We head through the indoor courtyard where Venus's statue used to stand, veering off through one of the archways after Crystal.
The air is expectant – hopeful even.
Has Crystal found out what's going on? Can we use her information to save Cal?
I'm expecting to be led to Venus's office – the narrow, black and white space scented with myrtle flowers and rot. But instead Crystal veers off down another elaborately tiled corridor, up some steps, and to a white door with Crystal, C.E.O written on a black metal plaque.
As if sensing my confusion Crystal looks over her shoulder at me.
"I relocated," she says. "Something about her old office gave me the creeps."
My mind flashes back to the time when Crystal and Cupid were both kidnapped and held in glass tanks full of water in that room.
I nod grimly.
"Understandable," I say.
We head into a spacious, white room and head to her glass desk by the back wall. There's a collection of bright pink and deep black armchairs arranged around it which Cupid, Cal, and I sit in. Crystal sits at the other side, pulls her chair forward, and looks at us all – her blue eyes bright.
She moves her gaze to the center of the desk, just past the white screen of her computer. Two of the gold, foil like coins Mino showed us earlier sit there.
What had Cupid called them?
Obals.
We all stare at them, nonplussed.
"Erm...some nice coins you got there, Crystal..." says Cupid – leaning back in his chair and raising a thick eyebrow. "Hope you're not wanting to buy something with them though. Not sure if you're aware but they went out of circulation quite a while ago..."
She gives him a look.
"Yes, I'm well aware. Thank you, Cupid." She brings her gaze up to mine, and then Cal's. "It's how he's creating the undead."
Cal's brow's furrow while Cupid leans forward in his pink armchair, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Charon..." mutters Cal.
"Huh?" I say.
Cupid and I both turn to look at him. Crystal nods.
"One obal – the fayre for the ferry," she says.
The mention of the ferry makes me think of something I heard earlier, though I can't remember what.
"What ferry?" I ask.
Cupid glances at me, a darkness in his ocean eyes.
"The ferry to the other side. The ferry of the dead," he turns back to Crystal and shakes his head. "It's not possible. It's a one way journey. No-one comes back from where that ferry goes."
Crystal shakes her head. She holds Cupid's gaze – a pointed gleam in her irises.
"That's not true. Someone came back. Remember?"
Something seems to pass between the two. Then Cupid leans back, rubbing his hand over his mouth. Cal stares at Crystal.
"One obal for the trip to the Underworld. One obal for the trip back..." he says.
She nods.
"Wait... the underworld? The ferry of the dead? You mean...people who die go to the Underworld?"
I should be thinking about Valentine, and Cal's life thread, and the zombie cupids, and the pointed look Crystal just gave Cupid. But instead I think of my mom.
Crystal catches my gaze and her eyes soften somewhat.
"That used to be the way..." says Crystal. "But as time, and beliefs, moved on – the realities of life and death shifted. Where humans go now, when they die, I don't know. But immortals, cupids, people like us – it is thought that Charon, the original ferryman, still offers us a service to the other side on our death."
My heart sinks. But I swallow hard and nod.
Cal leans forward.
"You really think Charon would just let people back and forth?" he says.
"For a price...it's possible. He's never been the most moral of guys," she says. "But I don't know. That's what we need to find out. I'm not sure where his ferry is based nowadays, though."
I frown, my thought from earlier coming back to me.
"Morta said we should check the ferry log," I say. "When we were talking about Valentine – she said that, right? Was she talking about the ferry to the dead?"
Cal exhales sharply and I turn to look at him.
"Of course," he says. "I should have picked up on that."
"So...maybe Morta knows where it is? I mean, she is this kind of super, bringer of death type person...right?" I say.
He nods.
"I'll text Cassie. That was actually a good idea, Lila."
I raise an eyebrow at him.
"The tone of surprise..."
He ignores me, pulling out his cell.
"So...what do we do until she gets back to us?"
Cupid catches my eye.
"Well...I know that you two had a bit of a snooze-fest in the car – but I'm pretty tired. So I'm thinking...bed!" he says. He wiggles his eyebrows. "Care to join me?"
Cal shoots him a sharp look, and Crystal rolls her eyes. I feel my cheeks heat up slightly.
Do I want to join him?
A part of me does. A part of me wants him alone to talk about everything that's happened. An even bigger part of me just wants to kiss him, to forget about everything that's happened over the past week.
But another part of me knows my dad will be expecting me back. I haven't been home since Friday.
"I should get back," I say.
He nods. He looks at Crystal.
"Someone needs to keep a lookout in case our maniac brother turns up," he says. "I'd rather it was me, but I don't think I'd be much good right now."
Crystal catches my eye.
"Your dad won't mind you having Charlie over to stay, right?" she says.
I nod.
"I'll call her." I sigh. "I'm fed up of people having to look after me all the time. I know I've been training but it's not enough. I want to train properly. If there's a fight coming, if something is going to happen on Valentine's Day, I want to be ready for it."
Crystal looks at me seriously a moment. Then she nods.
"I think that's wise. I'll draw you up a proper training schedule. You'll come here every evening after school."
She scrapes her chair back, smooths down her white suit, and smiles – signaling the end of the meeting. We get up too.
"Let me know when you've tracked down Charon," says Crystal.
Cupid nods, and the three of us head out of the office.
***
"Everything OK?" says Charlie.
She turns onto her side, leaning on her elbow, and staring up at me from my dark pink pillow – dressed her stylish chequered pajamas. I watch for a moment as she dunks a tortilla chip into some dip, and sticks it in her mouth – leaving a trail of crumbs across my sheets and the blob of salsa that she created moments before.
"You mean apart from the fact that you're completely destroying my duvet?!"
"I'm hungry, lazy, and messy. You knew this when you made friends with me," she says, pointing a chip at me.
I roll my eyes.
"Yeah...you're right...I totally brought this on myself..."
She grins.
"I'll help you change the sheets tomorrow. Seriously, though...you seem a bit off. And it's more than the serial killing cupid thing...I can tell. What's wrong? Is it to do with Cal?"
She sits up, shuffling back to lean against my headboard beside me. Her dark eyes burn expectantly into mine.
Valentine's message about Cal burns in the back of my mind.
He has Cal's life thread. He messaged me. He told me not to tell anyone.
I open my mouth, hesitant.
If I told Charlie, would Valentine even know? I can't keep it inside any longer. It's already a burden too heavy for me to bare.
"Is it something to do with Cupid?" says Charlie before I can say anything.
I sigh. Both glad, and unhappy at the change of direction of the conversation.
"Yeah..." I say.
I tell her everything Morta said – about how Valentine put Cupid into the Matchmaking Service system, about how he could have completely orchestrated the match.
Charlie rolls her eyes. She twists her black hair into a knot on top of her head, then fold her arms, turning to look at me.
"This is a potentially awkward question," she says, "but do you know who my match is?"
I hold her gaze but don't say anything.
"James," she says. "James is my match. But I'm with Klaus."
I nod.
"The rules changed," I say. "After Venus was killed – people could have more than one match."
She nods.
"Yep. But if Venus hadn't died, if I hadn't become a cupid, if I'd never been sent to Iceland on an assignment, if the rules hadn't changed...would things be different? Would I have ended up with James instead?" she shrugs, placing another chip in her mouth. "I don't know. I don't care. I'm with Klaus because I choose to be with Klaus. Why does anything else matter?"
I nod.
"You're right."
"I know," she says. "I'm very wise."
I roll my eyes.
I think about how Cupid reacted to Morta's words.
"The thing is – I think Cupid might be questioning it all too. Things between us...they feel different. Distant."
"Maybe he think the same about you? Maybe he's worried you're questioning it. Have you spoken to him about it?"
I shake my head and she shrugs.
"Well...there you go then," she says.
She holds my gaze, her brown eyes burning into mine.
"The match happened – you didn't choose that. You didn't choose to meet, or to fall for each other. But you get to choose whether you stay together. You get to choose what happens next."
The grin falls of her face.
"So, the question is – what do you choose? Do you choose Cupid?"
Before I can respond my phone buzzes. I freeze. Cold dread consumes me.
The last person to message me was Valentine.
Charlie – not noticing my reaction - picks it up from the bedside table and tosses it over to me. My hand trembles slightly as I take it and she arches an eyebrow.
"Who is it?" she says.
I exhale gently – the twisted tension unknotting.
"Cal," I say. I look up at her, "Cassie's got back to him about Charon and the ferry. We're heading there after school tomorrow."