Zeus (The God Chronicles #1), Page 4

“Breakfast!” I hollered with my happiest voice.

  My morning had started beautifully, and I decided to make pancakes to hopefully show my roommates I wasn’t purposefully staying away from them or selfishly eating them out of house and home. If they were willing to share their food with me, the least I could do was cook for them. Hopefully they would see it as a gesture of kindness and not hate me because I was disturbing their sleep. As I was warming up the syrup, Jenny came out of her room.

  “Wow! That smells divine!” She was wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts, her hair sticking up in every direction. Not far behind her was Julie, looking more or less identical. I felt a little better about my own bedraggled appearance.

  “I thought you could all use a good breakfast after your partying last night,” I said with a smile, pulling out plates as they sat down.

  “And it was some party.” Jessie yawned, announcing her presence as she came down the hall. “This is exactly what I needed this morning. Thanks, Karly.”

  “It’s nothing, really. I mean, it’s your food anyway.” I put the dishes on the table and Jenny set them in their places.

  “Well, we don’t cook like this,” Jenny sighed in pleasure.

  “Hey, Karly, I moved your picture last night because I almost bumped into it. I hope that’s okay?” Julie asked, while pulling out some milk from the fridge.

  “It’s fine, I figured that’s what happened.”

  “It looks awesome. What will it be?” Jessie stood in front of the canvas, staring at it intently.

  “A storm over the desert,” I replied. She nodded, continuing to gaze. After a moment, she turned.

  “Do you need help with anything? Sorry, I spaced out looking at your work. I was imagining what it would look like with one big bolt of lightning stretching across it.” She shrugged her shoulders while her sisters chuckled. They all exchanged another one of their grins I didn’t understand, as if they shared an inside joke.

  “No, I think we’re ready to eat, actually.” I carried the pancakes to the table, cutting their glances short.

  “I’ve got the syrup,” Jessie said, grabbing it off the kitchen stove.

  Once seated, we dug right in, remaining silent as we savored the taste. After a few mouthfuls there was general thanks and compliments to my cooking, accompanied by exaggerated eye rolls and moans of ecstasy, which made me embarrassed. It was probably the best batch of pancakes I’d ever made.

  “So, tell me about the party,” I said after a few more moments of quiet.

  “It was a ton of fun,” Julie said through a mouthful.

  “The DJ was totally rocking it all night,” Jenny added, after swallowing.

  “Sounds like you had a good time.” I felt a little disappointed I’d decided to stay home. Now that I was finally getting over my nerves and feeling more comfortable with living here, I wanted to do something.

  “We’re going again tonight, if you want to come,” Jessie said. “You need to get out of this apartment! School starts tomorrow; come play on the last day of break. Please?”

  I laughed at her mock pleading tone of voice.

  “I think I will,” I said, after appearing to debate with myself for a bit. “I’d like to see what all the fuss is about!”

  “Yay!” Julie leaned over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me in a one armed hug. “You’ll love it! You’ve never been to the Strip before, right?”

  “No, I haven’t,” I admitted. “I could see it from the highway on the way in, but that’s about all my experience with it. You know, besides what I saw in the videos my parents tried to scare me with.” We all laughed.

  “You poor thing! We’ll show you everything tonight. Just wait, your mind will be blown!” Jenny grabbed a couple more pancakes as she spoke. “They do these shows at each resort every night. They’re timed so you can walk down the sidewalk and watch them one right after the other.”

  “I don’t think I have enough money to do all of that.” I wasn’t super, super broke, but I doubted I could pay to see a whole bunch of shows, especially if I was roasting myself in the car to save gas.

  “They’re all free, sweetie,” Jessie said. “That’s the best part. I think we should walk one side on our way to STYX and then we can walk the other side another night—we won’t get out of the club until after the shows have stopped. Most of what we’ll skip is inside anyway. They aren’t as exciting. I mean, do we really want to wait in line to watch a movie about candy?”

  “No?” Confusion was setting in, as we jumped from topic to topic, but I wasn’t as bothered by it now. “Sticks is the club then, I’m assuming?”

  “Yeah,” Julie piped up again. “It’s at this new resort called Tartarus. I love how everything is named after stuff from Greek mythology—STYX is named after the magical River Styx. Tartarus is like the Greek Hell. It’s so awesome! Anyways, it’s been open for a year or two. One day it suddenly popped up and was ready for business. I think it holds the record for fastest construction job.”

  “Like I said, sounds fun!” Excitement bubbled up inside me. I was finally going to see some of the things the world had to offer!

  “Does eight sound like a good time for everyone?” Jessie finished her food and began to clear her place, her sisters following suit.

  “Sounds fine to me,” I said getting up to carry my dishes into the kitchen. Jenny and Julie agreed and excused themselves.

  “What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Jessie asked as we began to load the dishwasher.

  “Well, I did get a voicemail early this morning asking me to come in for a second interview at the library. I need to go shopping for a dress now too.” I laughed.

  “Well, good luck with the interview, and I know a sweet place to go shopping if you’d like directions.”

  “Sure, thanks!”

  She gave me the instructions and then excused herself to her sisters’ room.

  “We have a family phone call this morning,” she explained as she walked down the hall.

  I washed down the table and counter and went to get ready for the day.

  That night, at seven thirty, I surveyed myself in the bathroom mirror. I’d ended up buying a little black dress. It was definitely more club material than fancy dinner. I loved the cap sleeves and how it came to slightly above my knees, but my favorite part was the back. It was ripped to create a kind of layered necklace affect. I’d paired the outfit with my favorite neon green heels and some silver jewelry. My hair was down in loose curls, sprayed with some mild glitter hairspray. I’d gone a little heavier on the makeup than usual, but not enough to make me look like a prostitute. Overall, I was pleased with my appearance. I hadn’t ever really needed to get dressed up for anything in the past, and it felt nice to pamper myself.

  I was on cloud nine for the first time since I’d arrived in the city. So far, I really liked my roommates—despite the weird, mind reading they always seemed to do. The apartment was cute, I was going out for my first real club experience, and I’d gotten the work-study job. Everything I’d hoped for was happening.

  Jessie knocked on the door and let herself in after I’d given the okay. She’d gotten ready before me, and her dress was a dark, midnight-blue with matching pumps. Her makeup, as well as the pendant on her necklace, matched the color too. She opted to wear her hair up in a chic ponytail this time, making her appear even more amazing than usual.

  “Wow! You look fantastic, Karly!” she exclaimed. “I love the glitter in your hair. It’s perfect. The boys are going to be fighting over you all night.”

  “Right!” I rolled my eyes. “They won’t even see me next to you. I’m sure Jenny and Julie look amazing as well, and I’ll be pretty much invisible.”

  “No, seriously, Karly. You look great. Don’t let anyone tell you any different, not even yourself!” She smiled at me and turned to fix her lip gloss.

  There was another knock at the door, accompanied by some lig
ht laughter.

  “Are you guys ready to go?” Julie’s muffled voice asked.

  “Sure, be right out,” I called.

  “Did you call a cab yet?” Jessie asked them.

  “Yeah, it’ll be here any minute,” Jenny answered.

  “Oh, we could’ve taken my car,” I said, feeling stupid I hadn’t offered it before.

  “Actually, I thought it would be safer here,” Jessie smiled softly “We would have had to park it at the opposite end of the Strip from where STYX is. I thought you might be more comfortable leaving it.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you,” I smiled appreciatively.

  “Shall we?” she said, holding the door open for me.

  “We shall,” I said in my most enthusiastic voice. We laughed as we left the bathroom and joined the other girls in the living room.

  They were both stunning as usual, wearing blue and green dresses with matching shoes. Jenny had her hair in a French twist and Julie had left hers straight.

  “Well, won’t we be knocking socks off tonight!” We all chuckled at Julie’s comment as a car horn sounded outside.

  “That’s our ride,” Jessie gave me a look of excitement as she spoke. “You ready?”

  I nodded, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. “Let’s do this!”

  The drive was uneventful, unless you counted the cabbie trying to hit on all of us. He seemed nice enough, but lost points for trying to get us all at the same time.

  “So, do you want to walk the whole way, or do you want to start in the middle? There’s not a lot of shows at the first couple of places.” Julie had taken charge of deciding where to tell the driver to drop us off.

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing everything. Is it a long walk, though?” I worried my feet wouldn’t be able to handle a long walk and then all night at the club in my shoes.

  “It’s like two or three miles long,” Jessie said. “I think we should start in the middle, at The Bellagio fountain show. Sound good?” The rest of us agreed wholeheartedly—I think we were all trying to be kind to our feet.

  We finally reached the Strip, and I stared in wonder as we passed Mandalay Bay. “It’s huge!” I looked at the girls in disbelief.

  “Wait till you see the inside of Paris or The Venetian,” Jenny laughed. “They go all out here. The inside of Tartarus resembles Greece, complete with a Mount Olympus in the middle of the casino. It’s quite fantastic, if you ask us.”

  “It blows my mind,” I said. “I can’t even imagine how much it must cost to build something like that.”

  “Well, this is Sin City,” Jessie laughed. “There’s probably been enough money lost here to build a whole second world.”

  “Crazy.”

  Lighted signs flashed from every direction, advertising shows and buffets. I craned my neck trying to see everything as it zipped by us. Some of the cars were even advertising escort services, much to my dismay. I blushed deeply at the pictures they displayed, but not as badly as when I saw three girls on the sidewalk wearing nothing but fishnets and vests which read “booty police.” It suddenly occurred to me how sheltered my life had been before. No wonder my parents hadn’t wanted me to come.

  The cab slowly made its way down the street, battling other crazy drivers and pedestrians who went wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted. There might as well have not been any signals telling them when to walk, for all the attention they paid them. We witnessed five near‑accidents before we reached our destination. I said a silent prayer I wouldn’t have to drive through all of that craziness.

  We pulled into The Bellagio and Julie paid the cabbie, giving him a good tip even though he’d hit on us. There were lots of people there, some getting out of cars like us, others getting in. I saw a bride who was completely drunk out of her mind and couldn’t walk straight. I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her.

  “Hey, Karly, this way!” Jenny waved for me to follow them as they headed back towards the main road.

  “What show do they do here again?” I asked as we pushed through the throng.

  “It’s a big water fountain show, choreographed to music,” Julie answered.

  “Oh, yeah! I’ve seen some of it on TV before, duh. I’ve always wanted to see it in person, though.” I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face. I was incredibly excited to finally see everything the Strip had to offer.

  “Hopefully we can squeeze in somewhere around the center,” Jessie added. “We’ll be able to see it from wherever, but it’s nice not to deal with people walking in front of you, or some guy standing in the way the whole time.”

  We walked down to the main sidewalk and into the mass of people heading every which way. A man ran up to me, flicking something like trading cards, and put one in my hand. I dropped it like a hot coal as soon as I saw what was on it.

  “That guy handed me porn!” I was mortified, feeling like I needed hand sanitizer.

  “Sorry, I forgot to tell you!” Julie grimaced. “They’re on every corner. You have to ignore them, or they’ll hand you stuff like that. It’s not only guys; there are girls out doing it too. Don’t look at the ground if you can help it, people take the cards and then drop them.”

  “That’s horrible,” I said in disgust. “Do I look like someone who’d want something like that?”

  “They don’t care,” Jessie said simply. “They’re basically trying to make money by getting people to come to the show.”

  “It weirds me out,” I said uncomfortably. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  “Try not to think about it,” Jenny said softly. “Let’s have fun instead.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, trying to put the image out of my head. “I think what people do in private should be that—private. I’m not one to judge, but I don’t want to know.” I laughed nervously. “Whatever, let’s forget it and have a good time!”

  I put the card out of my mind. There was no sense in letting it ruin my night. It hadn’t been too bad really, mostly shocking. I smiled to myself as I pictured my dad’s reaction to being handed the same thing. The mirthful image drove my own worries from my mind.

  We were fortunate enough to get a center spot for the fountain show. Water spurted into the air as Frank Sinatra sang Luck Be A Lady, shooting so high at points that I almost fell over gazing up at it. When the show finished, there was thunderous applause and screaming, followed by an announcement that the next show would start in fifteen minutes.

  “That was amazing!” I said in awe as we headed towards the next resort. “They do this every night?”

  “Yes,” Julie laughed.

  “Like we said, no expense spared.” Jenny smiled. “We have to hurry if we’re going to make the next show—it’s only every thirty minutes and it’s a bit of a walk to get there.”

  We stopped at Caesar’s Place, The Mirage, and Treasure Island for shows. Each one was stunning. I could easily see how some called Vegas the entertainment capital of the world.

  As we walked away from Treasure Island, I could see our destination rising before us. A huge, glittering sign welcomed everyone to Tartarus, a resort unlike any other I’d seen so far. I hadn’t noticed it until we were close because of the dark color it was painted. The only parts that sparkled were the glowing sign, the pillars holding them up, and the arches in between the pillars. As I peered closer, I could see the pillars were actually groupings of giant hands. There must have been at least fifty hands a pillar. Behind the pillars were several statues of giant Cyclopes, at least ten stories high, their arms reaching out and connecting into the pillars.

  “It’s all symbolic,” said Jessie, who had been watching me. “In Greek mythology, Tartarus was a prison, thus the dark colors. The original King of the Gods, Kronos, banished the Cyclopes, Giants, and Hundred Handers there. That’s why the statues are giants, have one eye, and one hundred hands.”

  I nodded as the pieces fell into pla
ce, amazed at the research that had been put into one building project.

  “It’s beautiful, even though it doesn’t stand out a lot like the others.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the façade; it held my attention so fiercely.

  “Wait until you see the inside,” Julie giggled.

  We joined the crowd entering Tartarus, and I continued to stare in awe at the statues until we were inside. I gasped as I looked around, not able to absorb the sights and sounds jostling for my attention from every direction. The casino was surrounded by a mural, which covered each wall and the ceiling. It depicted an ancient Greek marketplace. The carpet was even the color of the ground in the painting. In the middle of the room, at least three stories high, was a recreation of Mount Olympus. It could be a perfect re-creation of the real thing, right up to the snow on its peak. The dome it reached into was painted with storm clouds and lightning. I’d never seen anything more amazing.

  We walked through the casino and got on an escalator to the second floor. It was a little mind boggling to think their second floor was four stories up, to make room for the mountain. When we stepped onto solid ground, I could see an ad for their pool off to one side. They had made it to resemble the coast of Greece, with the ocean spread out across the room. The art on the wall gave the illusion that the water went on forever. Glancing the other way, I recognized several modern stores behind the facades of ancient temples. My breath caught at the beauty. I wished we had time to visit all of the shops, but I could guess from the beat pounding out around us that we were next to the club. It seemed to call out to everyone like a siren, urging them to join the dance. I glanced up and saw the glittering sign confirming my thoughts.

  Excited, I headed to the door with the girls, showed my I.D. and stepped inside.

  Chapter Four