The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (18 page)

"Garbage!"
Mrs. Smith's fury resounded through the room before she made her voice sickeningly sweet. "I do not work for the Shadow Prince. I would do no such thing, dear children. I only want to protect you from him. Do you understand? Will you at least talk to me about it?"

Erec caught Sammy exchanging a glance with Danny. They couldn't actually be thinking about talking to Dumpling Smith,

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could they? He shot Sammy a warning look and shook his head firmly.

"Well, then, children. It's good-bye for now. But don't worry. I'll be checking back soon, wherever you go." Laughter that sounded like a rusty hinge scraping open echoed around them, ending mid-chuckle as Mrs. Smith pulled the Seeing Eyeglasses off.

"You can't believe what she's saying is true," Erec said to Sammy.

"No . . . I mean, I don't know. She sounds so earnest. I understand her better than you do, I think."

"You're being put under a spell. Believe me, she's up to no good."

Well, this was beyond ridiculous. He was supposed to become enslaved in a nightmare for eternity in order to rescue Bethany as soon as possible? It was the only way she would escape? Was this the Fates' idea of a joke?

Erec's eyes were open and glued to the clock on Aunt Salsa's wall. His family was asleep. He had been offered a bed to share with Trevor, but insisted on taking the couch instead. Not that he minded sharing. But tonight he wanted some freedom.

His mother had spent the rest of the evening insisting that the quests were getting out of hand. With both King Piter and his castle gone, no one knew how the kingdoms would be passed down anyway. She insisted--which made logical sense--that Bethany would never be saved if Erec was trapped in a nightmare. She probably couldn't be saved by Erec at all. Queen Posey seemed to be the best person to rescue Bethany, and they would talk to her tomorrow.

Erec did not argue. He didn't want to raise his mother's suspicions that he might sneak away. Which, of course, was exactly what he was planning to do.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN Love and Sand Crabs

ORGET TAKING DANNY and Sammy with him. Forget taking anyone else. This quest would be dangerous, and he would not put anyone else's life in jeopardy. The only person that he would let join him was the Hermit. Erec's tutor was a bit unusual, but he was wiser than anyone Erec had ever met. King Piter had assigned him to watch Erec when he did his quests. He always would show up then, out of the blue. Erec was doing a quest now, and he hoped the
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Hermit would appear. He could use all the help he could get.

But maybe Jam was wrong. This still might all be a mistake. There was probably another King Augeas in Otherness somewhere who would be a good friend and happy to meet him. The first thing he would do when he got out of here would be to check the MagicNet and find out.

Once the clock struck two in the morning Erec put his shoes on and threw a few brownies into a bag for a snack later. A metal object was leaning against the Port-O-Door. Erec picked it up and saw that it was Jam's Serving Tray. He smiled. Jam knew him pretty well, he thought. He left it here just in case Erec did sneak off on his own.

Once back in his father's house, Erec turned on the MagicNet. A dark-skinned woman's face filled the screen. Her hair was mussed as if she'd just woken up. She yawned and looked slightly annoyed. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I need to find out if there is more than one King Augeas. I don't want to buy anything, just get information."

The woman was trying to fix her hair, pushing it out of her face. "Is four on one okay?"

"Sure."

She nodded and the screen was replaced by four boxes, each with a person inside. In the upper right, a middle-aged man yawned and leaned over a podium with books stacked upon it. In the box to his left, a woman sat at a desk filled with papers, filing, jotting notes, and organizing them. A sign on her desk said ALECTICON MUSEUM OF ANCIENT CULTURES. In the box below her was a bed. A person in it snored, the covers over their head. In the final box a young man with very thick glasses was blowing his nose into a red handkerchief.

"Um, do any of you know about King Augeas?"

The three awake people on screen began to answer at once.

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Then two of them turned politely to the man with the glasses.

His voice was nasal. "I've specialized in King Augeas studies throughout grad school. The myth came from ancient Greek culture from Upper Earth, before the formation of the Kingdoms of the Keepers. It's been changed over the years, and embellished, of course. But as far as I've guessed from my research, the story was a way for ancients to understand the significance of dreams and to explain why nightmares happened. King Augeas was probably made up based on the Greek god Apollo and King Nestor--"

"I beg to differ," the woman at the desk said. "Augeas was a very real ruler of old. He reigned in ancient Elis in the Peloponnese peninsula during the time of Hercules."

"Another myth!" the man in glasses shouted. "These fables have been disproven more than once. Augeas was constructed out of several stories that date back into the Archaic Period."

The man at the podium began to snore, his head bobbing.

"Excuse me," Erec said. "Assuming that he was alive, where would the nightmare realm that he was sent to rule be located?"

The man with the glasses laughed so loud he woke up the man at the podium. The figure in bed stirred and then was still.

The woman looked at Erec over her glasses. "I'm sorry. You must understand that even if King Augeas was a real person at some point, the story is still fictional. Nobody was made the King of Nightmares." Her mouth twisted, trying to suppress a laugh.

Erec tried another tack. "Were there other kings named Augeas? Are there any now somewhere?"

"No, I would think not," the woman answered. "Who would give a child such an infamous name? Especially one who was in line to become a king?"

The man with the glasses shook his head. "There's only one King Augeas I've ever heard of." He thought a moment. "I guess you could

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make sure by asking a listing specialist." He looked around at the neighboring boxes, then pointed at the screen where someone slept in a bed. "Isn't that one right there?"

Erec noticed a sign in the corner of the box with the bed that said LISTING. "What does that mean?"

"He's programmed with a listing of everyone living in the Kingdoms of the Keepers, Otherness, and Upper Earth."

"Like a living phone directory?" Erec looked at the bundle in the bed in awe. How could one person remember all that? Magic, he was sure, but still . . . "He's asleep, though."

"Wake him up. They're used to it. Throw pebbles at him, or rice, whatever you can find."

Erec looked around and found a drawer with some money in it. If he was going to wake the poor guy up, he might as well give him some change. He tossed a few bronze gands into the box. Several bounced off the figure until one finally hit him in the head. The man sat up groggily. "What? Huh?"

"Is there a King Augeas living today?"

Erec could almost see the listings run through the man's head. "No." He fell back onto his bed and threw the covers over himself.

Erec knew he had to set out before daylight, or his family would find him in King Piter's house and try to stop him from leaving. He filled a backpack with a few extra clothes, the Serving Platter, some money, the vial of dragon blood, and his MagicLight, a prize he had won that left light hanging in the air when it was dark.

He had no idea which direction to go, or where he would sleep on the way. His only hope was that the Hermit would show up soon and direct him.

Erec thought about using his dragon eyes to show him a bit of the future. Maybe that would give him a clue. But he realized that he

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couldn't do it. What if he found out that he wouldn't be able to save Bethany? He could not deal with that possibility. He had to believe this would work or everything would fall apart.

There was nobody standing outside the water wall around King Piter's house, but walking through his yard into town made no sense at all. He wasn't headed into Alypium, he knew that for certain. This land that bordered between reality and dreams would be far away, on the far reaches of Otherness maybe. He had to go another way.

He headed for the Port-O-Door and was almost surprised when the Hermit was there holding the door open for him.

Wiry, dark, and bald, wearing a long white toga-style outfit, the Hermit wasn't laughing and acting silly as he normally did. Even though his mood seemed fitting--as Erec was sure he was insanely walking straight to his death--the Hermit's silence managed to scare him more. The Hermit gazed at him with calm eyes that seemed to see right through him.

"You have a choice, Erec Rex. Do you pick the big box on the right, or do you prefer to go for what's behind the curtain?"

Erec looked at him blankly.

The Hermit waited, patient.

"I don't understand. What box?"

The Hermit pointed at the Port-O-Door screen, tapping the yellow box marked OTHERNESS.

"So, we can go to Otherness? What is the other choice? What curtain?"

The Hermit waved in the direction of one of King Piter's windows.

"You mean the curtains here?" Erec asked. "Alypium is behind those curtains.

The Hermit giggled. "Okay, then. You can choose to stay in Alypium or go to Otherness."

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Erec was confused. What could be in Alypium that he would need now? "I don't know. Can you tell me why I should want to go to Otherness or Alypium?"

The Hermit put a hand against his own cheek and dropped his jaw in mock shock. "You mean you actually want to know why you are going somewhere before you rush off? You want to know where you're supposed to be going? To have a bit of knowledge about your situation? Not to just wander off aimlessly?" He shook his head. "This is revolutionary."

"Hey." Erec crossed his arms. "Don't make fun of me. I tried to find out where the Nightmare King lives, and nobody seems to know. Most people don't even think he's real."

A pleased smile stole over the Hermit's face. "You really tried to find out what you need to know?"

"I think so. I could look through King Piter's books, but that could take a long time. Jam didn't know any details, and nobody else does that I know."

"
No
body else? Think hard, Erec Rex. Think hard."

In a flash, Erec realized. "
You
know. You can tell me where to go."

"Tsk, tsk." The Hermit shook his head condescendingly. "How many times have I told you that the answers lie within yourself?"

"Um, none?"

"Never mind that. If the answers lie within, I shouldn't have to tell you."

"C'mon. Just tell me what I need to know."

"No, Erec. Only you can tell yourself what you need to know. When is the last time you visited the room in your head?"

Erec immediately thought of the dark room in his mind, using his dragon eyes to show the future. But that was the last thing he wanted to do now. "I can't do it."

"Scared of what the future brings, are you?"

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Erec nodded. "I don't want to know. If something goes wrong and I can't get Bethany . . . I need to believe that the future will turn out right so I can try my best."

The Hermit pursed his lips. "So, this is a logical decision, then. You're not just afraid to see. You're only doing what is right for Bethany."

"Exactly." For some reason, Erec was not as sure of himself as he felt a minute ago.

"Isn't that funny? I had thought it was more logical to see what is coming so that you know how to face it. I thought you might want to do things differently and change the future if it did not work out the way you wanted." He scratched his chin. "I guess you can't trust yourself to show you what you need to see."

That all made perfect sense, and Erec groaned. His fear was stopping him. Everything he needed to know was at his fingertips. It was his own self, at some level, that decided what he should see when he used the dragon eyes. With more practice he could control it.

He had to face his fears and use his dragon eyes. The Hermit was right--if he saw something terrible happen, that didn't mean that it
had
to happen. He would just figure out a way to change things, that was all. Maybe he could try to see what he needed to do for this next quest.

"Okay," he said. "I'll do it. Should I look into the future now?"

The Hermit scratched his bald head. "Not yet. There is more you need to know. Let's go someplace quiet. If you're interested in learning what to do, then I'll bring you with me to a nice cave in Otherness. Do you have the Serving Tray with you?"

Erec nodded and pointed at his backpack. The Hermit touched the screen in the Port-O-Door a few times, and they walked out onto a warm beach. Ocean waves lapped the shore in the darkness, reminding Erec how tired he was. Balmy breezes tossed his hair. As