Daughter Of The Moon

Chapter 22

Luna

"When you said you ordered a taxi..." I give Chiron a look of incredulity, "I didn't think you meant..."

He raises one bushy eyebrow in amusement. "The Three Sisters taxi company is the fastest you'll find in this world and above it."

As soon as the rotted old vehicle had come to a halt at the gates of Camp Half-Blood, I'd been hiding behind Chiron. I'd taken one look at the grotesque eyeless faces of the drivers and had the queerest feeling of not knowing whether to throw up or scream. Fortunately I hadn't done either, but that was the first time I'd opened my mouth in a full two minutes to make sure of that.

"Don't worry, Luna. I've been in this taxi before, and it was absolutely fine." Says Zack encouragingly, smiling at me and taking my hand to lead me gradually away from my hiding place behind Chiron. His natural healing touch immediately calms me down, and the relief of it makes me want to hug him. I told myself I wouldn't show any nerves, and at the moment, this seems like the best solution.

"You know, as much fun watching you two stare lovingly into each other's eyes is, I want to get going." Kai rolls down one of the taxi's grimy back windows and squints at us. "Are you coming or what?"

"Yes. Of course." I say cheerily, squeezing Zack's hand all the tighter as we get into the car. "Thank you Chiron." I say earnestly as soon as we're safely inside.

"Good bye and good luck." Is Chiron's last word before Zack slams the door shut.

We are left alone in total darkness. There is no sound other than some kind of scuffling in the front seats, but there's a pane of glass dividing us from them, and I can't understand any of the conversation.

"What's going on?" I'm in the middle seat between Kai and Zack, but at the moment I can't see either of them, so I just address the question generally.

"Don't be so paranoid, Jacy, it's fine." Is the answer I get from somewhere on my left, and though I can't see it, I'm picturing the eye-rolling that probably went with what Kai just said.

"Of course. Don't worry." Zack squeezes my hand and I get another rush of calmness and relief.

"Yeah, you're right." I sigh and lean my head back against the seat. "I guess I'm just a little worried because I've never been in a car, and this one doesn't seem to have started ye- AAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Half-way through the word 'yet', the car lurched forward and started zooming down the forest path. Even Zack's powers couldn't hold in my screem of surprise and terror, and I only stop yelling when someone puts a hand over my mouth.

But this hand doesn't belong to either of the boys. This hand feels scaly and dirty and reeks of rot, especially since it's held right under my nose. "Hush, little godling," Croons a creaky voice, "you don't want to distract the drivers."

"Get your hands off her." I hear Kai snarl, and then suddenly the car starts rocking and lurching from side to side. I hear scuffling and grunts and yells and shrieks, all while it feels like the car has started doing the tango with death, spinning and turning and speeding to the point the G-force flattens my cheeks and makes my head slam back against the headrest. I feel Zack let go of my hand, and the sudden rush of fearful emotion is such a shock that I start panicking, failing and kicking out whenever anything seems to come close to me. And then suddenly-

Bonk!

Two small objects bounce off my head, and I catch them quickly. I can't see them, but one feels roughly the size and shape of a rubber bouncy ball, and the other like a small, smooth pebble with a jagged end. I only notice that all of the movement and noise in the car has stopped when a single voice whispers.