The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (42 page)

"After them!"
Master Vetu screamed.

Zombies poured out of the woodwork in response to Master Vetu's command. They streamed toward the doorway, then up the steps. Vetu fastened one of his old heads back in place, and Erec failed

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to see any humor in it at all. In fact, the situation was horrifying.

"Got it!" Kyron shouted, pushing the door open. "Get in."

Erec's knees were weak and he felt faint, sick. Everything turned gray . . . and then it was green. He slipped off his backpack as he started to grow, and saw Griffin grab it from him. Spines burst from his back, scales coated his skin.

Zombies surrounded them in seconds, reaching around Erec for Jack and Kyron. His scales seemed to resist their claws.

S
pin around, breathe fire.

He blasted some approaching zombies right before one grabbed for Melody, and knocked others away with his tail. Yet they poured onto the steps faster than Erec could destroy them.

D
ive.
C
rush.

Kyron pushed Jack and Melody through the massive steel door and turned just in time to whip the head off one incoming zombie and then another with his sword. Griffin battled valiantly beside him, while Erec breathed a stream of fire onto another group lumbering toward them.

M
ore fire.
C
law.

Zombies all around had burst into flames, falling off the marble steps, but more kept coming.

"Get in there, Jam!" Kyron grabbed Jam, who was huddled on the ground, and pulled him inside to safety.

Erec was filled with relief that Melody, Jack, and Jam were okay. The Vetalas sprung forward with blazing red lightning streaking

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toward them from their fingers. Most of it swerved in midair and was sucked into the Amulet of Virtues, which hung on Erec's chest, protecting him from magic. But a small ray hit Kyron in the leg.

"Ow!" He winced in pain. "It burns!"

Zombies had crowded between them and the doorway, and Griffin fought to clear them away. "Go, Kyron! There's a space." He yanked Kyron through and pushed him toward the doorway.

The zombies seemed unable to enter the castle--Erec didn't blame Baskania for arranging that. Griffin's sabers flew as he and Erec cleared a path to the door, walking back-to-back toward it.

"No!"
Master Vetu screamed. All three of the Vetalas held up craggy, clawed hands and sent bolts of red lightning streaming toward them. Erec heard Griffin try to laugh weakly, as if that might help. He threw Griffin behind him and let the red bolts swerve into his amulet.

Backing up, step after step, Erec breathing fire and Griffin swinging his blades, they finally reached the door again. One foot upon the door jamb, then another. Lalalalal, who had been hovering in the air just out of reach, flew away, calling, "I'll find you when you leave the fortress. Best I keep a lookout for you out here."

Erec wasn't sure if Lalalalal would be much help as a lookout, or if he was afraid to come inside. But either way, Lalalalal's job had been to help them get across and deal with the creatures outside of the fortress. There probably wasn't much he could do inside to help.

They fell back, closing the door behind them, and collapsed on the stone floor of a small anteroom. The door leading into the fortress was cracked open.

Griffin struggled to his feet and was about to swing the door open when Erec grabbed him. "Wait! We have to hide when we go through. Careful."

He peeked through the door and stopped in shock.

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Jam, Melody, Jack, and Kyron stood together in a vast stone entryway, each with a thin black rope around their waists and wrists. A friendly-looking man with a black eye patch and dark hair spoke in an accent that sounded part British and part American. "I don't know," he said. "The shadow demon is never wrong, it seems. If he says there are two more of you, I'll tend to believe that. They'll turn up soon enough, no worries."

The shadow demon, who still appeared like a clear gleam in the air to Erec, hovered nearby. "I could help you right now, point out the other two, if you give me my reward."

"Wish I could, chum," the man said. "And I sure am glad for your help. But that's all up to the Shadow Prince, you know that. I'm sure he'll put your kind in charge out there when he knows what a big help you've been."

"And when he sees what kind of a mess the Vetalas have made of things," the shadow demon added. "They're inept. These kids were laughing at them.
Laughing.
I saw it for myself. One of them walked right up and swiped the key from around Vetu's neck. Pathetic."

"Yes, quite." The man looked pensive. "Can you give us a hint--will we see these two missing intruders soon?"

"I guess you'll have to wait until Baskania is back for any more of my help, if he's the only one who can repay me for all of my work. But don't worry. As soon as he's ready to put the Vetalas in their place, I'll give him everyone he wants."

The shadow demon dissolved into the air. Erec noticed as they had been talking that Kyron was working his silver sword against the thin black rope around him. He held his breath, watching as the rope began to fray. Silver, he remembered, was one of the only things that could cut through the magic rope Baskania had used on him in the past.

Kyron tugged against his sword a last time and the rope fell

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loose. He held up the rope to hide that he was free and slowly backed away from the others.

"Well, let's see," the man with the eye patch said. "It looks like you're going to be our guests for a while. We'll have a full search for your two other friends by morning, and they'll be joining you shortly. Until the Shadow Prince returns, you'll be staying in one of our comfortable, full-service prison cells. Then, if you are lucky, he may let you stay alive, for the small favor of one of your eyes and lifelong service. But there are no guarantees, unfortunately. My name is Ajax Hunter, by the way, if you need anything. Of course it may be hard to get a hold of me. Let me show you to your . . . quarters."

"Hya!" Kyron sprang forward, sword out, and sliced it through the ropes that twined from Ajax Hunter's hand around Jam, Melody, and Jack. He spun around and dashed into a hallway. "Come on!"

Ajax spun more black ropes out of his remote control, and they instantly wrapped around Jam, Jack, and Melody before they could follow. "No worries. As soon as the Shadow Prince returns he'll find all of your friends. In fact, he'll be so pleased that you stopped by! There's nothing as enjoyable as an unexpected visit, I always say." He pulled the three behind him and down another hallway, speaking into a cell phone in his finger. "Right. One intruder has escaped. He ran toward army headquarters. Two more are on the loose--try to find them all. It would look better."

Griffin and Erec stared at each other, stunned. For some reason they had assumed that once were inside the fortress they would be safe. But their problems were only just beginning.

Erec and Griffin stole quietly into the huge entryway, which was made entirely of gray stone from the domed ceiling to the floor. Several passageways led outward, and they picked one that pointed in a different direction than either Kyron or Ajax Hunter had gone.

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Hallways branched and led to rooms that seemed to be living quarters for the servants. Erec was glad that it was the middle of the night, so nobody was wandering about.

Without warning, a man wearing a dark smock turned the corner and came toward them, carrying a tray with tea and crackers. Griffin grabbed for his saber, but Erec held up his hand like a stop sign and put a finger to his lips. The man approached casually, not looking at them, humming to himself. As he grew closer, they could see that neither of his eyes were real, and he was blind.

Erec and Griffin pressed back against the wall as the man ambled by, unaware. When he was out of sight Erec whispered, "Blind followers. Baskania keeps them as his servants--their reward for helping him is to give him both of their eyes."

"He wouldn't do that to . . ." Griffin didn't finish the sentence, but they both were worried about their friends who were captured.

"We'll just have to rescue them, won't we? Come on." A room off the hallway had a kitchenette and some dining tables, and beyond that were some bedrooms. They heard snoring coming from a few. Most of the doors were closed, but one was open. Inside, the room was empty. "Perfect."

They went in and shut the door. "I don't know how hard they'll search for us, but maybe they'll wait until people are up. We can hide under the bed, I guess."

Griffin rifled through a closet. "Or we could wear these." He threw some dark smocks on the bed. "Disguise ourselves as those blind guys. These have hoods on them too."

Erec picked one up. "That's a great idea! Then we can fit in, find our way around this place." He slid one on, and it fit perfectly, except for dragging on the floor a bit. Griffin's smock hung tighter, but was still long enough to reach his feet. Erec did not realize until silence surrounded him how tired he actually was.

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But before even considering sleep he sat down and dug the Seeing Eyeglasses out from the tangle of things hanging off his neck. This time he thought about Jack, Melody, and Jam, and about how much he missed them. When he put the glasses on, he was looking at a small stone cell. Jack, Melody, and Jam were sleeping on stone benches that hung from the walls. There were no windows, and the door looked thick and heavy.

"Psst. Jam!"

Jam sat bolt upright and looked around. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard . . ." He started to lie back down.

"Jam! It's me, Erec. Are you okay?"

"Erec?" Jam was confused, then a look of realization crossed his face. "The eyeglasses?"

"Yeah. I can see you. Did anyone get hurt?"

"No, young sir," Jam whispered. "But I'm afraid we're stuck here." He sighed. "I wish you had kept the Serving Tray. Where are you?"

"I'm inside the fortress with Griffin. We're hiding out, but don't worry. We'll find you guys. Do you know which way they took you?"

"We went straight down the hallway to an elevator, up to the eleventh floor. Then it was hard to tell. We wound around a lot. But we're in a spot with concrete floors, rows of cells like this one."

"Does yours have a number on it?"

Jam thought. "It did. Can't see it from the inside, though. I'm pretty sure it was cell block ten. Almost positive."

"We'll get you out." Erec felt his eyes closing. "Don't worry, Jam."

He thought he heard Jam answer, but his words were drowned in a wave of sleep.

When Erec awoke, he jumped in shock at a large figure pacing the room in a dark smock.

"Eeeh?" the figure growled. "Yer finally awake, then?"

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It took a second for Erec to process that this was Griffin, and to remember where he was. The events of yesterday seemed unreal. How could they have survived the Vetalas and all of those other insanely dangerous creatures out there? It gave him hope, though. Maybe things would only get easier from here.

For the first time he realized how close Bethany was now. Within walking distance. Even though his friends were imprisoned, everything seemed possible. Baskania wasn't even here. Erec would get them all out to safety. His vision of the future was true.

Then he remembered his vision of the future. It did show them all escaping--that
was
possible. But he knew what would happen then. Everyone else would run out of the eye care shop--Windows to the Soul--except for him. A police snake was waiting there, and would pounce and bite, then he would be carried back to this place alone and helpless. Nobody would be able to save him.

Erec gathered his courage and got up. "Jam, Melody, and Jack are in cell block ten on the eleventh floor. They took elevators up from that hallway that led down the middle. We should try to find them, and Bethany, too." Excitement raced through him. She was close now, and he would finally be able to see her again. If only they had more time together before he was captured in the shop by the snake.

He would make time, he decided. Before they left, he would have to find a place for them to go together, where he could tell her everything he'd been holding in all this time. They would have to fit a lifetime into a short talk.

Maybe he'd even give her another kiss.

Baskania's blind followers wandered the halls that they knew by heart, but people with sight walked past as well. Erec and Griffin played it safe, keeping their heads down and their hoods all the way forward. Erec decided to wear his backpack under his hooded smock. It made

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him look like a hunchback, but in this creepy place that was normal.

Griffin crashed into a blind servant by accident. The blind man tumbled to the floor, and Erec helped him up. "Sorry, sir."

"No worries, young man. You are young, aren't you? You sound it." The man was bald and wiry, with deep wrinkles in his face. He felt around the walls to orient himself again. "You still have a cane, then, I guess? A few more years and you won't need it anymore. I know this place like the back of my hand."

"How long have you been here?" Erec asked.

"Almost thirty years." He chuckled. "It's not as bad as you think. The first few years were hard, but you'll slowly realize that everything you're doing is for a great cause. World peace--remember! No matter how small your tasks are, from cooking breakfast for the servants to guarding the gemstones, it takes every cog in order to make a clock tick. So, welcome to cog life, boy. What's your name?"

"Uh . . . Rick. What's yours?"

"Heh-heh. They call me Maestro here. I used to conduct the London Philharmonic." He sighed. "Gives me a lot to think about. So many good memories. And the music is still all up here." He tapped his head.

Erec felt bad for Maestro. "Would you leave here if you could?"

"Well . . . I don't know about that. I do miss the real world, believe me. But I'm settled in my ways now. And content to be doing good work for a cause. It's best not to think about these things anyway--you'll see. Just get the lay of the land, and stay away from the bigwigs. That won't lead to anything but trouble." He frowned. "What's your job, Rick?"

"I . . . I'm just in training, still. They have me in the kitchens now, but they're trying to find a place for me."

"Do you want me to put a good word in for you? I've got it pretty cush, I admit. I'm in record keeping. I just file things in Braille. They