DEVOTION, percy jackson

Annabeth Will Never Get to Pick the Taxi Again

"Here." Annabeth stopped them on the corner of Thomas and Trimble. She fished around in her backpack for something. She found what she was looking for. The girl pulled a dracma out of her bag.

"Annabeth," Percy said, "New York taxi drivers won't take that." "Thank you Captain obvious." Tallulah said sarcastically. Percy rolled his seagreen eyes.

"Stêthi," she shouted in Ancient Greek. "Ô hárma diabolês!" She threw her coin into the street, but instead of clattering on the asphalt, the drachma sank right through and disappeared.

Tallulah knew it was ancient Greek, but she couldn't understand it.

For some reason she didn't have demigod dyslexia that allowed them to understand greek. Tallulah just got worse ADHD. It helped with her reflexes and she has the habit of speaking before thinking.

Tallulah leaned closer to Percy indicating she wanted to tell him something. The boy noticed and leaned down so she could whisper in his ear. "What did she say?"

Percy whispered back, "She said: Stop, Chariot of Damnation!" His anxiety was floating around them. Tallulah grabbed his hand and said calmly, "Dont worry too much. Beth's plans always work."

Percy slowly relaxed at both her words and her touch. Tallulah wondered how powerful her calming could be.

For a moment nothing happened. The only sound was the sirens speeding down the streets. Then, just where the coin had fallen, the asphalt darkened. It melted into a rectangular pool about the size of a parking space-bubbling red liquid like blood. Then a car erupted from the ooze.

It was a taxi but unlike every other taxi in New York, it wasn't yellow. It was smoky gray. On the side of it in large print was GRAY SISTERS.

"What the fuck!" Tallulah exclaimed. Percy, Tyson and Tallulah all took one large step away from the taxi.

The passenger window rolled down, and an old woman stuck her head out. She had a mop of grizzled hair covering her eyes, and she spoke in a weird mumbling way. "Passage? Passage?"

"Four to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said. She opened the cab's back door and waved at them to get in, like this was all completely normal. "Are we all gonna fit?" Tallulah asked her.

"Ach!" the old woman screeched. "We don't take his kind!" She pointed a bony finger at Tyson. Percy's anger spiked and Tallulah felt a stab in her side as a result. "Extra pay," Annabeth promised. "Three more drachma on arrival." "Done!" the woman screamed.

Tyson climbed in as soon as Percy said it was ok. The boy then followed him, after Percy was Tallulah, and Annabeth climbed in last and shut the door. It was a tight squeeze. Tallulah had to halfway sit on Percy's lap, making them both blush. Annabeth saw and rolled her eyes.

The interior was also smoky gray, but it felt solid enough. The seat was cracked and lumpy-no different than most taxis. There was no Plexiglas screen separating them from the old lady driving. There wasn't one old lady. There were three, all crammed in the front seat, each with stringy hair covering her eyes, bony hands, and a charcoal-colored sackcloth dress.

The one driving said, "Long Island! Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!" She floored the accelerator, and their heads slammed against the backrest.

A prerecorded voice came on over the speaker: 'Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!'

In the place of a seat belt was a black chain. Tallulah mumbled, "hell no" under her breath. Percy, who must have heard, started nodding along.

The cab sped around the corner of West Broadway, and the gray lady sitting in the middle screeched, "Look out! Go left!" "Well, if you'd give me the eye, Tempest, I could see that!" the driver complained.