The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (12 page)

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"Cut that out." Erec grabbed the Serving Tray and handed it to Jam, and he picked the silver luck magnet off the floor. In a moment Jam seemed better and stuffed the other things back into his pockets.

Bill squinted at Erec and grinned. "Well, well. I don't know why I didn't recognize you before. It's Erec Rex. Right here in my very own shop. What a prize for me, eh? I'm sure I can get quite a reward out for turning you in--everyone knows that the Shadow Prince is after you. Heh heh heh." He shook his index finger, put it to his mouth, and spoke in the cell phone planted there. "Green House, please. This is Bill at Magnet Mountain. I've got a fugitive here. Yup, you heard me right. His name is Erec Rex."

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CHAPTER EIGHT Cinnalim

REC AND JAM took one look at each other and then ran from the room.

"Stop them!" Bill screamed at several workers. He stabbed a button on his desk. "Two fugitives are trying to escape the warehouse. A boy and a ... a butler. Stop them
now
!"

They had a clear shot to the front doors, but men trotted out of the warehouse aisles and blocked them. Erec slowed down, darting a

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bit to his left, then right to find a path through. Just as he saw a gap, a huge metal beam dropped from the ceiling and landed right in front of him. Before he could stop himself, he tripped over the thing. His pants leg caught fast on one of its bolts.

"Come on, young sir!" Jam grabbed him under the arms and yanked, but Erec remained stuck.

Men formed a circle around them. "Got him. Go get the boss," someone said.

Jam pulled a scissors from his pocket and snipped Erec's pants to free him. With a little struggling, and Jam's help, he soon popped back on his feet. "Um, excuse me, guys." He tried to squeeze past a row of men, but they only shoved him back into the middle of their circle. For a moment Erec almost gave in to them, but then he thought about Bethany. He wasn't going to let her down. With a roar, he threw himself into the knees of one of the men in his way. The man fell back, but another dove on top of him, hitting him square in the back. He felt like an elephant had sat on him. The doors were so close. If only Erec could just get a cloudy thought now, he would know how to save himself, he thought. But he had no such luck.

Erec tried again, ramming himself into someone's knees. When they fell out of the way, he made it only a few feet before a worker drove by in a cart, colliding into Erec and grabbing his arms.

"The magnet," Jam shouted. "Erec, get rid of it. It's bringing you bad luck."

As soon as Jam said that, it seemed obvious. Erec stuffed the magnet into the shirt of the man that was holding him.

"Ugh." The man yanked back his hands and grabbed the wheel of his cart. "My head is pounding. I can't see anything. I can't believe I got my migraines back again." He made some funny noises, then threw up all over his overalls. The cart sparked a few times, then shut

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off, and smoke poured out of its engine. With a hiss, two of the tires went flat, sinking into dark puddles on the floor. The man tried to get out, but banged his head hard against the door frame and fell back into the cart.

In the confusion, Erec and Jam ran toward the front doors. "Get that magnet out of Billy's shirt," Erec heard Bill scream. "Throw it back to them before they escape!"

The luck magnet clattered near Erec's feet as they approached the doors. With a deep crunch, the tops of the doors slid toward each other with a bang.

Erec pulled, but they were stuck shut. "Two of the hinges popped," Jam pointed out. Erec threw the magnet hard back into the crowd of men that were closing in behind them.

"Ouch!" He heard Bill's unmistakable voice.

"Um, boss? I got your magnet for you right here. Were you looking for this?"

"No!" Bill screamed. "Get that away from me, you moron!"

The weight of the heavy wood doors became too much for their frames to support. With sharp pings, three more hinges popped. Jam yanked Erec back before both doors tilted over and slammed flat onto the warehouse floor, leaving the entrance wide open.

As they ran out, they could hear Bill scream, "Get this magnet off me. You, Billy, go bury it by the stream down the hill. Get out of here!"

"You smell something funny?" Jam said as he punched in the code to open their Port-O-Door.

Erec nodded and looked up. A small fire had started on the roof of Magnet Mountain. "We better go."

"Good idea, sir. I'll call a fire squad for them once we're safe in Cinnalim."

* * *

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After a few taps on the Port-O-Door map, Cinnalim appeared on the screen. It was in a section of Otherness that overlapped with the outer reaches of the Philippine islands.

Jam smiled. "Cinnalim is rather famous. An explorer from Alypium discovered that Otherness extended all the way out to some of these uninhabited islands. They were incredibly beautiful, and they soon became resort towns for the wealthy and famous in the Kingdoms of the Keepers. They used to have typhoons and tropical storms, but with all of the money around, someone was able to work out a little weather adjustment. Now that's all under control." He tapped on Cinnalim, a larger sickle-shape island.

Hot, humid air instantly wrapped itself around Erec, blowing in rhythm with the soothing sound of rushing waves. Tall palm trees waved in the mild ocean breezes. It felt like they had walked onto another planet after the worn-down Outskirts of Alypium. Erec dragged his feet across the smooth white sand beach, resisting the urge to pull his shoes off and wade into the sparkling water. This wasn't the time to get distracted.

The image of Bethany chained to a desk with that strange thing wrapped around her head filled his mind. It wasn't fair that he could be surrounded by such beauty and she was a prisoner of Baskania's. Someday, if--no,
when--
she was safe, he would bring her here. But until then, there was no time to stop.

Jam made a call on his cell phone, reporting the fire at Magnet Mountain. It seemed impossible that they had been there so recently. "You haven't eaten yet today, young sir. Would you like a snack from the Serving Tray?"

Erec nodded. "Good idea, Jam. It won't slow us down if we eat when we walk."

Jam pulled the silver oval tray from his jacket.

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Erec said, "I'll have a cheeseburger with ketchup and tomato. And a brownie."

A burger and a brownie immediately appeared. Jam produced a salad and fork for himself, and they walked toward a small strip of shops along the beach.

Surfboards lined the walls of a juice shack. Calypso music hung ten over the crash of the waves. The kid behind the counter looked as laid-back as the music. Long dreadlocks dangled around his deeply tanned shoulders. "Hey, dudes! What can I do you for?" He grinned. "We got a carrot-wheatgrass special today, with a shot of jumbly juice if you want an extra kick."

"Um, no thanks." Erec's nerves ground together when a thought came to him. What if nobody here had heard of this magnet man? What if they were in the wrong place? If he couldn't get to Bethany in time . . .

"Kind sir. Have you heard of 'the man with the magnet'? We were told he resided here in Cinnalim."

"Whoa, dudes." The young man grinned. "Of course I've heard of him. That's Danen Nomad, man. He's famous around here. I mean, if you haven't been 'called up' by Danen you're, like, nobody."

Erec was filled with relief. "So, you were called up by him, then?"

The man looked embarrassed. "Uh, no. I guess I'm nobody." Then he laughed. "But that's the way I like it, man. Hey, call me Jo Jo."

Jam nodded. "Quite wise, Jo Jo, sir. What exactly does it mean to be 'called up' by Danen Nomad?"

"Well, you know, man. It's his magnet. It's like a person magnet or something. He can use it on anyone he wants to come to him. So, it's like a big party over there all the time, they say."

"Where does he live?"

"The big place by the North Beach. It's not too far from here.

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But good luck getting in to see him. He's called some of the best security guards to live with him, and they keep all the riffraff out." He chuckled and stuck a hand up. "Not that I'm saying anything, dudes. You know."

"Quite." Jam pulled out the Serving Tray. "May we repay you by giving you a bite to eat, Jo Jo? Anything you like at all and it's yours. Name your favorite, sir."

"Whoa." Jo Jo looked appreciatively at the silver tray. "Awesome, dudes. This will give me anything I want?"

"Just name it, sir."

After stroking the few hairs that jutted from his chin, Jo Jo cried, "Ooh, I made this for myself once when I had the munchies. I'll have an extra giant sushi kelp roll with tuna, mayonnaise, banana, and chocolate sauce. Oh, yeah, and put some bran sprinkles on top, man."

When the messy roll appeared, he scooped it off the tray with both hands. "Wow, thanks, dudes. This is totally awesome." Erec looked away while Jo Jo took a bite of his sushi roll. It looked like something from the
other
Serving Tray. "Hey, I have an idea, you guys. Maybe I could help you out. Danen Nomad's secretaries are always calling me for juice and snack trays. Why don't I give you a few to take along when you go up to his complex? You can just tell them you're working for Jo Jo's Juice Bar, and I'll bet they'll let you right in."

"Thank you so much. You don't know how important this is--" Erec's words caught in his throat. He wanted to do something for Jo Jo, but then he remembered that Jam already had.

They each left the shop with flimsy trays covered in plastic wrap. Erec walked slow, trying not to spill the cups of green juice. "Did you give him that snack so he would help us?"

Jam winked at Erec. "Of course not, young sir. But it never hurts to make friends, does it?"

"That's true, Jam."

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Hot sand wormed its way into Erec's shoes and socks. He was dying to kick them off and walk barefoot along the beach, but he needed both hands to carry the big juice tray without spilling it. Soon a huge villa appeared on a cliff before them, overlooking the sea. Steep steps carved into the hillside led up toward a sprawling collection of mansions, gardens, gazebos, and tennis courts. Erec counted five pools and figured there were probably a lot more that he couldn't see.

"Guess this is the place." They had a hard time climbing the uneven rocky steps without spilling the juice glasses. Erec was glad they were still at least half full.

The humongous house loomed over them like a crystalline giant. Glass walls and beams reflected rainbows in all directions, mirrored back by steel doors and rails. Amidst all of the sparkle, white painted wood porches and window frames added a feel of peacefulness.

Two large men appeared in front of Jam and Erec, blocking them from taking another step. "And who would you two be?" one asked with a smile.

Jam bowed his head. "Kind sirs. We are making a delivery from Jo Jo's Juice Bar for Danen Nomad." He smiled. "If you don't mind."

The man frowned at the other one. "I don't know, Mike. Jo Jo isn't exactly the kind to hire a butler." He looked at Erec. "Or a kid."

"Well, maybe a kid." Mike squinted at Jam. "But not a butler. You're right. I think a phone call is in order." He shook his finger, then put it to his mouth. "Jo Jo's Juice Bar, please. Thanks . . . Yeah, is this Jo Jo? I'm calling from Mr. Nomad's complex. Did you hire a kid and a . . . butler recently . . . ? Oh, you did?" He looked Jam and Erec up and down. "I see. Okay, thanks, Jo Jo." Mike shrugged and stuck his hands in his pocket. "Says he did. Says the butler was out of a job and is bringing his kid along to help him." Mike looked just as suspicious as before, and not about to let them go anywhere.

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"Doesn't explain why you'd still be wearing that butler suit, though. Or why your kid isn't at school."

Jam's mouth opened, but he couldn't think of a thing to explain.

Erec coughed a few times. "I had a day off today. I was sick." His weak coughs sounded as pathetic as his excuse.

Mike nodded. "I see. I think you two better stay right here with me for a while. Zeke, why don't you bring those trays in for them? Have a good look at them too, before you serve anything."

Zeke looked annoyed. "Of course. I always do. Any other orders?"

Mike laughed. "Sorry. Just making sure. I'll take care of these two for now."

Zeke walked away with their trays, their only tickets into the mansion.

"You two sit here." Mike led them to a lawn table and chairs. "I need to find out a few details about you before I can let you go. Just formalities, of course." He pulled out a small computer touch pad. "Names?"

Erec looked at Jam. Was it worth the risk of telling his real name? He had no idea how this guard would respond. Maybe it could help somehow. "I'm Erec Rex."

Mike looked at him with wry amusement on his face. "Very funny, kid."

An alarm issued from his handheld device and he jumped to his feet. His voice grew tense. "Uh-oh. This is big. I'm sorry, the two of you are going to have to stay here until I get back. We've got something major going on right now."

Erec's eyes widened. He'd been worried that they would never get inside. But if Mike had to go somewhere, they could just sneak in--

Before Erec knew what happened, Mike clapped each of their wrists into a set of handcuffs. He led them down a few steps to a door in the basement of the house, then into a wine cellar, locking