Heroes with Wands

Chapter 41

Annabeth

My heart stopped.

Staring back at me was myself. Older. Smile crinkles around my eyes. A bigger smile. Brighter eyes. Taller. Happier.

I didn't have that look in my eyes I'd grown to know so well ever since Percy disappeared. The look I'd wished away so many times, though It wouldn't leave me alone.

Its name was Fear.

It was the fear of never seeing Percy again. The fear of the gods fading. The fear of everyone I loved and myself, even, dying. Everybody has fears. It's unnatural not to.

But eventually, you must overcome your fears. You can't get rid of fear-the scar it leaves in your heart will always be there. But you can defeat it. Fear can cut you like a knife-but the cut will turn into a scar. Your heart can be broken, but that's only proof that it can be fixed.

Percy had his arm around me. He was older, too, but he still had his same eyes and hair. We were sitting on a blanket and seemed to be having a picnic.

The world around us was peaceful and happy. No monsters attacked. Nothing.

Then I saw a woman with bright gray eyes and long dark brown hair. She was smiling and laughing. My mother. And beside her, wearing his usual goggles and aviator helmet, was my father. They were together.

Luke, Silena, and Charlie approached us. All older. Alive, happy. They sat next to Percy and I and dived into the picnic. The rest of the seven, plus Thalia and Nico, ran over and tackled us in hugs. Hedge, Mellie, and a teenaged wind spirit played nearby. My parents, my dead friends, my living friends, my boyfriend.

And to top it all off, two little girls and little boy ran over and plopped down with us. One of the girls seemed to be about seven, with long black hair in two French braids and wide gray eyes. She was pushing a baby carriage with the little boy in it.

The other girl was probably five and missing a front tooth and two lower ones. She had long blonde curls and sea green eyes. She took the little boy, a little baby, from the carriage and handed him to me.

He had a tuft of dark hair sticking up and hazel eyes. I held him like he meant everything to me.

This was what I wanted. This was everything I could ever ask for. My friends, a family. Percy. Kids. My parents. Everything I could ever want in life.

I didn't realize the tears down my cheeks until they splashed against the floor. I hastily wiped them away. My heart ached.

When I turned around, I just saw the plain old room. Nothing special. I swallowed a lump in my throat.

I heard a voice-Gaia's voice-in my mind as I stared at the people in the mirror. Don't you wish you had this? she said. A life with your family and friends. I can give this to you.

The more she talked, the more gullible I became. I closed my eyes and listened to her.

If you join me, no harm will come to you or any of your friends.You can have this life. The mirror shows you what you want most in the world. Join me, and anything you want willl be yours.

"What I want most...." I whispered, her trance dulling my senses.

I can give it to you, Annabeth. Join me. We can keep the Romans and the Greeks separate, just as you want. That is what you want, isn't it? Life the way it was before Hera ruined it? Join me, Annabeth Chase. I will give you a life where you don't have to worry about Percy being taken away. You can have Luke back. Together, we can end the gods' reign of suffering and great a better world once they are destroyed.