☾ The Child of Artemis ☾

14. I Learn My Best Mate's Favorite Number

          I followed my mate into the hotel/casino. I took an elevator up to the top level. "Cool," Faith marvels, "I wanted to go betting."

          Faith saunters over to a betting table, grabs some dice, slams it between her and her opponent, and claims, "Three! I bet three!"

          Her opponent laughs. He has slick blonde hair and a long, vertical scar on his right eye. "Miss, that is such a small number. You will never beat me with that small a number. I choose seven. That's not too big or small of a bet."

          Faith grasped a die with both hands and whispered, "Three."

          She did the same with the other, then tossed both dice in the air. One die showed two, and the other showed one. Both dice were oddly wet. I could see water droplets on them.              "Tha-reee!" Faith hollered. "I win! Three gold drachmas, please."

          The other guy huffed frustratedly and gave her three gold drachmas. Another blonde guy walked up to bet. He didn't have a scar and wore some manchester (and a scowl.) "Five."

          "Three. I bet twice that amount of gold drachmas."

          "Good luck," Faith's opponent said sarcastically.

          The dude tossed the dice. Two and one. "Six gold drachmas for me, sir," Faith stated.

          The opponent threw six gold drachmas at her and screamed in rage. Faith kept betting three. "Three, three, three!" she chanted. Every bet won. By the time she declared, "I am pooped," which was three hours later, Faith had won too many gold drachmas to count.

          All of her opponents glared at her with hatred. "Attack!" her first opponent shouted.

          "Gah!" she exclaimed, "Sorry that you lost!"

          Faith grabbed a pencil out of her pocket, and twisted the silvery part, turning the mere pencil into a bronze sword. "Nico, attack!"

          I attacked and shot countless arrows at the fiends. Faith focused on slicing and dicing them. The blonde guy with the toga was able to get close to me and snapped my bow and arrow in half. "No, you idiot!" I shrieked.

          He grabbed me and threw me out of the window. I was falling to my death, imagining my funeral. Nico McAngelico, RIP. Died from defenestration. That would be pretty embarrassing. Just then, Faith looked down on me and a sprout of sewer water came bursting out and set me back in the casino, where I fell from. Faith was making a pulling motion. I glanced at the shattered window. Faith had killed all the enemies in a flash. The first thing I said was, "Ew, sewer water."

          That wasn't a very proper thanks, but sewer water is actually filthy. Faith laughed. "Sorry, it was the only way to get you back up."

           I stared at her in shock. "Daughters of Poseidon can control water."

           "What happened?"

           "Those guys were zombies. I betted with some of my brother's old friends. Octavian defenestrated you, so I saved you."

          Faith said old friends as if they were enemies of her brother. "Explain every detail of your knowledge, without leaving anything out." I insisted.

          We walked over to a betting table and Faith explained everything. "Dude, this place, it's haunted. Full of zombies of old foes. Luke Castellan, Octavian, Ethan Nakamura... a lot of others. I happened to bet with all of them. They finally attacked after everyone took a turn and lost. You see, my left can produce salt water and my right can produce freshwater. I combined them for good luck. My sword is almost a copy of Percy's. I call it Graphititide, like his is called Riptide. Mine is a pencil that transforms into a sword when you twist the silver thing. Percy uncaps a pen and it turns into a sword."

          "Is that it?"

          "Oh, I also defenestrated all of the enemies except Octavian out of another window and brought you back up."

          "What happened to Octavian?"

          "I diced him up. The only remnants of him are his sacrificed plushies."

          I decided not to say any more. I felt younger on the elevator.

          Well, thaths, 'cause you turned into a three-year old by the time we exited the elevator! Thith place ith in a time-warp! I turned into an eight-year old! My hair grew longer, and I loth a toof. You were kinda adorable, other than you thaying, "I want my mum!"

          "Thut up," I thcolded.

          I tharted to carry you out of the place, but you yelled, "I want my mum!"

          "But your mommy hates you!" I proved a point. "She ith a forever thingle goddeth, you dummy!"

          "Mummy..." you kinda faltered though. "Dad?"

          "Ugh. Thop it."

          "Dad?"

           I wath really upthet, tho I thouted, "Enough!" and dropped you on purpose.

          You cried like a baby and fidgeted tho bad that I left you. I walked through the doorth. "Baby Nico," I thaid.

          I turned back into my thirteen-year-old self, exiting the doors. "Yow," I uttered. "Poor Nico."

          I ran back in, then became an eight-year old again. "Uuuuuuugggghhhhh," I groaned. I did not want thith!"

          "Nico, thut up! Imma bring you out-thide!"

          You wouldn't be quiet, tho I quickly carried you then, dropping you again. We finally turned back into fourteen-year-olds.

          Crikey! Faith you were such an immature eight year old! My back hurts, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, my everything hurts, but my head hurts the most! I already felt enough pain through my defenestration. "Sorry about myself," Faith responded to my angry expression. "I notice you like to put your hands on your hips all the time. Is it a habit?"

          "I notice you making dumb faces all the time!" I snapped. "You raise an eyebrow and make a confident smile! A weird one!"

          Faith guffawed. "I guess we both have dumb habits!"

          "What is so time-warping about the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

          "We were in the Lotus Hotel and Casino?!"

          "Yeah."

          Faith checked her watch. "It's been two weeks! We came in on January thirteenth, and today's the twentieth!"

          "Do we have a quest due date?"

         "No, but we should finish the quest as fast as we can."

          "I want to go far away from this place."

          We went far away, hopefully never coming back ever again. "You should get in disguise," Faith said.