The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (48 page)

REC FELT STRANGE being in a normal city in Upper Earth after seeing zombies and specters just one minute earlier. But not as strange as it was for the citizens of Kemang, in South Jakarta, to see mobs of identical people jogging down their streets. People pointed, stared, and ran away in fear.

Erec realized that Baskania's appearance made the problem even worse. Half the people walking by wore long black cloaks

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and had a third eye in the middle of their foreheads. He wondered if the people living in Kemang would chalk it up to some kind of mass nightmare. Erec would have to make sure that none of the Baskania replicas were left behind to roam around, terrifying people.

"Look!" Kyron pointed. Behind them, legions of Erecs poured out of the eye care shop, far more than the police officers could capture on their own. They looked aimless, with nobody to follow. So Kyron ushered them along after the Bethanys and Baskanias, and soon they all fell into step.

"How many of us do you think there are?" Erec asked Bethany.

"I counted a few times when we were in the fortress. There were one hundred of each of us in the beginning, so three hundred. But a few of them combined into other things, and some got killed by Baskania. I'd guess there're about two hundred and fifty left."

Jam led the way to the Port-O-Door and pulled out the stored password. Moments later, the door to Spartacus Kilroy's house was open, and they all trotted through.

Safe! It felt so good to be back in Alypium again. He had done it! Bethany was rescued, and the Draw spell was broken. More than that, Baskania wouldn't bother trying to capture her again. The prophecy hadn't been about her all along.

Spartacus Kilroy heard the commotion and ran into the room, then stepped back in shock when he saw Erec.

"Spartacus!" Erec ran up and gave him a hug. "You wouldn't believe what happened."

Spartacus looked like he would faint. Jam raced over and sat him down. "I know it looks odd, sir. But that man is not Baskania. It's Erec Rex, sir. He just . . . looks like Baskania right now."

Before Spartacus could adjust to that idea, hordes of Baskanias, Bethanys, and Erecs poured into his home. His lips moved silently

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for a moment, then his eyes crossed, and he passed out.

"Oops!" Erec wasn't sure how he should have handled the introductions, but there probably was a better way. Griffin ushered the look-alikes outside, which seemed like a good idea. Once out in the open, the Bethanys, Erecs, and Baskanias huddled in separate groups. The Bethanys and Baskanias peered inside the windows and tried to emulate their doubles inside.

They waited for all of the imitations to get through, and then Kyron and Griffin went back into Jakarta through the Port-O-Door to look for any stragglers. Lalalalal raced through an open window and straight to his coop, excited to relay all of his adventures to his friends. Jam took the boy who had Bethany's early memories back through the Port-O-Door to his home and then returned.

Erec was floating inside. Everything was perfect. Everything except . . .

He felt like he was being picky, but he didn't want to look like his archenemy anymore.

"Picky, picky boy." Erec spun around to see the Hermit, shaking his head and tut-tutting. "It's always something, isn't it? Never satisfied." He handed Erec a cup of steaming brown liquid that smelled rancid. "Why don't you have a drink?"

Erec looked at it in disgust, then gulped it down. He nearly choked--it tasted worse than it looked. "What was that?"

"Just a little health drink. Bathwater from the muglumps in Salsaban. Like it?"

Erec looked down at himself. He still looked just like Baskania. "It's not working."

"Oh, I think it is. Your complexion is a little brighter, I think." He giggled.

"You mean, that wasn't supposed to turn me back into my normal

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self?" He pointed at the Hermit and said in his most threatening Baskania voice, "I'll get you someday."

The Hermit laughed joyously. "It would be fun to keep you like this forever. But if you really want to look like yourself again, swallow this." He handed Erec a vial of purple liquid.

Erec eyed it suspiciously. "Is this going to give me green polka-dots?"

But the Hermit had disappeared. Erec opened the vial. It resembled the dragon blood that Bethany had drunk to remove the Draw spell. He took one sip and felt something inside dissolve. A figure resembling Baskania stepped out of him, looked at himself with relief, and darted away. Erec looked in the mirror, afraid to see. . . .

His normal face looked back at him, then grinned. "Bethany!" He ran out to find her. At first he couldn't tell which one she was, as a host of Bethanys were wandering around inside. But once he swiveled his dragon eyes around, there was no question.

The Erecs inside and out rejoiced, imitating him with vigor. The Baskanias, however, grew confused with their leader gone.

Erec grabbed Bethany's hand. "Let's get out of here. Jam, do you think Aunt Salsa would mind if we all came to her house? I mean, not all the imitations. Just us."

"Not at all, young sir."

"Um, Spartacus? Would it be okay if these fake look-alike things stayed on your farm for a little while, just until we find a place for them? I hate to ask, but . . ."

Spartacus nodded weakly. "It's just going to take me a little while to get used to seeing the Shadow Prince all over my house."

"I'd keep them outside. Maybe they can help out here." The offer was lame, Erec knew, but Spartacus agreed with a strained smile.

Jam led Erec and Bethany to the Port-O-Door. Erec could not help but notice the wistful look on the faces of the Bethanys and Erecs as they watched them disappear.

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* * *

June would not stop hugging Erec and Bethany, until finally it got embarrassing. She sniffed, whispering to Erec, "I'm so ashamed. I told you not to go, and when I think what would have happened to her . . ."

"You didn't know. Of course you said that. You're my mom."

After telling the story about twenty times from different perspectives, they started to feel like they had really had a great adventure.

"Remember how funny Master Vetu looked when his rotting heads rolled to the ground?"

Those who had not been there shuddered, but everyone else burst into laughter, remembering how funny it had seemed at the time.

Erec had not eaten anything good for a long while, and the cookies that Aunt Salsa kept bringing from the kitchen were amazing. Bethany took one bite and swooned. "I never thought I'd eat real food again."

After Aunt Salsa heard that, she produced snack after snack for Bethany until finally she was holding her stomach and groaning.

"Can we go somewhere and talk, Bethany?" Erec said.

Looking up brightly, she nodded.

"We'll be right back, guys." Bethany followed him into Aunt Salsa's Port-O-Door. "Let's see. Otherness. Here's Nemea. Remember the first time we went there, and found the entrance to the Nevervarld?"

She laughed. They left the door in a tree and sat on a log in the woods, enjoying the quiet.

Nemea was as beautiful as he remembered it. The sun hung golden, streaming rays like spotlights through the thick branches overhead. Birds called out in the sky.

"Look!" Bethany pointed at a dragon flying high overhead.

They were finally alone together. She was back home again. With him.

This was the best day of his life.

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Bethany grinned. "Now I've been saved twice by a prince."

"Hey, you've saved me, too. Remember pulling me out of the Nevervarld? I'd still be in there if not for you."

She didn't answer. Instead she looked out into the distance. "You know, I really thought my life was over. It was horrible there. Miserable, lonely, painful, scary. But the whole time I kept thinking it wasn't really that bad. You were still safe, and that made it all okay. I don't know if you realize how much you've given me. After my parents died, everything was gone. My life really started again when I met you." She shrugged. "So I kept on thinking that even if I died, every moment of this last year made up for it a million times over."

"And I kept hating myself for letting you get caught. I should have come back sooner, and been there for you."

"You didn't know that this would happen. King Piter was there--we all thought I'd be safe with him around."

Erec nodded. "When I came back, I couldn't believe what had happened to him. He was a mess. Completely obsessed by his scepter. He's with Queen Posey now, luckily, and doing a lot better."

Bethany slid down and leaned back on the log so she could look up at the sky, and Erec joined her. Huge birds soared overhead, and they spotted occasional dragons.

"I have a little brother," Bethany said, as if just realizing for the first time. "He would be eleven now. Pi never said anything about him, and King Piter didn't either. I wonder where he is."

Whoever he was, the kid was in a lot of danger now, Erec thought. But he didn't want to remind Bethany of that after all she'd been through.

"I hope he's okay. I really want to meet him. This means I have a real family!" She turned partly toward him. "I mean, it was fine with just me and Pi. But to have more than just us two . . . Do you know there are entire cultures in places like the Amazon that have

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only three numbers? One, two, and more-than-two. My family is now of the highest order." She laughed. "Sorry. After being alone so long, I'm letting my inner math geek slip out. I try to keep it under control."

"It's okay, Bethany. I like you, inner math geek and all."

She giggled. "And I like you too, inner Prince Charming hero and all."

"Shut up." He threw a handful of leaves at her.

She glanced around her. ". . . six . . . you threw approximately seventeen leaves at me, which should be only about one hundredth of your ability. Which makes you either incredibly weak, or lazy--I'm not sure which." She laughed and tossed a few back at him.

"Oh, yeah?" Erec tried to hide his grin, and wagged his finger, looking at all the leaves around them on the forest floor. He focused on the feeling the Hermit had taught him, and felt his strength well up inside, then shoot out his finger.
Lift.
Leaves all around them lifted.
Whirl.
They spun through the air like a little cyclone. He brought them straight over Bethany and released, and for a few minutes it rained leaves down on both of them.

Bethany laughed, kicking her feet in the air and scattering them. Soon they were both covered in a leaf pile. Bethany kicked around inside and threw some into the air. Then she looked at Erec with a smirk. "Is that all you can do, Prince Charming? I thought by now you could make the whole forest come down."

"That's it. I'm returning you to Baskania." He called out, pointing, "Hey! She's right here! Come and get her!"

She laughed. "You're stuck with me now." She pulled herself up to a full sitting position. "By the way, how did you learn finger magic? That's amazing."

"The Hermit." Erec wondered where he was now. He guessed he'd see him again when he did his next quest. Which reminded him--"My

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fifth quest isn't done," he announced. He lifted the Amulet of Virtues on his chest. Only four of its twelve segments glowed with color for the four quests he had completed. "Wandabelle, the Clown Fairy, is still trapped in the Nightmare Realm. But guess what I found in Baskania's fortress? The only way to free her is a special alarm clock, and we broke into the Army Security Headquarters and got it!" He rose to his feet. "I need to save her as soon as I can. That place is awful. Plus, the clowns need her. They're starting to die off because they need a leader to survive. Their rulers were killed ten years ago, and the Clown Fairy was all that was holding them together."

"Why was she stuck in there?" Bethany frowned. "That's awful!"

"Guess who did it? Baskania. He's holding her there, since it's the only place she can't escape from, and on May first he's going to give her to one of the three Furies--Tisiphone--in exchange for tripling his powers. Then he wants to use the remaining clowns that don't die out and train them for his armies."

Bethany looked pale. "We better get her out fast, Erec. As soon as Baskania gets wind that the alarm clock is stolen, I bet he'll move her somewhere else. Do you think he already knows?"

Erec thought about the guard that they had left tied up in the Army Security Headquarters. The secretary had probably found him soon after, and they both would have reported what happened. "Yeah. Good point. Baskania may be trapped in his own prison cell right now, looking like me, but that can't last forever. We're going to have to be really careful. . . . What am I saying 'we' for? The last thing
you
need is to go somewhere and risk your life right now. How about a nice vacation in Americorth North with my mom and Jam, and his nice Aunt Salsa? You can see all the sights down there with them and stay far away from Baskania. Sound good?"

She glared at him, then lay against the log and closed her eyes. "I don't know, Erec. I can completely understand how you feel. Believe