It is nearly dawn by the time I return to the house in Olympus Hills. I have been gone for nearly a day, but I am heady with music and emotion—like an Heir who’s imbibed too much nectar at a feast—and I don’t care. I bang into the kitchen, singing one of the many songs I have memorized during the night.
Someone is waiting for me, but it isn’t Dax, as I expect.
“Care to tell me where you’ve been?” Simon asks. He sits at the kitchen counter with a mug of his coffee. Based on the dregs left in the pot, he’s consumed quite a few cups while waiting for me.
“No.” I pick up an apple from the centerpiece on the table.
“Do you know where I was?” he asks.
“Nope.” I whistle a tune, heading for the stairs.
“I was at a friend’s restaurant opening. And the darnedest thing happened. Something that has never happened in all my years. My platinum card had a hold on it.”
I stop at the front of the stairs.
“You can imagine my surprise when I called the credit card company to clear things up and found out that somebody in my household put a fifty-eight-thousand-dollar expense on my card yesterday afternoon.”
I take a bite of the apple. I don’t realize how hungry I am until the sweetness touches my tongue. I look at Simon while I chew.
“Not that I’m not good for the money. Not that I don’t have the room in my account. They were just concerned. As was I. Do you know why I was concerned?”
I shake my head.
“Because someone in my charge didn’t come home last night and wasn’t answering his phone. I thought maybe this someone had decided to skip town. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? Skip town? Abandon your quest? Run away? Like a coward?”
I suddenly find it hard to swallow. “I am not a coward. And I didn’t run.”
“I know that now,” he says. “But you wouldn’t be the first to try. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I almost came after you. That wouldn’t have been pleasant for anyone involved—just ask your friend Dax. However, luckily for you, I took a closer look at the charge on my account. What exactly was so fascinating at Pacific Coast Records that you felt compelled to spend nearly sixty thousand dollars on it?”
“Music.”
“Music?” Simon pours soy milk into his coffee and stirs it with a dainty spoon. “Sixty. Thousand. Dollars’. Worth of music?” He takes a sip and pulls a face like the milk has gone bad. “You know music is forbidden in the Underrealm?”
“Yes, but I’m only using it to get closer to Daphne. It’s part of my quest. Dax said it’s okay for Champions to bend the rules occasionally.…”
“I know what Dax says. He used the same argument on me when he convinced me to get you a spot in the program. I question whether it was wise.”
“It’s working. That’s where I was yesterday. I was with her.” At least part of the day.
“Do you know why music is forbidden?”
“Because it’s too human?”
“Because of the Traitor. Because of what he did. He used his music to manipulate the god of the Underrealm. To trick him, deceive him. To distract him so he could steal the Key to the underworld. To trap the Underlords down there. Your god would still be alive today if not for that man’s filthy manipulations.”
“That has nothing to do with my—”
“That’s what music is. It’s manipulation. It plays on your emotions. Makes you think and feel things that aren’t true. It distracts you.”
“I’m not distracted.”
“You sure? There’s sixty grand and a full day of unaccounted time that tells me differently. You stink of emotion.” He pushes his coffee cup away. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were having second thoughts about your assignment.” He stares at me, his dark eyes boring into me.
“I’m not,” I say softly.
“You sure, boy? I’d hate to tell dear ole Papa Ren that his son is an even bigger disappointment than anyone imagined. Tell him not to keep that seat next to his throne warm for you. Tell him you’re just some nursling who can’t keep his head on straight around some skirt who can spin a couple of pretty little songs.”
“I’m sure.”