Chapter 9:

Sadie sat down next to Lex, Nico sat next to Carter. Sadie and Nico revealed their plan to go to Camp Half-Blood first to get advice from Chiron and help Camp Half-Blood.

"That's ridiculous," Lex and Leo said at the same time. "You honestly think we're going to trust you enough to simply walk into your territory outnumbered? Nice try you Grecus scum," Leo asked Nico angrily. Sadie could tell Nico was taken aback at what Leo was insinuating.

"We're not going to hurt you, a lot of us are really nice. I wouldn't bring you anywhere where you could get hurt. I wouldn't betray Sadie like that! I wouldn't betray any of you like that," Nico replied to an equally pissed off Leo. Leo's usually cold gaze turned to Sadie, making her freeze.

"I told you we couldn't trust her," Leo said in Greek to Lex. Sadie looked at Lex, having expected to have at least his support now that they were dating – isn't that what boyfriends did? But he looked just as angry as Leo and his gaze was just as cold when looking at Sadie, making her shiver. She realized that the power she saw from Lex that day the Furies attacked them could easily be aimed at her, and that was a battle she was sure she'd lose.

"Not now Leo," Lex replied harshly to his twin. "Sadie, this is stupid. We can't trust them-"

"We haven't done anything that proves you can't!" Nico interjected angrily. He didn't look at all bothered by the twin's furious and promisingly deadly glares.

"There has been plenty of things you Greeks have done to deserve our anger," Leo responded.

Nico shook his head, "Listen, up until today I didn't even know about the Egyptians. There's no way we could've done anything knowingly."

Lex shook his head angrily, "It's not just now. There's a much older reason why the Greeks don't have our trust. And they never will." Sadie wondered what he meant and Nico was about to interject when Carter interrupted.

"Shut up all of you," his face was stern and Sadie could tell he was fuming, "Look, Lex and Leo there isn't much else we can do. Even if it is a trap we must try, Zia met with the Greeks – or at least tried to. We need to find out what happened and if that means going into enemy zone then so be it."

"But we're not your enemies!" Nico tried to protest.

Carter sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair, "Honestly Nico, I don't know what to believe. But I do know if you were in our position that you would be wary too. However, I trust you. And I do think you believe nothing will happen to us. Lex, Leo, are you with us? Because I will go alone with Nico if I have to."

"I'm going still Carter," Sadie was determined to go, she'd also leave without the twins if need be. She ignored Lex's shocked stare and Leo's glare.

"Fine, I'll go. I'm not leaving Sadie," Lex finally relented, "But I swear Nico if anyone tries to hurt her I won't hesitate to kill them." His blue eyes met Nico's intense brown eyes.

"I won't let that happen," Nic replied. The two of them glared at each other before looking away.

"Pity you fell for her Lex, I'll go too," Leo said bitterly. Sadie knew from the look she was getting from the hauntingly beautiful girl that the second Lex broke up with her that she would be making Sadie pay for forcing her to come along.

The tension amongst the group was still high as they further discussed travel plans to the camp. "How far away is the camp Nico?"

"Not too far, I guess it's technically upstate New York, I normally shadow travel but I can ask Percy for directions," Nico said embarrassed that he didn't really know the directions to travel there from a car.

"You're 16 right? Can't you drive?" Leo asked Carter.

"No, not yet," Carter said. Then he got an idea, "Bast can drive us!"

"I thought we weren't going to tell Amos? He would definitely not let us go," said Sadie.

"But do you really think she'd let us leave without her knowing? She's going to find out somehow, and I bet she wouldn't tell Amos if we asked her not to." Carter said excited as their plan starting to actually look realistically achievable.

"Who's Bast?" Nico asked confused.

"She's the Egyptian cat god," Sadie explained, "She was sent to by our father to look after us. I thought she was a cat for most of my life."

"Whoa, you have a god for a guardian? Aren't you afraid of her?"

Carter and Sadie both laughed, "We're not afraid of her at all. We respect her though."

"From my understanding Egyptian gods treat humans with more respect and admiration than the Greek gods. Your gods are pretty vile," Lex explained to Nico, "Most Egyptian gods need a host. That creates a close bond with humans; they lived their lives amongst humans during the Egyptian dynasties."

Nico nodded in understanding though from the glare he gave Lex, Sadie could tell he didn't like his gods being insulted.

Everyone deemed that Bast driving them was a good plan. After a few more minutes of random chit-chat the bell rang. Nico took off to gym alone while Lex walked Sadie to her next class.

The rest of the day Sadie's mind was racing with thoughts. The argument between Lex, Leo and Nico combined with knowing they were so close to changing the world, was making her antsy and worried. If Lex and Leo were that volatile at the insulation of going, just imaging what would happen if they actually felt threatened scared her. The last thing they needed was a war with the Greeks.

After school Sadie walked to the front of the school and noticed Nico leaning against the rail next to the stairs.

"Hey," Sadie said approaching him. Sadie noticed how frail he looked again. She guessed he hadn't had much time to relax because of all the attacks on the camp he went to.

The corner of Nico's mouth rose when he saw her, "Hi."

Sadie leaned back on the railing next to him she was waiting for Lex to meet her outside and didn't have much else to do. "You look like you can use some relaxation time," Sadie said looking at him look at the people walking by.

Nico groaned, "That's an understatement."

Sadie felt bad for him. She never really saw him hang around others at the school besides her, she guessed he wasn't good with people. He did kind of have a natural glower and as they were sitting there it seemed like there was a force field around them that was repelling people from walking too close to them.

"I have an idea, Lex and I were going to go to his relative's café for some free food. Why don't you come with us?" Sadie offered, it wasn't probably the best idea but perhaps the two of them could maybe get used to each other and Lex could see that some Greeks aren't too bad.

Nico gave her a skeptical look, "Aren't you guys dating?"

"How did you know?" Sadie asked, she hadn't told him. She'd been too afraid to even bring it up, and was secretly hoping that she'd be able to hide it from him.

"I saw you two kissing on the front steps. I guess you didn't see me walk by." Sadie cursed at being caught so easily earning her a laugh from Nico.

"Well you can still come. I promise to keep the kissing to a minimal in your presence," She said laughing at his scowl, he finally smiled at her and nodded. Lex arrived on the stairs a few moments later. Lex looked at Sadie and Nico questioningly but he didn't say anything to Nico as he approached Sadie.

"Sorry I'm late. One of my teachers wanted to talk to me about something," Lex said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Sadie blushed and nervously looked at Nico who was clearly displeased as she already broke her promise. "I told Nico he could come with us to your relative's café," Sadie said to Lex hoping he wouldn't be upset – she suddenly remembered his temper from earlier and the look that had made her tremble slightly.

Lex scowled slightly but he quickly regained his smile, "Sure, I don't mind." He said that but Sadie could tell he was peeved. After telling Bast where to pick her up later they set off. They walked in awkward silence to the café. The few times Sadie tried to bring up a conversation failed.

They arrived at a small café. It was called "Kahwa Café."

Lex opened the door for her and she walked inside, Nico trailed behind. The cafe smelled strongly like coffee beans and chocolate. The man at the front counter nodded to Lex as he walked inside and Lex smiled back at him. Lex led her to an office at the back of the café and knocked on the door. "Khala, open the door!" Lex yelled at the closed door. "I hope she's here," Lex said to Sadie after a minute of waiting.

Then they heard footsteps and a few things falling over, the door opened revealing a tall dark skinned woman with long thick curly black hair. "Ibn ohkti!" The lady said leaning down to kiss Lex on his cheeks, "You've grown so much since I last saw you. How much have you grown, a foot? And who's this pretty girl?" the lady asked as she looked over at Sadie

"This is my girlfriend Sadie, Sadie this is my aunt. And this is her friend Nico." Sadie looked at the two of them to try and see any similar features, they really looked nothing alike – not that she was expecting to, considering he was a reincarnation.

His aunt laughed, "Welcome Sadie and Nico, you can call me Khala. It means aunt in Arabic."

"Hi," Nico said shaking her hand.

Sadie smiled at her, "Nice to meet you Khala, you have a lovely shop."

She laughed again; Sadie could tell where Lex got his light nature from though. She was just as cheerful as Lex. She had creases on the corner of her eyes and mouth from smiling. It was hard to look at her and not smile with her. "Come into my office, I'm sorry it's a mess. I haven't had the chance to clean up yet," She said motioning them both inside.

The room was small, housing a desk with a computer on one side of the room and a small couch facing it. Sadie had to walk over stacks of books and odd trinkets to get to the couch. Sadie sat down inbetween Lex and Nico. "You've grown so much Lexie," Lex cringed at the name and Sadie laughed and she heard Nico stifle his own laughter. Khala laughed at his embarrassment, "Don't tell me you're too grown up now to be called Lexie. I've always called you Lexie."

Lex smiled, "It's okay Khala, you can always call me Lexie if you want. But…"

"I know, I know, I'm embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend," Khala said laughing at Lex some more. Sadie started laughing even more making Lex squirm further in the couch.

"I like the name, it's cute… Lexie," Sadie said trying to make her boyfriend get over his embarrassment.

"Khala, if I told you something would you promise not to tell my father?" Lex asked when he was back to his usual tan complexion.

Khala frowned slightly and looked at the two of them, "Of course Lexie."

"Good, don't tell baba this but I've told Sadie, her brother and Nico about us. Sadie is part of the Kane family and Nico is a demigod," Lex explained.

Khala looked surprised. "A demigod?" She asked Nico as he nodded at her. Khala smiled at Nico before turning back to Lex, "I trust that you're smart enough to not endanger your family Lex, so I'm okay with this. That's not all is it?"

Lex shook his head and explained how they were going to find Zia and were going to the Greek training camp for demigods to find out where Zia was. Khala absorbed the information and instead of yelling at them or telling them that they were being reckless she just sighed, "I can't stop you if I tried. I hope you will all be safe on your journey."

She then turned around and shuffled around with some objects before turning around again. She placed a cloth and a stack of cash on the desk. "That's a lot of money," Sadie said eyeing the large bills.

"Khala we don't need anything, I just wanted you to know in case something happens to me. So you can tell baba after I'm gone," Lex said frowning at his aunt.

"Nonsense, I don't want you to be unprepared," Khala said frowning right back at him. She took the cloth and unwrapped it. It was a silver and gold dagger.

"Khala I can't take your weapon!" Lex protested, but Sadie could tell he really did want it.

"I've always wanted you to have it," Khala said as she held it in her hand. She walked over from the desk and kneeled in front of Lex, "It's made from celestial bronze*, found only in Olympus." Khala explained to Sadie. Khala placed it in Lex's hands, "I know you already have your own, but I want you to have this. They've been in our family for generations."

Lex wrapped stood up and helped his aunt to her feet. He lifted his shirt revealing a utility belt where he stored his other daggers. He took out his old daggers that were more a bronze color and replaced them with the ones his aunt gave him. "Thank you Khala," Lex said giving her a hug.

Khala returned to her seat and Lex sat back down next to Sadie after placed his old daggers on her desk. "The money is for your travels. You're going to need it in case something happens. I don't mind giving my favorite nephew some money. Besides I believe in you, I know you were sent to us for a reason Lexie," Khala smiled and Lex took the money, stashing it into his book bag.

After discussing their trip, Khala showed Sadie and Nico left after Lex decided to help his aunt in the shop for the evening.

Once they were outside they decided to walk to the small playground that was next to their school. Sadie sat down on the swings and Nico pushed her.

"Aren't you excited about the trip?" Sadie asked Nico as she tried to go higher on the swings.

"I guess, I'll be honest though. I'm a little worried about how the people at camp might treat you guys. Some of them are nice, but others will try and test you to see how strong you guys are. And I'm not sure if Chiron or the gods will accept the offer. Plus with Mr. I hate all Greeks and his lovely twin sister there, if anything goes wrong I'm afraid everything will be ruined."

Sadie stopped swinging and turned around to face Nico, they were unknowingly afraid of the same thing. She hadn't seen Nico look afraid before and she didn't like it, he was always so tough. He could even take on Lex and Leo's glares without flinching. Without thinking she put her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Let's just hope for the best then, it's the only way."

Nico nodded but still looked worried. Sadie again noticed how tired he looked, he had been yawning throughout the day and the dark circles under his eyes looked worse. Nico noticed her worried stare and looked away. Standing to her feet she traced the dark circles before running her hand over his cheek and forehead – muttering a spell she learned from Jazz, a hieroglyphic appeared in the air and she felt Nico shudder under her hand. She pulled it back, hoping her magic wouldn't somehow respond badly with a demigod. Luckily she didn't have to worry long because a big smile erupted on his face.

"Wow, what did you do? I feel great, better than I have in days!" He looked so happy that Sadie couldn't help but smile. Healing magic wasn't her specialty and was exhausting to her. But just seeing him look rested for the first time since they met made her happy.

"It was just a healing spell, no big deal." Sadie lied. She hoped Bast would arrive soon because she felt minutes away from passing out from exhaustion.

Nico must've picked up on her sudden change, because luckily he managed to catch her before her legs gave out. "What's wrong?" Nico asked worriedly. His surprisingly strong arms held her upright before he sat on one of the swings, gently placing her in his lap.

"I'm not a healer. Healing magic is exhausting," She said before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Then don't ever do that again. I'll gladly be tired as long as I don't have to see you like this," Sadie could tell he was genuine and sighed. She felt so content in his arms – it was kind of scary seeing as she had a boyfriend. But she didn't want him to let her go, and luckily it seemed like he didn't either. Feeling safe and secure in his arms she drifted into sleep.

Edited 3/10/12 - anything after this is unedited.