The Crown of Kronos: Chapter 20

Zarana's POV
After polishing off my sushi dish and gulping the last of my orange juice, I leaned my head against my seat.

I didn't realize I fell asleep.

In my dream, I saw our quest group in the Eiffel Tower. We were fighting two rogue Cyclops and a Laistrygonian, with a pack of hellhounds behind them. Then I noticed a dark figure beside Charlie, and it was following her every move. Then the shape formed into a man wearing a dark hoodie, with the hood hiding his face, black pants and leather shoes. He had black wings folded neatly against his back. He was smiling in a gruesome way.

I remembered Annabeth describing a spirit like that before. Thanatos, personification of death. I watched helplessly as the Laistrygonian swung a giantic club at Charlie, and in slow motion, she fell down, with screams filling my ears, and the sound of Thanatos' laugh.

"HELP!" My eyes flew open, and I saw that Charlie's dad was awake. He was fussing with Charlie and Alex, while Victoria watched, with a frightened look on her face, the sky being filled with the darkest clouds I have ever seen. Alex saw that I was awake.

"Good!" She cried, a hint of panic in her voice. "Zarana, do you know mechanics?" She asked me.

I stared at her as if she'd gone crazy.

"Erm, I was homeschooled." I replied.

Alex groaned. "The auto-pilot's failing!" She hung her head.

"It must have something to do with the dark." Victoria put in, pointing at the window. We were being surrounded by darkness, and Mr. Gray was still looking at the machines, shaking his head and said something brainy. Charlie scowled and said flatly, "No,"

The car began to dive, but rose again. The wings were beating feebly now.

"We have to go manual." Charlie explained, looking at her dad. "Dad, it's like driving a normal car. Just ignore the wings." She adviced.

Mr. Gray nodded uncertainly. He went to the driver's seat, took a deep breath, then held the steering wheel. He pulled down a small lever to turn off the auto-pilot. Charlie put a pair of headphones on her dad's head. She plugged it in a USB port.

"It will tell you the way, Dad." She said. Mr. Gray exhaled again, then began to drive.

Then came a point where it was so dark we couldn't see the way at all.

The others began complaining. "Now what?" Alex sighed.

I brainstormed, and closed my eyes. I commanded lightning bolts to light up the sky.

Everyone cheered, and I blushed. Mr. Gray continued to drive, very slowly now. He was shaking terribly.

"Zarana!" A voice, echoing in my mind, was heard.

"Huh?" I said out loud.

Victoria's eyes flew up. "Is something wrong, Z?" She asked.

"Uh, no." I replied. I closed my eyes again, and tried to send out a message to the one who spoke. "What?"

"Hey, sis." It was a male voice, sounding very sheepish.

"Ugh, James! I'm in the middle of a dangerous mission here!" I chided him in my mind.

"Sorry." James Skye, annoying half-brother he was, spoke. "Just to say Hestia's been poisoned too and -" But I cut him off.

"Hestia? Who told you that?" I asked immediately. This is huge, bad news.

"Poseidon." He answered. "And uh, can you speak to Victoria for me please?"

"Oh, still have a crush on her, huh?" I said slyly. "Can I tell her that? It's the only thing I can think of to say." I added.

"No!" He said in a frantic voice. "Please."

"Fine." I said. James sighed in relief. "Thanks." He said.

Silence. I opened my eyes. Victoria was eyeing me curiously.

"What?" She said. I might have a silly grin on my face.

"Nothing, nothing." I said playfully, grinning even wider.

Then I remembered Thanatos appearing to announce Charlie's death, and my smile vanished.

"Guys." I said grimly now. "Hestia was poisoned too."

They gasped.

"And I had a dream. Someone from our group will die. At least, unless we could block it."

Victoria asked first. "Who?" She furrowed her brows.

"Charlie." I choked out miserably.