The Shadow Prince

chapter fifty-three HADEN

“Did you tell them we were coming?” Daphne whispers as we follow the woman through the building. The floor is made out of a hard substance I believe is called linoleum, which tries to stick to my shoes with every step.

“No. I didn’t tell them anything.”

“Here we go,” the woman says, ushering us into what must be some kind of common room. It is a warm room, even though it has several barred windows along the walls. It is filled with plush chairs, small tables, and a large green table in the center, with a small net stretched across the middle. Two men are using paddles to smack a small white ball back and forth across it. An older woman with stringy white hair sits in the corner, glaring at the wall. It sounds like she’s having an argument with it. Others seem to be wandering almost aimlessly about the room. “Sarah will be so pleased you’re here. She’s been talking about you all week.” She points us in the direction of a young woman who appears to be painting … with her fingers … at an easel at the far end of the room.

I take a step back. “That can’t be her.”

My memory jogs to my encounter with the Oracle of Elysium. Her skin was blue and glittery, and her veils swirled about her as if blown by an invisible wind. She emitted the power and majesty of the divine. But this young woman, this supposed Oracle in front of me, looks all too … human. Her skin is pale and peachy, and her hair is unkempt and matted in places. She licks the paint from one of her fingers and then looks up from her artwork as if she can feel my gaze on her.

“Haden!” She smiles and waves with a familiarity that makes it seem as though we are old friends. But I don’t know how she sees me—her eyes are milky and clouded over with blindness. “You came!”

She wipes her hands on her robe and bounds over to us. She clasps my hands before I can pull them away and then grabs Daphne in an embrace. “And you brought her! I knew you would.”

“Is this some big joke?” Lexie asks. “Are you guys pranking me?”

Sarah takes Daphne and me by the hands and pulls us toward a table near her easel. Lexie, Tobin, and Garrick follow tentatively behind. I notice then how quiet the room has become, and glance around. The gray-haired woman who brought us here and all the other patients have disappeared without my noticing. “You have many questions, I know, but we don’t have much time. Come sit. Please.”

I am hesitant to take the seat she offers.

“You are flummoxed by my appearance, Haden. I know. You also wonder what I am doing in this mortal vessel, allowing myself to be kept in an asylum. This is not my true appearance.” She taps her finger against her nose. “I am in hiding. Witness protection, you might say.”

“What did you witness?” Daphne asks.

“Everything,” Sarah says with a coy smile. “I see all the paths. All the possibilities. Not just the ones the gods want me to see.”

“So there is another way?” Daphne asks, leaning closer to this Oracle. “I have other options? I don’t have to be a Boon or a Cypher or whatever?”

“You were never meant to be a Boon.”

Daphne gives me a satisfied look. “You hear that?”

“But you are the Cypher. Your role in this is much greater than you can imagine, Daphne, Daughter of the Music.” Sarah reaches her bony hand across the table and places it over Daphne’s. “Being the Cypher is your destiny, no matter what path you take.”

“Ha,” Lexie says. “Your destiny is to be a zero. That’s hilarious.”

That satisfied expression slips right off Daphne’s face.

“I do not mean cipher as in the absence of value. Quite the contrary. You are the Cypher. You are the key to all of this.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused. “Do you mean that Daphne is the Key of Hades?”

“No. Daphne is the Cypher. She is the key to finding the Key.”

I nod, realizing that Dax’s theory had been correct all along. “But how? And why her?”

The Oracle cocks her head and seems to stare at me with her unseeing eyes. She plays with the mats in her hair. “Oh, I see now. My sister from Elysium told you very little of your and Daphne’s destinies.”

“Excuse me,” Daphne says, pushing up from her chair. “Can you please stop talking about me in the third person? I am right here. And I don’t like being referred to as an object. I am not a key or a Cypher. I am just a normal human girl.”

“No, you’re not. And you never were,” Tobin says from behind her—but his voice echoes out of him and I know it’s Sarah, the Oracle, speaking through him. Her milky eyes have rolled up into the back of her head. Lexie gives a little shriek and backs away from Tobin. “You have many names, Daphne Raines. You are the Cypher. The Anoichtiri. The Daughter of the Music. The Descendant of the Great Musician. The Vessel of His Voice. You are the Keeper of Orpheus’s Heart and Soul.”

“Whoa, what?” Daphne asks.

“She’s a descendant of the Traitor?” I ask. “How can that even be possible?”

“Orpheus brought back more than the Key from the Underrealm. When Eurydice died, a casualty in the Thousand-Year War between the Underrealm and the Skyrealm, not only did Orpheus lose his new bride, but he also lost the child she carried in her womb. Distraught with grief, he prayed to his father, Apollo, for help in getting them back. Apollo had also heard the prayers of many mortals, whose homes and lives had been destroyed in the cross fire of the war, and he was determined to put a stop to it. In exchange for instructions on how to traverse the dangers of the Underrealm and bring back his wife, Orpheus agreed to steal the Key from Hades. It was intended to be a bargaining chip for Apollo to use to negotiate a cease-fire between the gods.

“While Orpheus failed to save Eurydice, he carried with him the child and the Key, the Kronolithe of the original Lord Hades.”

“You guys,” Lexie says, hugging her purse to her chest. “I don’t know how you orchestrated all this, but the joke isn’t funny anymore. Can we go?”

“No,” the Oracle says through Tobin. “Our time is growing very short, and you all must listen and be quiet. Many have anticipated the arrival of the Cypher for thousands of years. Nearly eighteen years ago, it was predicted that she would finally arrive in the form of Demi Raines’s daughter. They tried to get you then, but they failed. The time was not right. The Champion was not right. You have remained protected in the Fields of Ellis, a safe haven for the servants of Apollo. But now that you have left, now that you have come to me, the wheels have been set into motion. The others will know soon whatever I tell you. The Oracles are connected that way. Whatever I say out loud will be known by all.”

“Then why aren’t you showing me?” I take her hand and press it against my forehead. I realize now that this is why the other Oracle showed me the instructions for my quest, rather than spoke it out loud.

“I cannot,” she says, drawing her hand away and speaking for herself once more and not through Tobin’s voice. She sounds exhausted, like that trick had drained her of most of her energy. “I do not retain all of my abilities in this human vessel.”

“Then tell us the rest,” Daphne says. “I need to know where I come from before I can decide where I’m going.”

“Are you sure?” I ask her. “If we set this into motion, there will be no turning back.”

Daphne nods.

“The irony of all of this is not lost on me,” Sarah says. “You came here, Daphne, to try to escape your fate, but coming here was always meant to be one of your first steps on your path to your destiny.

“When Orpheus stole the Kronolithe, it locked the Underlords in the Underrealm, rendering Hades mostly powerless, stripping him of his immortality. Hades sent Keres through Persephone’s Gate to go after Orpheus to retrieve the Key and destroy him for his betrayal. Knowing he could not hold such a prize for long while being pursued, Orpheus hid the Kronolithe where it could not be retrieved. He placed on it a lock that only his heart and soul can unbind. The Keres soon caught up with him and tore him apart, leaving his child for dead. But Apollo found the child, and took him to the Amazons to be raised by one of their own. The child grew, married one of the Amazonian daughters, and had a child of his own. The Amazons were eventually slaughtered by the Sky God for refusing to hand him over, and the family fled to a new safe haven—where their posterity has remained protected, and oblivious to their heritage, until you chose to leave. You must see this, Daphne: you are the last descendant of that child. But not just any descendant. You are the one who has inherited the heart and soul of Orpheus. The one who can retrieve the Kronolithe. But before you can retrieve it, you must find it.”

Sarah pulls a golden chain from around her neck. Dangling from the end of it is a large golden pendant with a circle of symbols in the middle. One of them is the raised outline of Lyra—Orpheus’s lyre. “You will need this. It is the Compass, and it holds the Instrument of Orpheus. They say the Instrument was cast into the stars, but that is not so. It has been with me all this time—I have fashioned it into a compass of sorts—but I have merely been waiting for you. Waiting to hand you your destiny.”

Sarah tries to press the pendant into Daphne’s hand, but Daphne pulls away. She jumps up out of her chair. “I don’t want that.”

“You must take it.” Sarah stands, meeting her. “There isn’t much time, Daughter of the Music. You must take your destiny.”

“You can’t just try to hand me my destiny. I don’t want it. I don’t want any of this. You said there were other options. Other paths that you can see.”

“There are many paths. And we choose our paths with the decisions we make. But escaping your destiny is not as easy as it seems. The moment you chose to leave the haven of Ellis, your and Haden’s destinies became irrevocably intertwined.”

Sarah turns to face me. The temperature of the room drops drastically, and I’m forced to suppress a shiver. A pulse of energy fills the air, and her words echo inside my mind. You have two paths before you now, young Haden. Both paths are fraught with peril. Both will bring you pain. However, one will lead to the honor you have craved since you were a child, while the other will lead to the end of Lord Haden, prince of the Underrealm.

Two paths? Two destinies? How can that be? “Which path is which?”

You decide that by the choices you make. The first choice will be upon you soon.

“What does that even mean?”

Sarah stiffens, bolt upright. Her eyelids open and close rapidly over her blind eyes. “My time is up. You must take this, Daphne, so I can fulfill my purpose.” The Oracle presses the Compass into Daphne’s hand. Daphne seems too stunned to protest this time. Sarah whirls toward the doorway of the common room. “They’re here,” she whispers. “Sooner than I thought.”

“Who’s here?” Tobin asks, regaining his own voice. “I need to ask you about …” He stops speaking as the door to the common room edges open.

“My time is up,” Sarah whispers over and over again, while rocking on her heels. “My time is up.”

The door opens wider. All of us stare at the opening, anticipating who … or what … might enter that has the Oracle in such a state. The door creaks open another inch.…

And in prances a tiny, gray feline barely bigger than my two fists combined.

“Brimstone?”

She meows a greeting—or more likely a scolding—and bounds right at me. I stoop down to greet her, and she jumps onto my shoulder, sinking her tiny claws into my skin to anchor herself.

“What are you doing here? How …?”

I look back at the doorway. If Brim has found me, then Dax probably isn’t too far behind.…

“I’m sorry, Haden,” Dax says, filling the doorway. His voice is thick with warning.

And Dax would come here only if something was very wrong.…

He lurches forward into the room, and Simon follows right behind him, holding Joe Vince by the elbow. Both Dax and Joe hold their hands stiffly at their sides, as if they are unable to raise them.

“Joe?” Daphne says. “What are you doing here? And with Mr. Fitzgerald?”

Joe shakes his head, his mouth clamped shut, as if he’s unable to speak.

“Simon,” I say. “You brought him here?” I ask Dax.

“I’m sorry, Haden. I had no choice. He forced me to tell him that I sent you to Vegas, and then he used Brim to track you. He knew she was here this whole time.”

“Now, isn’t this just the super-duperest of reunions?” Simon says in the jolliest of voices. “I wish I had my camera to capture the moment, because this must be my lucky day.” He smiles, his white teeth gleaming. “I came looking for a runaway prince, and in addition, I find the Cypher … and the Compass!”

“You heard all that?” I ask.

“I have good ears,” Simon says. “But the Oracle only confirmed what I’d already suspected of Daphne. Management was treating this particular quest in a peculiar way.” His smile widens, reminding me of a nursling who has just been offered a fistful of sweets. “Now, Haden, hand over the girl and the Compass, and I might let at least one of you survive.”

“No,” I say, resisting the urge to do what Simon wants. I can feel his words nudging at my subconscious. “You’re going to have to be more persuasive than that if you think I’m going to let you walk out of here with her.”

Simon shrugs and turns a toothy grin on Tobin. “How about you, then, young man? Bring Daphne to me. Pretty please? And Garrick, why don’t you help?”

Dazed expressions cross Tobin’s and Garrick’s faces. Before I can stop him, Tobin grabs Daphne by the right arm, and Garrick takes her by the left from behind. Holding her by her elbows and shoulders, they propel her toward Simon.

“Tobin, what are you doing?” Daphne says, struggling to get out of their grasp.

Energy swirls inside my chest, and I channel it into my hand. Electricity crackles between my fingers. “Let her go!” I demand, threatening Tobin with the bolt of lightning.

“I … I can’t help it,” Tobin says through gritted teeth as he and Garrick push Daphne closer to Simon.

“Don’t hurt him!” Daphne shouts at me. “Tobin, Garrick, let go of me!”

“They’re being controlled,” Dax says to Daphne.

“Very astute,” Simon says. “All it takes is a please most times. You know what they say: you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

“Why would I want to catch flies?” I ask.

Simon raises his eyebrows. “Seriously? That’s the part of all this you question?”

I change my focus from Tobin to Simon, hefting a pulsing sphere of lightning in my hand.

“Tell them to let her go or you’re the one I’m going to blast.”

“How can you hit me without frying Dax?” Simon says, moving so Dax, still frozen, is in front of him—using my only friend as a shield.

I extinguish the bolt, but stay in a ready stance.

“Now, boys, that’s close enough,” he says to Garrick and Tobin. “But make sure she can’t get away.”

They stop moving, but they keep their hands clamped on Daphne’s shoulders. She struggles and stomps hard on Garrick’s foot, but he doesn’t let her go.

“What’s the point of this, Simon? You can’t take her to my father without her consent, remember? You can’t just compel her to go through the gate.”

“Why on earth would I take her to King Ren when she’s worth so much more to the Skylords? I imagine access to the Kronolithe of Hades would be very appealing to them. And once the Underlords are finally exterminated, I’ll be free to do as I please, instead of having to constantly babysit snot-nosed children with delusions of grandeur.”

“You’re going to sell her?” I ask. “I thought you were King Ren’s emissary.”

“More like his slave. I made a deal with the Court years ago. I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be the best salesman this world has ever seen. I got my wish. Hell, I’ve literally sold the Brooklyn Bridge to three different billionaires in the last decade alone. I made a star out of Joe Vince when nobody would give that poor sap the time of day. But I’ve been bound to the Court ever since. They own me. But if they’re all dead …”

He moves ever so slightly away from Dax. I take advantage of his mistake and rush at him, a bolt of lightning building inside my chest. I raise my arm to fling it at him, but he swings around, looking me in the eye, and commands, “Be still!”

My body goes stiff, my arm still raised. I am frozen like a petrified tree. I cringe, fighting to break loose from Simon’s mental hold.

“You think I like being at the beck and call of you little dung eaters? I’m a broker. A dealer. And you’ve got one of the finest artifacts I’ve ever encountered. This girl is my ticket to the life I should have had when I made that deal with the Court. In fact, my buyer is on his way here now.

“Daphne, be a dear and give me the Compass,” Simon says, turning his full power of persuasion on her.

She starts to lift the Compass in her hand, but I can see her struggling against Simon’s will. To my surprise, she clutches the Compass to her chest instead of handing it to him. “No,” she says. “And I’ll never go anywhere with you.”

“Well, isn’t that a neat trick,” Simon says. “Our little Cypher seems to be impervious to my charms. Must be because you’ve got a few drops of god blood running through your veins. Never mind. That’s why I brought a little leverage. Joe?” He snaps his fingers. “You can move now.”

Joe lurches forward, as if falling out of a trance. He makes a move to grab Daphne out of the boys’ grasp, but Simon commands him to stop. He freezes once more.

“Now, I could just get one of these boys to tear that Compass out of your hands and give it to me. But I think a little game of Simon-says might be more fun. You know the rules, don’t you, boys and girls? You do as Simon says”—he reaches behind him and pulls a dark, glossy weapon from his belt—“or you’re out.”

“Gun!” Lexie shrieks. She tries to flee to the corner of the room, where Sarah stands motionless, staring at her easel. It’s as if the Oracle isn’t even conscious that we are still here.

“Not so fast,” Simon says, stopping Lexie. “I think we have our first player. What’s your name, dear?”

“What?” she says, sounding even smaller than she looks.

“Your name!”

“L-Lexie.”

“Simon says, come here, Lexie.” He beckons her with the gun. “It’s okay. I only bite if you don’t listen to me.” Unlike Daphne, Lexie is unable to resists his persuasive orders and goes to him. “Simon says, hold out your hands. That’s good. Now take this.” He places the gun into her shaking hands, wraps them around the handle, and gently places her finger on the trigger, positioning her arms so she’s pointing it at Joe.