The Mirror's Prophecy

Nico Hires A Zombie As His Uber

Nico glances at his watch for the twelfth time. Where is Will? They were supposed to meet at the Camp Half-Blood sign at noon. It was now a quarter past. All of a sudden, Nico feels a tap on his shoulder. He spins around, and jumps at the sight of Will not two feet away. "Whoa! Will, don't scare me like that!" Nico scolds.

Will smiles and laughs. "Sorry."

Nico says, "It's fine. Just don't do it again. Anyway, the camp van, along with Argus the camp security guard, is at the bottom of the hill, waiting to deliver us to the Empire State Building. Let's go."

They hobble down Half-Blood Hill, and board the van. As soon as they buckle their seatbelts, Argus hits the gas pedal. "Do you think Aphrodite will even be on Olympus?" Will asks about five minutes after departure.

Nico keeps his eyes in front of him. "No idea. But Olympus is our best bet."

"Why do you think we had to leave so soon for the quest?"

"Well, the item that's missing is obviously important. A mirror wouldn't have given us a prophecy about it if it wasn't," Nico answers.

"What do you think it is?"

"No clue."

"How long do you think it takes to get to the Empire State Building from camp?"

Nico grits his teeth. "I. Don't. Know...Enough. With. The. Questions!" he growls.

A wave of hurt passes over Will. "Sorry. Just trying to hold a conversation."

They sit the next hour out in silence. If they'd been going normal speed, the ride would be an hour and a half...but at the speed Argus is going, the trip is almost exactly an hour. He finally comes to a stop in front of the EST. Nico and Will shoulder their backpacks, and exit the vehicle.

"Thanks, Argus!" Will calls as the multi-eyed security guard speeds away. Will eyes Nico. "You ready?"

"Yup. Let's do this," Nico says.

They stroll into the lobby, and are immediately greeted by thee desk guy. "Hello, boys!"

They take a step back in surprise. "Oh! Hi! Um, our names are Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. We need to get up to Olympus," Will replies respectfully.

The desk guy laughs. "Olympus? Man, you kids have powerful imaginations these days!"

Nico laughs, and walks up to the desk. Still laughing, he pulls out his sword. "Yes, we sure do!" He says. He puts the tip of the sword to the guy's neck. "The one who won't have any imagination is you. When you die. Now give me the key to Olympus or my sword sucks the soul right out of you."

Will gasps. "Nico!" he yelps. "You can't just murder innocent desk guys!"

The guy gulps, and opens a drawer in the desk. He searches the drawer, and fishes out the key. He holds it out to Nico. Nico smiles, and puts away the sword. "Thank you. You get 5 stars out of 10."

Together, Nico and Will march into the elevator. Nico inserts the key into the key hole and turns. The 600 button flashes above the top one. Will pushes it. The elevator begins to fly upwards. Nico just shoves his hands into the back pockets of his black skinny jeans and tries his best to not blow up the elevator speaker system as the old-timey jazz music plays.

The elevator dings, and the doors open. Will and Nico step out, and let their eyes sweep over Olympus. Nico buries his awe. They have a mission to accomplish. Nico looks at Will and jerks his head forward. They saunter down the long walkway, not even stopping to listen to the Muses sing or to smell the beautiful Olympian flowers. They finally reach the throne room. Luckily, they spot Aphrodite checking out her reflection in her magic mirror. They run up to her, but she doesn't notice them. Nico sighs. "Aphrodite?" he shouts.