Apologies for the delay in the update. I was out of town from Sunday until today and did not have access to a computer. Anyhow, here it is. This one is a bit slow-moving as well, but things will begin to pick up again. Enjoy, read, and review!

Chapter 12: In Which We Steal a Car

It took us about another half an hour to hammer out a plan. We didn't have enough time or supplies to sustain a journey to Columbus on foot, but neither did we have any money for a bus or train ticket. Croesus suggested we walk back to Varro's house and ask him for help, but Lydia and I shot that down saying that it would take us more than the rest of the day to get back there, and that heading back towards Fort Hadrian probably wasn't a good idea. Finally, Lydia suggested that we head for the nearest town and 'borrow' a car from someone. With no other options, that was what we decided to do.

Which was why, two hours later, I was kneeling in the mud next to a lonely country road, impatiently waiting for a car to appear. The Roman kid was next to me, sitting on the ground and muttering to himself. Lydia and Croesus were out of my sight, lying low to the ground across the road. The plan went something like this:

I was to wait for a car capable of seating at least 4 people to drive along the road. Upon seeing the car, I was to stand up and hit the passenger-side front window with a rock large enough to get the drivers attention. Hopefully, that would incense the driver to the degree that he or she stopped and got out of his or her car to go lecture me or something. When they did that, Croesus and Lydia would sneak up from the other side, get into the car, and drive away. I pointed out that this would leave me and the kid with an angry man or woman who just had their car stolen. Croesus shrugged and told me to run as soon as the person got out of the car. The plan was to rendezvous in Albion, a town about three miles from where we planned to stage the heist.

"There are more holes in this damn plan than in a slice of Swiss cheese." I muttered as I squatted in the mud. The Roman kid laughed and clapped his hands together a few times. Despite myself, I cracked half a smile. "I never got your name, man." I said quietly to him as the sound of a motor reached me. I prepared to launch a good-sized rock, but then relaxed as a motorcycle came into view.

The kid shivered slightly and opened his mouth "C-Camillus. L-Lucius Camillus."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you Lucius."

Just then another motor sound reached me. This time it was more than a four-seater, one of those Fords or something that have four wheel drive and got less than 15 miles to the gallon. It would do. I pulled back my arm and let loose, flinging a rock across the road and smacking the side of the car with a solid clang. I missed the window, which was probably a good thing because as it is the rock left a medium-sized dent in the metal. The car screeched to a halt and a short, squat man with stringy brown hair got out. He made straight for me, a furious scowl on his face. I turned my back to him and was about to start running when I changed my mind.

"Screw this," I muttered, "I'm not walking to goddamn Albion. Stay here, Cam."

Camillus, who had been about to turn and run, stopped and short and looked questioningly at me. I opened my mouth to answer, but it was too late, the car's owner was there.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled. "Throwing rocks at my car! What the fuck is your problem?"
I smiled sheepishly and tightened my grip on my sword. When I didn't make an answer the man leaned forward as if to grab me. Lightning-fast, I unsheathed my sword and swung, smacking him in the side of the head with the flat of the blade, just hard enough to knock him out cold. The guy crumpled to his knees.

I bent down and with Camillus's help, pulled him over to the side of the road, and out of the way of passing cars. Then I walked over to his car, where Lydia and Croesus were both staring at me, Lydia white-faced, and Croesus with his face blank.

"Gods." Lydia said softly. "Sander, what on earth did you just do?"

I shrugged. "It seemed kind of stupid that Cam and I would have to walk to Albion to meet up with you two, when we could have just temporarily incapacitated the guy, like I did, and been on our merry way." I said calmly. "I don't see what the problem is, he'll be fine. Might wake up with a slight headache, but no harm done."

Croesus just looked at me, but Lydia wasn't through yet. "No, Sander, plenty of harm done. When he wakes up, he'll remember your face, and the kid's, and report you two to the police for assault or something." She said, shock being replaced with fury.
I waved her protests away. "He would have seen my face if I had run anyway, and reported me as a car thief. The way I see it, it doesn't really make much difference."

Lydia opened her mouth to go on, but Croesus cut her off.

"He might be right." he said quietly, his face still blank and his eyes studying me. "Nonetheless, Sander, you do not harm mortals unless there is no other option, which was not the case in this instance. You could have run, and lost him before meeting us in Albion. However, you already knocked the guy out, so all we're doing right now is wasting time. I want to reach Columbus by tomorrow morning, so we need to leave."

Lydia glared at first me, and then Croesus, before turning and storming around the car and sliding into the driver's seat. I raised an eyebrow at my friend.

"How long do you think she'll stay angry with me?"

Croesus cracked a smile, but his eyes remained studiously focused on me. "Not to long." he said, chuckling. "Less, if you save her from some other bloodthirsty daemon."

I laughed at that. "If we're lucky," I said, "we won't meet any more."

Croesus shook his head. "Oh we will." he said with certainty. "There's bound to be more at the Grave, if the daemons were really the ones who took Erik, and he wasn't just killed with the rest."

"Not dead, not dead." Camillus muttered, and I jumped, having forgotten he was there. "No head, not dead." he chuckled. "They came and took him all right. No head, not dead."

Croesus spread his hands in acceptance. "Very well, my friend...Camillus?" The last part was aimed at me, and I nodded. "Then very well, Camillus." Croesus went on. "I'll take your word for it."

"Croesus." I said, stopping him as he made to get into the car, "What does the involvement of the daemons mean for the camps?"

His face darkened. "I'm not sure." he said grimly. "But whatever it is, its nothing good for either camp, or for the Olympians."
I opened my mouth to ask more, but was cut off.

"I thought we were on a tight schedule here!" Lydia yelled angrily from inside the car. Croesus laughed and with Camillus got into the back, leaving the front passenger seat for me.

Hope you liked it! Please review. Even a few words are more than welcome. Let me know what you think!