The Secret of Ashona (49 page)

It made perfect sense. Connor’s memory was removed, but he had lived with it every day for so many years that it was part of his own memory as well. He could repeat every bit of it. “I still don’t understand. Why do you want my old memory?”

Baskania winked at him. “Dear boy. I admit, I already know most of what happened in your early days. Either I had tabs on it, or I orchestrated it. But there is one thing—or one person—who has evaded me. The prophecy said that the secret of the Final Magic is hidden in the mind of the smallest child of the greatest seer of
the first king of Alypium. At first we thought that was your friend, Bethany. . . .”

Anger filled Erec as he remembered the torture that Bethany had been put through by this man. He felt like a traitor for even speaking to him. But then again, he was ordered by the Fates to serve Baskania. It was all so strange, he did not know what to think. He tried to focus on what Baskania was saying, not how it made him feel. “So, you wanted my old memory because of the prophecy?”

“Exactly!” Baskania shouted. “Now that we know that Bethany had a younger brother, all I have to do is look in your old memory from that time and I’ll be able to find out all about him.”

It was true. “I knew Bethany when I was young—she lived in the castle. So maybe I knew her younger brother. . . .”

“And now I will know as well. Thank you, yet again, Erec.”

Erec’s heart sank. He had made one awful mistake after the next. He wanted to kick himself for being such an idiot.

Unless . . . could there be a way for him to head things off before Baskania found Bethany’s brother? It would take Baskania at least a few days to sort through Connor’s memory—it had taken weeks to pore through all of Bethany’s when she was captive. Maybe Erec could figure it out first. He would find Bethany’s brother and save him.

He could not wait to get out of here, go home and sift through his old memories. But he had to keep up a good front with Baskania. “I’m glad it all worked out. And I’m sorry that I did those things without asking you.”

“Don’t be sorry. I would have said no, of course. And then where would we be?” Baskania ruffled Erec’s hair. “Forget sorry, boy. And forget asking. If you have to ask, you’re no better than the rest of them.” He gestured to President Inkle, who shuddered.

Erec resisted feeling good. Why was it that Baskania sounded so
much nicer now—more human? “Let me know what you find out, then, okay?”

Baskania made a motion as if he was tipping a hat to Erec. “Of course. And thank you again for the many gifts today.” He nodded curtly at Rosco, who walked over to Erec.

“Time to go, kid.” Rosco kept up a tough front, but Erec could see that he was flustered. Rosco ushered him back through the Port-O-Door and into his apartment. “We need to talk.”

Spartacus appeared, and he was irate. “How could we have forgotten that Baskania was looking right through Ward Gamin’s eye? I can’t believe he knew everything! I tried so hard to pull the Master Shem out of his hands. But he was much stronger than those zombie things in the Underworld were. I can’t believe the power he has . . . more than a spirit even!”

Rosco, who hadn’t heard a word of what Spartacus said, looked angry. “You are so lucky. Do you realize how that could have gone? I was sure you would be dead, imprisoned, blinded, had the life sucked out of you . . . but not complimented! If people disobey him he doesn’t take it lightly. The Shadow Prince really likes you. I don’t get it.”

“Thanks, Rosco. I’m that unlikable?”

“You know what I mean.” Rosco sank onto his couch, stunned. “All I can say is he’s rarely like that. It’s true you’ve given him everything he’s ever wanted, and all at once, too. That’s enough to soften anyone up.” He shrugged.

“And all of those things are going to cause a lot of damage, hurt a lot of people.” Erec’s shoulders drooped.

“I know. If it makes any sense, the Shadow Prince sees what he’s doing as the greater good. He doesn’t value individual human lives. Instead he thinks the pursuit of knowledge is bettering the world.”

“The pursuit of knowledge? How about his crazy need for power?”

“You’re right. He has that, too. But he doesn’t see it that way. The Shadow Prince is a student of time and magic, and he’s dedicated his life to reading and learning everything there is to know.” Rosco sighed. “He disregards people, and does horrible things. Even he knows that power is his main goal, I think now. But I bet he doesn’t admit it to himself.”

Erec felt like he was about to cry. “I’ve messed up again and again. I need to make things right, and I don’t even know how. Before I do anything else, I need to remember who Bethany’s brother is before Baskania finds out.”

Rosco nodded. “That’s a great idea. Then we can try to save him before it’s too late.”

“Wish me luck.”

Erec lay down in a quiet bedroom.
Bethany’s brother.
He wondered what Bethany was like as a little kid. Last year in New York they had thought they were meeting for the first time. Both of their early memories had been taken away.

But now his was back. He was excited to remember Bethany when she was little. Had they been friends? What if they had hated each other? Erec hoped that he didn’t remember anything awful that would make him like her less, like if she had punched him in the nose every time she had seen him, and stolen his favorite toys. He couldn’t imagine, though, that anything she did then would affect him now.

But what if thinking of her as a very old childhood friend changed the way that he felt about her now? He really liked what they had—it was like friendship but more than that too. Like having a girlfriend, in a way, but not so serious and corny. Would she seem more like a sister after this?

Erec pushed all of those thoughts out of his head, and instead focused on his old memories that were new to him again. He didn’t
know if it would be hard to remember the right thing, but he thought back to a day when they were little, living in the Castle Alypium.
Ruth Cleary, Bethany, Pi . . .

“Bethy! Bethy! Bethy!” Erec’s sister, Elizabeth, rolled around the nursery floor in delight. Her favorite friend was coming to play in the nursery today—one that they didn’t see all the time.

Erec wasn’t so excited. “Not
her
again.” All that girl ever wanted to do was play pretend magic games with Princess Pretty Pony. She never wanted to try Zoom Zoom Undie-Ball with Erec and Prince Muck-Muck. Stupid girls. Some of them could be really fun, but not this one.

Bethany skipped into the nursery with her mother. She sang, “I’m going to be a mommy. I’m going to be a mommy.”

Her mother, Ruth, patted her on the head. “That’s right, dear. We only have to wait five more months and you’ll be a big sister.”

Bethany plopped on the floor with Elizabeth and picked up some crayons. “No, I’ll be a mommy. Princess Pretty Pony will be our sister.”

That memory was too early. But how strange remembering Bethany as a little girl! She had been so cute, with dark curls waving all around her face. Erec laughed, relieved that it had not changed his feelings about the current Bethany one bit. He tried to think about a later time, after her mother had the baby. Sifting through his thoughts, it seemed that that was toward the end of his new memory—not long before it had been removed.

One stray image hit him—

Someone brought Bethany to play in the nursery, but it was not her mother. In fact, she had been taken here a lot of days in a row, it seemed. And she wasn’t happy about it.

Whoever was dragging her here—was it a maid?—had to pull her by
the arm into the room and slam the door shut. “Listen to me, you . . . you little girl. This is no way to act. I am in charge of you today and you get to come play here with your friends. Now be a big girl and act nice. Okay?”

Bethany stuck her tongue out at the maid. “I hate you! I don’t want to play here. I want to play with Mommy!” She stamped her foot.

The maid was having none of it. “Mommy is tired now, because of the new baby. She was up all night again. Now she needs her sleep today, so you are going to stay here.”

“I want my Mommy!”
Even though she wasn’t his best friend, Erec felt bad for her. Every day she had come in here crying.

The maid left, and Bethany broke down bawling, just like she had the other mornings. “I hate having a baby! I hate the baby! He’s stupid. All he does is cry and sleep, and he takes Mommy away all the time.”

Erec was glad that he didn’t have a baby. He wanted to help Bethany. “Let’s throw the baby away! I hate babies too.” He never knew before that he hated them, but looking at Bethany he certainly did now.

A smile lit on her face. “Yeah! I know where he sleeps! And I know how to get back home all by myself.”

“Can Clio do it with us?” Erec glanced at today’s nursemaid, one of his favorites. She was helping his sister pick up her crayons.

“No! Grown-ups don’t let us touch the baby. They just make us go to our rooms and be
nice
to the baby. We have to throw him away all by ourselves.”

Erec started running in big circles around the room, excited. He stepped on his sister’s crayons by accident as he darted by. Some of them broke, and others sprayed across the floor. She began to cry, but Erec only noticed that for a moment. He was going on an adventure!

Bethany caught up to him, running too. “Let’s go!”

He stopped and bragged, “I snuck out before.” Clio had told him all about it, but he didn’t remember. She said that once Erec had left again and again from the nursery. She said it was a bad thing, but it sounded
exciting. And now he was going to do it again with a friend! He put a finger over his chubby little lips. “Shh.”

They tiptoed to the door. Erec turned the knob, just like he saw big people do. When it opened, the two ran out. After they were safely down the hallway they jumped up and down, screeching. Bethany darted into another hallway, and Erec tumbled after her, laughing and kicking the walls. “This is fun!”

“Whee!” Bethany trotted ahead of him, a big grin on her face. “We’re going home!”

Erec looked around at the unfamiliar rooms they passed by. “Home?”

“This way!” Bethany jumped as she ran, pointing. “I saw how to go.”

After a few minutes, Erec was tired and he stopped. Bethany looked like she was going to go on without him, but then she turned and walked back to his side. “Is you hurt?”

“No. I’m tired. I want Clio.”

Bethany took his hand. “Get Clio later. We’re throwing out my baby. Remember?”

She was so nice that Erec forgot about Clio. “Okay.” He smiled.

They walked hand-in-hand—or actually Bethany pulled Erec’s hand—until she found the door to her family’s apartment in the castle. She opened the door and pulled Erec up a flight of stairs and down a hall. “Shhh! Don’t wake up Mommy!”

Erec figured that they would grab the offending baby, wherever it was, throw it into a garbage can, and then everyone would be happy. Then someone nice would walk him home. And give him a snack.

But it wasn’t so easy. First of all, the baby was in a kind of tall cage. Bars were all around its bed, and they reached so high that Erec could not even touch the baby, let alone pick it up. And then second of all . . .

“What are you two doing in here?” A woman in a maid’s uniform whisked Erec high into the air. He and Bethany each dangled from one of her arms, far from the bad baby.

“We’re throwing the baby away,” Erec explained. Maybe she would help them.

“What?” The woman shook them in the air. “Now, you two rascals shouldn’t sneak around like this.” She lowered her eyebrows at Bethany. “I’m sure your mother won’t be happy.” Then she glared at Erec. “And as for you, they’re going to have to step up security in that nursery again. Now I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You are truly a sneaky little one, you are.”

Bethany glared at the woman. “Put me down! I want my mommy!”

“Not this time. I believe you were both to be watched in the castle nursery, and that is where you are going. Now, say you’re sorry to your little brother, first, okay? I don’t want to hear any more of this ‘throwing away the baby’ nonsense.”

She held both children over the crib to apologize to the baby, who had no idea that anything had been said, and couldn’t have understood a word of what was happening.

Erec looked down at the infant. “What’s he called?”

The maid smiled fondly at the infant. “We call him Tre, after his daddy.”

The baby didn’t look so mean. Maybe he shouldn’t be thrown away. There was just a bit of curly fuzz on his head, and he actually was kind of cute. Bethany must have been wrong. In fact, the baby looked a little like Bethany’s big brother, Pi. Erec loved to play with Pi. He showed him how to throw basketballs and played running games with him. . . .

Erec’s eyes popped open in shock. Bethany’s little brother did look a little like her older brother, Pi. He looked like Bethany . . . and someone else, too. Everything clicked inside his mind. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? It was all so clear now. He had to fix things right away before Baskania found out what he already knew, and to save Bethany’s brother from a terrible fate.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Bethany’s Brother