The Mirror's Prophecy

A Stranger Aids Two Demigods

It's not until Alberta, Virginia, at about 8:30pm, that the limo runs out of gas. "Pull over!" Nico shouts. Jules-Albert pulls into a parking lot on the side of Highway I-85 South. The car comes to a full stop just as he parks. Everyone gets out of the car, and Nico sighs. "Great. We're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and we have no way of leaving. What do we do now?"

Jules-Albert grunts. Nico rolls his eyes. "We can't hijack another car. We're on a huge highway, and there'll be lots of witnesses."

"Wait...you can speak Zombie?" Will inquires, looking quite shocked.

Nico laughs. "Duh. What child of Hades can't speak Zombie? Use your head."

Will rubs his arm, quite obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "Yeah, haha. I wasn't thinking. Sorry."

Nico swats his arm playfully. "Stop apologizing for everything!"

Will laughs shyly. "Sorry."

"What did I just say?"

Will smiles. "You said to stop apologizing for everything."

"And what did you do?"

"I apologized for apologizing."

"That's right! You know what you are? You're an Apollo-gizer, that's what!" Nico declares.

Will steps back. "Did you...did you just make a pun? Out of my father's name?"

Nico fails at trying not to burst into laughter. "Yeah, I did."

Will face-palms himself. "That was literally the worst pun in the history of the universe."

Nico snorts. "Admit it, you loved that pun."

"I will not."

"Fine, then. Be that way. I'm totally not offended right now."

Will puts a hand on Nico's shoulder. "Are you?"

Nico starts to giggle again. "Nope!" He takes Will's hand off of his shoulder. "Wanna actually start looking for another uber now?"

Will shakes his head, amused. "Yeah. But we can't hitchhike. That's illegal."

"So is breaking and stealing a car, but we got away with that, didn't we?" Nico replies, shrugging.

"We are not doing that again," Will clarifies.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I just want a ride, though, that's all I'm asking for!" Nico cries. "Is it too hard to find a single ride?"

"No," a new voice says, "because you've just found one!"

Nico and Will spin around to find a girl standing in front a jet-black Toyota Highlander. The girl has waist-length brown-blonde hair, is about five'three, has ocean-blue eyes, and glasses. She's sporting a mint green tanktop and jorts that go down to the middle of her thighs. She looks about in her early twenties, most likely a college student on summer vacation. She grins. "My name's Morgan, and not only will I give you a ride, I'll give you shelter!"

Nico and Will exchange glances. "There's only one problem...We don't know you," Will exclaims.

"Let me guess...you think I'm some sort of Greek deity that's out to kill you?" Morgan inquires. When neither one of the boys answer, the answer to her question is clear. "Guys. I'm far from a monster. I'm...well, I'm a demigod."

"You? A demigod? How aren't you dead?" Nico asks.

Morgan chortles. "I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. I don't give off much of a smell."