"Get her! Kill her!" Philonecron pointed at Charlotte and spit, "How dare you? How dare you try to command them? You're not Zero!"
And then a voice rang out, "No, but I am."
Zee?
Charlotte whirled toward the voice. And there he was, Zee, shirtless and with a bandaged arm, standing on top of one of the fallen domes, shouting through some kind of animal horn.
"Shadows! Stop! Stop at once!"
And just like that, the flood of shadows froze. All of you, stop! Put your weapons down!"
Charlotte felt tears pouring down her cheeks as her cousin's voice moved over the whole Palace grounds. "Come to me!"
"Go to Zee!" Charlotte shouted. "Put down your weapons and go!"
A piercing scream hit the air- the shadows trembled, the ground shook, and Charlotte spun around.
"No!" Philonecron yelled.
Zee didn't move. "Put down your weapons," he bellowed. "Come to me!"
"Go to Zee!" Charlotte yelled joyfully "Go to your master!"
On top of his litter Philonecron was the very picture of horror. His hands clasped tight to his face, his mouth frozen in a scream, his red eyes popping out of his head. The four Footmen were watching him warily.
"Zero!" Philonecron shouted. "Zero, my boy! What are you doing?"
But Zee did not turn. He was magnificent. He was regal. He was a force. He kept shouting commands to the shadows, who were lining up in front of him obediently, like good little soldiers. Philonecron screeched again and yelled down to his Footmen, "Take me to him! Hurry! Zero, stop!"
But whatever control Philonecron had over Zee wasn't working from that distance, and Charlotte wasn't going to let him get much closer, if she could help it. She broke into a run, heading for Philonecron, heading for her cousin. Philonecron, wobbling as he was moved, was yelling, "Why are you doing this? Zero, why are you betraying me?"
"Go back to the Outer Banks!" Zee shouted to the army of shadows. "Go back home! Wait for me there! Wait for my commands!"
And, as one, the legions of shadows turned and began to march through the rubble, through the gates, back into the remnants of the City.
"Noooo!" yelled Philonecron to the marchers. "Come back! Come back! I am your master! Not him! Come back! We're so close!"
But the shadows paid him no mind; their true master had spoken. They were marching back home.
Charlotte cut around the great column of marchers, past the rubble of the Palace-which, by the way, seemed to be moving, as if something was digging itself out from the inside-and crept toward the duo.
For the Footmen had reached Zee and were carefully lowering the litter down while Philonecron stood balancing himself on the chair and shouted instructions. "Hurry up!" he yelled. "Steady, now! Don't drop me! Watch the feet!" Zee was standing his ground on top of the dome, staring down Philonecron.
Charlotte was close to them now, but Philonecron had not noticed her; his whole world was Zee. She crept through the rubble behind the Footmen, behind Philonecron and his litter. Zee saw her and winked-and at that moment she thought a wink was the best way ever to say hello.
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.