The Three Furies (Erec Rex) (10 page)

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"Thanks, Queen Posey. Should I call you . . . Queen Posey, then?"

"Nonsense. Call me Aunt Posey. Just like you once did." She asked the king, "Do you want me to move your house into Ashona?"

"No, dear. It needs to stay where it is for now. I'm afraid I won't be able to guard it myself, however. If I'm here without the scepter much longer, I'll just fade away." He chuckled sadly.

"Well, let's take care of you," Posey said firmly. "No worries. The house can be dealt with later. I'll take you to visit with me awhile. Erec, would you like to come too? And you . . ."

"Jam Crinklecut, your highness." Jam bowed low. "Thank you so graciously for coming to help so soon."

"Of course. Jam, you saved my brother's life. You are welcome in my kingdom anytime. And Erec, why don't you come spend time with us? I'd love to get to know my nephew better."

Erec tried to smile. "That would be great, but we need to help my friend Bethany. She's been captured."

The king raised his eyebrows, and Erec told him what had happened with the Fates.

King Piter sat up on the couch, puzzled. "The man with the magnet? I have no idea who that could be. Maybe I should come with you. If I had my old scepter back . . ." His voice trailed off and he looked sheepish. "Look at me, letting my desires speak for me. My place is to stay in Ashona until either you or I am able to be near my old scepter safely. If I feel I am ready, I'll let you know. Tell me, of course, when it returns to you." He smiled.

"I wish I knew who this man with a magnet was." Queen Posey crossed her arms. "I'll ask everyone at home. If he lives in Ashona, you will soon know." She looked at her brother. "Are you ready?"

"As ever."

Jam helped the king up. He looped an arm around his sister, they walked to her Port-O-Door, and with a slight splash it disappeared.

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* * *

Erec looked out the window. The sun was setting, leaving a hazy pink aura over the open field behind his father's house. The men had gone away, but they would probably be back with reinforcements. Erec wondered if Baskania would figure out a way through the water wall. At the least it would show the Alypian people that the king still had some power--unless they realized the water wall was Queen Posey's trademark.

A red smudge in the grass caught his eye. It looked like the snail Oscar had been using. Erec went to pick it up.

Dear Erec,

I heard some news about Bethany, but I'm not sure that you'll like it. At least she is alive. She's a prisoner in Baskania's fortress in Jakarta, in Upper Earth. It's his top-security complex, where he keeps the people and things that are most important to him. That place is totally locked up with spells and armed guards.

I don't know, Erec. I'm sure you want to rush in there and save her, but it sounds like if you did you'd just be locked right up alongside her. I know Bethany would rather have you free than be a prisoner next to her.

This next part is really hard to write. Baskania is scanning through Bethany's brain. He's trying to find out where the key is to teach him about the Final Magic. He's already given her a bunch of tests, but they didn't turn up anything. If he runs out of other ideas, he's going to take her brain out and see if his scientists can figure out where the message is hidden.

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I was thinking about going there myself, but there's no way I could get to her. I don't know what to do. If you need me for anything at all, though, I'm here for you.

Your pal,

Oscar

It felt like rocks filled the inside of Erec's stomach. The enormity of what he had to do hit him like a bullet. Bethany had been captured by their worst enemy. Even if Erec did everything that the Fates told him to do, in the right order, how would he ever get her out of Baskania's prison?

He silently thanked the Fates for telling him how to go about saving her, but he was still terrified that he wouldn't succeed. What if there was more he had to get right and he didn't figure it out? If he had to climb the steepest, ice-covered cliff, if he had to swim through boiling tar pits, Erec was ready to do whatever lay ahead.

With his blood boiling and no clue what to do next, he felt frantic. What he wanted the most was to find Bethany immediately, to go straight into Baskania's fortress in Jakarta and demand to see her.

Just what Baskania would want him to do, of course. The only reason he was still keeping Bethany alive at all might be to capture Erec.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Magnet Mountain

HINK. FIND THE man with the magnet. Find the man with the magnet.

King Piter had no clue who it could be. Queen Posey was going to ask around Ashona, but she had never heard of him. Could it be someone in Aorth? Or in Otherness--the wilds where untamed magical creatures roamed?

Jam stared at the notes he had jotted down as if he were wondering the same thing. He sighed. "Should we perchance look

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for a magnet store? Not sure if there even is such a thing. Maybe a magic shop would know if there was a magnet specialist." He looked doubtful.

"We can look on the MagicNet. I'll search for 'magnet man' or 'man with magnet' and see what comes up."

"Great idea, young sir," Jam said, relieved. "Let's do that straightaway."

Jam led him to King Piter's MagicNet screen in a large sitting room. "Search, please. Eight on one."

A woman's face appeared, lighting the screen. Her left eyebrow and the hair on her left side was blond and pulled into a tight ponytail along with the black hair on her right side. "May I help you, sirs?"

"Quite." Jam looked at Erec.

"We're looking for a man with a magnet. Or
the
man with
the
magnet. Whatever that is." Erec hoped that made sense.

The woman nodded briskly. Eight boxes appeared on the screen, each with a merchant inside. Seven were men, and in the bottom right corner was a woman in a black pointed hat and a crooked nose. Erec had bought something from her before online, he remembered, for a blasting potion he once made. They all looked at him attentively. He was surprised none of them were shouting out, hawking their wares, but then again his request had been pretty strange.

"We need to find a man with a magnet," Erec said.

Several of the vendors immediately waved magnets in front of their screens. "Nice magnet here. This one's a food magnet. It has a special attraction for sweets and snacks. Whisks 'em right off the tables when you walk by at restaurants--well worth your money. Only five Bils."

"This one's the best you can find. It's a health magnet--good for

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whatever ails you. Sucks the health right away from people around you. You can live a long time with this beaut. Um . . . three gold rings, of course."

Another man waved a thick gray block. "I've a strong magnet. And for you it's only one Bil.
Very
unique--this one picks up metal objects. Isn't that interesting?"

"Five gold rings here for this money magnet. Bring it to a bank and you'll make your money back in one day."

Other vendors waved their products around, excited. But the woman in the corner narrowed her eyes. "And you only want to buy this from a man? Because I assure you, my wares are top of the line. Only the best magnets in my bunch. Any kind you want."

"No, no." Erec held his hand up. "I don't want to buy a magnet. I want the man
with
the magnet."

Silence fell over the vendors as they processed this. "Aha!" The woman grinned so hard that a wart on her cheek touched the one on her eyelid. "I've got it." She reached out of her window and pointed into the screen next to her where a man held a magnet in his hand. "Here's a man with a magnet for you. Just one silver shire and there he is." She rubbed her hands together.

The man looked over at her with a groan. The other vendors started pointing at each other, trying to both outbid their neighbors and sell them at the same time.

"Wait! Stop. I don't just want some man with a magnet." Erec thought hard, trying to narrow down his question. "Do any of you know a man who makes magnets . . . or sells only magnets? Like someone who owns a magnet shop?"

One of the vendors disappeared, leaving a blank screen in his place. He must have thought it was not worth wasting his time, and Erec didn't blame him.

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"Well," a man in a tall hat said cautiously, "I bought this jewelry magnet from a factory that specializes in magnets. You'll find it works very well."

"Where is that?" Erec said. "Is that factory owned by a man?"

Another screen went blank.

"Listen, sonny," the woman said. "We've all had a terrible week here. Everything that's happened with the clowns is really hurting our business. So if I were you, I'd buy a big bag of magnets now before all of our shops close down for good." She smiled. "Can I help you, then?"

"What happened with the clowns?" Erec had been to a clown colony once. He had no idea how they could have any impact on the MagicNet shops.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything, boy? The clowns in Otherness supply most of our magical herbs and about half of our other supplies as well. And now they're all in chaos. The Clown Fairy is gone. Vanished, they say. Maybe dead. And without her they won't last long, they won't. Nothing is keeping the clowns under control any more. They're just wandering wild. So, no more herbs, potions, or much else unless she reappears."

Jam looked pale. "That's impossible. The Clown Fairy is immortal. She can't be dead."

"That's what I thought," the woman said. "But if she was alive, she'd be reigning over her people now, wouldn't she?"

This story was interesting, but not what Erec needed to find out. "Thanks for the info. Look, I'll pay for information from anyone who can help me. I'm supposed to find 'the man with the magnet.' I don't know who it is, but someone who owns a really powerful magnet, I think, that can attract people to him. Or maybe just any kind of super-strong magnet. Any ideas?"

The remaining vendors leaned forward, scratching chins and ears and muttering to themselves.

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"You must be looking for Magnet Mountain," the man in the tall hat said grudgingly. "That place has the strongest magnets I know. I get some there myself."

Of course
, Erec thought. The vendor wouldn't have told him about his competitor unless he was getting paid for it. Magnet Mountain sounded like exactly where he needed to go. "Thanks. That's perfect."

Jam pulled some silver coins from one of the many pockets in his vest.

"Wait!" the woman shrieked. "That's not it. I've heard of a man who has a magnet. A really powerful one. He lives in . . . um, Cinnalim. Yeah, that's it." She held her hand out for money triumphantly.

"I don't think so," the man with the hat said. "I know who you're talking about. That's just some guy who bought a magnet. And guess where he bought it from? Magnet Mountain. That's the place you want." He tapped his open palm for payment.

"Well, that 'guy' is a man," the woman fired back. "And he has a magnet. That's what you are looking for, right?" She signaled to her hand for money.

"So, I'm a man, and I have a magnet too." The man's voice rose. "I gave you the best advice here. Magnet Mountain is the only place that makes strong magnets. She knows that too."

"Kind sir, modom." Jam put a handful of silver coins in each of their hands. "Thank you both so much for your help. Could you please tell us the locations of these places?"

Peace and satisfaction took over the expressions of both vendors. The man said, "Magnet Mountain is in the Outskirts of Alypium, right by the Citadel of Clouds on the north border. Ask around--people will know where it is. They hire a lot of folks down there."

The woman nodded. "And the man is in Cinnalim. I've heard he's made quite a nice place for himself there."

"What is his name?" Erec said.

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She scrunched her nose. "Damon, I think? Something like that. I can't remember exactly."

Erec immediately thought of Damon Stain, one of Baskania's cloned triplets, but he knew that it must be someone else. "Thanks."

Jam shook his head after they left the room. "I just can't believe the Clown Fairy is missing. It doesn't make sense."

"Is she the ruler of the clowns?"

"More like their guardian protector. But she's been their ruler, too, for the last ten years. So this is a catastrophe for them."

"Why was she their ruler for ten years?"

Jam hesitated. "Baskania's followers killed their old rulers. It was terrible. That happened at the same time so many people were murdered here in Alypium, in King Piter's castle. Baskania was hoping to take over everywhere at once." He clucked. "It makes me worry that Baskania did something to the Clown Fairy. But I thought that was impossible. She is not only immortal, but unholdable. That is, even if he did catch her by surprise, there is no place he could keep her where she could not escape."