The Search for Truth (25 page)

After crawling a short distance he relaxed. He pulled a dazed and bruised Bethany in behind him.

She gasped when she saw him, and threw her hand up in front of her eyes. “Now you're ugly and have green dragon scales.”

When she was safe, he reached around her to help Jam in. “Wait!” he shouted. “Help Jack up, but Melody can't come into the tunnel yet. She'll have to hang on to the rope until we know what we're doing.”

Bethany protested. “We can't let her dangle out there. She needs a rest.”

Jam shook his head. “Erec is right. The minute we pull her in here with the Awen of Creation, this tunnel will crumble.”

They all rested against the rock wall to get their breath.

“I'm okay out here,” Melody called in. “At least when I'm hanging in the air, things aren't caving in around me.”

Erec could see landslides rushing past her, but Melody was close enough to the ravine's face to avoid them so far. The entire area would be a pile of rubble after this.

Erec felt his dragon eyes revolve back and his regular eyes come out, which meant that his vision was lost again in the mists. Yet his powers had saved them from an impossible situation. They had completed their third step.

 

The tunnel was filled only with the sounds of quiet breathing. Everyone was afraid to move an inch after what they had been through. Erec faced away from everyone so they wouldn't accidentally look at him.

A strange swirl of yellow and green appeared in the dust between two rocks. It was hard to see, but he was sure a pair of eyes were peeking at him.

“A snail!” He picked it up and pulled a letter out, holding it next to his face so he could read it.

 

Dear Erec,

Please, please stop writing me. I don't know if you are okay, but
Rosco appeared again right after I read your letter, and Baskania was with him. They took it from me, and it seemed like they knew exactly where you were talking about. Rosco said something about the Fire Pit volcanoes under Aorth and how that would be a likely place for a quest. And Baskania knew just where the coldest place on the planet is. They planned to find you, and then they vanished.

If you are still there, you have to be more careful. Sending me a letter is like sending it straight to Baskania.

I am, and will always be, working and planning for the day when Rosco no longer has his grip on me.

Your friend,

Oscar

 

Erec read the letter aloud, and Bethany and Jack cheered. “We'll have to send a few more letters,” Erec said happily. “Lead them on a wild-goose chase. But right now we need a plan to get out of here. Once we get to the island, we'll all forget what to do. And with the Awen of Creation with us, we'll just sit there as the land collapses around us.”

Bethany said, thinking aloud, “Last time, we all followed you when you told us what to do. I still remember you saying, ‘Get coats and backpacks. Follow me,' like it was from another life.”

“A simple chant won't be so easy this time,” Erec said. “We have to do several things. Get the crystal. Put it somewhere. Then follow the crystal to the next tunnel. All the while the Awen of Creation will be causing destruction around us.”

“I've got an idea,” Bethany said. “Those of us in the tunnel won't be affected by the Awen of Knowledge until after we climb out. Melody, Jack, and Jam can stay in the tunnel and shout out directions.”

That seemed like a great idea until Jack said, “Better do it fast, though. The tunnel will start caving in the minute Melody comes in here.”

“I better take the singing crystal now,” Erec decided. Melody fished it out of her backpack, and Jam passed it to Erec.

“One other problem,” Jack said. “Who's going to hold this next Awen? If it makes us all forget what to do, I'm sure the person holding it won't be able to function at all.”

“I'll do it,” Bethany volunteered. “I haven't held one yet. And I'm right behind Erec, so he can help me if I need it.”

Erec smiled when she said that. So Bethany trusted him the most. Even if turning into a dragon made him kind of a freak, it still was pretty cool what he was able to do. She was proud of him, he was sure, which, for some reason, seemed like the most important thing of all.

B
ALOR STAIN TREMBLED
. Three rows of eyes crossed his father's forehead today. Balor could not help but wonder if he recognized Ward Gamin's or Rock Rayson's among them. Thankfully, he did not.

Candles flickered in the dark sanctuary hidden in the center of the Green House. Ward and Rock stood nearby, sporting identical black eye patches. Dollick was
baaing
nervously, and Damon was tugging his brother's woolly hair for fun.

Damon said, “I still don't get it. Dad's not dad?”

“Shut up,” Balor hissed. “The Shadow Prince is our father. We'll talk about it again later.”

Damon looked at Balor quizzically, then approached Baskania with his hand out. “Can I have some money, Pop?”

“Fool,” Baskania hissed, and Damon tumbled backward onto his bottom. “I see you two are recovering nicely,” Baskania said, glowering at Ward and Rock. “Maybe, if you prove yourselves worthy, I'll take your other eyes one day, and you can join the blind followers at my headquarters.”

Rock and Ward exchanged nervous glances with their remaining eyes. It was apparent they would rather be anywhere else.

“It seems the five of you have had no better luck than anyone else in locating Erec Rex or Bethany Cleary,” Baskania said. “They may have gone into hiding. It is possible they are working on…Erec's next quest. He must have finished his third one, somehow. But the Harpy police gave me his fourth quest—that one is impossible. I saw for myself that Olwen Cullwich does not have what he is looking for.” He snorted angrily. “What bothers me the most is that I don't know how he's doing it. How did he finish his third quest? What did he do?”

He stewed in a silence that all of the boys were afraid to break. Then he went on, “I need to find Bethany Cleary and learn her secret. I feel it will be quite important to me. We will have to find another way to draw her here. Find a weakness of hers. If we captured Erec, of course we could lure her in. What else does she care about? She has other friends, but it's best if we find something that will make her rush in without thinking. Can you boys think of anything?”

“She has a pink cat that tells her secrets,” Balor said. “She calls it Cutie Pie.” Balor remembered how that cat had once given him some nice cuts with its claws. He mused how he would love to see it taken away from Bethany.

Damon stroked an imaginary pizza in his hands. “Pizza pie. She loves pizza pie.”

Baskania's face lit up. “Cutie Pie. Pizza pie. I think you boys have given me an excellent idea.”

 

After their short rest, they were ready. They climbed as far into the tunnel as they could, stretching the rope taut, before Jack pulled Melody in. As soon as she entered, loud cracks resounded through the passageway. Melody screamed as they all raced ahead of the collapsing rock.

As Erec ran through the tunnel, he said over and over in his head, “Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack. Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack.”

He and Bethany spilled out of the tunnel into the hot sun. Where was he again? He looked at Bethany, confused. She, too, seemed totally lost.

But words echoed through his head. “Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack.”

“Hurry!” Jack shouted.

The crystal in his hands was pulling him toward a shining yellow thing. “Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal.” Okay. He pulled the yellow thing up on the end of the crystal. “Put it in Bethany's backpack.” He put the crystal over her backpack, which was unzipped just enough for it to fit, and dropped the yellow thing inside. As soon as he did, she collapsed.

He smiled. He'd done a good thing, he knew. Now he could rest by the pretty waterfall.

Screams came from a dark tunnel nearby. He wondered what that was about. Then he felt a yank. Someone was pulling him into it and pushing Bethany out at the same time.

As soon as he was back in the tunnel, his head cleared. Bethany was slumped over her ropes outside, unable to do anything.

“Is Melody okay?” Jack sounded panicked. “She's not answering.”

Jam was tugging on the rope. “I've got her. We have to move fast.”

Erec nodded, thinking intently about what he would repeat: “Follow me. Follow the crystal.”

The tunnel was disintegrating around them. Erec threw himself onto the sand behind the waterfall. Mist poured out of the tunnel with Jack, surrounding them.

“Follow me. Follow the crystal.” Erec chanted the words until he realized that was something he could do. He marched forward, clutching the crystal before him. It was pulling him somewhere. Something was yanking on him the other way, though. Everything was blurry behind him. Someone was dragging on the ground, tied to him by a rope. It looked like a girl.

Should he pull the rope off? It seemed like a good idea. But the words in his head said to do something else. “Follow me. Follow the crystal.” Okay. He followed the crystal, aware that others behind him and the dragging girl were doing the same.

Loud crashes and strange noises echoed around them. Huge waves smashed into the shore, but they were easier to hear than see. A tree fell somewhere, and he heard a cry. The sand under his feet felt wobbly, and the ground was shaking. But the crystal in his hand kept pulling him. Steadily, amidst the odd crashes and despite the tugging on his chest, he forged ahead. Soon he reached the entrance to a rocky cave.

The moment he crawled inside, his head cleared. He caught his breath and looked out the tunnel entrance. Although his vision was blurred by the mist, it looked like chaos out there. Bethany hung limply from the rope tied under her arms. Erec's heart went out to her.

He had to think. Once he pulled her into the tunnel, he'd forget
everything again. Then he had a great idea. He reached around Bethany and pulled Jam into the tunnel with him, keeping her and her Awen of Knowledge out. Jam came to with a startled look. “What will we do now, young sir?”

“I had a thought. If we keep Bethany in the tunnel while we pick up the last Awen, then we'll know what we're doing when we're in Avalon. Maybe we should keep Jack in there with her. Then we'll be able to see better too.”

“Smart idea, young sir. But Melody can't stay in the tunnel with them. It would cave in.”

“I know,” Erec said, thinking about that part. “We'll have to take her out with us. If there were only a way we could keep her safe….”

Jam frowned, setting his mind to this problem. “She seemed best off hanging in midair.”

Erec took his rope off, knowing they had to keep moving. “I'm going through the tunnel and out into Avalon. See if you can hear me when I shout in to you. I'll give you instructions so you'll know what to do after you pull Bethany in here.”

He scrambled on his knees down the rocky tunnel, and out the other end into Avalon. But as soon as he set foot on the ground, he was instantly in a bad mood. Why did he have to do all this stuff, anyway? Why was he always saving the day for everyone else? He shouted into the tunnel, annoyed. “Can you hear me, fuzz brain? It's me. You know, the one who has to save your sorry hide all the time.”

A faint echo laughed back. “I hear you loud and clear, kind sir.”

“Go!” Erec screamed. “Hurry up. Pull Bethany in, you idiot. Pull Jack in, and Melody. And fast, stupid! Get your act in gear. Crawl down the tunnel. Now, you dumb fools! Before Melody ruins everything again with her rotten Awen of Creation. Speed it up.”

Yelling felt good, and soon he saw Jam approach, dragging
Bethany behind him. The clueless look on Jam's face made him more upset. Crashes resounded behind them from Melody's Awen.

“Stop, fools!” Erec shouted at Jam. “Yes, you. Untie yourself. Loosen the rope and pull it apart.” Erec was exasperated, having to explain to Jam how to untie the knots. “Now, you get out here.”

Jam climbed out, and a look of frustration immediately overcame him. “You didn't need to snap at me, young sir.”

Erec did not like Jam's tone when he said “young sir.” He also didn't like how Jam avoided looking at him. This “ugly” bit was getting old. His friends were so weak, not being able to take a little change in his looks. He yelled into the tunnel for Jack to untie both himself and Bethany. After a lot of screaming on Erec's part, Jack managed to do so, even though he was blinded and confused.

Erec grabbed the rope around Melody and pulled. In a moment she crashed out of the tunnel, tumbling on top of him, then screaming in horror when she looked into his face.

“Stay there. Don't you move,” Jam said to Jack. Bethany slumped against the wall of the tunnel, and Jack sat next to her, stupefied and content not to go anywhere. At least the tunnel was no longer caving in.

Melody jumped away from Erec, and the ground exploded under her feet. She tumbled into the pit she had created. “Look what you did, you ugly moron!” she shouted angrily. “Now what's going to happen to me?” She fell further into the pit as the ground collapsed under her. Rocks began to tumble on top of her. “Save me, you beast! What, did your brains melt away with your looks? You had to make me carry the most dangerous thing. Are you trying to kill me or something?”

Lugh, Brigid, and Dagda appeared with their long gray robes, ankle-length brown tunics, and huge oak staffs. After gagging from looking at Erec's face, blond-haired Dagda grabbed Melody's rope.
With help from Lugh, he climbed onto a tree limb and tied her so she was hanging from the rope secured under her arms.

The whole time Melody cursed and spat at them, furious. “Is this the best you can do? My luck, I'm surrounded by mental midgets. I'm supposed to keep hanging here while everyone else goes off to drink lemonade?”

“Do not speak in opposites,” Lugh called up to her.

“I'm not, you freak,” Melody shouted back, obviously knowing what he meant and not wanting to play along.

“Nobody speak in opposites,” Lugh repeated, nodding at Erec.

The reminder calmed Erec a bit. “We do not need to get the Awen here now. We do not want your help.” Tremors shook through the ground under them, but at least the world was not collapsing yet, with Melody dangling free.

Though Brigid averted her eyes from the horror of his face, Erec noticed she looked excited, even despite the negative feelings the Awen was casting out. Probably because they hoped to be rid of it soon. She said, “We are very upset with you. You did a terrible job so far. But you look fantastic. I hope you do not feel okay.”

“I do not,” Erec said. “I am not fine.”

She nodded. “Has it been easy?”

“Very easy.” Erec nodded. “We nearly lived several times.” He looked around. “I did not think that druids were here. Are they not here?”

Brigid swallowed a laugh. “We are not druids,” she said, pointing at herself and the two boys.

“You are not?” Erec was surprised. “I thought druids were…young. You look too old to be druids.”

Lugh looked pleased. “We are much younger than we look. We cannot choose how we appear so we do not make ourselves look young.”

“Why do you not stay here, in this place?” Jam asked. “Why do you leave?”

Lugh said, “We leave because this is not our home. Legend does not tell that someday one will not take the Awen away. So we do not wait for that day to come.”

Dagda said, “When you do not bury the Awen in the Isle of Man, then do not come right back here, please. We do not have gifts for you.”

Erec frowned. “Why would we not bury them?”

“The Awen will not stay where you bury them for three weeks. After that, they will not return to where you found them. Burying them will not keep them safe, and will not minimize their effects.”

Erec nodded. He pulled his singing crystal out and let it lead him to the stream where they had originally seen the Awen of Harmony. Jam, Lugh, Brigid, and Dagda followed him, leaving Melody snarling, hanging from the branch.

The crystal pulled Erec to the large rock by the stream. He lifted it as the crystal struck a chord. The red dodecahedron with black symbols on its sides had a ruby aura around it.

“I should not carry this one,” Jam said with a scowl. “It is not my turn.”

Erec thought to prepare him. “It will not make you very angry, I think. Are you not sure?”

Jam shrugged. “I'm not sure. Don't give it to me. I can't handle it.”

Lugh held a finger up. “Don't wait a minute.” He returned with a large sheet made of sewn-together animal skins and nodded.

Jam unzipped the top of his backpack and Erec lowered the red dodecahedron into it. The instant it fell, Jam screamed in rage and attacked Erec. Erec jumped back in shock, trying to scramble away. Words could not form fast enough for Jam, so he grunted and hissed, kicked and spit. Erec rushed backward, but Jam fell on him, punching hard.

Lugh and Dagda wrestled Jam off Erec and held him down while he jerked furiously, sputtering in anger. Brigid straightened the sheet out on the ground, and the three, with Erec's help, managed to roll Jam in it. Soon he looked like a nasty cigar with a fire-red face for a tip. At least he was harmless now.

Lugh said, “Do not come with me. I will not call your boat for you.”

Erec followed Lugh along the path toward the shore where they had come from. When they reached the sandy beach, Erec pulled his coat tighter around him.

Lugh faced the waves, holding his wooden staff before him. He chanted a haunting refrain.
“Am gáeth tar na bhfarraige. Am tuile os chinn maighe. Am dord na daíthbhe.
I am a wind across the sea. I am a flood across the plain. I am the roar of the tides.” Erec recognized it as the same song that the Hermit had sung. It was beautiful and frightening, as if it were from another universe. As he paused, Erec could hear water rush over a thousand tiny tinkling shells. “
Óig dar mhuir, mile laoch líonfas ler. Barca breaga bruigfidid.
Let these youths float across your ocean, thy thousand heroes fill your sea. Bring your magic ships to moor.”