Where we last left off:

The next day, Ron woke up to a pile of papers on the table where he was at, along with a message: . Ron woke up and alerted the others, knowing that unless they moved quickly, they would never see their spellcaster again.

"I don't believe this!" Ron snapped as he stared at the spot where Jacquelyn was sleeping. "How could we have been so blind as to not knowing that the Hermaphrodite would kidnap her?"

"I made sure that the window was shut and locked before we came here," Annabeth said as she held up her hands. "How was I to know that he could just sneak in here and take Jacquelyn without us noticing him?"

"Whatever," Ron muttered. "Let's go and find her."

They quickly left the Hall of Records and rushed to the nearest bus station. Within a few minutes, they had taken a Greyhound bound for Las Vegas. Ron was silently fuming; none of this would have happened to him if he had remained as a wizard.

"It was going to happen whether you were a wizard or not," said Grover .

"What? Jacquelyn being kidnapped?" Ron snapped at him.

"Yeah, and that too," said Grover. "You don't know who she knows, and there are some people out there who prey on young girls who don't live with their parents. They snatch those girls and no one notices until it's too late."

"What are we going to do?" said Annabeth. "We don't know what is going on with her. Who knows what that freak is doing to her!"

"I'm going to kill him, and perhaps Luke as well," said Percy. Everyone stared at him. "Luke was behind this, no doubt. He planned this, knowing that we weren't about to return to Camp Half-Blood with Clarisse."

"How do you know?" Clarisse snapped.

"We're going to Vegas, not New York," said Grover.

"Good point," said Clarisse.

"Now what do we do?" said Annabeth. "Jacquelyn's probably out there frightened and alone. She could be hurt. We have got to save her!"

"That we must do," said Ron. "Who knows what that Hermaphrodite is up to."

Magnus stared out the window; his brothers Hansel and Francis were very sullen. They had woken up to a missing Jacquelyn and a note demanding that they go to Las Vegas. Magnus was angry; no one messed with Jacquelyn and lived.

"I think we have less time than we thought," he said to the others as they stared out the window. A huge storm was brewing outside, complete with a huge lightning storm . "If we don't hurry, this world could very well end."

"You're right," said Grover. "We can't save Jacquelyn if we're just moping about." The bus pulled at the station in Vegas. "We have just one chance to get her. If we fail, then the Apocalypse will come swiftly."

No one noticed Hansel and Francis Kroger sneaking off; they had overheard two men speaking in a dark corner. Words like "marriage" and "cousin" had reached them, and they knew what was happening.

"If she marries that Hermaphrodite, she could become their cousin," said Hansel.

"Indeed," said Francis. "You know that Maggie loves her. He won't allow it to happen."

"I bet they know where she is," said Hansel.

The boys hid in a huge armored car as the others made their way to the many casinos that were on the Vegas strip. The car took them to a huge building that was deep in the city. Hansel looked up and saw that there was a huge gathering of men and women wearing silver and blue robes in the lobby of a grand hotel.

He said to Francis, "It's a wedding all right. We don't even have to ask who the lucky bride is." They knew who the unlucky bride was. It was now up to them to save her before it was too late.

*****

As for Ron and the other demigods, they found themselves trapped in the penthouse of another hotel. Luke Castellan was staring at them with an angry look in his eyes. "I never thought I'd see the day when my own family betrays me and runs off," he said to them. "What were you all thinking? Wait, you weren't thinking, were you? You just up and ran off. Why did you do this?"

"I was trying to escape," said Ron.

"Did I hear the sound of you doubting that we could protect you?" Luke turned on Ron. "You call yourself a demigod? Well, I'm very disappointed in you; you should know better!"

"Well, did you send the Hermaphrodite after Jacquelyn?" Annabeth snapped at him.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Luke responded, "but all the same, you're all in big trouble. Mr. D. is going to have a field day punishing you when you get back to Camp Half-Blood. That is, however, if I allow you to go back at all." To a group of older kids, he said, "Take them away and lock them up. Then find Alexandros and the spellcasting bitch and bring them here. I will not have anyone interfering with my plans." Ron found himself protesting as he and his friends were shoved into a huge room and the door was locked. "I'll feed you later, but don't you dare try to escape," Luke continued. "You'll be very sorry if you do."

Tears slid down Ron's face as Luke left the door and walked off. He turned to stare at his friends; all of them were very upset as well. How were they going to save Jacquelyn now?