Chapter 12

The mirror glinted in light that wasn't there. The surface seemed to swirl like water, as if it were constantly changing shape. Though many people would find this beautiful, Percy was reminded of Typhon's face. Percy shook that memory from his mind and moved closer to examine the mirror.

"Wow." Annabeth was crouching at the mirror, tracing her finger over the mirror's edges. "I wonder what it is. It's definitely not a normal mirror."

"Mm," Percy muttered. He was standing in front of the mirror, trying to see what was in the mirror's surface. It kept shimmering and twisting, not focusing on any picture in particular. Percy reached out to touch the surface, and a shock ran through his fingertips. He yelped in surprise, drawing back his hand to cradle his burnt fingers.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah," Percy said. "I guess it's protected by some sort of magic barrier."

"It seems that way." Annabeth's eyes glazed over as they always did when she was thinking. "I wonder…"

Annabeth glided forward, barely listening to Percy's warning. She looked into the mirror's surface and stood still. She stopped trying to make the mirror show her something, and instead let the mirror show her what it wanted to show her. What Annabeth didn't know, was that it was what she wanted to see.

Annabeth saw her and Percy holding hands, walking down a beach. Percy's eyes were so green and lovely; she just wanted to fall into them. The mirror then showed them in New Rome, going to college. The image fast-forwarded to another day. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and a veil, and Percy was wearing a tux. They kissed, and the image disappeared.

Percy had gotten up, and he saw the same images. They looked at each other and smiled. Annabeth looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers. When they kissed, nothing else mattered. Then, a clang echoed through the room. They looked around wildly to see where the noise had come from.

The door slammed open and in came Piper and Jason. Piper jumped when she saw Percy and Annabeth, and Jason's Imperial Gold spear appeared in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked.

"Uh, long story," Percy answered. "This was kind of an accident. But check out this awesome mirror!"

"Yeah, we were just roaming the halls," Jason said. "So, what's up with this mirror?"

The four demigods were about to step to the mirror when the door opened yet again to reveal Frank, Hazel, Will, Nico, and Leo. After the newcomers explained that Nico and Will were showing them around, the seven teenagers peered into the mirror. The mirror surface swirled and glistened. Each demigod saw an image in the mirror; whatever they desired most appeared.

Will and Nico pictured their life together, living happily in Camp Half-Blood. Frank and Hazel imagined being together, but being normal without having to worry about monsters, quests, or prophecies. Leo's image was quite different than the others.

In the mirror a girl's face appeared. It was Percy's sister's face. Leo looked into his friend's green eyes as she began to speak. She spoke an ancient spell that made red smoke tendrils curl around Leo. None of the other demigods noticed though. The red tendrils wrapped around Leo like a cocoon, until his eyes disappeared too. When the tendrils faded away, his eyes were still brown, but if one focused on them long enough, they would turn green. Leo stared into the mirror and saw his new girlfriend's face smiling evilly.

Everyone snapped out of their trances and exchanged what they saw. When Leo shared, he said, "I saw me with my girlfriend, Audrey."

"Audrey?" his friends all asked. "What are you talking about, your girlfriend is Calypso."

"Who?" Leo had a blank stare on his face. "Audrey's been my girlfriend for the past year!"

"Ha ha, very funny. Although, I don't think Calypso would like you saying that." At Leo's confused face, Hazel said, "You seriously don't remember her?"

"We should take him to the hospital wing," Will suggested. "Maybe he hit his head or something."

All the demigods filed out of the room. After Nico closed the door behind him, the mirror seemed to expand. First a foot emerged from the surface, then a hand. Soon, the entire body of Audrey had stepped out of the mirror. She waltzed to the Sorcerer's Stone, her green eyes glistening. She reached her hand out to touch the stone, but it wouldn't let her. As soon as her fingers entered an inch close to the stone, the Sorcerer's Stone glowed fiery red. Audrey's fingers were blistered and burned. She drew her hand back and cradled her fingers.

Outside, Nico tensed. He felt something.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked.

"Something's not right in the shadows."

"What are you talking about?" Frank asked nervously.

"I mean-" Nico's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "No way."

Everyone spun around, suddenly cast in a ghostly glow. The light was coming from a ghost itself. But no, it wasn't Nearly Headless Nick or the Blood Baron.

It was the long lost face of Hazel's dead boyfriend. It was the face of Sammy Valdez.