The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (9 page)

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A voice said, "Oh, stop it, girls. Look, we've made him all like upset and everything. Listen, kiddo. As if. Your friend Bethany, she isn't going to die, like,
now
. Well, that is, if you
save
her she totally won't. You do have a chance. And your family is fine. But, like, everyone dies eventually, right? I mean, like, you have to watch what you're asking us. We just told you the truth. Unh. Nobody lives forever."

The haze of sorrow dropped from Erec's mind. So, everyone would be okay? Bethany would not die--at least now--if he was able to save her? A sense of purpose filled him again, along with a spark of anger. "So . . . you were just saying all that to upset me?"

"Just having a little fun, worry wart. Stop taking everything so seriously. Blah, blah, blah. What a bore." The Fates sounded quieter, like they were fading away.

"Wait! Sorry. How can I save Bethany from Baskania? He has a Draw on her. I heard those are unbreakable. Is his Draw as strong as the ones that the Furies use?"

All sound stopped. Erec feared that the Fates had gone, but then he heard a solemn voice.

"We don't like to think about our sisters locked away in Tartarus."

Erec looked into the well, panicked that they would not help him. "S-sorry I brought it up. Can you help me? Please? How I can save Bethany with that Draw on her?"

The voice that answered echoed quietly, no longer sounding like a chirpy teen. "I shall tell him." There was a pause. "Of the many things you could do, only one will work. In this order: You must first find the man with the magnet and ask him to use it on Bethany. Second, you must do most of your next quest. Only then must you find Bethany. Feed her a sip of dragon blood. That will break the Draw. Baskania is not able to make it as strong as our sisters could. Good luck, Erec Rex."

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Erec recited the steps in his head, frantic to remember until he saw Jam jotting in a notebook.

"
Most
of my next quest? Not all of it?"

One of the Fates giggled. "You'll understand later."

Relieved, Erec sighed. "Thank you so much. I'll do those things right away."

"If you love Bethany, you'll do them as soon as you can." The voice began to giggle and chirp. "But, like, if you love your father, then you won't."

"What?" Erec was tired of being confused, but he was so grateful for their help, he didn't dare to complain. "My father wants Bethany safe too. He wants me to rescue her."

"Like, fer sure. But he also wants to stay alive, like, a little while longer. Totally up to you. Whatever."

"What? My dad is in danger?"

"Oh, like, only if you call
dying
being in danger."

This was the last thing Erec expected to hear. "Why is he dying? What can I do?"

"I mean, like, isn't it obvious? I mean, totally. What was keeping him alive for five hundred years? A good diet?"

The answer was obvious to Erec immediately. The magic of King Piter's scepter gave him a life much longer than normal mortals. It even gave the people near to him longer lives. When the king had been put under a spell, hypnotized for ten years, the scepter must have been near enough to him to keep him alive--even though not in the best condition. But now it was gone. Erec had sent it away, and he could not bring it back by himself. How long would the king last without it? His age was probably catching up with him by the moment.

He had to get back to his father and figure out how to save him--and fast. "Bye. Uh, thanks!"

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"Good luck!" The Fates' voices were fading into the distance.

"Wait, come back!" Erec shouted into the well. "How do I save my father? How much time do I have? How long will Bethany be okay?"

A few more murmurs bubbled up before the water grew quiet. Erec thought he heard one of the Fates complaining, ". . . wants us to tell him, like, everything. As if. He is
so
not using his head today."

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CHAPTER SIX A Sister's Help

AM'S HANDS TREMBLED. He looked as shaken up as Erec felt. "Young sir. I ... we should go back to the king. What can we do? I should know--I'm supposed to be prepared." Jam dropped his face into his hands. Even though his magical gift was being prepared, Erec knew that some things were impossible to be ready for.

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Jam paused. "Unless young sir feels it more important to help Bethany than the king?" He looked terrified to hear the answer.

"No, we need to help him first. He looked really bad. And it sounds like Bethany will be okay for a little longer." Erec hoped he was right. "But what can we do?"

There was one obvious solution to the problem. Jam could say to him, "You are ready to use the scepter once again," and it would appear in his hands. He would just have to hand it over to the king again. Simple.

Or maybe not so simple. He wasn't sure. The more Erec thought about it, though, the more appealing it began to seem. Maybe he could put a spell on the king and keep him alive forever. If he just held it again, and could feel its warmth, its strength. He could use its power to become strong and take care of everything.

"Young sir?" Jam looked relieved. "I know what we need to do. He must go stay with Queen Posey. Being near her scepter, in her castle, should keep him young and strong. At least until he is able to be with his own scepter again."

Erec wanted to argue. His way was better! He could fix it all if he just held the scepter once again. The king would never get it back. It was Erec's now.

Then, like a slap in the face, he realized that his cravings were taking over his mind again. Jam was perfectly right. The king's sister would be glad to help, and Piter would enjoy the visit.

"Thanks, Jam. Great advice--as usual."

Jam grabbed Erec's sleeve and yanked him along the path. "Please hurry, young sir. We don't know how much time is left."

Erec sprinted behind Jam back down the path toward the Port-O-Door. Sunny-faced tourists wandered past them, happily admiring the scenery, unaware of the terrible danger. Erec was

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amazed how fast Jam's fingers flew over the Port-O-Door maps in the vestibule, directing the door right into the living room of his Aunt Salsa's apartment in Americorth North.

After a quick rap for politeness, Jam opened the door to his aunt's heavily air-conditioned apartment. It felt so strange to Erec that in just a few steps he had moved from Europe to a land far underneath the earth's surface. Everyone shouted hellos, and little Zoey threw her arms around his legs, almost tripping him.

Aunt Salsa was bustling about, serving homemade cookies to Danny, Sammy, Nell, Trevor, and Zoey while talking to June. King Piter was asleep in a chair. He looked crumpled, as if his bones had shrunk. "There you two are!" she called out. "Come have some cinna-berry cookies. It's my mother's recipe."

Jam raced to King Piter's side. In another minute the king was stretched out on the couch, surrounded by pillows. "He's so light now, young sir." Erec pulled a blanket over the king.

"Is everything okay?" June looked concerned. "I didn't want to wake him. It seemed like he needed a nap." She put a hand on Erec's head and whispered, "Did you find out about Bethany?"

He nodded, but pointed at the king. "He's in danger without the scepter here. He has to go stay with Queen Posey right away."

June's face turned pale. "I never thought about that. He's so old. . . . I know what you're saying."

Jam rested a hand on the king's shoulder and gently shook it. "Wake up, sire."

The king's eyes fluttered, but only opened a trace. "Yes, Jam?" His voice was like a wisp of smoke.

"We must call your sister, sire. Right away. It's urgent--for your life."

King Piter did not seem to understand.

"Sire. Call Queen Posey, now. She must come get you."

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The king barely nodded, then shuffled under the blanket Erec had placed on him. Jam helped him draw an arm out, and the king made some motions in the air with his finger. He gestured a few more times before his hand sank back down. "I can't, Jam." He panted for breath. "I'm too weak. My powers seem . . . gone. . . ." The king's eyes began to close.

In a flash, Jam was speaking into his own finger, then putting it in his ear.

"That looks funny." Zoey giggled. "Is Jam pretending to talk on the phone?"

"No," Erec explained. "He has a tiny cell phone in his finger."

Jam was murmuring urgently. ". . . don't understand. I need Queen Posey immediately, for King Piter. I can not leave a message. . . . No, her closest attendant would be best. The matter is highly urgent. . . . I see. Well, the king is right here. We will wait until the queen herself may speak to us. And remember, I would not want to be the servant who took too long and caused something terrible to happen to the queen's brother."

In a few moments, Jam fell to his knees. Erec worried that he was hurt, but then he heard him say, "Yes, my Queen. He is quite sick without his scepter. We spoke to the Fates at the Oracle in Delphi, and they said you must take him with you. Your scepter will keep him alive. Thank you. We will see you there, in one minute."

Jam shook his hand and announced, "The queen will take care of King Piter. She will come through her Port-O-Door to meet him in his home. That will be quicker than explaining where Aunt Salsa lives, or for us to try to find her in her castle." He easily lifted the king into his arms, the blanket still covering him. "He's getting lighter and lighter."

The king shuffled a tiny bit, then gave up. His head hung straight back, chin up, and an arm hung loosely to the floor.

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Erec followed them into the Port-O-Door vestibule. "We'll be back soon."

"Do you two need help?" June said.

"No, we're okay. You can stay here with Danny and Sammy."

Jam's Aunt Salsa shuffled over and slid a cinna-berry cookie in Erec's hand. "Take this with you, dear."

Erec took a bite of the amazingly good cookie. "Thanks." He pulled the door shut and opened the other door that led straight back into the king's home in Alypium. Jam rested the king on a soft couch--the same one where Bethany had lain a few months ago when she was caught in one of Baskania's spells. Erec reddened slightly as he remembered how his kiss had woken her.

A few seconds later, a thin wooden door appeared in the wall. Out of it strode a tall, beautiful woman with dark, flowing hair. Her dress was almost scalelike: a shimmering aqua that draped her slender figure with greens and shadows that seemed to slink through the material. On her head sat a gleaming silver crown, and she held her scepter, which looked very much like the king's, in her hand.

Erec noticed the three dark, thin lines under each of her eyes. They made her look tired, but he recognized them as the same Instagills he had in his own wrists. With them he could breathe underwater. He and Bethany had won them in Queen Posey's Sea Search contest.

At the same moment, a crowd of people appeared at the window. A hand was pointing in, then waving, and people were peering in. Some huge objects whizzed through the sky toward the window--at first they looked like humongous birds. As they landed in the grass, Erec could see that they were people flying, likely with the aid of magical heli powder.

The queen rushed to her brother's side and put a hand on his

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forehead. "Oh, dear Piter. Look at you." She hugged him and rested her scepter over his blanket.

The king's eyes slowly opened. "I'm feeling much better already, Posey. Thank you for coming."

The queen smiled. "You just needed a sister's help." She startled when fists began to pound on the window. "Who is that?"

"I think they work with President Inkle at the Green House," Erec said. "One of those guys was looking in the windows earlier today. He wanted to arrest me for just being here."

"Maybe he recognized you, young sir." Jam frowned. "That could be why he's back--to hand you over to Baskania."

Queen Posey looked at the men through the window. "Have they no respect? I'll take care of them for you."

Her chin made a quick jerk and they disappeared. Then she tapped her scepter on the floor once.

"What happened?" Erec looked out of the window. The men were standing fifty yards away now.

"I put a water wall around the house and gardens," she said calmly. "It will keep everyone away."

Erec could not see the thin stream of water until one of the men tried to step over it. A huge wave shot up from the earth, knocking him up into the air, then flat on his back.

The queen eyed Erec up and down. She slowly said, "Erec Rex. I just can't believe it's really you. I'm so glad you're alive."

Suddenly Erec made a strange connection: Queen Posey was his aunt. He had a real aunt, and she was here right now. He bit his lip, wondering if he should give her a hug, or shake her hand.

They stared at each other until finally Queen Posey grabbed Erec and gave him a huge squeeze. "Erec. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before."