Anne Ursu - The Shadow Thieves

As for Philonecron, he looked as if he very much wanted to get up off his perch, despite the whole banishment thing. He stared at Zee, shaking his head, his mouth opening and closing.

"You… you betrayed me," he emoted. "After all I did for you!" He paused dramatically, and a great tear ran down his cheek. "You were nothing, nothing, before me. I made you great. I made you the father of an army. You were my Zero!"

Zee was not moved. He picked up his horn, aimed it in Philonecron's face, and, articulating every word very carefully, shouted, "Stop. Calling. Me. Zero!"

Charlotte could not help but think that Zee had found the perfect thing to say.

Wincing, Philonecron closed his eyes until Zee had finished. Then he drew himself up, twisting with rage. "I made you, and I can break you, my boy. Don't forget, I know everything about you. I know what makes your blood crawl." He leaned forward as best he could on his perch in the chair, lifted up a hand, and whispered, "Zero. Come to me. Come…"

And as Charlotte watched helplessly, Zee's arm fell and his eyes lost their focus. Philonecron's voice sounded so familiar, so beautiful, and part of Charlotte wanted just to close her eyes and do whatever he said…

But just part. The Mielswetzski part roared inside of her, and she shook herself. Come on, Zee. We're so close now. She willed her cousin's attention to her. Come on, Zee; focus on me. She waved her arms in the air. Look at this, Zee, she willed him. Not at him.

But Zee's gaze did not waver. "Come to me, my boy," Philonecron hissed, "and I will rip out your thro -"

Just then a crashing sound came from the remnants of the Palace, and Zee, Charlotte, and Philonecron turned to look. A long, black-cloaked arm emerged from under a rock. The rock began to shift back and forth, back and forth, and finally it rolled off. A shoulder came out. And then a head. Which was wearing a perfectly intact, simple black crown.

Philonecron let out a roar of rage. "Get him!" he shouted to the Footmen, pointing at Hades, who was casually crawling out of the pieces of marble. The Footmen exchanged glances, then took a step toward the Lord of the Dead.

Philonecron turned back to Zee. "Look at me!" he whispered. "Look!" He raised his hands to Zee's eye level. "Come on, my boy. That's right." Zee seemed to slump a little bit. Charlotte fought hard against Philonecron's voice in her head; she had to now, it was all up to her. Otherwise he could kill them both, get the shadows back, and it would all be over.

"That's right, you worthless thing. Come to me, and I will rip out your throat. I will feed you to the Harpies. Finally you'll be of some use in your worthless little life -"

Charlotte ran at Philonecron, not knowing what she was going to do, knowing she had to do something. "Leave him alone!" she shouted. Philonecron whirled around on his litter and glared at her, and suddenly Charlotte had an idea. She wasn't positive, but it seemed like a rather good one. In the space of a breath Charlotte reached down, picked up the largest rock she could find, held it above her head, and crashed it down as hard as she could on the chair under his feet.

A great crack splintered through the air. Philonecron's mouth opened, his eyes bugged, and the chair broke into pieces underneath him. Philonecron went tumbling backward, his bottom hitting the ground, followed by his hands, followed by his feet.

A hissing noise emanated from the ground. Philonecron yelled and pushed himself up in the air, ready to dive back onto the litter, but he was too late. His feet started smoking, then they burst into a blood-red flame. The fire traveled up to his legs, and, screaming, he propelled himself onto the litter-leaving a pile of ash where his legs had once been.

Suddenly, from behind them, Zee and Charlotte heard a sizzling noise and then saw a great blue light. They turned-Hades, a little dusty but looking no worse for wear, was standing on top of the rubble, pointing his scepter at four bursts of blue fire. The flames grew into the air and then quickly extinguished.

On the ground were four piles of debris consisting of cracked clay and bits of fabric, drizzled with puddles of thick brown blood. The Footmen were gone. And then slowly, quietly, the debris shifted a little, and the four Unburied from whom the Footmen had been made emerged mistily from the rubble. They looked around at the scene before them, brushed themselves off, and floated into the night.

Hades turned and strode up to Philonecron, who was writhing, legless, on his litter. He grinned, flipped his scepter, and proclaimed cheerfully, "Works on clay!"

THE LORD OF THE DEAD STOOD TOWERING OVER THE prone form of Philonecron, who was twisting in agony on his litter. Charlotte and Zee-who were covered in grime and smoke and dust and blood, who were panting and sweating and trembling, who were exhausted and exhilarated- stood in the background, shoulder to shoulder, and watched Hades savor the moment.

"Stop whining," Hades spit. "Your legs will regenerate."

"That's right, they will!" Philonecron looked up threateningly and raised his fist in the air. It really wasn't very intimidating. "I'll have my legs. I still have my Footmen. They will serve me until the end. There are seven Footmen-"

"Five, actually," Zee muttered.

Charlotte shot him an impressed look. Zee shrugged modestly.

"Ah, but Philonecron," Hades interjected, "this is the end. I will find your Footmen, do not worry about that." He flipped his scepter again. "And as for you…" He snapped his fingers in the air, and two Griffins came soaring in from the horizon. (Fat lot of help they were, Charlotte thought.) Hades beckoned them to him. "Now," he continued, pacing back and forth in front of the litter, "whatever shall we do with you? I banished you once to the Outer Banks, but that was clearly too good for you. Hmmm. I think I have an idea. Philonecron, Assistant Manager of Sanitation, I banish you to the Upperworld -"

"No," Philonecron shrieked. "No! I'll never survive."

"That is not my concern."

"I can't breathe up there," Philonecron protested. "And everyone wears polyester!"

Charlotte and Zee exchanged a look. They weren't ecstatic about the idea of Philonecron in the Upperworld. But Hades didn't seem to notice.

Hades continued, "You are banished to the Upperworld, Philonecron. You may never set f-you may never enter the Underworld again. Griffins?" He held his hand up. "Take him away."

With that, the two Griffins swooped down, claws at the ready, grasped Philonecron-one by the neck and one by the bottom-and proceeded to fly away. The air reverberated with Philonecron's cries. "Nooooo!" Charlotte and Zee heard. And then, just as the trio was fading off in the distance, a cry shot out, "Zerrrrooooo!"

Hades, looking extremely pleased with himself, turned his attention to the cousins.

"That should take care of him," he said. He nodded at Charlotte. "That was very impressive, with the chair. You are quite resourceful."

Charlotte blushed. Hades might be creepy, but he was a Greek god, and they probably didn't give compliments lightly.

"And," he said, turning to Zee, "Zachary John Miller, your timing is excellent, as was your leadership."

Zee muttered to Charlotte, "How does he know my name?"

"Don't ask," Charlotte whispered back.

"Now, I thank you both for what you have done for my Kingdom." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, round red object, which he offered to them. "Pomegranate?"

Quickly Charlotte and Zee shook their heads. "Worth a try. Well, you will find the door open for you on the way out. I shall see you again."

At this Charlotte and Zee shuddered, and before they could say anything else, the Lord of the Dead turned and walked away, calling, "Has anyone seen my wife?"