“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.