The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (49 page)

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me. After all of this, both of us just want to know that everyone is safe. And believe me, taking a break with your family sounds better than you can imagine right now. But I don't want to let you out of my sight. It sounds weird, but we've been apart for so long, the idea of you going to some Nightmare Realm without me freaks me out." She shrugged. "Imagine if you were sitting home and I was going by myself."

Erec didn't want to imagine that. "It would be awful." He laughed. "I don't want to let you out of my sight either. But it's easier for me knowing that you're somewhere safe."

They sat in silence a while, before Bethany said, "I'm going to do the smart thing, not what I want to do, just this once. I'll stay with your mom. But I don't ever want to hear you trying to protect me again, okay?"

He looked at her in surprise. "What made you decide that?"

She shrugged. "The dragon's blood you gave me really perked me up. But I can feel it starting to wear off. I haven't really slept in months. I think I'm going to be so wiped out, I won't be able to go with you." She scratched her head, puzzled. "I know this sounds weird, but a really unusual thing helped me get out of the fortress. I could feel the dragon blood break the Draw that Baskania put on me. But something else was holding me too. It was like Baskania had willed me to stay, and I wouldn't have been able to override it. It's hard to describe.

"But after the Draw was gone, I felt this powerful urge to get going. I know this sounds crazy, but I really needed to go to this place called Cinnalim, in Otherness. Can you believe it? Like some odd urge to take a vacation possessed me ... and that's what let me escape with you. I don't even
know
anything about Cinnalim, except that they have that amazing chocolate rain there. But I really want to go now and see what that place is all about. I get the feeling it's incredible. So, when you finish your quest I'll get a day or two

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of sleep, then I'll go to Cinnalim. Do you want to meet me there?"

Erec laughed, knowing what happened. "I know why you want to go there, Bethany. A man there called Danen has a people-magnet, and he's pulling you to him. That was the first thing that the Fates said I had to do to get you out alive--to go to Cinnalim and get Danen to use his magnet on you." He was amazed that things had worked out as well as they had. What if he had done all of this without the magnet on? Would Bethany have remained stuck?

"Ooh, you've been to Cinnalim?" Bethany leaned forward, excited. "Tell me all about it. Was it beautiful?"

"Yes," Erec admitted. "And the rain was pretty good too--if you're careful not to eat the bugs that fall in with it."

She bounced up and down in excitement. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Danen's going to have to turn his magnet off you. And if you go, you'll have to be really careful there--Baskania might pop in unannounced, or have people watching. But maybe you and Jam can go down there together and ask Danen to switch the magnet off."

Her eyes lit up. "Maybe we should just go
now
. I can always sleep
there
, right?"

"No," Erec said firmly. "You're going to be exhausted soon. And going is not completely safe. So plan it out right, okay?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

"Let's go back and talk to Jam about it," he suggested. "Oh, guess what? You're not going to believe this. But I know for sure now that Danny and Sammy are King Piter's other triplets--my lost brother and sister!"

"What?" She clapped her hands together. "How did you find that out?"

"I had a few different hints. Dumpling Smith and her gang kept trying to steal them away. She was our old babysitter--she's got to be working for Baskania. But what told me for sure was using my

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dragon eyes to see into the future. I asked to see something good that would happen, and I saw Danny and Sammy being crowned king and queen! I remember it was the best feeling. I'm guessing Sammy will replace Queen Posey, and Danny will rule Aorth instead of King Pluto. My mom said something about it too. But Danny and Sammy
can't
find out yet. Remember what happened when I learned who I was too early? So keep it a secret, okay?"

"Of course," she agreed. "Maybe they can go with you to finish your fifth quest."

He nodded. "That's just what I was hoping."

A few minutes after they returned, the dragon blood wore off. Bethany's eyes were closing. Zoey and Trevor were at her sides, arms around her, and she seemed to be melting into them. Erec was glad that she was no longer talking about going to Cinnalim immediately.

Aunt Salsa tucked Bethany away in a quiet room with trays of snacks and water surrounding her bed, in case she woke hungry. Erec peeked in to say good-bye, but she was sound asleep.

He took Jam and his Aunt Salsa aside. "Could you make sure she stays away from the Port-O-Door until she's had enough sleep? Danen's magnet in Cinnalim is pulling her to go back there. Jam, would you mind going there with her when she's ready, and getting Danen to turn his magnet off now? Unless you can do it by phone."

"They didn't give us their number, young sir, but I can see if they're listed." Jam spoke into his finger briefly. "Alas, as I was afraid. I'll go with her when she's ready, then, young sir."

"Thanks." Erec took the alarm clock out of his backpack and unwrapped it from the sheet. Relieved to be let out, it stretched and took a little walk around the carpet. "How are you set to work, little thing? What do I do to free Wandabelle from the Nightmare Realm?"

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The thing toddled around a while, happy to explore the room.

"Look at that," Sammy said, delighted. "It's so cute. I never knew there were girl versions of our clock."

Danny laughed. "Did you bring this back as a souvenir? I'd have thought that you'd be the last person to get another alarm clock, seeing how annoyed you always are with the one at home."

"Well, this one's going to do something a lot more important than just wake me up. It's set to rescue the Clown Fairy from the Nightmare Realm. Getting her out will finish my fifth quest."

"Wow." Sammy was impressed. "The clowns are in danger, right? You think this will work?"

"I hope so. You guys feel like coming with me?"

Danny jumped to his feet. "Thought you'd never ask! I'm ready for a little excitement. Let's do it!"

Sammy shrugged. "Now that Mrs. Smith doesn't have Mom's glasses anymore, we can go anywhere. Why was she trying so hard to find us, anyway?"

Erec bit his tongue. "I'm so glad you're coming with me. It's going to be great to have my . . . brother and sister with me this time."

"They're comin' with us, cap'n?" Griffin frowned, sizing Danny and Sammy up. "I dunno. Ye think they can handle it there?"

"Yup." Erec nodded. "They're pretty tough. But only three people are supposed to do the quests together. Griffin, do you mind waiting this one out?"

Griffin's mouth fell open. "Yer mean . . . you don't want me with you--yer loyal matey, sworn to yer service? You think these two'll do better in the Nightmare Realm than me, who's lived there for years?"

Griffin was truly insulted. It did seem silly not to let him come along. Who cared about the three-only rule, anyway? Erec wasn't even sure who had made that up. During his fourth quest he brought a lot more people with him, but during the most important part he

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ended up alone. "You're right, Griffin." He smiled. "I wouldn't dream of going without you. So, it's the four of us, then?"

"Check this thing out," Danny said. He held the sheet that Erec had wrapped around the alarm clock in front of his face, then flipped it the other way. From one side Erec could see Danny right through it, like it was clear plastic. From the other side it was an opaque white sheet. "Where did you get this?"

"It was on a shelf in the Army Security Headquarters. I thought it was just a regular sheet." He smiled. "Of course, why would they keep a regular sheet in that place?"

Danny tossed it over Erec's head, and everything went completely black and silent. "Hey. Get this off me." The words seemed to hit the cloth and echo back to him. Either nobody in the room was speaking, or it kept out sound, too. He struggled to pull it off, but was unable. "Help! I'm stuck!"

It seemed like forever before Danny lifted the sheet off him. "What, did you like it under there?"

"No way. That thing traps you completely. And you can't see or hear a thing with it on. We better get rid of it before Zoey puts it over herself." Thinking again, he wrapped the clock back into the sheet and put it in his backpack, to make sure it didn't escape. His alarm clock at home had a way of getting in and out of tight spots.

"That's funny," Sammy said. "We could see you perfectly through it, like it wasn't even there. I didn't hear you say a thing. It just looked like you were pushing out into the air around you for some reason."

"Look what's out here," Jack said, pointing. A red snail shell sat on Aunt Salsa's windowsill.

"How did it get all the way up here?" Erec asked.

"In Aorth snails drop out of the sky. Well, it's really just earth above us. But they're pretty good at aiming for windowsills. You

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have to check who it's addressed to, though. Sometimes they're off."

"No, this one's for me." Erec opened the window and grabbed it before the heat blasted in. The letter in the snail was blotchy and crumpled.

Dear Erec,

I wasn't going to write to you at all, but I decided to send this one last letter. Not because I used to think we were friends, or anything soppy like that, but because I wanted the chance to tell you how much I hate your guts.

Turns out your little schemes and lies worked pretty well on me. Congratulations. You used me and my stupid trust in you. All of this time I was hiding, for your sake. I thought if I ran into you, then Baskania would know where you were. Imagine how I felt when I found out that you planned this whole trick on me because you thought it was funny. Well, ha, ha, ha.

Guess what? Baskania showed me all of your letters to him. I saw for myself how you wanted to work with him, like I am, and how you were begging to be one of the kings like the Stain brothers. And then I saw how you wanted him to set me up for crimes that I hadn't committed! I bet you're surprised I found out about all of this, but the Shadow Prince showed me your plans. I thought you were my friend! How stupid could I be? You were jealous because I had a father, and you didn't. Thanks a lot. If the Shadow Prince wasn't on my side, and things had gone your way, the police would have been

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dragging me in right now to jail for a bunch of things I never did--that you did, in your "quest" to be so powerful.

I wish I could say it was nice to know you. Tell Jack, who I guess is still being conned by you, that there is a place for him here when he figures out what kind of a person you are. And Bethany--I heard about all the horrible things she did when she was supposed to be working for the Shadow Prince. She's no better than you are. Guess I'm not such a good judge of people.

I hope I never hear from you again. Just so you know, you've earned a spot almost as low as Rosco on my all-time hatred list.

Your sworn enemy,

Oscar Felix

Erec was stunned. Oscar's eye was in his backpack. He had probably given it to Baskania willingly. Baskania had completely turned him upside down. He was lost. What would Baskania make him do? Was there any way to make him know the truth?

Probably not. Erec gazed out the window, feeling empty.

"What did it say?" Jack asked. Erec handed him the letter.

Jack read the letter, becoming more and more alarmed. "We have to do something. We can't let that jerk ruin Oscar's life. Poor guy. This isn't fair."

"I know. Let's think about what to do. Maybe you could meet

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him somewhere, give him his eye, and talk to him. If he sees me or Bethany, he'd happily turn us in."

Jack nodded. "I'll wait here until you're back from this quest, and we'll figure out the best way to approach him. Melody, do you want to go home or hang out here?"

"I think I'll head home, as long as you don't mind."

"No problem." Erec grinned at her. "Thanks again for coming along. If you hadn't sung and calmed the animals down, I don't know if everyone would have made it inside the fortress."

She shuddered at the ugly memory. "I'm just glad Bethany is okay." She gave Erec, Jack, and Jam hugs, then left through the Port-O-Door.

"Mom? I have to finish my fifth quest. Danny and Sammy are coming with me, okay?"

June was shocked. "I don't think that's a good idea. . . ."

"Why?" Sammy asked. "Mrs. Smith can't track us down now, without the Seeing Eyeglasses."

"Yeah." Danny laughed. "Don't tell me little Erec can do anything that I can't do."

That's true, Erec thought. They all were cut from the same cloth.

June wasn't convinced. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you two."

"Thanks a lot," Erec said.

"No." June said, annoyed. "That's not what I mean. Erec, you're used to facing this kind of danger. The quests are meant for you."

Erec shot her a knowing look. "Not
only
me. You know what I mean."

"I don't know at all."

Someone behind Erec thought this conversation was funny, and started giggling. Erec turned around, surprised to find the Hermit perched on the kitchen table in the lotus position wearing a huge