Percy Jackson and the Mirror of Erised

47) Keys and Pearls

"Can you hear something?" Whispered Ron.

I listened. I could hear slight rustling and clinking from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" I asked.

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead — I can see something moving."

We reached the end of the passageway and stepped into a brilliant chamber. It's ceiling was arched high above us. I quickly realized that the winged, jewel bright creatures flying high above were keys with glittering wings. There was a heavy door on the other side of the room.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron said.

"Probably," Harry said. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."

Harry covered his head with his arms and ran. At first, I expected the keys to swoop down and attack. But they didn't.

"They're keys," I whispered, looking up at them.

Ron and Hermione looked at me and looked back up. "Whoa..." Ron mumbled.

We walked over to Harry and Hermione said, "They're not birds, they're keys. The door's locked, isn't it?"

Harry nodded and looked around, "yes — look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!"

Ron examined the lock on the door, "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one — probably silver, like the handle."

We each seized a broomstick, Ron and Hermione glancing at me worriedly for a moment. I found myself praying to Zeus and Hecate for me to be able to stay up. It seemed to be all right.

We swooped through the sky, struggling to find the correct key. We couldn't even catch the regular ones.

"That one!" Harry called to us. "That big one — there — no, there — with bright blue wings — the feathers are all crumbled on one side."

Ron went speeding that way and crashed into the ceiling.

"We've got yo close in on it!" Harry called. "Ron, you come at it from above — Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down — Percy, you're backup in case it gets away — and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW."

Ron dived, Hermione shot upward, and Harry streaked after the key. I was close behind him. The key sped towards the wall. Harry leaned forwards and pinned it against the wall with one hand. We all cheered.

We quickly landed, rushing to get the key to the lock. Harry rammed the key into the lock and turned it, successfully unlocking the door.

"Ready?" Harry asked, looking back at us. We all nodded and he pushed open the door.

We stepped out onto a small platform, staring out into the room. Rough, dark waters filled the room, and I could see scaly beasts beneath the surface. The door rested in the center of the wall on the other side of the room, too high for us to touch if we swam across.

Everyone looked a little confused.

"How do we get to the door?" Harry asked.

I knelt and placed my hand into the water. It was cold. And there were beasts down there that wanted us dead. But water was my element.

I pulled off my shoes and sweater, sitting them on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, putting a hand on my shoulder as I prepared to jump in.