The Secret of Ashona (60 page)

“Did you say Golem? Baskania is going to use Tarvos’s Golem soldiers to destroy the world?”

Rosco nodded. “After the scepter you gave him disappeared—and your dragon eyes—he wanted to strike immediately. He was angrier than I’ve ever seen him.”

Erec went from feeling victorious to wallowing in guilt. He was the one who made Baskania angry enough to attack. He handed the Master Shem to Baskania to command the Golems.

“What can I do?”

Rosco looked at him strangely. “Do? You really think that you alone, a single kid, could do something about a large-scale attack on the world? We’re talking millions of people involved here, most on Baskania’s payroll in one way or another. Armies, businesses, ‘peace’ forces. One person couldn’t change anything.”

“I don’t know about that,” Spartacus said. “You’ve changed a lot already.”

Erec knew that was true. But what would he do? The first thing that occurred to him was to consult the three Fates. They would know exactly how Erec could help.

“Exactly,” Spartacus said.

Rosco buried his head in his hands. “Part of Otherness is already gone. The only group that held out in that area is the dragons. They’re going after the clowns next.”

“The clowns? Danny and Sammy—I mean Derby and Shalimar?”

“Yeah. It makes me sick too.”

“We can’t let that happen. I’m going to talk to the Fates now. Would you watch Trevor for me while I’m gone?”

Rosco clicked on his television, and Trevor was drawn straight to it. “Wow. This is cool. I’ll learn all kinds of things.” He plopped on the couch in front of it. “I’m hungry.”

Rosco laughed and went into the kitchen. “Coming right up!” He winked at Erec. “Sure, I’ll keep an eye on him. Go talk to the Fates if you want. It can’t hurt. Let me know what they say.”

“Thanks.”

Before Erec could say good-bye to Trevor he was flying through the air again. Spartacus was not high on patience, he thought.

“Hey, you wouldn’t be either if you were hanging out on earth for one reason alone. Let’s get to the bottom of this and fix it. Not to rush you or anything.”

“Of course not.” Erec laughed. “It’s okay. I remember what it’s like to be a ghost. And there’s nothing I’d rather do now. Baskania is about
to attack Danny and Sammy with the clowns, so we have to hurry.”

They landed in front of the mountainside in Delphi, Greece. The Oracle, the stone well that allowed him to speak to the three Fates, was just up a winding path by the edge of a bubbling brook. It wasn’t until he was gazing into the deep dark waters of the stone well that he remembered what he had to do. It was time to use his dragon eyes again to see another vision of the future. Erec was thankful again that Baskania had not taken his eyes.

He pictured himself going into the small dark room in his mind. What would he see this time? With all of the mess with the Furies he had forgotten the other terrible images he had seen before in his future. Would he still do those horrible things? Maybe now things were different—that was all that he could hope.

The room was relaxing, though, and he soon forgot all about everything that bothered him. When he felt ready, he opened the door to the smaller room inside of the first one, and went in. There was the box that held all of his knowledge. There were the windows. All he had to do was pull the cord and open the shades. What was his mind going to show him this time?

Erec was charging forward on the fastest horse that he had ever heard of. His view on all sides was a blur from the speed, but that didn’t matter. All that he focused on was in front of him. The Flame—the powerful, huge lance—was poised in his grip, ready to spear his target. Nothing would stop him now. He couldn’t even slow down if he tried.

Faster now, and faster. His aim was true and steady, and he was almost there. In seconds, the image of what he was going to destroy was right in front of him. The tip of his lance zoomed inexorably toward . . . Bethany. . . .

Erec yanked the cord to pull the shades down.
What?
This could not be happening—now or in the future. He would never, ever hurt Bethany. The whole thing did not make sense. She was his best friend, and even more than that. What in the world would be happening in the future that would make him do terrible things to people and hurt the one he cared about most?

No. For the first time since he had seen visions of his future, Erec refused to believe this one. It simply would not happen. He stepped out of the dark rooms, opened his eyes, and looked down into the well water.

“Fates?” he called. “Can you hear me? I need to talk to you.”

There was a chorus of squealing, and shouts of “Erec!” “He’s back!” “Our hero!”

It was great to hear the Fates happy again. The last time he had come here they were acting like they had had enough of him.

“Thank you, Erec!” a voice said. “You, like, saved our sisters! That is so totally rad. Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera are sooo happy now. And they’re not prisoners of themselves anymore.”

He grinned. At least that was one thing he had accomplished. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“And now you want us to, like, tell you what to do about the Golem army,” another voice said.

There were titters in the background, and someone said, “As if that was his only problem.”

Erec’s ears perked up. He had more problems than that? Would they never end?

“If you want things to work out right, then you need a little dip in the toilet water,” one of the Fates giggled.

It took Erec a second to realize she was referring to Al’s Well.

“Like, duh!” said another. “Draw a quest and work with fate, not against it. It’s, like, your only hope.”

“So, if I do my next quest I’ll be able to stop Baskania from conquering Otherness and Upper Earth?”

“Yeah, like, maybe you can stop that and also something even worse for you. But only if you don’t totally mess things up. If you, like, follow your
brain
and your
heart
, then just maybe you can win.”

Follow my brain and my heart,
he thought. Well, that’s all he could do. “Can you help me get to Al’s Well again, through the waterways?

There was more giggling. “Um, like, ya, I guess. I mean, we always like to help our hero.”

Erec hesitated a moment before jumping into the well water. He had to pick his eighth quest now? Was it going to lead him on a wild goose chase like some of his other quests had? What if it was dangerous, or made him die again?

He pushed his fears aside and looked at the water. Whatever it was, he would have to deal with it. Not only was Baskania about to destroy Otherness and the whole human world, but something
worse
was going to happen? And he could stop whatever it was if he did things right. There was no question he had to do what the quest told him to do.

As he jumped into the water of the well, a thought popped into his head. What if the “worse” thing had to do with some of his visions of the future? What if it was him turning evil and doing horrible things? Maybe he could stop that, too, and things would work out okay after all.

CHAPTER THIRTY
The Choice to Become Evil

T
HE WATER AROUND
E
REC
quickly changed from the burning hot/freezing cold liquid of the well to normal water. He whizzed through waterways, around turns, and down suction drops until things started to look familiar. Before he knew it, he was again under Al’s Well, looking up through the white porcelain commode . . . and directly into Al’s face, which broke out into a big grin.

“Well, lookie here! It’s Erec Rex again. Great ta see ya, kid. I heard you pulled off a doozy with that last quest of yours. Pretty brave, I’d say.”

Erec wondered if Al was saying that because he knew that “bravery” was the virtue of his last quest. But he couldn’t help grinning. “Thanks, Al.”

“You know, the Fates recommend that ya sign Janus’s paper before you get the quest.” He shrugged apologetically.

“I think it’s more than a recommendation. Seems to be the only way it works,” Erec said. “It’s no problem. I’ll be right back.”

Erec dove into the large pipe that ran under the Labor Society building. He knew exactly which way to go now. Minutes later, he swam under the row of toilets, and was looking through the sink grate into Janus’s room.

Unlike last time, there was no music or noise. In fact, dead silence filled the room. Where were the people who attended Janus’s never-ending party in Erec’s honor? Did they not like him anymore? He wondered what happened.

“Janus?” he called through the sink grate. “Are you there?”

There was a sharp sniff, but no answer.

“Janus?” Erec would not be able to break through the wall where the sink was, so he hoped that Janus would hear him.

A shuffling noise started, and then grew closer. In a moment, Janus peered down at Erec’s eye, which was pressed up against the base of the sink.

Janus jumped in shock, and then turned a pale greenish color. “Who is that?”

“It’s me. Erec.”

“That’s impossible.” Janus spoke sharply. “Erec Rex is dead.”

Erec poked his hand through the hole and wiggled his fingers. “I’m not dead. Look at me—I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I heard.” Janus looked skeptical. “I have it from several good sources that you . . . I mean, that Erec Rex has passed on.” A sob broke loose from his chest, and he held a hand over his
mouth until he quieted down. “My purpose in life is over, unless Erec’s siblings surface and take on the quests. But it is a sad time indeed, when such a noble and courageous future king is no longer with us.”

“I’m back, Janus. I’m here. And I’m ready to do my next quest.”

“Stop making fun of an old man. Now go and leave me alone!” Janus turned and walked away, leaving Erec’s line of sight.

“Come back! It is me. I can prove it. I was brought back to life. Just give me the pad and I’ll show you.”

There seemed to be hesitation on the other end. There were pacing noises and a few murmurs and grunts from Janus. Finally he came back into sight with the paper pad. “I suppose it won’t hurt to let you try. You do sound oddly like Erec. But if this is a joke, I’m turning you in!”

Erec took the pen and reached through the opened sink hole, then signed the paper pad. Immediately his name cut deep into the paper, cracking it open. Light shone through the breaks and into the room.

“Oh!” Janus stared again at Erec’s eye through the hole. “You’re alive!
You’re alive!
I’ll have to let everybody know. The party can start again!”

“Great.” Erec loved the idea of people that were all on his side. So word had gotten around that he was dead? Well, maybe those people would be happy now. “Thanks, Janus. I’ll see you later!”

Swimming away, Erec hoped that he would actually
not
see Janus later. He wished that this was the last time that he would ever have to draw a quest. As far as he was concerned, once the damage that he had started was cleaned up, and he had done what he could to save Upper Earth from the Golem army, then he would relax forever with his family and Bethany, and leave any new messes to someone else.

When he got back to Al’s Well, the water was freezing and
burning again, although not quite painful. Al looked down with interest as Erec waved his hand through the liquid around him. Soon, something warm touched his fingers, and he grabbed it. It was the quest paper.

For a minute he hesitated, and then he read its words.

Ride the mythic horse of the elements to victory.

Erec read the quest again, surprised. It said nothing about him dying, or doing something awful or dangerous. In fact, the very words of the quest suggested that he would succeed—ride the horse to victory. From his recent experiences, he would not have been surprised if the quest had said something awful like, “Ride the mythic horse of the elements to a sure death,” or “to mass destruction,” or even “to the disappointment of everyone you know.” This sounded wonderful! All he had to do was find this mythic horse—which, the name suggested, might not be so easy—and then he would be victorious.