"Zachary, no!" Mr. Metos shouted.
"No!" screeched the Harpies as one.
"Ah, my boy." Philonecron clasped his hands together, his eyes filling. "You're so noble! I knew you would be. You're a wonderful, wonderful boy." He nodded affectionately at Zee. "But, alas… we all have our destinies. Metos is destined to be on the menu at my little restaurant for all eternity. A house specialty, as it were. You can't fight destiny, my boy. You'll learn that. But your little friend, well, why not?"
"You'll let Charlotte go?" Zee stared at Philonecron.
"Zee!" Charlotte yelled.
Zee turned to glare at her. "Would you let me do the talking for once?" he snapped.
Charlotte gaped. Yes, the circumstances were extreme, but there was no need to be rude.
"I will," Philonecron said. "For you, Zero, I will let her go. Now, come with me."
He held out his hand and Zee took it. Charlotte didn't know if he had done so out of force or will. Mr. Metos was still shouting things that Charlotte, by this point, was beginning to understand. Philonecron led Zee to one of the Footmen, who bowed. "Now, you go with Alpha here, and he'll take you to the shadows, all right? I'll meet you there." He smiled giddily. "Oh my boy, we'll remake the world! What a grand thing! What a great day it is!"
The two walked off, Zee shooting looks at Charlotte all the while, as if he was trying to communicate something. But what?
Philonecron stood on his tiptoes, watching them go off into one of the caves. "Bye!" he waved.
He turned to Charlotte. The Footman still held her by the stomach, and Charlotte winced when he squeezed. Philonecron walked up to her, chucked her on the chin, and kneeled in front of her grabbing her hands.
"My dear," he smiled earnestly. "I'd like to let you go. I really would. I don't want to deceive the poor boy just as he and I are developing an interpersonal trust. But my Zero, he is, well, naive. An idealist. You know how he is. You and I, we're realists, we know how the world works. And you know I can't just let you go." He grinned menacingly. As he talked, something in Charlotte's mind began to soften, as if someone had turned the dimmer switch down a bit. She shook her head back and forth.
"Oh, I know you, little girl," he continued. "I was the one who found you, you know… Zero's blood led me to you. You helped us find so many wonderful shadows. But still, your blood is weak. I've tried to speak to it, but it's just not the same. You just don't have enough Zero in you… he's twice the person you are. You're really just a mongrel. An unfortunate, meddling mongrel with a rather unpleasant complexion. You'll go scampering off to Hades and warn him, in some futile attempt to save the world. We can't have that, can we?"
He stood up, brushed his hands off, and turned to the Footman who was holding her. "Throw her in the Styx."
Charlotte was being carried in the arms of the Footman, like a damsel over a mud puddle, heading down the clearing toward the Styx. She could still hear Mr. Metos's invectives echoing behind them, but the Footman did not stop. A Harpy flew overhead, looked down at them, screeched, "Freckle face!" and went on her way.
Charlotte tried to keep herself from struggling. She had to think. She kept hearing Zee's whisper in her ear, whatever he had been trying to tell her when Philonecron confronted them. If I can-
If I can what?
She could hear the sounds of the words, she could almost make them out, but not quite. For surely Zee had a plan, surely he did not mean just to give in, surely he had a way out of this.
Of course, she thought, it was just like him to give in to save her. Always so polite and generous all the time. Hiding behind his chivalry. So brave when it came to protecting Charlotte. Sure, evil guy, you can corrupt me, I'll destroy the world, just to save Charlotte. Come on, now- don't hurt my little cousin, she's very fragile and can't do anything by herself. Except for mouth off, maybe.
That's a laugh. Charlotte was doing things by herself long before Zee got there. And if Zee didn't have a plan, if he really was being such a stupidhead and sacrificing himself to save her, well, then… it was all up to Charlotte.
All up to Charlotte.
She had to do something. She couldn't just walk away from this. It was time for Charlotte to act, time for her to take charge. Time for Charlotte to save the world. Once upon a time there was a girl named Charlotte who was not good for anything, until she saved the world.
But how?
And then she realized: Philonecron had told her exactly what to do. In his evil speech. "You'll go scampering off to Hades and warn him," he had said. Charlotte almost laughed out loud. Really, people should stop making evil speeches, because they always give themselves away.
And he had. He had given himself away, for that was exactly what Charlotte needed to do. She couldn't fight off Philonecron, but Hades certainly could. He was a god. One of the biggies. One of the Big Twelve-really, the Big Three! And he surely had, you know, monsters working for him. Centaurs and Minotaurs and Gorgons (oh, my!). And stuff. All she'd have to do was make her way through the Underworld, find Hades, and convince him he was in danger. And that she could do, for she was Charlotte Mielswetzski, and she could talk.
But first she had to get free, as she was about to be in some very hot water-and she meant that quite literally.
The Footman was walking along slowly, stiffly, bearing her like a prize. As they went along and she didn't fight back, he seemed to relax his grip on her a little, as if he'd forgotten she was animate, and Charlotte closed her eyes and tried to figure out how to get out of this. They really hadn't covered this one in their self-defense unit in gym.
It was hard to think calmly. She did not want to die. Not ever, really, but not now, not here. She had to save the world. And then she had to go back and take care of Mew and write Caitlin and be nice to her mom and maybe try out for the gymnastics team again.
And then the Footman stopped suddenly. Charlotte felt a great heat near her, and her eyes popped open. They were on the banks of the Styx now, and the Footman was studying the river, as if to determine the proper trajectory in which to throw her. Charlotte's heart raced, and she had to bite back the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her.
Come on, Charlotte. It's now or never. This is your chance. You are a heroine, and it is time to start acting like it. What does a heroine do?
The Footman stepped forward and death was before Charlotte, and something surged through her veins. She exploded into action. Quick as she could, she leaned over, bit the Footman on the shoulder (gross), kneed him in the stomach (payback), and elbowed him in the neck (for good measure). With a soundless cry of surprise the Footman dropped her. She felt steam hit her face-she was looking over the river now; one wrong move and she'd be in, but there was no time to think about that, she had to fight-and she sprang up, back toward the bank, scrambling up against the loose rocks. She looked around frantically- she could run, but where? She needed to get across the river, and she needed to stop the Footman from killing her. Actually, the latter was more pressing. The Footman had righted himself, and he bowed his head and smiled at her, then made a grab for her. Instinctively she ducked out of the way. She was small but quick; he was big but slow, and he tumbled forward. And there Charlotte saw her chance. She lunged behind him, and with a great breath she pushed, with all her might she pushed, his feet slipped on the rocks, and the Footman went headlong into the Styx.
Splash! The river roiled. The current began to carry him off, even as he bobbed up and tried to claw his way back to shore. The steam seemed to come up to him, it surrounded him, and before Charlotte's eyes his face began to melt. Clay dripped and rolled, splashing into the bubbling water, until there was nothing left but a very tall, very narrow tuxedo floating off into the distance.