The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (63 page)

525

But the three beings whose eyes focused on him were something else altogether. Breathtaking, horrifying . . . there was no question in Erec's mind that these were the three Furies.

Each was about seven feet tall, but most of that height was occupied by their incredibly large faces. They were all heads, and tremendous batlike wings that shot out behind them, at first glance. It took him a moment to register anything past their faces, which radiated a soft glowing light, with expressions so ferocious and hateful that Erec became lost in a whirl of sorrow. Their hair--one with silken black locks, one with white, and one red--flowed behind them, curling into the air and sprouting from their jointed wings. Looking more carefully, Erec spotted feather-covered, human-shaped bodies stretching back from their heads. The three beings seemed so much greater than human, so full of energy and larger than life. It was as if they had been stuffed into their small forms just like compressed stars before a supernova.

Luckily, the three Furies took just as long to react to his unexpected appearance. "Well"--the black-haired Fury's mouth twisted into a wicked smile--"this changes the picture a bit, doesn't it?"

It occurred to Erec that everyone present, from the three Furies to Baskania, had probably read his mind by now. They knew exactly what he was up to. He didn't need to speak at all. So he just shrugged and started walking toward his horrid fate.

The shrieking of the Furies, and the resulting wind, stopped dead. They watched him approach greedily, hungrily, waiting until he crossed the border into Tartarus to give them the freedom they had longed for since the Earth was young. Erec felt like something tiny--a meatball, maybe, or more like a raisin--an insignificant thing to be digested for the greater good.

An anguished cry behind Erec startled him. He turned to see Baskania reaching toward him as if he were losing a son. He must

526

have known it was too late. The Furies had already seen Erec, so they could put a Draw on him. Funny, though. Erec did not feel any Draw pulling him to them. Maybe they knew he was coming anyway.

Baskania was pathetic, Erec thought. The sorcerer had let greed and hunger for power shred his soul until losing his own real son, Balor, seemed to mean nothing to him. But losing Erec's dragon eyes, and also his bargain with the Furies, was too much for him. It was ironic, Erec thought, that nobody wanted to save his life right now more than Baskania did.

Which made walking straight to his death that much easier for Erec. He was stopping Baskania from having ultimate power. Maybe this really would save his family, the whole world. His life was a small price to pay.

So Erec straightened his back, ignored his desire to run as far and as fast as he could, and marched toward the three Furies. He clutched his arms so tightly that his hands went numb. His teeth chattered loud and hard. Each step seemed to take forever, yet, at the same time, sped by so fast that his last moments drained through his grasp like water.

Everyone watched him, fascinated. Even a few Harpies flew out of the cave and hung above him in the air, spellbound. Well, this is it, Erec thought. It's been a great life. I'm sure Bethany will go on to do amazing things. He smiled a bit, thinking of that, his last and best gift to her.

One more step. One more step. His end was close now. Would they kill him the moment he crossed onto the white rock of the cavern? There wasn't much room for him--but they were moving back now so he could enter. Step. Step. Step.

An odd noise came from one and then another of the Furies. The tense burbling sounded like excitement. Finally Erec stood before the distinct line where the dirt under his feet ended and the cave

527

floor began. This was it. He had to step over it. No choice left. It was so hard to do, though. To knowingly give up his life, even for the best of reasons--to save everyone else.

He took a breath and held it, trying to savor the feeling of his last. Then, fighting every impulse, he pushed a foot ahead . . . and . . . stepped. . . .

The Furies' high-pitched whining built in tension and excitement until his foot was firmly planted on the cavern floor. Then the three exploded with cries of exhilaration. A force behind Erec pushed him, hard and fast, into the middle of the immense, brightly lit cavern of white stone.

Birds and bats sailed everywhere around him, darting over his head and between his legs. He shooed them away from his face, amazed by all the swarms of flying things. A lizard scuttled under his feet, and a few cats hurried by. The scrawny cat he had seen outside again rubbed against his leg.

Surprisingly, he was still breathing. Why hadn't the Furies destroyed him and disappeared already?

"A few reasons." The white-haired Fury's voice creaked like a rusty hinge. She sneered, pinched and bitter, eyes full of hate. "We are
interested
in you. This is a first, you see--having a person walk in of their own accord and donate their soul to us. And for our benefit, no less."

"And a prince!" the red-haired Fury screeched. "What a lovely gift."

The white-haired one continued. "We do know that you wanted to stop Baskania from controlling us. Thank you for that. You are an interesting specimen, and I would like to study you a bit before ending your life." She sighed. "What a shame that you are the only human here. If there was just one more, we could use
that
soul for our release and I could drop you into some nice hot amber and keep you like this forever."

So, that must be Megaera, Erec thought.

528

The black-haired one boomed, "Personally, I don't care much for studying you. I'll leave that to my sister's misguided tastes. But I plan on taking my time and savoring this moment. This is history for us, sisters! Next up, vengeance on the Fates for locking us in here for nearly an eternity!"

Erec fished in his pocket for the bee in the small amber block and pulled it out. His voice did not sound like his own, more like a small shaky imitation. "I-is this yours?" He held the encased bee toward Megaera. "I b-brought it for y-you."

A sharp wind gusted, knocking the amber block from his outstretched palm. Erec thought he felt something soft brush his hand in the stream of air.

A gleeful whoop resounded, and Megaera's voice was softer. "Look! This was one of my favorite bees. Such lovely creatures. And their numbers are shrinking, so this is even more valuable to me. Why . . . thank you."

"Yes," the red-haired one screamed. She sounded furious, although her tone did not seem to match her words. "Thank you, boy. You've helped us immensely. How it would have lowered us to
serve
a human, although the trade would have been a small one in exchange for our escape. Of course, after we did his bidding a few times, he would likely have found himself dead. But we would rather do things our way, and make up for lost time by warring with our Fate sisters and ransacking the world."

"Everyone will pay," the black-haired one screeched, a smirk on her lips. Her black jointed wings flapped behind her. "Are we ready, girls?"

"Wait!" Erec's hand shot to his neck and found the Twrch Trwyth vial. All he had to do was break it open and he would know everything--maybe even how to escape, if that was possible.

"Silly boy," Megaera said. "There is no escape from here. You already know that."

529

And he did know that. All of a sudden it was perfectly clear to him. He was in Tartarus, from which nobody escapes. He had walked through the Waters of Oblivion. Before him were three beings more powerful than any human could imagine, almost as much as the Fates themselves. They had been here since the dawn of time. They hadn't even bothered putting a Draw on him, because they didn't need to. He could not possibly escape, or live.

He had done all he could. That thought made him smile. Suddenly he understood what he had seen through his dragon eyes when he looked into his future.

He did not leave much time left, and he was not going to waste his last move. Breaking the yellow glass ball, the Awen of Knowledge, was pointless now. What more did he need to know? A moment of ultimate understanding before his death was nice, but there was something better that he could do.

He would break open the red ball. The Awen of Harmony. That would help things. It had to. Even if just for a moment, the three Furies would feel better. They deserved it, he thought, after being locked in here for so long. Whatever they had done to be locked up here must have been bad, but this had been an awful punishment.

Would it calm the Furies down enough that they would forgive the Fates, and also the people of the world above them? Or would it just give them a moment of happiness? Erec did not know. But he twisted the tiny red glass dodecahedron attached to the tail of the boar-shaped vial. Its tiny stem cracked, and a red mist slithered from it into the air.

Erec threw the tiny ball toward the three Furies. A shower of red glitter rained down on them and Erec, as well as the small creatures on the floor. Everyone looked around in wonder.

A new feeling settled in Erec's heart. He understood what life had been like for the Furies. His heart expanded with compassion

530

for these immense and lovely creatures that had been so filled with poisonous hate and jealousy. An air of camaraderie filled the room, and they all exchanged heartfelt glances and smiles.

"Megaera." He reached a hand toward her. "Alecto." The red-haired one tilted her head and he smiled at her. "Tisiphone." He looked at the dark-haired one with appreciation. "I cannot imagine what you three have suffered here for all of these years. It is no wonder you feel as tortured as you do. You must! I hope you realize that any human, anyone lesser than you, would have gone mad."

Alecto's face registered shock mixed with delight. She no longer screamed, but spoke with a rich and resounding multitoned voice. "You did this for us. You offered your life to save us. And then, before we killed you, you gave us a moment of comfort with your Awen of Harmony, because you felt for what we were going through." She looked at her sisters with wonder. "This small, insignificant human has given us more than anyone ever has. It feels so good to have all that anger lifted. I can feel the other parts of me working now. They were hidden all of this time. So much of me has been . . . hurting." She sighed, clasping her heart. "My rage was weighing on me so heavily. . . ."

All three of the sisters were growing larger, occupying more of the cave. It made sense, Erec thought. They were not going to be confined much longer. Soon they would be able to expand into their true selves. He was amazed at how well he understood them now . . . how connected they all were under the influence of the Awen of Harmony.

Tisiphone scooped Erec up in a windy hand, and he toppled back so he was sitting on her palm. "And I have been so vengeful--all action, all malice. This boy understands why. I know that. But I agree. How wonderful to feel this harmony now! Is this how others live all of the time?" She sounded hurt. "Why would our
other
sisters treat us so badly?"

531

Erec said, "I've talked to your sisters, the three Fates. They don't want to hurt you, I'm sure. I can't say I know exactly what happened with you and them all that time ago. But from what I do understand about the Fates, they just try to help things and make them fair for everybody. Don't you think they locked you here because they wanted to protect us humans? Maybe they didn't know what else to do."

Protecting humans sounded insignificant when talking to these timeless beings. But he hoped they would understand.

Alecto laughed, her red hair waving around her face. "Normally I would have bitten your head off for suggesting such a notion. But it's odd. I actually agree with you. Looking back to what happened, I can't say they acted maliciously toward us."

"They gave us warnings," Tisiphone agreed, setting Erec down again.

The three continued to grow until they reached the cavern roof, twenty feet over Erec's head. He could sense that they were ready. It would just be moments now.

"Please!" he called out. "Consider this, before I die. Could you honor me, and this moment, by sparing the lives of the rest of the humans on Earth? I would appreciate it so much. And also, think hard before waging a war on your sisters. What if you set the example for them, and showed them how good things can be . . . just how they are right now with us? They could learn from you, and the rest of your eternity would be spent in harmony instead of hate and fear."

Tisiphone lowered her eyes. "I would be the last one to say this, normally. But this human has a point. I'd love to feel good like this all the time. Do you think it's possible to let go of what's been done to us, sisters? Can we let this travesty of justice pass without retribution? Should we forgive?" She shook her head. "I've never spoken that word before."

Alecto's eyes blazed. "Can we let our anger go? I don't know."

532

Megaera regarded the small ambered bee in her hand. "Can we stop being jealous? Look what I've done to living things out of jealousy."

There were no answers. The wind inside the cave picked up, tossing a few of the smaller creatures around.

Megaera smiled upon Erec. "Thank you, young prince. You have shown us true kindness and given us wisdom as well. I, for one, will promise, as a tribute to your rescue of us, not to harm humans once I escape. As for my sisters, the Fates . . . I will try my best. Reconciliation with them may be too hard to promise, as an eternity stretches before us. But I want to live happily, for once. You have reminded me how good that feels."

"Well said." Alecto nodded. "I agree to the same."

"As do I," Tisiphone said.

A spirit of peace filled the immense, cold cavern. Hope, love, and joy echoed around them like the calls of long-lost friends. The Furies were relieved, grateful, and Erec was awestruck. All was well.

A reddish mist floated through the air, smelling of rosebuds. Erec held the boar vial around his neck--what was left of the Twrch Trwyth--with the red glass ball broken off.

"Thank you, again." Alecto smiled upon him. "You have done us a great service."

Tisiphone laughed in delight, then sucked in. . . . The room swirled. . . .

Erec's soul was leaving him. Pulling out into the air.

Everything was going black. He could feel himself drop.

"Take this," a voice whispered. "And remember me." Something fell into his hand.

The last points of light faded.

Dying.

Gone.