Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Eighteen

The Trap

We all woke up early the next morning to make sure we had plenty of time to get ready, eat breakfast, and get to the bus station with time to spare. Once we grabbed some bagels, fruit and coffee from the continental breakfast at the motel, packed our bags and then headed down to the bus station. The bus pulled up just as we walked in to the station, and as all the other passengers began pulling out their tickets, Andee reached into her bag and handed one to each of us.

We boarded the charter bus and automatically sat at the back, right by the emergency exit. It was always a good thing to do in case of a monster attack. Just seemed like the natural things to do now.

Once the bus roared to life, Andee turned to me and asked, "Did you date anyone before me?"

Annabeth immediately started turning red in the seat across the aisle. I chuckled nervously, scratching my head as my cheeks grew warm. "No way," Andee looked between the two of us, her grin growing from cheek to cheek, "you two dated?"

"Very briefly."

"Only a few days, actually."

Andee couldn't stop smiling. "How did I not know this before? Did you guys kiss? What happened?"

Annabeth gave her friend a look. "Yes, we kissed and it was in that moment that we decided that we were a lot better off as friends."

"Oh my gods, that is so great," Andee said, laughing. I was a little proud of myself for choosing a girl who didn't get jealous about these things. It probably helped that it was her best friend. "Man, you have a thing for blondes, then?"

"Andee."

She put her hands in the air defensively. "Just simply pointing out a pattern of attraction."

"What about you, then?" I asked. "Surely I'm not the great Andee le Fay's first boyfriend."

"You're not," Andee said softly, glancing down at her hands for a moment, folding them in her lap. "I had one boyfriend before you, his name was Lucas. Our parents set us up – my dad and his dad, Hermes – and it was kind of long distance, but with the god of travel, it wasn't necessarily, so he always came to me. It was fine." I looked over to see if she'd go into more detail. "He just started to get weird near the end, and so when he wanted to have sex with me and I said no, we went our separate ways."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Andee said. "I mean, I was never in love with him or anything, so I had already known the chances of it working out were low. Which was fine." A pause. "And he was also the one who called me weak."

That made a lot of sense.

"You know I'd never do that to you, right?" I asked her quietly, taking her hand in mine.

She smiled shyly and nodded, lifting our joined hands and pressing her lips to my hand. I brought her lips to mine and she eagerly responded back. Occasionally she'd break away just to smile at me. It was the most beautiful sight. Her flushed cheek, her sparkling eyes, her bright, mischievous grin outlined by her pink, swollen lips.

We calmed down a bit but she moved to sit on my lap, allowing me to slowly run my hands up and down her thighs, up her thighs and to grip her butt. She smiled, resting her arms around my neck and playing with my hair.

"So what is that connection thing you mentioned?" I asked and Andee tilted her head at me in confusion. "Between you and Annabeth?"

"You told him?" Annabeth asked. She didn't seem too happy about it.

"I didn't know it was a secret," Andee shrugged carelessly. "And besides, I didn't tell him everything – it was just a passing comment."

"What are you guys talking about?" Grover asked and the two girls exchanged looks before turning back to the two of us.

"Long story short, Annabeth died," Andee said simply. "And I brought her back to life. Hence, we are 'bonded for life'."

Annabeth gave her a look that clearly said it wasn't a good explanation. Andee just shrugged. "When we were younger, we were hit by a drunk driver. We both died in the crash, but being Andee, she regenerated a few minutes after the impact. Somehow, when she saw me, she somehow managed to regenerate me – which is generally impossible – and it created this mental bond between us. We can communicate through our minds and sense when the other is in danger, hurt or in Andee's case a lot when we were younger – dead."

"Yeah, I really don't die as much as I used to," Andee said.

"Thank the gods, it's not a good feeling on my end," Annabeth said.

"Not really on mine either," Andee said and the two laughed a little.

"Hold on here for a second – you can read each other's minds? Like X-Men?" I asked and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Apparently that wasn't the response she was looking for.

"Oh! I never thought of it that way – that makes it so much cooler!" Andee exclaimed, excited at this new revelation.

"Andee, tell Annabeth something using the bond," I said excitedly, anxious to see how it worked. Annabeth look at Andee who just shrugged in response. Andee then smiled at Annabeth, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'm not telling him that and you're most definitely not doing that!" Annabeth shrieked, looking disgusted.

"You're not going to tell who what?" Grover asked.

"You don't want to know," Annabeth told him before looking pointedly at me. "You might want to know what she said, but I wouldn't tell you for any amount of money in the world."

"I told her we were going to have a little fun on her bed once we got back to camp," Andee whispered in my ear, making my cheeks grow warm.

"Andee, if you try it, I swear I'll have no problem killing you," Annabeth warned.

"Love you too, Bethie!" Andee said, making a lame attempt to reach over and hug Annabeth, who just swatted her away.

"You're annoying."

"And you're a know-it-all."

"You're insane."

"You know that's a compliment to me," Andee pointed out, and Annabeth scowled. "Love you, Annabeth," Andee said in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at her.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes," Annabeth said before realizing she had just screwed up, courtesy of Andee's mind games.

"See? You do love me!" Andee exclaimed, an impish smile on her face. She knew she had won too, and we all knew that was a hard things to do when Annabeth was involved.

"You're impossible," Annabeth said.

"But you love me," Andee said in a sing-sing voice, her grin resembling the Cheshire cat's.

"Yeah, whatever."

"She loves me," Andee stage-whispered to me. I love you too, I wanted to say. But I couldn't. I didn't want to say or do too much too soon. I didn't want her to leave me because I got ahead of myself.

"So does someone else," Annabeth said in a sing-song voice and I glared at her.

"Who?" Andee asked, twisting around in my lap. I had to think fast before Annabeth said something I wasn't ready to have said out-loud yet. I grabbed Andee and pressed my lips against hers, her own hands grabbing the front of my shirt.

"Seriously?" I heard Annabeth ask in disbelief. I could tell she was rolling her eyes at us without even looking. I didn't care. As long as she didn't let my secret slip (which I didn't know how she'd figured it out in the first place) and I had Andee in my arms, everything was okay with me.

We stayed like that for most of the trip, Andee having slid off my lap and choosing to instead cuddle into my arms, all of us talking and trying to keep the atmosphere light as we went off to our most certain doom. Once we were in the busy city of Delphi, it was time to get instructions.

Well, at least the girls thought it was.

I thought we could find it on our own, as did Grover, but Annabeth and Andee seemed to disagree with us. So they went into one of the stores and Andee asked one of the employees for directions in Greek, and Andee translated it to English for Annabeth, who then wrote it down in Ancient Greek so that all of us could read it.

So once we got these extremely unnecessary directions, we began to walk in the direction that the guy told Andee and Annabeth to go. They led the way, their pinkies hooked, showing how close their relationship was once more.

"They look like sisters," Grover muttered to me as we trailed behind them.

"I think they are in every way except blood," I told him and he nodded in agreement. Even though Annabeth and Andee weren't physically talking, I had a feeling they were using their bond to talk. About what, I had no idea, but I was hoping it wasn't about me. Then again, it might be good if they were talking about me.

It was another long walk to get to the Oracle at Delphi, but once we did, Andee froze a few feet away from the entrance and observed the sight in front of her. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."

"Are you ready?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. Let's go," Andee said.

There were several groups of tourists through the ruins and we tried to stay a few feet behind so we could take our time. We passed through the Castalia Spring, the moment of the Argive Kings, the Athenian treasury, the Athenian Stoa, the Polygonal Wall, the monument of Platea. Annabeth gave us her own guided tour, telling us the history of each place. Apparently, Delphi was considered the 'naval of the world' back in the day. Also, that doesn't mean that it looks like a bellybutton from the sky – apparently it's just a metaphor for the center of the world.

I know, because I asked and Annabeth hit me.

When we reached the altar of Apollo, Andee was silent.

"You okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'm just a little overwhelmed," she said softly. "You guy go ahead, I just need a few minutes alone." We walked ahead to just in front of the entrance of what was left of the temple and waited there. Andee reached into her bag and pulled out a purple flower that kind of looked like a bush of small purple flowers on a stick. She laid it on top of the small altar and held each side, bowing her head. I could see her lips moving slightly, showing that was talking quietly.

I had never seen this side of Andee. She looked at peace and happy, but more stoic than usual.

She finished and pressed her fingers to her lips and then back onto the altar. She jogged over to us. "Sorry. I had to…well, I had to pray."

Annabeth and Grover nodded, leading the way back into the temple.

"I didn't know you were that religious," I said quietly as she wound her fingers around mine.

"I…I love my family. It's so messed up and dysfunctional, but we wouldn't be here without our mortal and our godly parents. It…they do bless us. I believe in them and what they stand for and represent, despite the dysfunction," Andee said. "We're in a holy place – kind of like the Vatican to Catholics – and I just think it's important to remind the gods that we do appreciate and respect them." She paused as we enter what was left of the temple of Apollo. "It seems kinda of silly, seeing as we've literally met the gods and goddesses, but it just feels right."

"That's very cool," I said, giving her hand a squeeze and she smiled.

"So this is what's left of the Temple of Apollo," Annabeth said. "It's actually been rebuilt three times, due to fires and earthquakes. This is what was left by 4th century B.C.E."

"It's incredible," Andee breathed. "I can still feel the power leftover here."

"Me too," Annabeth said.

I couldn't feel anything, so I didn't say anything.

"And there it is."

"The key?" I asked.

"No, the Oracle," Andee corrected. It was a circular raised platform with three large pillars at the back, and a small grassy circle in the middle, surrounded by more stone. That must be where the Oracle would sit. "This is where the first quest was given."

That was weird to think about. Before us, Hercules had been here, consulting the Oracle to find out what he had to do. The same went of Perseus and all the other hero that came before us. It was like a monument to every hero to ever live.

"There's something there," Andee said. "I can feel it."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked. "I can't see anything."

"It's there. I'm sure of it," Andee said, her eyes locked on the Oracle.

"Well let's keep going, and then Andee and I will explain the plan," Annabeth said. We continued through the ruins up to the theatre, where they were putting on a sort of Greek play. We sat at the topmost row, barely watching as we discussed our plans.

"Once the sun goes down, we'll need to deal with the security guards and then get down to the Oracle," Annabeth started. "From there we'll have to deal with whatever's waiting for us – because we know something will be waiting for us, get the key, get out, and find a way back to Camp as soon as possible.

"I'll deal with the security," Andee said. "They won't even give me a second glance, and I can knock them out without hurting them."

"We should stay in groups, though," Grover said. "With you two being connected, you should be split up so that we're always in contact."

"I'll go with Andee," I said.

"Can you two work together without making out for that long?" Annabeth asked in a teasing voice.

"I'm sure we can manage, Annabeth," Andee said, frowning at her friend. "I'm sure we have more self-control than that."

"Okay then. Grover and I will go down invisible first, you two will deal with the security guards, and then we'll meet up at the Oracle and find this key," Annabeth said and we all nodded our agreement.

We left the ruins as they closed for the night, walking a bit away to somewhere we wouldn't be seen. Annabeth and Grover left right away to get down to the Oracle, which would take some time. So Andee and I had to chill out here until Annabeth gave us the signal to come down. At least Andee and I could have some fun while we waited…

"So…what do you want to do while we wait?" I asked suggestively, wagging my eyebrows at her.

"Stretch," she said, ignoring my advance as she stood up from the bench we were sitting on and started stretching out her legs and arms. I couldn't help but notice how great her butt looked when she bent over.

Don't judge me – you totally would've admired it too.

After she was done with that, she came and sat back down on the bench with me, completely silent. She stayed like that for a while, completely unresponsive even when I wrapped my arm around her. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Something just feels…off," Andee sad, staring straight ahead.

"What do you mean by 'off'?" I questioned.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just being dramatic," she said, trying to brush it off, but she remained tense. Finally we got the signal to come out, so we started down.

We approached the ruins carefully, Andee looking completely calm as a security guard approached her.

"Ma'am, you can't be here – you'll have to come back tomorrow," the guard said with a thick Greek accent.

"Oh, silly me, I'm still jetlagged from the flight," Andee said as he approached, and once he was close enough, she punched him in the face, knocking him over and out. "We need to hurry, he probably won't stay out very long."

We hurried forward, encountering three more security guards that we dealt with in similar ways.

"This is too easy," Andee muttered, looking around. "Too easy." It didn't take us long to reach Annabeth and Grover at the center of the Oracle.

"So where is it?" Grover asked, looking around.

"I don't know," Andee muttered, looking around. "It should be here."

"Maybe you were wrong," Annabeth suggested.

"I'm not wrong," Andee said. "Four will go east to where it all started. This is the Oracle. This is where the first quest was given. I saw it and I feel it. There is something here." She paused for a minute, looking around. "Something feels wrong."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There's all this power around us," she explained, making weird hand gestures. "It feels off."

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news," Grover started, "but the security guards are gone."

We turned around and the trail of unconscious guards we had left behind was gone.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "It's a trap! We need to go – now!"

It was too late.

Everything went black around us as we fell through the ground.