The Lotus That Breathes
Miraak looked around with interest as he entered the strange building. In his gaze, small cracks in space could be seen with the naked eye; loops seemed to repeat and freeze, as if everything were suspended in time. The path through the hallways, between the children and their video games, the food and the people playing, appeared trapped in an unnatural silence.
No; they weren't frozen. Rather, they were moving at an extremely slow speed.
Miraak observed more closely before lightly sniffing the air, and his expression tightened into a grimace of disgust and contempt.
"Fus," he exhaled, the first Word of Power. Immediately, the air around him was pushed outward and the scent of lotus flowers dissipated away from him. He walked calmly through the hallways until he reached the area where adults were gathered around a roulette table, surrounding a man who seemed to possess such absurd luck that everyone gravitated toward him. It would probably be noisy if the speed of the place were functioning normally.
Miraak stopped in front of the table and observed the man for a moment.
"Your kind always claims not to intervene in the world of mortals; I've already met too many of you to count," Miraak said with absolute calm.
The man had a strikingly youthful appearance, with sharp yet friendly features, almost mischievous, full of liveliness. His dark blond hair contrasted with the strange outfit he wore for such a place; a sporty tracksuit with golden stripes. His sunglasses concealed his eyes. And from his wrist, his smart watch vibrated with an annoying sound, as if receiving an order or some urgent alert.
"Tsk… I was really enjoying myself," the man muttered as he unfroze from the time distortion and pressed the button on the watch with annoyance. Then he lifted his gaze toward Miraak with a surprisingly friendly smile. "What's up, traveler? I don't know about the others, but sometimes it's good to take a break. You see; I'm one of the busiest around here," he added with relaxed ease.
Miraak immediately recognized him. This man was none other than Hermes; the god of messengers and thieves.
Miraak stared at him coldly.
"You're really just as the rumors say. You don't seem like the type most of my brothers would get along with," Hermes commented with the same tranquility, not viewing Miraak as an enemy the way many of the other gods would. "My father really hates you. I've never seen him so furious; although, honestly, it was kind of funny." His mischievous smile returned as he grabbed a few snacks from a waiter's tray.
Miraak did not respond. His opinion of the Greek gods was still quite low.
At that moment, both Miraak and Hermes turned toward the hallway, where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover seemed to be moving in slow motion toward the exit; much faster than everyone else inside the casino, yet still under the general effect dominating the building.
"You really created a monster with the son of Uncle Saltwater. I'm sure many would've wished you raised their kids the same way… well, most of them at least," Hermes said, a slightly guilty and sad expression briefly crossing his face.
Then, his watch began beeping again and again with different notifications, making Hermes adopt a tired and resigned expression.
"Well, time to get back to work. It was fun meeting you. Oh, right… almost forgot," he said as he reached into his bag; a small pouch from which he somehow pulled his entire arm up to the shoulder. Then he took out what looked like a package and tossed it to Miraak with complete ease. "Someone asked me to give you this. I'm no Apollo, but I can tell you'll have quite an interesting destiny," he added with an amused smile before snapping his fingers and disappearing in a golden flash.
Miraak looked down at the package, puzzled, and opened it without the slightest sign of hesitation.
Inside was a carved stone, which made Miraak frown. What was engraved on it shouldn't belong to this world. The words carved into it were written in a language that, even in his own world, was considered a dead tongue.
It was dovazhul. The language of dragons. And to be more precise, it was…
"A Word of Power," Miraak murmured, examining it with much more awakened interest than before.
The word shone for a moment before Miraak's body absorbed it quickly, engraving it into his memory and soul. Every Dragonborn learns the Words just by seeing them once; and so he recognized the power this one granted him.
The stone crumbled in his hands, turning into dust. Miraak, with a serious and thoughtful expression, remained silent for a few seconds before turning around and walking somewhere else; not toward the exit, but deeper into the casino, with complete tranquility.
…
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth burst out through the doors of the Lotus Casino. They didn't even stop when the employee tried to block them, asking what was going on, nor when several other recreational venues suddenly appeared, trying to tempt them inside. Percy simply grabbed both of his companions by the arms and dragged them out.
The moment they crossed the doors, the suffocating heat hit them again. For a second, Percy almost regretted leaving, but he shook his head quickly.
"Why?" Annabeth asked, expecting an explanation, while Grover kept looking back longingly.
"I don't know what the heck that place is; but they were drugging us," Percy said immediately.
"What?" Annabeth and Grover said at the same time.
"Or at least I think so," Percy added… which instantly destroyed half of his credibility.
"You're an idiot, was it or was it not?" Annabeth said, looking at him with irritation.
"Well… I think they were drugging us."
"Why are you asking?" Annabeth insisted, even more annoyed. Now she was much less certain about trusting his words.
"Guys…" Grover said, trying to interrupt.
"Because… I can feel it, but I don't know how to explain it," Percy replied.
"Then if you don't know what you're feeling, how can you know that's what it is?" Annabeth said.
"Because if I feel that it is… then it might be or might not be," Percy said, now more confused than ever.
"Guys," Grover repeated; but the two of them were far too deep into their absurd argument.
"Do you realize that nothing you're saying makes any sense, seaweed brain?" Annabeth said, staring at him.
"Hey!" Grover shouted this time, forcing them to stop.
"What?" they both answered in unison as they turned to look at him.
Grover was pointing directly at the casino, with a shocked and terrified expression.
Percy and Annabeth followed his gaze… and froze.
The casino—or rather the entire structure of the building—seemed to be breathing lightly. A soft motion of inhaling and exhaling made the walls expand and contract as if it were some enormous sleeping monster. The scent of lotus escaped through the doors with each "breath." And among the neon lights, two gigantic eyes formed by signs and flickering panels seemed to be watching them with predatory attention.
It was truly unsettling; especially considering the possibility that this thing could actually attack them. Nobody wants to face a living building… much less one that big.
Grover, hypnotized, took two steps forward, stumbling; but Annabeth reacted quickly and grabbed him by the hair to stop him.
"Ouch!" Grover yelled, snapping out of the trance. "Why are you grabbing my hair!?"
"Sorry… it was the closest thing," Annabeth said.
"It's better if we get out of here," Percy said. His two friends nodded immediately and hurried away. After seeing that, there was nothing left to argue about: whatever Percy had felt was real. They had literally been inside something… possibly a monster. And it was better not to think too much about that.
They arrived at an air-conditioned restaurant and sat down to eat while trying to recover. It was there that they finally realized that, although only a few minutes had passed for them inside the Lotus Casino, an entire day had passed in the outside world.
They confirmed it when they heard people talking about a lion that had escaped "a day ago."
Luckily for them, not much time had passed. Even so, all three couldn't avoid imagining what would have happened if they had stayed a bit longer; maybe just to "try some games." That is, assuming they could have ever left afterwards.
"Alright; first we need to find a way to get to Santa Monica," Percy said with complete seriousness.
"In the casino, you said you still had a lot of money, right?" Annabeth asked, remembering when Percy, amid the confusion, had claimed he could pay for everything… even sell one of the gold weights his teacher had given him.
"Mm, yeah; I actually do," Percy replied calmly.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Annabeth said, annoyed. They could have avoided so many problems. She had assumed Percy had already spent everything, since he hadn't mentioned it again.
"Because you didn't ask," Percy said defensively.
"Okay, enough," Grover interrupted, stopping them before they started another fight. "If we have money, then let's just call a taxi," he added quickly, keeping his position as the neutral mediator.
That was exactly what Annabeth had planned. Although, just in case, she also had some Lotus Casino cards. She tossed them aside carelessly; they landed on the table of the people eating next to them. And the three of them left.
At that moment, someone suddenly appeared next to the table. With a quick movement, he grabbed the card before the man sitting there could touch it.
The couple eating couldn't see his face; the man was wearing a black trench coat, and he walked away without saying a single word.
Suddenly, the couple felt slightly dazed… and continued eating as if they had completely forgotten what had happened just moments before.