The Secret of Ashona (9 page)

“‘Trade your life for the next five people to be killed by Baskania at noon tomorrow in the Diamond Minds of Argos.’”

Trade his life? Die? Erec felt faint. He pulled the paper quest close to his chest in case Bethany and Jam had not caught what he had said. But it was too late. Jam choked, his face purple. He shot upward, coughing and sputtering in the air under the large white commode of Al’s Well. Bethany looked stunned. She gasped and grabbed her neck as if she did not have Instagills implanted in her skin, and then she closed her eyes and fainted in the dark waters.

CHAPTER FIVE
Robbing People Blind

E
REC LOOKED FIRST
up and then down, not sure who needed more help. Jam grasped the toilet’s edge, coughing hard, but he seemed to be okay. So Erec swam down and scooped Bethany into his arms. Her face looked so soft and vulnerable. He could not believe that she had passed out because she had heard his seventh quest—even though it was beyond horrible. He had to give up his life?

He pushed Bethany past Jam and out of the water. Jam helped him lift her through the sparkling porcelain opening above them
until she tumbled forward onto the grass. Erec climbed out after her, feeling his Instagills close and air rush into his lungs again. Bethany was breathing, but her eyes stayed shut. She looked so peaceful that Erec was tempted to just let her lie there.

Jam felt Bethany’s forehead. “Oh, dear. She’s had a shock, I think.” His black dinner jacket was drenched, but when he checked through the insides of its many pockets, Erec noticed that they were amazingly dry. “Let’s try this.”

He pulled out a small vial and took its top off, waving it under Bethany’s nose. Her eyes instantly flew open and she bolted upright to a sitting position, crashing into Erec.

“Ow.” They both rubbed their heads, laughing for a second until Bethany’s smile faded. “What was this last quest? You have to go somewhere and give your life up—to save some strangers?” Her forehead wrinkled and she crossed her arms. “You just won’t do it, then. This has gone too far. Your last quest ended up with you dying. The only reason you’re here today is that you got lucky. I doubt that you’d be brought back to life again! Anything could go wrong.” She stared at Erec, and when he didn’t answer, she added, “This would probably be the end for you.”

“It will be the end for me.” Erec knew that he should tell Bethany the rest of the bad news, that he would be turning evil and doing awful things, but he felt sick saying the words. If the Fates wanted him to go this way, at least maybe Trevor would be saved, somehow. It might be what had to happen. “I guess this
will
be my last quest. I won’t be coming back again.” He closed his eyes. It was too much to absorb. How could his life be over already? But at the same time, he was a goner anyway, unless he could get his soul back. And that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

Bethany’s face turned red. “What do you mean, you won’t be coming back? You’re not actually considering this, are you?”

Erec tried to stay calm. “What choice do I have? Listening to the Fates was the only thing that saved you from Baskania. How can I not save Trevor?” He looked around. “The only reason that all of us are alive today is because I did what the Fates said. Otherwise the three Furies would have killed everyone. How can I
not
do this?”

“But you don’t have to, Erec! Just stop all of this craziness and go home. We’ll go find Trevor ourselves, with Rosco’s help. Then we can figure out how to get him away from that bull creature. I’m sure there is a way. And it will be easier than that quest.”

Erec turned away. It was too hard to look at her face as he said, “The Fates said the only way to save Trevor is this. My days are numbered anyway, okay? The Furies took my soul, and they still have it. Any day now I’m going to turn evil. I mean
really
evil, Bethany. I’ve seen the stuff that I’m going to do—and it’s not pretty. I’m going to turn into a whole different person. That’s why Tarvos called me to him. He was going to turn me into a Golem so I’m not a danger to everyone.” Even speaking the words made him sick. How could he actually walk into his death? But at the same time, what else was there to do? Not save Trevor and instead become an evil maniac?

Bethany stared at him, mouth open. Finally, she said, “But you can get your soul back from the Furies, remember?” She thought a moment and then gasped. “Wait a minute. . . . You need to do this quest before you can talk to the Furies? This is horrible! You have to die before you can even talk to them about getting your soul back? There has to be another way. . . .”

“Bethany, I saw into the future with my dragon eyes, and no other way will work.”

She squinted at him, eyes red, and covered her ears with her hands. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“I’m sorry.” Erec gave her a hug and gently pulled a hand off
her ear. “If I do this quest—even if I die—I might still be able to talk to the Furies after. If I die, maybe they’ll give me my life back. That’s what I have to keep thinking about.”

He didn’t feel too confident. But there really were no other options. Thinking about Trevor helped him focus. At least now he wasn’t keeping all of his worries inside. Plus, he would be saving five people that were about to be killed by Baskania, wouldn’t he? If he had to go, better that way than become a Golem . . .

Jam looked sick. “Young sir, Modom Bethany might be correct. Let’s think first of another way to save Trevor. I’m sure your father would agree.”

“There
is
no other way. Didn’t you hear the Fates?” Erec shook his head. “Both of you have to promise never to say a word about this to my parents. They would try to do something stupid to stop me.” He looked from Jam to Bethany. “I need all the help I can get to have the guts to go through with this. Do you think it’s easy? It’s going to be nearly impossible, but it’s the only logical choice.”

Bethany’s voice sounded strangled. “Please, Erec. Just give it a chance. We’ll try to save Trevor ourselves. We’ve done a lot harder things than that before! And I promise you—if I see you changing, turning into something . . . bad, I’ll tell you right away, okay? I won’t let you go on like that.”

Jam nodded solemnly. “Young sir, I, too, will watch you like a hawk. And I will be prepared to restrain you if you start doing things that you shouldn’t. Plus, I shall wait until that time to say anything to your parents, just in case you never turn evil at all. There is no need to worry them yet. But Bethany is correct. Do not even think about giving your life in this quest tomorrow. I must beg you to reconsider. Please, young sir.”

Erec took a breath. They would never understand, he was sure. They had not been with him when Tarvos told him what his fate
was. They had not seen the visions of Erec destroying families and hurting children. They did not understand that the Fates knew the only way he could save his brother. Erec’s future was hopeless, no matter what he did at this point. Finally, he pretended to agree, so they didn’t get in his way. He had to free Trevor. And he would save five innocent victims of Baskania as well.

Or at least he hoped he would have the guts to do it. Thinking about what might happen to him made him physically sick. But he was literally doomed either way, with no soul. And what about all of those other poor souls kept hostage with the Furies? That wasn’t fair either. Erec tried to push them out of his mind.

He would go to the Diamond Mines of Argos—no, it was the Diamond Minds, whatever they were. Tomorrow, before noon, he would sneak away and do whatever he had to do.

“What is that look on your face?” Bethany stared at him suspiciously. “Something is up with you. I can tell.”

Erec shook his head, the picture of innocence. “No, I’m just thinking about what to do.” He forced a smile on his face. “Let’s go home.”

The paper with the quest on it was missing from his night table when Erec awoke the next morning. He guessed that either Jam or Bethany had taken it, hoping that he would not be able to do the quest without remembering its details. But its words were etched into Erec’s mind:
Trade your life for the next five people to be killed by Baskania at noon tomorrow in the Diamond Minds of Argos.
The
next
five people to be killed? What was Baskania up to now? How many people was he killing? The idea made him sick.

Jam stuck his head into Erec’s room and nodded with a smile. “Ah, you’re awake. Splendid. Let me know if you need anything, young sir. And I’m so sorry. I hope you don’t mind the . . . inconvenience.”

“What inconvenience?” Erec didn’t see anything unusual, but
when he tried to sit up he was yanked back onto his bed. He realized thin cords were stretched around his wrists and ankles. The bands were tight but not uncomfortable. Strangely, there were no ties anywhere, so he could not take them off. “Jam! Get me out of this thing.”

“So sorry, young sir.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed. “I didn’t put those on. And I’m not able to undo its spell. I’m afraid that Bethany had a . . . um, talk with your mother this morning.” He raised a hand and smiled sympathetically. “Don’t be angry, young sir. They both care about you a great deal, and they just wanted to make sure that you would be okay today. Ring that bell by your bed if you need anything. And I am sure that someone will take those off this afternoon, of course. Oh, and you received this snail mail this morning.”

Jam handed him a letter, then backed out of the room, apologizing. Erec tried to sit up and was again thrown back onto his mattress. The more he struggled against the cords, the angrier he got. Who were Bethany and his mother to make this decision for him? They were ruining everything. Now he would end up turning evil and losing his life anyway . . . all for nothing. The people dying today would not be saved. Trevor would never be rescued. He would never talk to the Furies and try to get his soul back.

Angrily, he tore open the letter Jam gave to him, able to raise his wrists high enough to read.

Erec,

I hope this finds you well. It has been a while since I’ve heard from you, so I thought I should give you some updates about what has been going on. Don’t worry about this snail being intercepted. I found a spell to charm the paper so it can be read only by you and me.

Baskania is putting together a team of his top people to find Bethany’s younger brother—the boy that is supposed to know the secret of the Final Magic he wants so badly. He’s going to find that kid before long. His servants are looking under every stone in the Kingdoms of the Keepers. And when he does find the kid, it’s going to be nasty. Remember how Bethany was chained to that desk while he rooted through her mind, and then he planned to take her brain out? That’s what her little brother will go through too. I’m going to keep tabs, and I’ll let you know as soon as they find him, whoever he is.

The Stain triplets are going to take over as kings of Alypium, Ashona, and Aorth soon. There’s nothing we can do about that, except hope that they don’t make too much of a mess of things. I wanted to tell you—you’ve got to finish your quests fast. Things are going to get ugly around here until you force them out as the new king with your scepter.

I’m still trying to find out exactly where Tarvos is located. As soon as I know, we’ll round up a big group to get Trevor. Do that next quest—I’m sure the Fates know what they’re talking about. Let me know if you need anything, ever.

Your friend always,

Rosco

Erec crumpled the letter in his fist. He wanted to do his next quest right now—but here he was chained to his bed. Resting was the last thing he wanted to do. His whole life was being ruined, and
everybody else’s, too, because he was stuck here. Locked up by his mother, sabotaged by his best friend.

He banged the wall behind the bed and shouted for Bethany, and then his mother. Neither came—they probably didn’t want to argue with him when they had no intention of changing their minds. This was ridiculous. All they had to do was keep him a prisoner here until after noon and he would never get to do his quest.