The Secret of Ashona (4 page)

He was alive . . . but the Furies still had his soul.

CHAPTER TWO
A Horrible Deal

E
REC’S MIND SPUN
, trying to take in this new information. Tarvos had said that Erec had a little piece of his soul left. And that was all he had been living with this last month? It was strange that he could not even feel that his soul was missing. He felt exactly the same as he had before he had lost it. The whole thing seemed so strange. Did the Furies still have his soul with them? That thought lit a small spark of hope in Erec. Maybe they didn’t need it anymore, now that they were free. . . .

But before he could get too excited, another realization hit him. Tarvos had not made a mistake. That meant Erec would never get out of this cave alive.

“You said people like me have to be destroyed,” Erec said, “before we do
damage
? But I feel totally fine. I’m not going to hurt anybody. I didn’t even notice that my soul was missing.”

Tarvos growled. “You’re a hazard. It’s a matter of time before you’ll turn bad. You all do. You’re a danger to society.”

Erec couldn’t believe his ears. This couldn’t be right. “Can’t you just give me a chance? Let me try to stay under control . . . before you destroy me?” He gulped.

Trevor looked back and forth between his brother and the giant bull, then blurted out, “Let him go! I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

Tarvos’s glowing red gaze bored into Trevor’s. “That’s not so easy. These
things
”—he pointed at Erec—“lose track of right and wrong completely. They all turn evil. I do a great service by ridding the world of these terrible creatures.”

Erec felt sick. He was a terrible creature now? He would soon become evil? How much of what Tarvos was saying was true?

“What if . . . what if I could get my soul back again?”

The cranes burst into laughter. “’Ee thinks ’ee can just get it back again. Like ’ee could buy it at the local Burger Rama, or one of the Herman Howl’s UnderWear stores or some’pin.”

“If dat’s right, I want to buy a few extras me’self.”

Tarvos snorted. “Give it up, boy. That’s not going to happen. When some people die and come back to life, their soul moves on without them. They won’t come back by themselves . . . and there’s no way to contact them, so don’t think some psychic will find yours.”

“But—”

“Your time is up. Pop those eyes out now so I can move on to the next soulless one on my list. I have an army to put together.” He
rubbed his hooves together, and then said thoughtfully, “I could just tear your head off. That would get rid of those eyes . . . but then you would be a Golem without a head, and what good would that be? No,” he grunted. “I’ll just have to kill you both.”

“Stop! Wait!” Erec took a breath. “I
can
find my soul again. I—I didn’t just die, I gave my soul to the three Furies to help them escape Tartarus. They probably still have it. Now that they’re free, they might give it back to me. Please, just give me a chance to ask them.”

Tarvos’s eyes lit up with wonder. “Did you say the Furies? Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera?
You
helped them escape Tartarus?” He stood and began to pace in the small space in front of his throne. “Well, this is interesting, indeed. The
Furies
have your soul. Good luck getting it back.” He stared at Erec for a moment. “Then again, if they really owe you, like you say, then maybe they would work something out.”

Erec could not believe his ears. Hope surged through him. “Do you know where the Furies are? Where my soul is?”

“No. They keep their captive souls near them in some prison. Pretty nasty, even for my taste—keeping souls locked up like that forever.”

Erec was confused. “Do the souls know they’re in a prison?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t you? They’re miserable. Yours will be the lucky one if you get it out of there.”

The idea of three thousand souls locked in a prison, including his own, was horrifying. He had to try to get it out of there. But what about all the other ones? It didn’t seem right to leave them all there to rot. But before he could do anything at all about it, he had to get out of this place.

Tarvos smacked his lips, hungrily. “Actually, I need to talk to the Furies too. They have something I need. In fact, now that they’re free I might be able to get it.” He eyed Erec appraisingly. “And you say that they owe you a favor, that you released them?”

“I did. Maybe I could help you if you let me go.” Erec’s mind raced with excitement. Maybe he could fix everyone’s problem at once—get his soul back, get whatever Tarvos wanted from them, and go home.

A smile flickered on Tarvos’s lips. “Perfect . . . Ask them for a little thing called a ‘Master Shem.’ It would help me get control of things down here.”

“A Master Shem? What does that do?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” the bull snapped. “Just get it and I’ll overlook that you’re going around out there without a soul.”

“So, you’ll let us go, then?”

The bull shook its head. “Not both of you. I need a guarantee that you’ll return. Once you have your soul back there is no way for me to bring you here. This boy is your brother, right? I’m sure you’ll return for him.” A smile lit his wide face.

Erec broke into a sweat. “No—wait. That won’t work.” He could never leave Trevor here. “Keep me instead.”

“How is that possible? I need you to get the Master Shem from the Furies. If you bring it to me before one month passes, then I’ll let this boy go.”

Trevor looked so small and pale. How could Erec even think of leaving him with this monster?

As if Trevor was reading Erec’s mind, he said, “I’ll be fine.” His voice shook. “You can do it, Erec.”

“I can’t leave you here!”

Trevor shook his head firmly. “That’s the only way we’ll
both
be free.”

“Not quite.” Tarvos shook his head. “Only this boy will. That is our trade. You will still belong to me—that is, unless you get your soul back. Then you will be your own person again, of course.” He tapped a hoof on the ground. “You’ll need a way to get back here. I’ll leave a passage open for you, but it will work only one time. Find the
giant Bubble Boulder of Racks Rocks in Quiet, a part of Otherness. There will be an entrance that only you will be able to see.”

“Racks Rocks? Bubble Boulder?” Erec was trying to keep the bull’s words straight, even as he was thinking of ways to get out of this craziness.

“Good luck, Erec.” Trevor closed his eyes. “I know you can do it.”

Fear raced through Erec. How could this be happening? He couldn’t leave his little brother alone with a beast that turned people to clay, and then hope to do the impossible in order to set him free. But then again, what other choice did he have?

The bull roared, “Is it a deal?”

Trevor shouted, “Deal!”

A moment later, Erec was back in his house. Surrounded by the world that he knew—his kitchen table, Zoey’s dolls in every single chair—he almost felt that the whole thing had been a terrible dream.

Except that Trevor was gone.

Erec felt shaky. What was he going to do? He looked around his apartment desperately, as if the answer might be right in front of him. Then, confused and feeling sick, he lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. How was he going to get out of this mess? Poor Trevor . . .

Then he jumped up. Paper. Pen. He had to write down the way back to Tarvos before he forgot:

The passage to Tarvos is in the giant Bubble Boulder of Racks Rocks in Quiet, which is in Otherness.

He stared at the paper a while, committing it to memory, then shoved it into his pocket. Not knowing what to do next, he decided to make a list to put his mind in order and sort out the problems.

1. Trevor is being held hostage by a giant bull.

This he underlined three times and circled. Then he wrote:

2. My soul is missing. And I might turn evil at any minute.

3. I need to get the Furies to give me a Master Shem, whatever that is, so I can get Trevor back.

4. If I don’t get my soul back from the Furies, Tarvos will turn me into a clay Golem thing.

5. The Furies are keeping three thousand souls prisoners.

6. Balor, Damon, and Dollick Stain are going to be crowned kings in a few weeks.

7. In three days, when I don’t give my scepter to the Green House, the armies of Alypium and Aorth are going to come after me.

Then he added, just in case his life wasn’t totally impossible already:

8. I have to do six more quests before I become King of Alypium. If I do them I can stop Baskania from destroying the world.

For a moment he felt better that he had gotten it all down on paper, like he was on the verge of a plan. But at second glance, everything seemed way out of control. Any one of these problems alone was more than he could face. He took a deep breath. The most important thing was to save Trevor as soon as possible . . . and also to find his lost soul. If he really did start to turn evil, then it would all be over.

That thought terrified him. Would he realize that he was going down the wrong path? What if he began doing bad things and he didn’t notice? Erec thought about his last month at home. Hadn’t he
taken a big bite of Zoey’s Popsicle last week, before she was finished with it? He hadn’t thought twice about it at the time, but she had gotten upset. Later Zoey calmed down and didn’t care anymore—did that make it okay?

What else had he done? Yesterday—yes, that was right—he had snapped at Trevor for turning up the television again and again when Erec was reading a book. The thought made Erec sick. He had felt justified at the time, but now poor Trevor was trapped in a cave with a vicious beast, held hostage because of him. Why hadn’t Erec been more patient?

Was he turning evil now? Those things he did hadn’t seemed any different from normal. Nobody had said anything to him, anyway. Maybe, he thought, someone should keep an eye on him.

Bethany was the obvious choice. She knew him better than anyone. And she was honest enough to tell him if he was acting different. Maybe she could also help him find the Furies. But even that seemed impossible. How
would
he find the Furies? They were superhuman creatures with power beyond his imagination, just like their sisters, the three Fates. . . .

That was it! For the first time, Erec had a spark of hope. He would speak to the three Fates. There was a well in Delphi, Greece, called the Oracle, where he could talk directly to them. They knew everything. They would tell him how to find their sisters. Maybe, if he was lucky, they would even tell him how to get his soul back.

Zoey burst through the door. Cherry Popsicle juice dripped down her hand, leaving red smudges around her face. “Erec! Erec! Mommy got me Flying Count cereal and Tummy Smacker Jumping Jelly Beans! You can have some—I saved five for you, five for Nell, and five for Trevor. Where is Trevor?” She looked around, candy-stuffed fist waving in anticipation.

Erec bit his lip. “Trevor is . . . he’ll be back soon. Okay? I need to go . . . help him out.” He hesitated. In their apartment there was a Port-O-Door—a magical door that would take him anywhere he wanted to go. It was tempting to leave right now before he had to face his mother. His heart sank at the thought of telling her what happened to Trevor. And what if she tried to stop him from finding the three Furies? He had to save Trevor and get his soul back again. . . .

Erec fought his urge to run away. He made himself wait until June walked through the door, carrying overflowing bags of groceries. She took one look at him and stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” She set the bags down. “You look awful.”

Erec’s throat squeezed shut as he started to talk. He had to take a breath and start again. “I . . . Trevor . . .” What could he say? The truth was too horrible to spit out.

A look of alarm grew in June’s eyes. “Where
is
Trevor?” She headed down the hallway, looking behind doors. “What happened?”

Erec followed her until he found the courage to say, “He’s not here. Sit down, Mom.”