The Secret of Ashona (31 page)

“Hermit!” The king looked relieved. “I’m so glad to see you. We’re in a mess here.”

“We’re in a mess, my king? Oh, no, I don’t think so. Look around—” The Hermit waved a skinny arm around the room. “Not a mess here at all. It is the
mess
that is in
you
!” He swung around to point at Erec. “And you!” Then he pointed at Bethany. “And you!” The strange little man pointed wildly at everyone in the room, and then crossed his arms triumphantly as if he had made an important point.

The king nodded impatiently. “Erec feels he has to free the souls that the three Furies are keeping captive. The Aitherpoint quill said that Erec should give himself to Baskania—pledge his services to him. That’s crazy, though. What do you think, Hermit?”

The Hermit got up and danced around his chair in a circle. “Crazy quill. Crazy dance. Live your life like a fancy-pants.”

If Erec did not know how amazingly wise the Hermit was, he would have thought everyone was nuts for asking such a goofball what they should be doing. But instead, everyone waited patiently, expectantly, for what the Hermit had to say.

Before long, the Hermit stared expectantly too, imitating each of their faces. He rubbed his hands together, excited. “What will he
have to say? I can’t wait to hear it! What a wise, wonderful man the Hermit is.” He danced a little more, then said. “Everybody dance! To the beat of your own gong! Get up on your feet now—come on. You! You!” He pointed at Queen Posey, June, and everyone else. “You want answers? Then, be dancers!”

Zoey shouted, “Yeah!” and jumped up to dance with the Hermit, making everyone laugh.

Bethany grabbed his hand. “C’mon, Erec. How long has it been?”

It seemed ridiculous at first, but how could he turn down a dance with Bethany? Soon they whirled around the room to soundless music. Maybe the Hermit was right, it was better not to be so serious all of the time, even when life seemed impossible. Nell bounced a little in her walker, and Trevor got into the groove and spun around her a few times. Even King Piter and June bounced around a little in their seats, having fun watching the kids. And when it seemed that only Queen Posey was not part of the dance, all of a sudden she whirled out of her chair, jaw open in shock. Feet off the floor, she spun around the room, one arm out as if dancing with a ghost.

Which, only Erec could see, she was. Spartacus Kilroy, an arm around her waist and another hand holding hers, bounced and dipped the queen around the room, and then set her back in her oyster seat.

The Hermit clapped and whistled. “Bravo, your highness.” He bowed low. “You surely did not want to be shown up by us, now did you, your majesty?” He giggled.

Queen Posey’s face turned red. “I . . . I didn’t do that.” She looked around, uncomfortable.

“Now, now,” the Hermit chided. “Don’t be so shy.”

King Piter’s face crumpled, anxious again. “Can you tell us now, Hermit, what Erec should do?”

“Yes.” Erec was surprised that the Hermit sounded so commanding. This was a change. “He should take a breath in. Then breathe out.
Just like that. Can you do that Erec? Very good! Now repeat it again and again, until you die again. Excellent!”

Erec rolled his eyes—typical Hermit humor. Nobody would make him spill the beans unless he wanted to, even though Erec was sure that the Hermit knew very well what Erec should do.

He decided to give it a try. “Hermit, I’m going to get those souls out of there, if it’s the last thing I do. But I don’t know how to sneak them out with the Furies in there. And the Aitherpoint quill says I have to dedicate myself to my worst enemy. But those things don’t have anything to do with each other, do they? How do I know if the quill is right—I don’t want to do something stupid just because the quill said to.” He wanted to tell the Hermit more, about the terrible things that he saw himself doing in the future. But everybody else was listening, and he could not stand for them to know.

The Hermit smiled and put a hand on Erec’s head. “Little Erec. I’m so proud of you!” He pinched Erec’s cheek. “You care about the right things. I see you are learning well. You will be a great thing some day.” It sounded to Erec like the Hermit meant to say, ‘a great king,’ but then again, he could never tell with the Hermit. “You ask if working for Baskania and freeing the souls in Alsatia have anything to do with each other. I will say, only as such things as brushing your teeth and finishing your schoolwork have something to do with each other—both have to be done before going to bed. Just think of your little tasks—outwitting the great Furies and donating yourself to Baskania—as small things you must do before going to bed. Does that help?”

The Hermit had a way of making things sound even worse than they were. “So, I’m really supposed to do this, then? Is there any other way for me to free those souls other than helping Baskania? Because I really don’t want to do that.”

“Erec, Erec.” The Hermit shook his head, as if talking to a toddler. “Brushing your teeth might not be fun, but it will keep them from rotting out of your mouth. And I know the schoolwork is a chore. But if you want to be a good boy, and do all that you want when you grow up, you have to do it.”

Erec understood the gist of what the Hermit was saying—just like every other time in his life, he had to follow the path that the Fates had laid out for him. It was never easy, but it was the right way to go.

But giving himself over as a servant to Baskania . . . ?

“Ready?” Spartacus clapped his hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Erec remembered how driven he had been as a ghost, so he knew why Spartacus was in a hurry. But the last thing that he wanted to do was leave this comfortable place with his family and Bethany, to depart from love, safety, and comfort, and jump into danger and misery. “Give me a day, Spartacus. One day to spend with everyone here—in case I don’t come back.”

June clapped her hands over her mouth and looked at King Piter.

King Piter sat in stunned silence. He looked back and forth between June, Erec, and the Hermit. Finally he shook his head. “No. I understand, believe me. I know as well as you do that you were put here for a purpose. But as your father, I have to say no.”

June sighed in relief and rushed to put an arm around Erec. “How are we going to keep him here? The last time I used magic to tie him in his room he managed to get out—and that’s when he died!”

Saying this seemed to reinforce to everybody that there was nothing they could do . . . and also that even his dying had not been so bad.

Erec tried to ease her mind—but he didn’t want to lie. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m going to be fine. You can’t stop me from going, so just don’t worry—”

“Don’t worry?” June began to pace, growing angry. “Don’t worry? Of course I’m stopping you. I’m . . . stopping you! Okay?”

“Mom—you can’t do anything about it.”

“Oh, yes I can! Do you want to watch me? King Piter said no, and I said no. I’m not letting you out of my sight. Do you hear me?”

“That won’t work, Mom.”

“Just wait!” June shouted. “I’m not losing complete control of you. I’m still your mother. Don’t underestimate me, buddy. You’re not going to be left alone for a second.”

Everyone in the room stared at him, wondering what he was going to say. Erec himself had no idea. He wanted her to feel better, but she couldn’t stop him from leaving when the Hermit was here to help him. Would she be following him into the bathroom?

The Hermit winked with sparkling eyes. “Madam, I promise you that I will make sure this boy doesn’t go anywhere he is not supposed to go.” He bowed so low that the neon pink boxer shorts that served as his hat touched the ground, and remained there once he stood up.

Erec had no doubt what the Hermit meant by that—Erec was supposed to go to Baskania as the Fates wanted him to.

June shot the Hermit a strange look, as if trying to read more into what he said. Then she relaxed. “Okay,” she said. “Thank you, Hermit.” Then her eyes darted to Erec.

He gave June a smile. “Okay, Mom. If the hermit says to stay, I’ll stay.”

Even though Erec knew that was not what the Hermit was saying, June looked relieved. Erec supposed she was clinging on to her only hope that he would be okay. He wished there were some other way—and that he himself had hope to cling on to.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A Trip to La Place des Yeux du Monde

E
REC AND
B
ETHANY
went for a swim through the porthole attached to her room. With their Instagills there was no need for scuba equipment. It was the first time that Erec had been in a deep reef, and he was amazed at how beautiful it was. Glowing red anthias and orangeback bass shimmied around the patchwork of rock, pastel corals, and wiggling bright-red, blue, and white anemones. Brilliant blue tang fish with shocking yellow spines darted in and out of rocks in huge clusters. Erec could hear them discussing the huge pink
octopuses hanging out in their reef, and it took a while before he realized that they were referring to him and Bethany.

“So, are you really going to stay here with us?” Bethany looked excited but nervous. “You can tell me the truth.”

“I can? I guess I should be mad that you told my mom where I was going last time, and tried to chain me into my room.”

Her face grew pink. “I’m sorry. I only did it because I cared. I just couldn’t lose you.”

“I know. I’m not angry at either of you.” He shrugged, hoping to leave it at that.

“But really—this time, are you going? Were you just trying to make your mom happy?”

Erec did a somersault in the water. If he told her, she probably wouldn’t take it well. She might even go worry June again, and it wouldn’t change anything. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we just have a good time here now?”

Bethany seemed to know what that meant. “Erec, I’m so worried about you. Would you promise to take me with you if you go anywhere?”

“Not this time, Bethany. Any other time. Think about it—what if I had taken you with me before, when I went to see the Furies? You would be dead now. It’s the only way that you can get to Alsatia to see them. And the Furies might not have brought you back to life.” He thought about that a moment. Would they have? They had offered to make Spartacus alive again. But how could he have risked Bethany like that? And there was no way that he would bring her back to Baskania, after she had been his prisoner so recently.

“You know”—Bethany twirled a curl between her fingers in thought—“if you really were going to follow what the quill said, if you really became Baskania’s servant, you’d have to bring me along to give to him as a prisoner. A real follower of his would do that, you know.”

“Are you crazy?” Erec tried to calm himself down. “Suicidal or something? If I have to become a servant of that guy, it’s bad enough. I’ll never really want to help him.”

She shrugged. “Just saying. I mean, I’d rather be there than waiting here wondering how long you’ll be alive this time.”

Erec understood. “After I do this, Bethany . . . if I can save those imprisoned souls, I’ll never do anything without you again. I was a spirit without a soul or body, and it stinks. It’s like being a broken piece of a whole—just like they are. I have to try to do something for them. I wish you could come with me.” Erec tried not to think about the risks involved in getting back into Alsatia. What if he really had to die to get back? Would he really give up his own life to save three thousand souls? He hoped that he could make himself go through with whatever he had to do. This time, after turning against the Furies, they would not bring him back to life again.

Of course, before he even got to that point, he would have to give himself to Baskania as a servant. . . .

Luckily Bethany had no idea what he was thinking about, and she lit up with a smile. “Okay, it’s a deal. Just be careful, whatever you do.”

“Deal.”

“I may be able to see us together in the future, and that will help me too. I’ve been working with a tutor here on becoming a seer. And it’s been awesome.”

Erec got nervous. If she could see into the future, what would she find out? Erec cringed at what he had seen himself doing: ruining the world. Giving everything to Baskania. Bethany would never see a happy future, even if Erec did miraculously survive. “That’s cool. Maybe just don’t look into the future too much, okay? I mean, it’s not worth it. You could get upset for nothing.”