Sun kissed - Apollo.

22: We take a striped pony to Vegas.

The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.

"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed and kept your little sister intact." He looked me once over as if he cared about what befell me.

"You knew it was a trap," Percy said.

Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids and an innocent little girl. You looked good on TV." He said but pointed at me when he said innocent little girl like he really likes me for some reason. He must really care for his kids to like their friends.

Percy shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

I gaped at how he did that and mumbled softly. "Cool." To which Ares slightly grinned at me.

"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 I 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.

I said kind of amazed, "You're kidding." I had always wanted to see wild animals up close but i always want to see animals up close.

While Percy muttered the same thing only mildly unamused.

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy said, "I don't want your lousy-"

And i found a bag with strawberries in them. "Strawberries! Those are my favourites! Thank you!" I said gladly.

"Clarisse told me you like them a lot." He mentions before Grover speaks and i see my brother seething.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Percy his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."

Percy gritted his teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I was just happy that we got some food in there. I hand the bag over to Percy to carry. Reluctantly, he slung the backpack over his shoulder. I was happy with the fact that he gave us clean clothes and some food.

I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.

Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.

I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.

"You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares, trying to keep his voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."
     
"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."

The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?" I ask softly, almost hopeful.

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept." He told us as i felt my heart soar in excitement.