The Immortal Fire

by Anne Ursu

  Zee nodded to the parking lot. “Uh, do you think he’s still waiting for us?”

  It had been a long time since Sir Laurence’s driver had left them to wander off to Delphi. Charlotte hoped he had had a lot of knitting to do.

  But when they followed the path to the parking lot, the driver was gone. The car was still there, and huddled in front of it in earnest conversation were two very familiar, very welcome faces.

  “Mr. Metos! Sir Laurence!” Charlotte yelled. Bursting into a run, she tore over to them. She could feel the elation that radiated out from them at the sight of her as if it were coming from Persephone itself. And she fell into their arms.

  “My dear friends,” said Mr. Metos, his voice thick with emotion. As Charlotte hugged Sir Laurence, he slapped Zee on the back enthusiastically.

  “Miss Charlotte, what happened? You’re injured!” Sir Laurence eyed Charlotte’s scarred face and bloody shirt.

  “No,” said Charlotte, “it’s all right. I feel great.”

  “Hi, I’m Steve,” Steve said to Sir Laurence, holding out his hand.

  “Capital, capital,” enthused Sir Laurence, shaking it vigorously.

  “You’re safe,” Mr. Metos said, shaking his head.

  “Mr. Metos, what happened?” Charlotte asked, wiping a tear away from her eyes. “We thought they were going to kill you.”

  “Well,” Mr. Metos said, a wry smile creeping across his face, “it is very funny, but just at the key moment, the police came.”

  Charlotte blinked. “To rescue you? How did they—”

  “No. To arrest me. It seems I was wanted for your kidnapping.”

  “Oh,” said Charlotte. “Oops.”

  “Yes, apparently someone recognized you and the police came to the Import/Export offices. I will say I have never been so happy to be arrested.”

  “After you two left me so mysteriously,” added Sir Laurence, “I set about to track down your friend. It appears that if one hands the police large sums of money, they are very happy to let one go!”

  “Thank you again,” said Mr. Metos.

  “Glad to do it!” exclaimed Sir Laurence. “Any friend of Miss Charlotte and Sir Zachary the Brave is a friend of mine.”

  “He told me you were going to Delphi,” Mr. Metos continued gravely, “and I had a good idea where you were headed. Are you all right? What happened?”

  Charlotte and Zee glanced at each other. Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes, and she looked down. “Mr. Metos, we’ll tell you everything,” she said, her voice choked. “But can we do it on the way home?”

  First they went to the Canadian Embassy, where they made their phone calls and said good-bye to Steve—the angry young man who held the whole universe in his hands and gave it back, for the sake of the mother who had raised him and the strangers who had saved him. Then they went back to the airport hangar to Sir Laurence’s jet, which was all ready for the long flight across the Atlantic.

  There, Charlotte and Zee told their stories, each filling in details for the other. Mr. Metos listened gravely. When Zee haltingly told the story of Charlotte’s sacrifice, he stared at the floor, eyes burning. And Charlotte told of Zee’s defeat of Philonecron, of his talking back to Zeus, and together they explained their great bargain with the Lord of the Universe.

  “We wanted justice,” Charlotte said. “We got a compromise. But—”

  “My dears,” said Mr. Metos, grabbing their hands, “I am so proud of you. Do you know what you’ve done? Generations of Prometheans have not been able to do what you did. You are truly the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met.”

  They sat in silence for a long time, watching the world go by. They slept some, letting themselves be embraced by dreamless quiet. As they began their descent, Charlotte turned to her mentor and asked, “Mr. Metos, what will you do now?”

  “The Prometheans will need to regroup. We will see how necessary we are now. In the meantime, I would like to teach English. Maybe get a cat. And a real home. I did have a long-term offer from Hartnett that I hope is still valid. If I can get my criminal record cleared, that is. I don’t have the same contacts I used to….”

  “Fear not, old chap!” said Sir Laurence, clapping him on the back. “Sir Laurence to the rescue!”

  And then they were landing, and a car was waiting for them in the night. Charlotte had no idea how long they’d been away, but the car could not drive fast enough. And then finally they were pulling around the block to her house, to her parents and her cat, and as it approached Charlotte felt her heart was as open and endless as the universe. Charlotte and Zee had accomplished quite a lot in the past few months, but they were about to do the very best thing they had done yet—come home, safe and sound.

  EPILOGUE

  A Suitable Finish

  DEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY, THERE IS A clothing store like many others. In fact, you could find a branch of this particular store in just about every major city in the whole country, and even a few in Canada. The typical customer for this store is a man who is required to dress in a way he cannot afford. It is lined with discount suits, jackets, ties, and shirts, which are all very good replicas of the real thing. Many people cannot tell the difference.

  At this clothing store was a customer just like any other, looking for a suit for a job interview. “I need a job,” he had told his girlfriend, “before I can afford the suit.” It was for people like him that this store existed.

  On this particularly day, this customer was being waited on by a new employee of the store, a man who was, frankly, not very much like any other man the customer had ever seen. He was thin, gaunt, slightly taller than average, with black, spiky hair and black, beady eyes.

  This employee, who was in fact exactly like a man, had recently had an odd experience. He had awoken, like a newborn babe, to find himself at this particular store in this particular cheap suit, selling another man gaudy imitation cuff links.

  The customer picked out a brown suit coat and held it up to the employee questioningly. A strange look passed over the employee’s face, some mixture of disgust and despair. The employee shook his head slowly.

  “You don’t want this.”

  “Why not?” The customer blinked.

  “It’s atrocious.” The salesman diverted his eyes from the suit as though he could not possibly look at it anymore.

  “I like it.”

  “No, no, you can’t possibly.”

  “I do!” protested the customer.

  “My gods, you cretin,” said the salesman, voice full of emotion, “have you ever felt a natural fiber in your life?”

  The customer frowned and eyed the salesman’s name tag. “Phil, do you have a manager I could speak to?”

  The employee named Phil sighed languidly. “If you must.” This again, he thought. His eyes surveyed the room as he wondered what he had done to deserve this. And then he saw something that made him stop.

  “Excuse me,” he asked the customer, “are they with you?”

  “No,” said the customer, walking away.

  Phil looked toward the doorway. Standing there were a boy and a girl, both dressed appallingly, both whispering and staring at him. There was something about them he did not like, not at all. In fact, he might say he was filled with an inexplicable loathing.

  “Security,” Phil called. “Those children are loitering.”

  “Whatever,” said the security guard, ambling toward the children.

  “We were just leaving,” muttered the boy. And the two turned and left.

  The employee named Phil did not have time to reflect on them, though, because as soon as they walked out the door, the manager appeared next to him, a short man with oily hair who clearly bathed in cheap cologne every day before work.

  “We need to have a talk,” said the manager.

  Soon Phil found himself in the manager’s office. The desk in front of him was covered in porcelain cats and other knickknacks. Phil could not remember anything about
his past, but he knew he loathed knickknacks. Even the chair he was sitting in was horrible, squeaky and squishy and wrong.

  He had heard the manager’s tirade before—you must not insult the customers, you must not degrade the merchandise, I should be firing you, I don’t know why I’m not, I can’t seem to—

  Phil did not listen. The manager was weak, he knew that. His employees had no respect for him. He let them take long breaks, leave early, dress sloppily. What this store needed was a change in leadership. What this store needed was Phil.

  As the manager droned on, Phil rubbed his hands together and looked around the office greedily. Oh, yes, he thought. Someday this would all be his.

  BESTIARY

  Automatons

  Animate bronze statues. Not much for conversation.

  Chimera

  An enormous beast with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon. Has an extra goat head sticking out of its torso. Cannot be manipulated or controlled—except, perhaps, by an evil genius.

  Centaur

  The head and torso of a man, the body of a horse. A convivial and erudite creature. Prone to irritability, especially when having an arrow stuck in its butt.

  Cyclops

  Big, mean, cave-dwelling monsters with one eye and a taste for human flesh.

  Eurynomus

  Underworld demon with blue-black skin the color of flies and a cloak of vulture feathers. Has some personal hygiene issues.

  Giant

  Humanoid monsters, often with many arms. Fought against the gods in the War on Cronus. Very large, as you might imagine.

  Gorgon

  Hideous female demons with serpents in place of hair, golden wings, stringy beards, and hands of claws. Best not to look them in the eye, unless of course you want to be turned into a statue.

  Harpy

  Massive flying creatures with the body of a vulture and the face of a nasty old woman. Mean and very, very stinky.

  Hydra

  A dragon-sized serpent with nine heads. If you cut one head off, two grow back in its place.

  Ketos

  A massive sea monster. Its belly is an excellent place to find tridents, should you be looking for one.

  Minotaur

  Legs of a man and head and torso of a bull. Often can be found at the center of labyrinths, which is why it’s better to go around.

  Pegasus

  Flying horse. Never there when you need it.

  Satyr

  A creature with the body of a goat and torso of a man. Musical and mischievous.

  Scylla and Charybdis

  Sailors who pass on one side of the Strait of Messina will be devoured by Scylla, a giant female beast with a pack of dogs below her waist. Those who pass on the other side will be sucked into the horrible mouth of Charybdis. It’s what you call a dilemma.

  Siren

  A female nymph whose irresistible song enchants passing sailors who then dive off their ships and drown. A good reason to carry earplugs.

  Sphinx

  A creature with the body of a lion, eagle wings, and the head of a woman. On the plus side, knows a lot of great riddles. On the minus, will eat you if you get them wrong.