CHAPTER ONE

"Hurry up, Apollo!" I heard a loud voice in the distance. "Are you going to oversleep again?"

I sat up, groggily. "Just… just five more minutes, please."

I heard the voice again. "We don't have that much time, Apollo! We have to meet Phoenix at the airport by 7:30!"

I was so surprised, I jumped. "H-how long have I been sleeping?!"

I noticed a girl with orange hair standing next to me, hands on her hips. "It's almost six! You should've been up about an hour ago!"

I quickly ran out of the bedroom and shot down the stairs into the living room. I found my luggage—a few suitcases—and dragged them over to the front door. The girl seemed content, but she was still scowling. She motioned for me to come forward.

"Mister Wright said we were heading to different locations around the world. We would probably travel through Europe, and Asia, and many other places as well!"

The weather outside was dreary—overcast, pounding rain—and the traffic was terrible. We had temporarily moved to New York, and the traffic, as you would expect, sucked. I unlocked the trunk and jammed our luggage inside and entered the car. The girl sat beside me in the passenger's seat. We had to wait a few minutes for the cars beside us to disappear before we could move.

A few minutes later, I felt something vibrating. I panicked, and the girl beside me reached into my pocket. I would've normally gotten angry, but I was too focused on driving. She stared and started tapping my shoulder.

"It's from Mister Wright!" she shouted, ecstatically. "Come on, Apollo! Answer him!"

"You can do that, Athena," I grumbled. "I need to focus on driving."

She pressed the answer button. "Hello? Mister Wright? You're already at the airport? Oh, you want to talk to Apollo?"

I mouthed "no" to Athena and shook my head, but she wouldn't listen. Instead, she put the phone on speaker, and I had to respond.

"Hey, Apollo," Phoenix said. "How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess," I answered. "We're kind of stuck in traffic on the freeway. I can see the airport from here, but it'll take at least ten minutes. Anyway, how are you?"

"Everything's fine," he said. "Maya and I are taking a flight to England, and my daughter is with me. By the way, she really wants to talk to you." Suddenly, the sound disappeared. I'm guessing he was handing over the phone.

"Hi, Polly!" his daughter shouted. "It's been forever since we talked in person!"

"Hi Trucy," I muttered. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, I guess. Anyway…" She seemed very excited. "How would you like to be my assistant in the next magic show?"

I shuddered. "Er… I don't think that's a good idea, Trucy."

Suddenly, the line of cars started moving again. "Sorry, Trucy, I can't talk! I have to get to the airport!"

"Okay." She hung up, and we turned into the airport. Halfway along the ramp, we were stopped at a tollbooth. A burly man wearing a raincoat started at us. I rolled down the window.

"Please show your identification card, and you will be allowed."

I showed him my attorney's badge, and Athena sighed angrily. She slapped me, which made me feel like I was burning. The worker growled and lifted the STOP sign so we could pass under.

I glared at Athena. "What's your problem, Athena?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Apollo! I just thought that wouldn't work!"

I continued driving through the parking lot until we got to the valet parking.