I nod. Blending in would be good for recon. I need to study Daphne’s movements, just like I did with that hydra I hunted down last year for the Feast of Return. I stalked its movements for days. I knew its favorite places to go. Where it ate and slept. Where it was most vulnerable … before I made my move.

Dax reaches down into the depths of the last bag. “Now don’t lose these,” he says, handing me three small cards made out of a thin, hard material. Two have my picture on them, and the other has a long set of numbers. “Two IDs and a credit card. This ID says you’re sixteen; the other one says you’re twenty-one. You’ll never know when which age will benefit you more. The credit card is how you pay for things. Simon set up the account and will handle the bills—which means he’ll know about everything you spend money on. Got that?”

I nod.

“Now, this,” he says, “is going to be your most important weapon of all.” I expect maybe he is going to bestow on me some kind of enchanted sword or maybe even some poison-tipped arrows, but instead he pulls out a thin, black rectangle with a reflective screen. It looks almost identical to the white communication device I’d found in Daphne’s bag.

“What is that thing?” I ask, pretending that I have never seen anything like it.

“It’s an iPhone,” he says. “And it’s the most important tool you’ll need in the mortal world.” He slides his finger across the screen and the thing comes to life. He presses on the different icons, and shows me the functions of the device. “They’ve improved since the last time I was here. It’s so fast. And so thin.” He almost sounds as giddy as Simon. “Its primary function is communication. Somewhat like the talismans the Court uses, except it only transports your voice, not an astral projection of yourself.”

I nod. I’ve heard the Heirs speak of their communication talismans but I’ve never actually seen one. I doubt they look anything like this iPhone object.

Dax hits a few icons and then scrolls through what looks like a list of names. He finds his own name and then a few seconds later, a ringing noise comes from his pocket. He pulls another iPhone out and shows it to me. “See, you need anything and all you’ve got to do is hit my name and it’ll call me. We can talk, no matter how far away, through these.

“However, this next feature is the most important.” He clicks on an icon that says YouTube and holds the phone up in front of me. “You know how we are taught to learn? Someone demonstrates and then we repeat his movements?”

“Yes.” The Underlords are natural mimics. We learn by repeating what we see or hear, absorbing the ability to do just about anything in a matter of hours. Some of us—including myself—can master any new skill in a matter of minutes. It’s how I’ve excelled in my lessons. Humans don’t have the same accelerated ability, I recall, according to Master Crue’s many lectures.

“Well, the same watch, absorb, repeat method also applies to recorded videos.”

“Videos?”

“I’ll show you.” Dax taps icons of letters, spelling out the words how to juggle. “We’ll start with something easy.”

I watch as a prepubescent boy with a face full of pus-filled lesions appears on the screen. He holds three round objects in his hands. I listen and absorb as the boy demonstrates how to juggle the objects. When the demonstration ends, Dax hands me three apples from the bowl on the table.

“Try it,” he says.

I picture what I have just watched in my mind, and mimic the boy’s actions, movement for movement, and juggle the apples perfectly on the first try.

Dax nods in approval.

“Child’s play,” I say, placing the apples on the table. “How will this help me?”

“Juggling won’t help you much. Not unless Daphne has a thing for clowns, but you can pretty much learn how to do anything using this application.” He picks up one of the apples and takes a bite. “There are many gaps in your education.”

“I’ve noticed,” I say under my breath.

“You aren’t as prepared for this world as you might think you are. It’s why I didn’t want you venturing out on your own yet. Who knows what trouble you could have gotten yourself into?”

Guilt clutches at me, and I wonder if I should tell Dax about what I’ve done. I don’t know how to fix the problem I’ve created with Daphne. I feel like such a fool. But if I tell him, he would probably have to tell Simon. How can I share my secrets with the one person I trust if he’s under orders to report back on me?

“Just don’t ask the Internet for dating advice. That’s never a good idea, trust me.”

“Dating?”

“You’ll see.”

“What else can that thing do? Can it track someone?” I’m thinking of Daphne and wondering if this iPhone can show me where to find her again.

“If you have the right app. Or if you have their address, you can type it into this map function, and it will tell you where and how to find the location.” He hands me the phone and then starts putting my new clothes away in a chest of drawers next to the table.

Address. I remember seeing something like that in Daphne’s papers. I’d memorized it without even really thinking about it. While Dax isn’t looking, I punch the numbers and words into the search bar in the map’s feature. After a moment, a small red dot lands on the map, showing me where Daphne lives. I could go there right now if I wanted. I could sneak out again as soon as Dax left.

I shake my head, dismissing the thought. What is it about this girl that makes me act so stupidly? I tell myself it’s for recon reasons, but I know there’s a part of me that just wants to see her again.

“I have one more thing to show you. Outside,” Dax says. “But first, we’d better do something about your hair. Someone might think you’re trying to look like a pirate if you go wandering around, looking like that.”

“I’m tired, Dax. Can it wait until tomorrow?” Really, I’m itching to study Daphne’s things some more. Learn as much about my adversary as I possibly can. I don’t want to be caught off guard again.

“Believe me,” he says. “You don’t want to wait to see this. It’s going to change your entire world.”

Chapter sixteen