off.

              Percy didn't look like he wanted to, but he forgot it. (For the time being, Josephine knew.) "Could you write to your father — your mortal father? Beau, was it?" he asked, changing the topic. "I know you ran away, but —"

              "I don't know," admitted Josephine with a shake of her head. "I don't want to — even if I could. He wasn't a good dad, and I'm sure he doesn't want anything to do with me now. He's probably enjoying forgetting I ever existed."

              Percy looked at her leather necklace. "That charm his?"

              "No." She shook her head. "It was my ninth birthday gift from Mrs. Hall. The last birthday I had with her."

              "So music's a thing in your family?" Percy asked curiously. "Was your mortal dad any good?"

              "Guess so." She shrugged. "That's how he got Apollo's attention."

              Percy's face flushed. "How did your dad, like, explain you being born? I mean —"

              Josephine gave the boy a bemused look. "Because they were both men?"

              His face reddened — somehow. "Yeah."

              Josephine only sighed. "My dad talked about Apollo as a past lover, not as my father. He only ever talked about Apollo, never any other lover he had. He talked about my birth, just said it was inconvenient for him." She shrugged. "I never questioned it. I didn't wanna know. I just assumed I was a one-night stand that happened because my dad was trying to get over Apollo. Assuming now, I was probably born a similar way to Annabeth — you know, appeared on Beau's doorstep in a golden cradle, carried by Zephyr the West Wind. But my dad couldn't see past the Mist, so who knows what he saw."

              "You're sure he couldn't see past the Mist?"

              "He would've acted a little differently to all the monsters trying to kill me," she admitted dryly. "Or, at least, I hoped he would've. The only thing I remember really acting weirder out by was all the snakes. They were everywhere growing up. Always managed to find their way in the house — makes a lot of sense now. He also just never believed me when I would tell him I saw snakes in my bedroom at night ..."

              Percy glanced at the sleeping forms of Annabeth and Grover. He looked conflicted. "You said, back on the Amtrak train, about a dream — having the same dream as me."

              Josephine's pursed lips were gone. Now, her eyes widened and she straightened. "Demigods have dreams, Percy," she said, twirling a front strand of hair around her finger. "Like — all the time."

              His brows furrowed. "The exact same dream as me?"

              "It wasn't the exact same ..." she corrected quietly.

              "It was close enough." Percy rolled his eyes dramatically. "Sure, half-bloods have dreams, but do most have the exact dreams as others."

              "I don't know," Josephine answered earnestly, shaking her head. "I'm not a Morpheus kid, okay? I don't know dreams and what they mean."

              However, Percy didn't look convinced. "When I was still staying in Cabin Eleven, I remember ..." He frowned. "Someone told me that they believe you have the gift of foresight."

              Josephine sank against the cool metal walls. She pulled her knees into her chest. "What?" she squawked, her voice sounding foreign ot her. "That's ... really dumb. Like ... majorly dumb. I don't have the gift of foresight."

              Deny. Deny. Deny, that voice repeated to her in her head. This is what you get for being honest. The boy will learn how crazy you are.

              "Your dad's the God of Prophecy, right?"

              "Yes, but —"

              "And you said something about Besides —"

              "— Percy —"

              "Your eyes gloss over, as if you're getting déjà vu —"

              "— Please —"

              "There are even times it feels like you're just looking through —"

              "Percy, I am begging you to drop it!" Josephine pleaded, tears brimming in her eyes.

              The son of Poseidon's mouth clamped shut. He looked regretful and guilty.

              Her fingers were shaking as she clenched them into her palms.  She quickly wiped away a tear that traced down her face. "Who — fucking told you? Back in Cabin Eleven? Who?"

              "... Luke."

              It felt like Percy had just smacked her in the face. How did Luke even know? Not even Lee knew! And she had only just told Chiron! (Ignoring the fact he knew for two years already ...)

              "Look, Josephine, it's not Luke's fault that he told me," Percy started to say. "I just —"

              "I just didn't think Luke knew ..." she mumbled.

              Percy's face blanked. "You never told him? You've told people? Who?"

              "I never told Luke," she insisted. "I told Chiron — that's it. Apollo knows, too. He told Chiron to watch me."

              "Why them?"

              "'Cause I didn't want to talk about it. Talking about it makes it real. Makes me sound crazy."

              "Crazy?" he repeated.

              "Be honest, Percy, if you didn't know about the Greek world, would you?" countered Josephine.

              He opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Finally, he sat back, pressing his back against the metal wall behind them. She took that silence as a No.

              "Well ... I don't think you're crazy," he said.

              She stared at the boy with sad eyes. "I told Chiron the day you were offered the quest. That was the night I had the dream about Zeus and Poseidon fighting. I — I didn't know what else to do, and I felt like I was about to drown." She took a breath, trying to steel her nerves — it wasn't working. "I told him, and he said that's why Apollo asked him to watch over me. Like he was waiting for me to fuck up or something. Chiron and Apollo think that's what I inherited from Apollo. Not archery skills, not musical abilities — but the gift of foresight."

              She stared at the metal walls of the truck for a quiet moment. Then, she finally said; "It's more of a curse than anything."

              "What do you see?" Percy asked. "Do you think it could help us?"

              A dream flashed across Josephine's vision — the dream of the Pascual home and the figure in the doorway. She shook her head, doing her best to shake the vision away. "Besides that one dream I told you about, I don't think I've seen anything that could help."

              That's not true, the voice chided her.

              It'll have to be, she snapped. I don't want to think about my dreams.

              "What else do you see in the dreams?"

              "People going mad," she answered simply. "They always try and fight against fate, and that either ends with them going crazy — crazy or dead."

              "Oh." Percy shifted, wrapping his arms around his knees. He looked nervous. "Have you talked to Apollo about it?"

              "I've never talked to Apollo," she told him honestly. "Besides when he claimed me, he's never done anything else for me. I've prayed to him every dinner for the past two years and ... nothing. No answer from him."

              "They don't talk to us a lot, huh?" he asked with a lick of malice in his voice.

              Josephine looked away, swallowing the bile in her throat. "No, they don't."

✿

Josephine was back in her nightmares. Even now, she didn't dream of Beau Pascual — not this time. She didn't dream of him rocking back and forth on the kitchen tiles as tears pooled in his eyes as he muttered; "Plagues. Madness. Sickness ..."

              She looked around, finding everything around her dead and rotted — just like last time. Her skin prickled with the same unease. She turned, finding the same scene as last time — the crumbling house and how she was at fault for it. Her hands burned, that familiar feeling from Aunty Em's and the Arch boiling beneath her skin.

              You caused this, that cold voice sneered at her. Not the one who had spoken as Poseidon and Zeus fought; it was the voice that had been taunting her inside her very own head.

              "Where are you?" She looked around wildly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person taunting her.

              I'm not there with you, the voice said.

              "Then ... where are you?" she demanded, her voice rising.

              Somewhere you'll get to soon, the voice promised.

              Josephine looked around with a frown, wondering if the ground would swallow her whole again this time. Even if it wasn't the same voice and the two brothers weren't fighting, what's to say the ground wouldn't split open?

              That burning beneath her skin was growing, and she dug her nails into her palms. "Why do you keep doing this?" she demanded, her voice echoing the louder she yelled. "Why keep talking to me? In my head?"

              The voice was quiet for a moment before admitting; I've been asked to. Their tone was far away this time, as if recalling old memories.

              "By who?"

              In time you'll learn.

              She stomped her foot. "I'm tired of hearing this In time bullshit! What are you keeping from me?"

              A lot of things, the voice admitted. But if you learned now, you would be too scared to continue. I told you that.

              "And you think telling me that doesn't make me scared enough?" she countered.

              ... Perhaps it does, the voice agreed. A chill crawled down Josephine's spine at their tone. Our time together is almost up. Before the clock runs out completely, I'm tired of being called the Voice, Asshole, or any other name you come up with. Call me Onesimus.

              She frowned, repeating; "Onesimus?"

              Before the voice — Onesimus — could respond, the ground opened beneath her feet and she fell.

✿

Someone was shaking her awake. "Josephine, wake up!"

              Annabeth had a tight grip on the girl's arm. "Come on! Grover's waking up Percy We have to leave, like, now."

              Josephine caught the panicked tone and sat up, her sleepy state quickly washing away. Percy was rubbing one of his eyes as Grover said; "The truck's stopped. We think they're coming to check on the animals."

              Annabeth hissed; "Hide!"

              That was easy for her to say. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover, Percy, and Josephine 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 crooked 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.

              The man hardly paid any attention to the poor animal. "Yeah, yeah, yeah ..."

              Next to Josephine, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.

              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!"

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

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

              A voice outside — it must've been Eddie — shouted back; "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

              Maurice hissed under his breath, annoyed at Eddie's lack of competence. "What are you banging for?" he repeated, standing up to his full height.

              Knock, knock, knock.

              Outside, Eddie yelled again; "What banging?"

              Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Josephine. She must have done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said; "This transport business can't be legal."

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

              Josephine's eyes widened. "We have to free them."

              Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but she knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. Percy grabbed Riptide, looking downright confused about something, and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.

              The zebra burst out. And then, it turned to Percy and bowed. To the zebra, Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk — like some sort of 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, screaming, and all sorts of cars honking. The four questers rushed to the doors of the trailer — just in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels, casinos, and neon signs.

              The reality sunk in as Josephine watched it all unfold. They had 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!"

              Annabeth glanced at the others. "Now would be a good time to leave," she prompted.

              "The other animals first," Grover insisted, turning back to the rest of the cages. Percy cut the locks with his sword. The satyr raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra. Faintly, Josephine heard Percy tell the animals, "Good luck." 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," the satyr insisted, smiling placidly. "I placed a Satyr's Sanctuary on them."

              Percy frowned. "Meaning ...?"

              "Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," explained Grover, waving a hand at all the chaos caused by releasing the wild animals. "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, nodding to herself as if that was the most logical answer imaginable.

              Percy flushed red. "Hey!"

              "Kidding, kidding ..." The blonde waved her hand casually, shrugging. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

              The four stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred degrees easily, and they must've looked like deep-fried vagrants; however, fortunately for them, all the mortals were too interested in the wild animals to pay them any attention. They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty (which was only a small replica of the real thing back over in New York City, as Percy kindly pointed out two times; New Yorker pride and all, Josephine figures).

              Admittedly, 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 — just enough comfort to have any brain power to have a slight chance of making a new plan to head west.

              At some point, they must have taken a wrong turn as they found themselves at a dead end. A dead end that led right to the entrance of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking brightly even in the middle of the day. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air conditioning that smelled like flowers — lotus blossom, surely.

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

              Over her two years of knowingly being a demigod, Josephine's learned to be suspicious of practically everything — especially anything that seemed too good to be true. Anybody might be a monster or, worse, a god. It was nearly impossible to tell a lot of the time — but this guy seemed normal. One look at him, and she could see that. Besides, the girl was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that she nodded and said they'd love to come in. Inside, they took one look around, and Grover whispered; "Whoa ..."

              The whole lobby was a giant game room. And Josephine didn't mean cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. 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 on the other side, there was an indoor bungee jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds upon hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Everything she could think of, it was there. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No one waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food imaginable.

              "Hey!" a bellhop said. At least Josephine guessed he was a bellhop. 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. And no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, Room 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 green plastic credit card.

              Josephine knew there had to be some mistake here. Obviously, this guy thought they were some millionaire's kids. Percy was holding the card when he asked; "How much is on here?"

              The bellhop's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

              Percy frowned back. "I mean — when does it run out of cash?"

              The worker laughed loudly. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay!"

              With one shared confused glance, 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. Josephine didn't see how that could be legal. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though she doubted they'd ever have time to look at the view in a room like this.

              "Oh, my gods ..." Annabeth trailed off, her eyes widening as she took everything in. "This place is ..."

              Grover supplied the answer; "Sweet. Absolutely sweet."

              There were clothes in the closet, and they fitted Josephine perfectly. She frowned heavily, poking her head out of her private room to look at the others. It was all just too strange; too kind ... She saw Percy throw Ares's backpack in the trash can, as if they didn't need it anymore. Admittedly, it really did seem like they didn't need those Oreos or that pack of drachma anymore. Everything they could ever need was at their fingertips with one simple, plastic card.

              The first thing Josephine did was take a show. And the show even had her favorite — strawberry scent. Admittedly, it felt amazing after a week of grimy, monstrous travel across the country. She changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, and drank three Dr. Peppers before her stomach pleaded with her to stop. But, all in all, she came out feeling better than she had in a long time. In the back of her mind, some small problem kept nagging at her — but she was sure it could wait. Even that annoying, cruel voice seemed to have dulled to a simple lull.

              Josephine came out of her bedroom and found the other three lounging around, also having refreshed themselves on the hotel's generous dime. Grover was eating chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth and Percy fought over the TV remote.

              "All those stations," Percy was telling Annabeth, frowning at her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

              "It's interesting!"

              "National Geographic!"

              "I feel good ..." Grover sighed heavily, smiling placidly as he leaned back in the sofa. "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.

              "So what now?" Josephine asked, stopping in front of the sofa (and in front of the National Geographic channel Percy and Annabeth were still fighting over). "Sleep?"

              Suddenly, Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards. "Playtime," Percy told her, an unusual glint in his eyes.

✿

Josephine couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. She came from a relatively poor family. A family that believed a little too much in hard work and zero play. The Pascual family's idea of fun was eating out, and maybe going to see a movie in the theater (but even the theater was an oddity as Beau hardly had enough to buy them a meal and then two tickets). And then, when Josephine made it to Camp, all there was to do was train and train some more.

              She quickly found Mario Cart, a giant grin forming on her face as she realized what the game was. That was the only game she was ever allowed to play. One of Beau's friends had a kid Josephine's age, and so, when the two adults were writing music together, their kids would often play that game — see which kid was the better cart racer. Josephine proudly won Mario Cart: Super Circuit every time. She spent most of her time competing against another girl, Judith, with Mario Cart. (She raced as Toad while Judith raced as Princess Peach.) They were always trying to beat the other's high score.

              Eventually, a young boy wandered over at the sound of loud music and dramatic sound effects. He wore a loose-fitted, long-sleeved white shirt and black wool shorts.

              Josephine glanced over, asking him; "You want to play?"

              The boy looked at her with wide, surprisingly dark eyes. "Can I?" he asked. "I've never played this before. I think it's new."

              Josephine smiled down at him. "That's okay! I can teach you how to play." She looked at Judith, saying; "He's gonna go this round instead of me."

              The blonde girl nodded. She had a baby blue dress on, and her blonde hair was curled into perfect ringlets that framed her murky hazel eyes. She had a reddish complexion with light brown freckles splattered across her face. She started the game and Josephine took that as the time to explain the game to the young boy.

              As she played, she caught glimpses of her friends. Percy was on the artificial ski slope, having gotten tired of bungee jumping six times in a row. Grover was jumping from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter game — where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks instead of the redneck shooting the deer. Annabeth was playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff — stuff Josephine knew she would enjoy. The casino had a huge 3-D sim game where it was possible to build a whole city from scratch, and the game would let the player see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. It wasn't a game for Josephine, but Annabeth loved it.

              "Josephine!" Judith shouted, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's face. "It's your turn — or the kid's turn."

              The brunette girl looked away from one kid in a red shirt and gigantic blue jean bell bottoms. "Yeah?" she asked, looking between Judith and the boy. "Oh — right. Yeah. Sorry." She waved the young boy over, who was marveling as the bell-bottom pants kid broke his kill streak. "Come on, Nico. You can play this round."

              The black-haired boy bounded over with an excited smile on his face. Judith tossed him the controller, and he caught it, slinging the strap over his head. The blonde stepped in line with Josephine, waiting for Nico to finish.

              "Are you okay?" Judith asked, leaning over so she didn't have to yell. "You looked like you spaced out."

              The daughter of Apollo wasn't sure when she couldn't ignore the odd feelings anymore. That annoying voice wasn't a dull hum anymore — it was yelling at her, telling her to get out. Admittedly, Josephine wasn't entirely okay. The people around her looked normal and human enough, but they dressed as if they were from completely different decades. They talked as if from another time, too. At some point, she mentioned something about the music artist Queen and how they started in 1972 in London. (So what if she knew all sorts of little facts about music and musical artists!)

              "Did I?" asked Josephine passingly. "Hey — you remember that band I mentioned earlier?"

              Judith's eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, Queen or something. Never heard of them."

              But everyone knew of Queen, even decades after their music reign. Josephine felt as a trickle of sweat traveled its way down her neck. So ... what band is popular right now?"

              Judith snorted, covering the action with her hand. "Bands? There aren't a lot of bands right now, Josephine."

              Boybands didn't become marketable until the 1960s, when the Beatles hit the scene over in the U.K.. Josephine knew that, and she was grateful to her past self for struggling through those books about music artists now. She pushed back her hair, prodding with; "Then, who's your favorite artist at the moment?"

              "Elvis," Judith answered quickly.

              "Presley?"

              "What other Elvis is popular right now?"

              "... What's right now?" Josephine asked, her tone careful and slow, as if afraid of the answer she would get.

              Judith looked at her oddly. "1954, Josephine. You're acting really odd, are you sure okay?"

              A bubble of shocked laughter made its way out of Josephine's chest. "1954 — funny," she said without any humor in her voice. "It's not 1954."

              "Yes, it is," the girl in the dress insisted.

              Josephine took a step back, looking at Judith as if the girl had threatened her life. Judith did look straight out of the fifties. The sloped shoulders of her blue dress, the raised bustline, and the padded skirt with a powdery blue patterned with dainty yellow and pink flowers — the dress style Dior had popularized, the New Dress look. There was a silk pink band looped underneath her head and tied in a perfect bow at the top of her head.

              "Be serious," Josephine insisted, her tone taking on the sound of desperation. She looked around wildly, finding every other kid in that hotel glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or food, or whatever else was entertaining them. She hurried away from Judith and Nico to tap a guy on the shoulder. And when she asked for the year, he monotonously replied 1997. Another guessed it was 1983. When she prodded further, they both didn't know exactly how long they had been there — a month at the most, but only maybe a week. How long had she been at the casino? It seemed only like a couple of hours, but was it? That man's voice — no, Onesimus's voice — was growing louder, yelling at her for being a fool and falling for the trap.

              She shook her head, knocking the angry voice around. Shut up, she pleaded with it. I know we messed up, but I don't need you chasting me for it now!

              Josephine tried to remember why they were there. The four — she, Annabeth, Grover, and Percy — were going to Los Angeles. They were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. They were heading on a deadly quest to get back Zeus's lightning bolt and save Percy's mother. They had to stop Hades from causing World War III.

              "Oh my gods ..." she muttered under her breath, squeezing between two boys fighting whether who's turn it was to play a game. She looked around for any sign of her friends, shaking kids out of their games to ask if anyone had seen a glimpse of anyone that slightly resembled the appearances of Annabeth, Percy, or Grover.

              Josephine rounded a corner, where she had last seen Percy — and ended up running straight into someone. She sprawled on the floor, feeling her hands burn slightly as they scraped against the carpeted floor. "Percy?" she asked, looking at the boy who had slammed his head against hers.

              The son of Poseidon pulled her to her feet, looking scared and panicked. "We have to get out here!"

              "I know," she agreed with a nod. "This girl swears it's 1954."

              "You've noticed?"

              "Yeah. Do you know how —?"

              Percy shook his head, admitting; "No idea. We just need to find Grover and Annabeth."

              They found Annabeth first. She was building her artificial city.

              "Come on," Percy told the girl. "We've got to get out of here."

              No response.

              Josephine moved Percy out of the way by the shoulders. She saddled up next to Annabeth, gripping the blonde by both shoulders, forcibly turning her body; however, Annabeth's head moved so her eyes stayed glued to the screen. "Annabeth!" Josephine yelled over all the excitement around them.

              The daughter of Athena finally turned her head to look away. "What?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

              "We have to leave," Josephine told her.

              "Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers —"

              "This place is a trap."

              Annabeth ignored that. Josephine shook her shoulders again. "What?"

              "Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!" Percy chimed in.

              "Oh, come on, Percy." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Just a few more minutes."

              Josephine was starting to grow desperate. There was no way they could finish this quest without Annabeth (or even Grover!) "Annabeth, there are people here from 1954! Kids who have never aged since entering this place. It's a trap!"

              "So?" The blonde shrugged. "Can you imagine a better place?"

              Josephine frowned deeply, forcibly pulling Annabeth away. The blonde yelled out, trying to shake off Josephine's hold; however, the daughter of Apollo didn't let go, forcing Annabeth to look her in the eyes. "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."

              That jarred her. Annabeth's vision cleared, and her jaw dropped. "Oh my gods ..." she said. "How long have we —?"

              "We don't know," answered Percy. "But we've got to find Grover!"

              The half-bloods went searching, and finally, they found the satyr still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.

              "Grover!" they all shouted.

              He said: "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"

              "Grover!" Percy shouted again.

              The satyr turned the plastic gun on the son of Poseidon and started clicking, as if he were just another image from the screen. Josephine and Annabeth looked at each other before taking Grover by the arms and dragging him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shoutedl "No! I just got to a new level! No!"

              The Lotus bellhop hurried up to the four. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

              "We're leaving," Percy told him, frowning deeply.

              "Such a shame," the worker replied in an odd sing-songy voice, and Josephine got the feeling that he really meant it — they'd be breaking his heart if they left. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."

              He held out the cards, and Josephine's hand itched to grab one. She knew that if she took one, she'd never leave. She'd stay there, happy forever, playing games forever — but would forget her siblings, Wyatt, the quest, and maybe even her own name. She'd be playing Mario Cart with Judith and Nico until the end of time.

              Onesimus screamed at her; Get out, you dumb girl!

              Grover reached for the card, but Josephine smacked his arm back. Defiantly, she said; "No, thanks. We're leaving. Now."

              They walked towards the door, and as they did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. Josephine thought about their room upstairs. They could just stay the night, and 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, and lightning flashing out in the desert.

              Somehow, Ares's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder. It shouldn't have been possible since the boy had thrown it in the trash can in Room 4001. Percy ran to the nearest newspaper stand. The three ran after him, reading over Percy's shoulder. Josephine read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they had gone 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 the quest.

✿ JUL. 3RD, 2023 / i'm not so sure about posie and percy's talk, but i got it written and that's what matters

also,,, the voice (onesimus) said something that's very important so make sure you read that dialogue carefully! thank god i could finally name him, i was getting so sick of writing the voice/that voice every time lol

anyways,, thoughts? opinions??

EDITED / nov. 16th, 2024

i don't think this chapter changed too much and maybe that's a good

or a bad thing