The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (45 page)

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"What about your security pass? That's a requirement to get into the vaults. I haven't seen you up here before."

Kyron held out his hands. "Why would Ajax need to give me a pass? He assumed you would be up-to-date by now, and have the new list ready. If I go back empty-handed it'll be your head, not mine. I have these guys as my witnesses." He waved a hand toward Erec and Griffin. "I'm taking them with me to deliver fresh eyes to Ajax along with the papers. So let's go."

The secretary seemed unsure what to do. "I'm sorry," she said slowly, "but I have to follow the rules. Nobody can go back without a pass."

"Okay." Kyron shrugged. "It's your head on a post, not mine. Just give me last week's papers and I'll tell Ajax that was the best you could do."

She put her head into her hand. "It's not my fault." Her voice cracked. "I'm overworked. I don't have enough time in the day to do everything they expect. Now I'm going to get in trouble for it?"

Kyron sounded sympathetic. "Look, we're
all
overworked here. Why don't we figure out another way to handle this?" He pointed at the guard. "What if he goes back there with me? I'm sure he's got a pass. That'll keep my visit on the up-and-up, right?"

She shrugged. "I guess. It's not protocol, but . . ."

"Great. Get me the old list and let's go."

He grabbed the papers and a pen from the desk. The guard didn't look thrilled either about accompanying Kyron back into the storage rooms.

"Well, come along then." Kyron impatiently waved Erec and Griffin to come. "We don't have all day."

"Um, they're not allowed to go back there." The secretary stood up, concerned.

"I can't let them out of my sight. Well, not them, exactly. But the

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precious cargo they're holding. You can't expect me to leave those eyes unattended? Unless
you
have the authority to carry them, and then you can come back with me, and they'll wait out here."

"But . . ." She finally surrendered. "Just--just go quick and get it over with."

"Thanks, ma'am." Kyron nodded, and Erec and Griffin followed him and the guard into the storage rooms.

They looked around in wonder at the shelves piled with all kinds of rare treasures. It was too bad Oscar wasn't here, Erec thought. He had the inborn magical gift of being able to tell if things were valuable just by looking at them. Of course, everything here was probably valuable.

A chill ran through him when he realized that a part of Oscar was with him right now, in his backpack. He would have to remember to give his backpack to Jam when they left, so he could find Oscar and give him his eye back.

Odd crystals glowed in different colors on shelves, and some large boxes hummed and shook. One peculiar object caught Erec's eye. It was a small block of amber with something inside it. When he looked closer, he saw a bee trapped inside the block, petrified there. The poor thing, he thought. It reminded him of the missing bees in Upper Earth. What was Baskania planning to do with this thing?

Nobody was looking, so he ran a hand over the shelf and swiped it off, putting it in his pocket under the smock. Stealing from an evil sorcerer seemed like doing a good deed, somehow.

"Okay, where are the newer items?" Kyron asked the guard.

The guard shrugged. "There are some in every room. Here." He waved at an area, then walked into another room, annoyed.

"I see." Kyron picked an object off a table, examined it, and jotted on his paper. He frowned, making more notes, then looked up. "Where is the alarm clock? I know that is one issue of concern. It might have to be moved."

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"Over in that room." The guard thumbed in another direction. "In the locked trunk."

"Hmm." Everyone followed Kyron into the room. "Locked, huh? And you have the key, right?"

The guard took a keychain from his pocket. "You need to see it?"

"I'd better." Kyron tried to sound official, but Erec could hear the excitement in his voice.

After jangling the keys a bit, the guard found the right one and fit it into the lock. He threw the lid open and stood back, as if this was his usual procedure.

The box shook a bit, then a pair of tiny hinged, metallic limbs appeared over its side. A moving alarm clock pulled itself out of the box, stretched, took a few steps, looked around, then plopped down as if disappointed she was still in the vaults.

And it was definitely a "she." Erec thought it looked identical to his lifelike alarm clock from home, except with feminine eyes and a bow on top of its face. His mother had bought his from a Vulcan store, but for some reason he had always thought his was the only one.

So, this was the alarm clock that was set to save Wandabelle? Interesting. He supposed it would be able to do more than a normal clock, anyway.

Griffin exclaimed, "Hmph!" Erec hoped he didn't attract attention, but the guard took no notice.

"I see." Kyron picked the thing up, its tiny metal legs kicking. "We'll just have to take this back with us. Ajax Hunter wants to get it ready for use now."

"Put it back." The guard pointed at the box. "Nothing goes out of here.
Nothing
."

"Now, see here--"

"That means no." He walked closer to Kyron and pulled out a remote control.

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Erec gasped. Kyron's sword was no match for magic.

Magic
. The only thing Erec could think to do, fast, was waggle his finger at the remote control.
Pull
.
Move.

Erec felt the familiar power well up inside, then shoot out of his fingertip toward the guard. Commanding magic was like riding a bicycle--it got easier every time he did it.

The remote shot from the guard's hand toward him. The guard drew back, stunned, then assumed Kyron had done it. "You! Hands up!" He pulled a wooden club out of his holster and raised it, looking for his remote.

Kyron put his hands up, reaching behind his back for his sword. Then he brought it down fast, knocking the guard's club clear across the room. Griffin started to react, but Erec grabbed him. "Let Kyron get him," he whispered. "No use alerting them about two blind servants as well as a military guy."

Griffin reluctantly stepped back as Kyron forced the guard against the wall, still holding the wiggling clock. Nobody wanted to hurt the guard, but they did not see anything to lock him in or tie him up with so they could escape. Kyron raised his sword again.

"No!" Erec gasped. There had to be another way. Maybe he could try using finger magic. The rope that Ajax Hunter had used on Jam, Jack, and Melody worked well. Erec doubted he could do it, but tried to imagine the rope spinning from his finger.
Concentrate.
The same power surged through him. Somewhere in his mind, he was able to take that and spin it into a black cord that spun straight from his finger toward the guard. It wrapped around him, tight, sealing itself off at its end.

Kyron blinked in surprise. "You did that?" He tossed the clock to Erec, who caught it carefully. He grabbed a sheet that was folded on one of the shelves, wrapped the clock inside it, and stuffed it into his backpack.

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The secretary looked blasé as they left. "Done already?"

"Yep. The guard said he'll be out in a few minutes."

"All right. Over here, then." She pulled a black stick out from behind the counter and walked toward Kyron.

"What's this?"

"Just the usual check. I have to make sure you don't have any of the stored items on your person." She ran it up and down over Kyron, finding nothing.

Erec tensed. He could see Kyron scratching his shoulder, ready to grab for his sword when she ran her scan stick over Erec. But instead she walked back to the counter. "All right. See you later."

The lowly blind followers were so completely trusted they didn't even merit a check. What would one of them do with a valuable item, anyway?

The three had run far from the army wing before the guard could get loose. Erec found another long, hooded smock in their room and gave it to Kyron. "Time to change personas again."

"What about you?" Kyron asked. "A hunchbacked servant won't be too hard to find."

Erec slid his backpack to his front. "What about a potbellied one? That should throw them off our track." He laughed. So far the plan was going perfectly. Soon he would find Bethany. Wandabelle would be freed. And he . . .

Don't think about that, he told himself. Just think about Bethany. She was all that mattered.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT An Interesting Crowd

HREE BLIND SERVANTS shuffled down the hallway toward the central elevators. One was tall and thin, another muscular and stout, and the third had a huge belly. They went up to the eleventh floor and wandered back toward the concrete cell blocks.

Guards swarmed in and out of the area. As soon as Erec, Griffin, and Kyron stepped foot onto the concrete floor, a guard's head snapped up.

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"Back!" He waved a stick. "Step back."

Erec said, "But we're supposed to deliver--"

"Over here!" the guard shouted. "We've found them!"

Before Kyron or Griffin could grab their weapons or Erec could think of doing magic, a dozen remote controls pointed at them, freezing them to the spot. A guard walked over and flipped all three of their hoods back.

"This one's definitely Erec Rex. The boss'll be happy now."

"Just in the nick of time, too." Another one nodded. "The Shadow Prince will be here tomorrow. It's going to look better with them locked up."

"Phew." A third guard wiped his brow. "I didn't think we'd be able to do it. The place is so big." He laughed. "Until three 'blind servants' walked into the prison cell blocks. That was a bit of a giveaway."

"Should we throw 'em in the same cell as the other ones? Might look good to keep them together, like we caught 'em all at the same time--or close to it. This will be a great surprise for the Shadow Prince when he gets back." He chuckled.

The three were unfrozen and dragged straight to cell block ten. Erec wiggled his finger and tried to spin a rope out, but he couldn't concentrate. They were thrown inside, and the concrete door slammed shut after them.

After the initial excitement of being reunited, disappointment filled the room. Jam was relieved that Erec was all right, but upset that they all were trapped now. Griffin kicked the door with loud bangs until he was exhausted, then plopped on the floor.

Erec felt sick. How could they have failed? They were so close to freeing their friends. They
had
to get free. He'd seen it in his vision.

Then an awful thought occurred to him. He was able to change the future--that he knew. What if he had done something different than originally planned, and that had changed the outcome of

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everything? He thought hard, wondering if there were unusual decisions he had made.

Was it the magic? He had spun a rope from his finger. He had never done that before. Maybe that wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe that changed everything.

But what else could they have done to get away? If he hadn't used the rope, Kyron might have killed the guard with his sword. Or maybe the guard would have chased them somewhere and they would still be safe. They still had to rescue their friends, though.

Well, it was too late to worry about it now. Baskania would be here tomorrow. At least everyone was alive.

Even though the cell was crowded, Erec decided to put his Seeing Eyeglasses on. This might be the only time he would ever talk to Bethany again. Instantly, the room on the top floor of the lab tower appeared.

She was alone at her desk, eyes closed. "Bethany?"

Her eyes popped open. "Erec?" She looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken and her lips blue. "I'm glad you're here. I don't have a lot longer, you know."

"I'm really here, Bethany. I'm in the fortress, with you."

"Oh, Erec." Her voice was faint. "You came for me. I didn't want you to. But . . . but I'm glad you're close. I wish we could be together before . . . before this is all over."

More than anything, Erec wanted to say that he was about to save her, that she should just hold on and he'd be at her side. "I'm sorry, Bethany."

"No, Erec. Please. You rescued me already from my awful life. Nothing could be as bad as where I was when you found me. I've lived a lifetime of magic since then, all in less than a year. This was more than I ever dreamed of. Even if it ends this way."

"I . . . You're my best friend, Bethany."

"You're mine, too, Erec."

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They sat a moment in silence, listening to each other breathe, until it became too painful. "Love you," he whispered, and pulled the glasses off his face.

Even though the cell was full, nobody said a word.

Erec sat upright on the hard stone bench. Everyone around him was asleep. Was it night still? His watch said four in the morning, but he had no idea if it magically changed to the right time zone or not.

He grabbed his backpack and rooted through it. Dragon blood vial, fake serving tray, MagicLight. Where was it? There was a glass jar--but he jumped when he saw Oscar's eye staring back at him. Erec put it back and dug some more. There. Another glass jar.

This one held Nitrowisherine.

He had to think hard. Wishing Bethany could escape the lab tower wouldn't work. He already had tried that. So the only thing left to do was to wish that all of them could be there with her. Then she could drink the dragon blood.

It was worth a try. The concrete cell was thick, and probably filled with magic. Breaking out wouldn't be easy. He decided to use all the Nitrowisherine left in the jar--which wasn't a lot--and hope for the best.

Jam was watching him. "Is young sir okay? Would you like a meal from the Serving Tray?"

"No thanks, Jam." He shook Griffin by the shoulder. "Help me wake everyone up, okay?"

Soon all six of them were sitting up, Melody yawning and Jack stretching.

"Listen, guys," Erec said quietly. "I have an explosive here called Nitrowisherine. After it detonates, it grants you a wish. So I'm going to wish for us all to join Bethany, so we can help her escape. Okay?"