The Secret of Ashona (6 page)

Soon the Oracle, a plain-looking stone well, was in view. Nothing about it seemed unusual at first glance, other than that the water inside was extremely dark and deep. Erec swallowed his nervousness and thought about what he had to do.

“Oh, no.” Bethany backed away, her hand up blocking her vision. “I don’t want to watch this.”

“Sorry.” Erec flashed her a grin. “It’s probably going to look awful.”

“Oh, yes.” Jam cleared his throat. “I forgot . . . I mean, you look perfectly respectable when your dragon eyes are out, young sir.”

Erec took a breath. In order to call the Fates to the Oracle, he had to act as a medium, using his dragon eyes to look into the future. With all of his excitement about talking to the Fates, and worries about Trevor and his soul, he had forgotten that he would have to glimpse into his own future. And it was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Sometimes Erec could direct what he saw in his future. His magic tutor and guardian, the Hermit, had told him that deep inside his heart he already knew all of the answers. When he looked into
the future with his dragon eyes, he was simply showing himself what he needed to see. Maybe he would just ask himself to show what would happen to Trevor, and find out if he would be okay.

Then again, he was terrified to learn the answer to that. What if Trevor would
not
be okay? Then Erec wouldn’t be able to keep on going.

He fought to overcome his fear, then he leaned over the well so the Fates would sense when he looked into the future. He closed his eyes.

Please, show me something that has nothing to do with Trevor. Or whether I’ll get my soul back.

Erec followed the steps that the Hermit had taught him. First, he imagined himself entering a small, dark room in his mind. The moment he did, a feeling of calmness spread through him. Things would be all right, he knew. It felt good being back in this place, and he rested there for a while before imagining a second, smaller room within this first one. He pictured himself going through another doorway. Inside, he felt wonderful. Pure peace filled his being. Before him a box sat on a table. This box held all of the knowledge of the universe locked inside. Erec was ready to see what it would show him.

But first his fingers were drawn toward the box. It was warm, as he remembered it, and it seemed to hum a happy sound. All of his fears were gone. Life was good, and he was ready to enjoy it.

Before him, two windows perched on a wall, their shades drawn shut. When he opened them, they would function like his eyes, showing him a vision from his future. He reached for the soft cord that hung between them and pulled.

Erec ran fast, holding on to an ax and swinging it wildly. He was sweaty and out of breath. Anger and hate surged through
him. Before long he came to a small house made of logs. He had to break into it. Erec raised the ax above his head and brought it down onto the door, splitting the wood. He yanked it out, then did it again and again. Pieces clattered to the ground as he kept chopping.

In a rage, he reached inside and unlocked the knob, then flung the door open with a growl. Before him, a family trembled. The mother held a young child tight, his arms wrapped around her neck. An older girl clung to her knee, crying.

The father stepped in front of them, arms out in a gesture of protection, but his hands shook badly. “Leave us alone. You can take anything you want from here. I don’t care what happens to me, but stay away from my family.”

“Jewels. Necklaces. Watches.” Erec squinted around the room. “Where do you keep them?”

The man stuttered, upset. “D-don’t take those. Please. Anything in the whole house is yours—but don’t steal our jewels.”

Erec swung the ax back over his shoulder, aiming at the man’s neck.

“Sorry!” The man stepped back in shock. “I’m sorry. Go ahead. They’re upstairs in my wife’s dresser. But we don’t have much. T-take what you want.”

Erec shoved past them and went upstairs. He rooted through drawers, dumping out piles of clothing and old notebooks. . . .

Erec dropped the window shades and stepped back. His hands shook violently. He was robbing an innocent family of their valuables? That didn’t even make sense. Unless . . .

He gulped. Yes, it did make sense. He was going to turn evil.

Tarvos had warned him what he would become if he didn’t have a soul. Now he had seen it with his own eyes. He could not let that happen. If Erec could not find the Furies, he would give himself to Tarvos and get it over with. Thinking about the giant clay creature he would turn into made him sick, but that was better than being pure evil.

Then a horrible thought occurred to Erec. If what he saw in his future was right, and he ended up evil, then that meant he would not succeed in getting his soul back from the Furies. . . .

The warm box pulsed next to him, sending waves of calm into his mind. He put a hand on it until he started to feel better. Then he imagined himself leaving the dark rooms. He could feel his eyes turn in their sockets, bringing his normal blue eyes forward and rolling the dragon eyes back into the darkness. When he opened them, he squinted at the bright sunlight.

Below him the dark water in the well began to churn, racing in circles. The waters took on vivid colors, some of the shades strange like nothing he had seen anywhere else. All of a sudden, the well water frothed up. Bubbles raced toward him as if they would overflow the stone walls. Then they settled back into still blackness.

They would be there, listening now, he was sure. “Um . . . hello? Fates? Can you hear me?”

No one answered. Jam glanced at him, worried. Then three shrieks of pleasure echoed at once. “It’s him, girls! Like, no way! This is sooo, like, totally cool.”

“Oh, I love that boy! He is
so
to die for!”

“Eeek! That is so funny! Like, because someone
is
going to totally die for him!” The three exploded in laughter.

Erec didn’t like the way that sounded. “What does that mean? Who is going to die for me?”

“Oh, that is so cute,” one of the girl’s voices said. “He wants to know who is going to die for him this time.”

“This time?” Erec felt irritated and a little confused. “Someone died for me already?” But then his heart sank, and he knew what they were talking about. His dragon friend, Aoquesth, had died for him, and given him both of his dragon eyes. “Who else is going to die? When is that going to happen?”

“Now, if we told you that, it would take all the fun out of the surprise,” one of the Fates chirped cheerfully.

“Fun?” Erec felt himself get upset and tried to calm down. Anger wouldn’t get him anywhere with these powerful creatures. “Okay. Please would you tell me? I don’t want someone to die because of me.”

A fountain of laughter exploded from the depths of the well. “Oh, I love him. He is so cute!” They were beginning to fade away.

Erec realized that they were leaving already, and he had not gotten any information from them at all. Before it was too late, he shouted, “Wait! I need to know how to find your sisters—the three Furies! I have to try to get my soul back from them. I also have to get something to rescue Trevor . . . how can I do that? Where should I go?”

A few more giggles issued from the well, but Erec sensed a somber tone that had not been there before. “Of
course
we know that you want to find our sisters. We can tell you how to do that—but you have to trust us. Okay, lil’ tyke?”

“Sure.”

The voice that answered him back sounded deep and serious, not at all like the Fates he knew. Multiple tones spoke in unison, and their echo made the rocks around him vibrate. “You can find our
sisters, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, in the Gray Mist Valley, in the land of Alsatia where they now live. They choose to remain there because it is blanketed by a special magic that keeps us from seeing what they are thinking and planning. This concerns us greatly.

“We once were forced to imprison our sisters in the caves of Tartarus to protect humanity from their wrath. For eons they had plotted revenge against us for shutting them in there. They had planned to wage war on us once they escaped, even though they knew it would cause the complete destruction of the world. Their anger was so great that they wanted everything to end.

“But when they met you, Erec, you were able to do something that nobody else could. You used the Awen charm that you carry around your neck to give them an inner peace that they had never felt before, and the Furies came away from that changed. We gave you the quest to go to them because we knew that you might be able to sway them this way. But we did not know if you would succeed.

“Now, it is impossible for us to tell what they will do next. We are sure that even they do not know. They might choose to make peace with us, or to create chaos. It could go either way. We have no power in Alsatia, so they have complete freedom to prepare to attack us if they wish.

“You can speak to the Furies about the questions that you have for them. They will talk to you. Our sisters hold you in the highest regard. You gave yourself to them to help them escape, and you asked for nothing in return. But be cautious. You will have to make important decisions, and your choices will affect the outcome of everything. Do what is right, don’t forget that. The Furies may give you what you need to free your brother. But that will come at a price too.

“You will not succeed in speaking to our sisters if you go now. First you must draw your next quest from Al’s Well. That quest will give you something you will need in order to approach them. When it
is time to speak to them, you can find Alsatia by falling into Mercy’s Spike in Pinefort Jungle in Otherness. Good luck.”

A deep silence followed, rather than the usual giggles coming from the well. Erec was glad that Jam was furiously taking notes. There was no way he would remember all of the places he had to go. And what was Mercy’s Spike? What kind of a place does one have to fall to get into? The whole plan sounded strange. The Fates had said to trust them—and how could he not? They had only been right before, always helped him. His mind whirled—what was he forgetting? He needed to ask them something else. . . .

“I need to find my birth siblings—the two missing triplets. Can you tell me where to look for them?”

The voice that bubbled back sounded amused. “He wants to know where they are, girls! Should we help our little prince? I don’t want to give away all the fun!”

“Here’s a hint, hero. Your brother is near, and your sister is far. Your sister is close, and your brother is distant. Your sister needs help, and your brother needs more. But you need the most help of all, so you better find them!”

Another voice chimed, “That was
so
good, Nona! I love your riddles!”

That answer didn’t help him at all. What she said was more confusing than anything else. But right now he was elated that he would actually be able to find the Furies. It sounded like he would even get that Master Shem thing to help Trevor escape. Which reminded him . . .

“What about my soul? Do the Furies still have it?”

“Like, of
course
they have your soul! Unh! How do you think they escaped that Tartarus place? I mean, like, you don’t think they want to go back to that gnarly prison, do you, hero? For real! They want to keep their sweet hind claws out of that place, so they’re
going to hold tight on to every one of those little souls. Like, wow.”

“Well, how can I get mine back, then?”

The voice sang back, “Like, I don’t know. Maybe you’ll have to send our sisters back to Tartarus. You know, free all of those poor souls again.”

Another voice added, giggling, “Good luck!”

Back in the apartment, June leaned on Erec’s shoulder, face pale. “I didn’t want you doing any more of those quests. They have been ridiculously dangerous. And what have they gotten us? Things are worse than ever. King Piter’s castle is gone. He’s stuck living with Queen Posey now, in Ashona. He has to be near her scepter if he wants to stay alive, since he’s so old. Baskania is in a better position then ever, using those Stain triplets as the next kings. And he found out that Bethany’s brother is the one that holds the secret of the Final Magic that he has been looking for. The Furies are out of their prison and could end the world at any minute.” June looked from one person to the next, waiting for them to agree that Erec should just stay home.

Erec was surprised. “So . . . you don’t want me to try to save Trevor? And get my own soul back?”

June squeezed her eyes shut. “Of course I do. It’s just killing me to let you go do this again. I convinced myself we were through. You don’t know how hard it is to let you go off and do dangerous things. And sending you to meet the three Furies—those horrendous beings—in person . . .”

Jam put an arm around her. “Modom, I will accompany young sir the entire way and watch out for him. And during his quest, the Hermit will also be keeping an eye on the boy. I assure you that he will be well taken care of.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for him too.” Bethany grinned. Erec knew that she looked forward to having an adventure with him. He
only wished he could be as excited about it. Bethany hadn’t seen the Furies in person or she might have a different attitude about going anywhere near them.

June shook her head. “What can I do? I guess we don’t have a choice. Thank you, Jam. It means more than I can say to have you with him.”

He blotted a few tears from her face with his handkerchief. “My pleasure, Modom.”

Erec tried to reassure himself as much as he did her. “It’s okay, Mom. We’ll just go do the quest quick—it’s probably no big deal. The Fates said that we’d be fine talking to the Furies after that. I’m sure they know what they are talking about.” He paused a moment. Had the Fates really said that they would be okay? Not exactly. They did say that he would be able to talk to the Furies only after he finished his next quest, not that he would survive meeting them again. It wasn’t worth bringing up and worrying his mother about—but he would have to make sure Bethany didn’t go anywhere near the Furies, just in case.