Part 26 (1/2)

I blink. Is he asking me out? ”Um. No . . . ,” I say tentatively.

”Then if I were you, I'd take your father up on going to see that telescope.”

”I don't think that's-”

”I know I don't really know your father, but it sounds to me like he's trying to make a connection with you. Hades knows that my father has never even cared to try with me . . . and my mother . . .” He trails off heavily. His fingers tap on the steering wheel. ”What I am attempting to say is that perhaps you should give your father a chance while you still can. There might come a day when the option is no longer available to you.”

chapter thirty-nine.

haden

When Daphne is gone, a hollowness fills me that I cannot explain. I drive. Out of Olympus Hills. Out onto the open road. Faster and faster. Trying to outrun the storm that chases me from the inside. I don't know where I am going until I find myself outside the music shop again. I go inside, bells jangling as I let the door slam behind me.

”Can I help you?” the man at the cash register asks, startled. ”I want it all,” I say. ”I want to buy a copy of every alb.u.m you've got.”

The man raises his eyebrows over his thick-rimmed gla.s.ses.

”Everything?”

”Yes,” I hiss. Is this human an idiot? ”That's why I said every alb.u.m.”

”Um. Okay. Uh. CD or MP3? I'm a.s.suming MP3, since you can't fit the whole store in your trunk. You probably don't even have a CD player in a car like that, huh?”

I shake my head.

”We've got more selections on digital recording anyway. It'll fill up half a dozen of these MP3 players,” he says, pointing at a row of devices that look similar to my iPhone in a display case. ”Then give me six of those, too,” I say and set the credit card Dax gave me on top of the gla.s.s case.

”Are you sure about this, man? Your parents aren't going to freak when they see the bill or anything, are they? And I'm going to need to see some ID.”

”I don't live with my parents.” I set the driver's license that says I'm twenty-one next to my credit card. ”Don't forget anything. I want every single song you've got.”

The man glances from the ID to the card to my luxury car, which sits in the parking lot, and then back to me. ”Sweet,” he says, a huge grin overtaking his face. ”You are in for one wild time, my friend.” Hours later, I sit in my car on the beach. Waves crash outside, and wind from the approaching storm pounds against the roof and windows. One of the MP3 players is plugged into the stereo. I play song after song, trying to open myself up to each one. To feel the emotion they evoke like I did with Daphne in the booth. Some of the songs make me cringe, but others conjure emotions I have spent most of my life trying to bury: sadness, anger, awe, fear, joy, desire.

Love?

Daphne didn't mock me when I cried in front of her. She didn't think I was disgusting. She didn't tell me to stop before I embarra.s.sed her. She seemed like she genuinely cared.

She cared about me.

The hour nears midnight, but I've barely burned through a fraction of the music I bought. The car's control panel warns me that I've let the battery get too low. Just as the music starts to fade, I jolt the car with a burst of electricity, restoring it to full power. I turn up the volume. Louder. Louder. But no matter how high I turn up the sound, no matter how many emotions I let flood through me, I cannot drown out the thought that has clung to me since Daphne played me that last song in the booth.

I'd known it all along. Pushed way back in my mind so I wouldn't have to think about it. But opening up to her like that-letting her see one of the rawest portions of my soul-and her not rejecting it, I cannot deny reality any longer. The truth is, if Daphne eventually agrees to come with me, if I am victorious in my quest, if I get everything I've ever wanted-whether she's a regular Boon or this Cypher who the Oracle spoke of-she will die.

Just like my mother.

Just like every human who has been brought to the Underrealm-most barely making it through the first two years. Humans cannot survive without the sun.

They all die.

And so will she.

chapter forty.

daphne

It's nearly midnight, but the restaurant Joe takes me to in LA is packed. Despite the cold wind and the spattering of rain, there's a line wrapping around the side of the building. Joe leads me past the waiting crowd to the front doors. People scream his name and he stops to sign a couple of autographs.

Flashbulbs go off, and reporters shoot questions at him.

”Who's your companion?” one of them yells.

Joe wraps his arm around me. ”This is my daughter!” The camera flashes go wild. He grabs me by the hand, and the doorman lets us in without making us wait.

”Sorry about that,” Joe says. ”You'll get used to them. Eventu ally.”

We follow a hostess through the crowded restaurant, pa.s.sing people I recognize from the gossip magazines. Joe hasn't let go of my hand yet. He waves at his friends, exchanges cheek kisses, and merrily introduces me as his daughter to everyone we see.

Most respond quite diplomatically, but I can hear the tones of utter shock coming off them.

We finally find ourselves at a booth in the back of the restaurant.

It's quieter here, but the energy of the place still buzzes around us. The hostess puts two menus in front of us and then offers Joe the wine and beer list. He waves it away. ”Chocolate milk shake.

With sprinkles.” He raises his eyebrows at me.

”Make that two,” I say.

A waitress comes and takes the rest of our order. I get a Kobe beef and applewood smoked bacon cheeseburger and onion rings that cost twice as much as the fanciest steak at Ellis Grill. Joe seems to request half the menu. It's his drummer's restaurant, so I am a.s.suming that running up a huge tab on opening night is the polite thing to do.

”I'm sorry we didn't get much time with the telescope,” he says. ”It's okay. Neither of us can control the elements,” I say, watching the rain patter against the window.

”What made you change your mind?” Joe looks a bit sheepish.

”About coming tonight. I mean, I'm happy about it. You just surprised me is all.”

”Just something a friend said to me.” I shrug like it's no big deal.

”And I like the stars.”