Island of Graves by Lisa McMann

the hill. With the palace gate in sight, she sat up higher in the seat and leaned forward over the steering wheel. Why wasn’t the gate opening?
    The vehicle’s velocity continued to increase. Lani’s father had said the Quillitary vehicles moved painfully slowly, but that didn’t seem to be the case today. If somebody didn’t open up the gate soon . . . Lani pulled her foot completely off the gas pedal and wildly began to feel around for the other pedal, which was the brake. She got her shoe stuck between the two pedals for a moment, still unused to her large Sully feet. She panicked and looked down, trying to free it. Giving it a hard yank, she pulled it loose and looked up at the road. The gate loomed in front of her, still closed.
    Suddenly two guards jumped up from their sleeping positions on the ground and scrambled to open the gate, but itwas too late. They could only leap out of the way as the jalopy crashed into the iron structure, sending rusty metal pieces flying through the air.
    Lani gasped, knowing the high priest could kill her at any moment. But she also knew that Gondoleery probably wouldn’t do that as long she was driving the vehicle, because then they’d crash. Banking on that tiny bit of comfort, Lani forced herself to breathe and kept going.
    â€œWell!” exclaimed Gondoleery as the gates clattered to the sides of the road behind them. “That was unusual.”
    Lani cringed, waiting for punishment, but she was also intent on keeping the vehicle on the road, which was much harder to do than she had expected. It kept trying to turn to one side, so Lani was constantly tugging the steering wheel toward the other, causing them to bounce and sway.
    â€œYou know, driver, I always hated that gate,” Gondoleery added dryly.
    â€œYes, your greatness,” mumbled Lani. Her foot finally landed solidly on the brake pedal, but every time she pushed on it, they lunged forward uncomfortably, so after a while she just rode down the hill trying not to swerve too wildly.
    â€œI say, driver,”Gondoleery said, rising up and leaning forward. “Is something wrong with this vehicle?”
    â€œOh, most likely, I’m sure,” Lani replied. “Dozens of things.” She began improvising the way Mr. Appleblossom had taught them in theater class. “The treads are broken,” she said, “the joist is, ah, completely melted through, the grids are nowhere to be found, and . . . we’re out of chicken grease.” She caught Gondoleery’s frown in her rearview mirror.
    â€œI thought Aaron came up with a new substance to replace the chicken grease,” Gondoleery said suspiciously.
    â€œRight,” Lani said quickly. “This vehicle hasn’t gotten any yet, though.”
    â€œIt’s going awfully fast for a vehicle that is out of oil,” Gondoleery muttered. She flounced back in her seat.
    As they reached the bottom of the hill and the road flattened out, the jalopy began to slow down. Lani, who’d barely gotten used to handling the steering wheel alone, without using her feet on the pedals at the same time, now began to panic. Worried that Gondoleery might attack her if she stopped, she pressed down hard on the gas pedal. The vehicle lurched forward, the tires spinning and spraying loose gravel behindthem. Lani and Gondoleery were flung back in their seats, and the car began swerving and sliding.
    â€œSorry!” Lani exclaimed in a voice too high pitched to be Sully’s. Stay in character! she commanded herself. You are Sully! She lifted her foot off the pedal and gripped the wheel, trying to straighten the vehicle’s path. This was so much more difficult than she had anticipated. And if she lost her concentration as Sully, she’d also lose her disguise, which would foil everything. She had to stay calm—had to!—and get this trip under control.
    Once the ride smoothed out, Lani began