The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

Author:Lynne Jonell
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780805088564
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

MIDFLIGHT, Christina realized that she hadn’t thought things through.

The plane still hummed its musical chord, the violet light was magical in the dark, whooshing air, and high above, the moon shone golden—but flying had lost its first ecstatic thrill for Christina, and she was worried.

Who was she going to get help from? The only one she knew who could possibly assist was her father, and if she told him where Taft was now, she’d first have to explain who Taft was. And that meant she’d have to tell her father that she’d gone against his direct orders.

For although she had obeyed Dr. Adnoid, strictly speaking, when he said not to go into the yard—she hadn’t, she’d gone under it—she had known quite well that he wouldn’t have wanted her to do that, either. And he would be even more unhappy to know that she’d hidden an orphan in their attic, almost killed herself falling out of a tree, exploded her mother’s ring, trespassed in a locked cave, and flown a plane full of zoom up to the Starkian Ridge.

Still, what else could she do but tell him? It wasn’t as if she could leave Taft on the ridge at the mercy of the guards and Lenny Loompski, too.

An uncomfortable thought intruded, reminding her that she had once been perfectly willing to leave all the other orphans stranded on the ridge.

Well, that was before she had seen them up close. Now they had faces and names—now they were real to her, and she couldn’t forget that they were in danger.

Christina frowned and aimed the plane at the lighted square that was the orphanage yard. The entrance to the tunnel was somewhere near there. She hoped it wouldn’t be hard to find . . .

But it was impossible. Everything was the same deep, leafy dark, and she had no time to land and search.

Fine, then. Christina swooped the plane up through the trees and away, and straight toward her own house. That was a better thought, anyway. She could land the tiny plane on the roof behind the gargoyles, and no one would be the wiser.

She adjusted the helmet strap, which had loosened in the sudden turn she’d made above the tunnel, and zeroed in on the high gables of her own rooftop, dark but still visible against the moonlit valley below. Flying was beginning to get chilly. If only she had brought a jacket! She was thirsty, too, and so tired she didn’t even want to know how long past her bedtime it was.

But although the roof of her house was dark, as Christina flew closer she could see that people must still be awake, for the windows in the lower levels were bright with lamplight. In fact, the whole first floor was lit up, and this seemed very odd. It was certainly after midnight; why would people still be up?

She soared in as quietly as she could and lowered the plane gently into a flat space behind one of the gargoyles.

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