Charlotte pondered it all for a while, and Zee appeared to be pondering too in an equally unsurprised kind of way, and Mr. Metos watched them both ponder, perhaps surprised at their unsurprisedness -until Charlotte thought of something that did, indeed, surprise her.
"Hey," she said. "How do you know all this?"
Mr. Metos cleared his throat. "Well… there are those in the Underworld whose only loyalty is to money."
"Oh." Charlotte was wise in the ways of the world, and she got his meaning, though she couldn't help thinking that maybe Mr. Metos should spend a little less of his money bribing people and a little more on furniture. Still, it wasn't what she meant. "No, I mean… why do you know all this?"
"Ah. Well… I suppose you have a right to know. But this must be kept between us. Do you swear to me that you will keep this information to yourselves?"
They both nodded.
Mr. Metos stood up pedagogically straight and took a deep, loud breath through his nasal passages. "I am a descendant of Prometheus," he proclaimed. He eyed Charlotte and Zee. "We are sworn to protect humans against the whims of their creators. It is quite a task."
Now Charlotte was surprised. "You're a god?"
Mr. Metos cringed. "A Titan, Charlotte. Not a god. I have Titan blood, yes. A little, though I am mortal. More important, I have the charge of Prometheus. The gods created man but do not help him. They're like parents who abandon their children. Humanity is nothing but a plaything to them, and now, Philonecron is treating people like lab rats. The whole history of man is just like this, the gods…"
But Charlotte had stopped paying attention. She'd been watching Zee, who had been quite quiet during this whole affair-even more so than usual. He didn't seem to be listening either-he was deep in thought and, once again, happy to let Charlotte do all the talking. Really, he was always deep in thought. He had been since she had met him. There were moments of irrational exuberance at school, but the rest of the time Zee was completely absent from the world around him. He stood in corners of rooms and hid in the shadows as if he weren't there at all. But where was he?
"Zee," she hissed. "Did you know this?"
He looked blank. "Sorry?"
"About Mr. Metos?"
Zee shook his head.
"But"- Charlotte scooted closer to him on the couch-"you knew his name. When I first mentioned him. And you were talking to him for so long after class that first day."
"Just about school things," Zee said, eyes wide.
Mr. Metos cleared his throat loudly. "If I might interrupt." He looked pointedly at Charlotte. "I took the opportunity on Zachary's first day to ask him some questions. It helped me unravel a few mysteries. I knew the Footmen had gone from England to here, but I did not know why. Zachary, I believe your grandmother's death was the moment when this all started. I believe they were present at her death and took notice of you. Then they began to follow you… tell me, after your grandmother's death did you ever feel strange? Weak?"
"Yes…" Zee was looking slightly dazed.
"They took your blood," said Mr. Metos. "They were using it to locate you and follow you."
"Oh…"
"But," Charlotte said, "why are you here? How did you know?"
"I just followed the Footmen," Mr. Metos answered. "I came when they did."
"That doesn't make any sense," protested Charlotte. "The men didn't come until Zee was here. You've been here all year."
"They were here long before that, Ms. Mielswetzski."
"But how? You just said they used Zee's blood."
"Charlotte, you must understand that in death, as well as life, blood is everything. The Footmen entered the Upperworld and used the scent of Zachary's blood to find Zachary and follow him in order to find children. Then, for some reason, the Footmen chose not to follow Zachary anymore. Perhaps they thought they had found all the shadows they were going to find in London, though that seems odd. I do not know. But suddenly they moved here, where the smell of Zachary's blood would lead them to another child that they could follow. You, Charlotte. Zachary's blood relative."
"Oh," Charlotte said.
"The Footmen have been following you, Charlotte, and taking shadows from the children you lead them to. Though I still don't know why they moved on from London."
"It was because of me," Zee said quietly. "I saw them. And then I was hiding. I didn't leave the house."
Mr. Metos nodded slowly. "Well, yes, that would do it. They didn't have you to lead them to the shadows anymore. So they found Charlotte. But now with you here they don't need Charlotte anymore…"
He trailed off ominously, and nobody spoke for a few moments, thinking of all the places Mr. Metos might have gone from there.
"Mr. Metos?" Zee broke into the silence, his voice high and hesitant. "Did you, um, know my grandmother? Dalitso Winter?"
"Your grandmother? No. Why?"
"Oh." He shook his head slightly. "Never mind." Charlotte raised an eyebrow and looked at him, but Zee had retreated back into his pondering and clearly had no intention of elaborating. Well, whatever it was, she would get it out of him later.
"Well," Mr. Metos said, "the Footmen are here. They have collected a great number of shadows, and they will keep collecting them until Philonecron is satisfied. Perhaps they already have enough. I do not know. What I do know is that it's extremely important that you, Zachary, and you, Charlotte, stay safe. I believe they were trying to take Charlotte's shadow-or Charlotte herself- in order to lure you into the Underworld, Zachary. I believe they need you, Zachary, because of your blood. I believe they need you to utter the spell that will bring the shadows to life. Blood is everything, and they are using your blood to enchant the shadows. They need you for the final step."
Zee looked up. "I won't do it."
Mr. Metos said gently, "Unfortunately, Zachary, Philonecron has your blood, and he knows how to use it. Philonecron has been working with your blood, and I believe he can manipulate your will."
"What?" Zee asked.
"I believe he can control you. I believe once you get down into the Underworld, Philonecron can make you do exactly what he wants you to do. He knows how to talk to your blood, as it were."
Zee stared at Mr. Metos, horrified. Charlotte shuddered. "Mine, too?" she whispered.
"I don't know. You and Zachary don't have the same blood, but it is similar. I think he would have some power over you, but it wouldn't be as overwhelming as it would be for Zachary."
Zee was shaking his head slowly. Charlotte had a sudden urge to reach out to him, but she didn't dare.
"Listen to me very carefully," Mr. Metos continued. "He can make you do what he wants, Zachary. If he can lead you down to the Underworld, he will have all he needs to make his shadow army. And then, for the first time in history, there will be war in the Underworld.
And that is a war I do not want to see, because I am not sure Hades can win."
"Well, why does it matter?" Charlotte piped up suddenly. "So what if he overthrows Hades? It doesn't sound like he's so great."
Mr. Metos's gaze turned to her. "Well, Charlotte, if the shadows are sent into battle and destroyed, their owners will die. If Philonecron overthrows Hades, he will send your newly dead friends and all the rest of the Dead into a part of the Underworld that really is hell. Hades has no interest in the Dead, but at least he doesn't want to punish them. Philonecron wants all the Dead to spend eternity in torment. And since we will all one day die…"
Zee sat up. "He can't. He can't!"
It was the loudest he'd ever been, and Charlotte stared openly at him. And then she remembered his grandmother, and she gulped and looked at the floor, while Mr. Metos said softly, "I will not let him, Zachary. Now," he continued, "I want you two to stay inside the house. Do whatever you have to do, but they will have a harder time taking you from there. They need one of you, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind having both of you."