The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (35 page)

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here thing is pretty. Bethany was pretty too. Not like youse. Youse is nice, but not as pretty."

Erec was tempted to give the Doubler Charm pendant to Artie. He would probably appreciate it more than Erec did. Then again, Wandabelle had said that it might come in handy. Once he freed her--if he came back alive--it would be his gift to Artie.

Spartacus led them outside to the mynaraptor coop. A loud chatter slammed to a halt the minute they walked inside. Erec thought that they looked very intelligent, for ducklike creatures.

"Good job, guys!" Spartacus sounded like the coach of a kindergarten soccer team. "Right on the money! It's nice and quiet in here. Some of you have been listening really well. I can see there will be extra fish snacks tonight."

That promise was met by a chorus of suppressed cheers and squawks.

"Hey, you've all been great, and I'm so glad that you're staying here with me. Remember the day I told you that sometime someone may want to take one of you guys, for a pet?"

Several sharp beaks dropped in horror, and others put wings over their faces.

"No, it's not like that, guys. Nobody is taking you away forever. Okay? But one of you will get to go on a little adventure with my friends here. They need a smart bird who can teach them what to do with all of the strange creatures they're going to come across. And maybe fly them places if they need it. Is one of you up for an adventure?"

One of the birds raised a wing. "And where would we be going?"

Erec suddenly felt nervous. It had not occurred to him that the mynaraptor just might not want to go along with them. What creature in its right mind would
want
to go? But his father had said it

295

was important to bring a mynaraptor. Erec held his breath, shuddering as he heard Spartacus's answer.

"Into Baskania's most highly guarded fortress in Jakarta, to rescue Erec's friend Bethany, who's a prisoner there."

Erec was sure that each of their heads would disappear completely under their wings, or even their nests. But, to his surprise, the birds began to jump in their nests, wings up with glee.

"Pick me! Pick me!"

"I want to go! I need a good story to tell!"

"No, me! Please! I'm the best there is at spilling all the details. Let me go!"

All of the birds wanted to go, not for the adventure itself, but for the vast amounts of storytelling they would get to do when they returned. It would give them a good reason for the others to listen to them talk.

The room grew noisy with chatter until Spartacus held up a hand. "Stop! I'm glad to see you are all willing to go. So I will choose the one of you that I think has earned it the most. Lalalalal, you were the first mynaraptor here, and you helped me train the rest to hold their tongues. You've been an exemplary model for the others. Would you like to take the trip with my friends?"

One of the birds fluttered from its nest onto the floor near Spartacus. "I would be honored." It bowed. "In fact, I was just saying the other day that this place has taught me some things that I had never even known existed before. Sheshesh here had been cut on a rock down by the stream, just a little cut, mind you, no blood, but enough to bother her. I hate any cuts, or any kind of pain, for that matter, but this time I noticed that--"

"Stop!" Spartacus held a hand up. The bird fell silent, but strutted proudly before the others. The others ignored him, either gazing up at the roof or completely turned so they were facing the wall.

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Griffin cleared his throat. "Um, excuse me, cap'n?"

"Yes, Griffin?"

"May I please have the honor of carrying the bird on me shoulder?" He sounded both embarrassed and hopeful. "I once had a parrot. . . ."

Lalalalal sprung onto Griffin's shoulder and gripped it with long, ostrichlike claws.

Griffin petted its head as they walked out. "Good little birdie. I'll be takin' care of ye now."

Erec excused himself before they left for Jakarta. He had one more thing to do. It had been a while since he had used his dragon eyes to see into his future.

Before, he had asked to see something happy in his future, and he saw Danny and Sammy being crowned king and queen. He did have some control over his visions. This time he wanted to ask a darker question. One that, in fact, might change everything.

Tell me
, he thought
, what will happen in Jakarta? Show me who will leave there, who gets out and who won't make it. Please, let me see us as we're escaping.

Erec closed his eyes. He pictured the small, dark room in his head. After a few breaths he relaxed, shedding the stress he was feeling. The utter peacefulness in the room took him over. It was all good.

He knew where the next door was inside of the larger room he rested in. When he opened it, harmony and happiness filled him completely. This room was nearly pitch-black, and cozy. Two big windows in the front let in the slightest hint of light. These were his dragon eyes, he knew, his vision into his future.
Show me who lives, who escapes from Baskania's fortress in Jakarta.

The box on the table held all of the answers. The warmth emanating from it gave him the strength he needed to see what he most

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dreaded. Would Bethany be with him? Or would she be alone, with some of his friends, and Erec left behind or dead? He would save her, either way. But if a single one of his friends was not going to escape safely, he would not let them come.

When he touched the box, it pulsed with a reassuring beat that matched the beat of his own heart. He was ready now for whatever might lie ahead. The warm cord between the windows felt soft yet firm in his grasp as he pulled. The shades flew open.

T
error washed through him.
R
un!
E
scape!
T
hey had to get out of there.
F
ast.

I
t was hard to tell what was going on.
S
o many people were running around him.

C
haos.
B
askania was there.

C
haos.
P
eople running, shouting.

Erec pulled the cord and closed the shades as the vision faded to black. This would not do. His dragon eyes were showing him only what he wanted to see. He needed to slow down and really concentrate.

He put both hands on the warm box, willing it to give him the calmness inside to see what would really happen. Like a vacuum cleaner, it sucked his horror and fear out through his fingertips.

It was okay. He would escape from Baskania, then, wouldn't he? Or he would not have had the vision of running away with all of those people around him. Now he just had to see who else was there with him.

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Slow
, he thought.
Focus. Watch everything around you.

He took a breath and pulled the cord again.

H
e was in an eyeglass shop.
P
eople were pouring out of the secret door in the back of the shop and running out the front door into the streets of
J
akarta.
T
he
P
ort-
O
-
D
oor was not far away.
A
ll they had to do was get safely around the corner and they would probably make it alive.

B
ethany was a few feet in front of him.
N
o, she was behind him.
I
t was confusing.
H
e was seeing her in different places, which didn't make sense.
B
ut the important thing was that she was escaping.
J
am was there, and
G
riffin,
M
elody,
J
ack, and
K
yron.
T
hey were all okay!
H
e even spotted the mynaraptor clinging to
G
riffin's shoulder as he ran.

B
ut where was
W
olfboy?
H
eartache filled him.
H
e knew that
W
olfboy had been left behind.

B
askania was running, right behind
B
ethany!
H
e was behind
E
rec, too.
A
ll over, somehow.
H
ow was he doing that?
M
ore people were everywhere, but it was hard to focus on those he wasn't looking for.

H
e had to get away, get out the door.

"
T
here he is!
T
here's
E
rec
R
ex.
G
et him!"
A
snakelike police officer wearing a tall stovepipe hat dove from behind the counter.

E
rec's breath caught.
T
here was no doubt what he saw, plain as day, before his eyes.

299

T
he officer sprang, flying through the air until he hit
E
rec's stomach.
H
e slithered, wrapping himself around
E
rec's legs until they both tumbled, rolling, onto the floor.

E
rec could see clearly, as if he was standing outside himself and watching the horrific events unfold.
T
he officer opened his mouth wider than imaginable, long fangs poised over
E
rec's leg.
I
n a flash, the snakelike thing bit, its jaws sinking deep into
E
rec's flesh.

E
rec saw himself gasp and pass out.
A
few more police officers appeared, pulling
E
rec back through the hidden door.

"
W
e've got him now, no worries," one of them said. "
H
e's helpless.
T
his one'll never escape again."

Erec had seen all that he needed. He pulled the cord and the shades closed over the windows. In a few moments he departed from the safety of the dark rooms and into what seemed like a harsh future.

Wolfboy, obviously, was not going to come with them. Erec would not have his faithful friend left behind in Baskania's fortress. He tried not to think about his own fate. At least Bethany would escape. And so would all of his friends. Unless something unforeseen happened, they would all get out unscathed.

As much as that relieved him, he was filled with fear. Going to Jakarta was like knowingly walking to the executioner's block. Bethany and his mother were right. How could he have expected to go that far into Baskania's territory and live? That had been ridiculous. No, he would be making an even trade. Him for her.

He could feel his shoulders shivering, and he tried to block out

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the terror he felt. Was there another way? Maybe if he didn't go along--if he let his friends go without him. He hesitated, hand on the doorknob, not ready to walk back into the room where everyone waited. Would they be able to read on his face that there would be big problems ahead?

No. He had to go back, one more time, and look through the dragon eyes. Could he see what would happen if he didn't go along with everyone else to Jakarta? Aoquesth, his dear dragon friend who gave Erec both of his own eyes and saved his life, had been able to picture alternate futures in his head. Erec had to try. . . .

I won't go along. I'll stay here with Spartacus. Jam, Jack, Melody, Kyron, and Griffin will go without me. Show me what will happen now. Show me their escape to freedom.

He closed his eyes and entered the familiar dark room. He would stay back, be safe. The door inside led into the darker room with the windows. They waited to show the new future, he could tell.

The box on the table was nearly buzzing with excitement. He rested a hand on it and felt a deep inner peace. Erec pulled the cord, and the shades flew up.

I
t was dark, quiet, and damp inside the cellar.
A
strange smell was in the air.

A
bad feeling.
V
ery bad.

T
hey were too late.
B
ethany was dead.

B
odies piled near the wall.
J
am,
G
riffin,
J
ack ...