The Secret of Ashona (64 page)

With a mere nudge, the mare under him charged straight at
Baskania. The world around them disappeared into a blur. The sudden jolt made Erec lose his grip on the ax—but he wasn’t sure what he would have done with it anyway. Chop Baskania’s hand off? Instead he rushed ahead, focused on the Master Shem.

Spartacus’s voice in his ear seemed amazingly clear and calm in the midst of the rushing wind and intense speed. “Well, the Rapid Transitator didn’t do the trick. Want to try the Calamitizer, then?”

There was a click, and the giant mare slowed to a stop. It took a minute for Erec to orient himself to his surroundings because everything looked so strange—almost upside down. Golems toppled overhead through the air. Horses spun backward on their sides. The sky was full of kicking soldiers, crashing into one another on their way back to the hard earth. Trees bowed as if they were made of rubber.

Erec’s mare was amazingly able to resist the forces around her. And he was surprised that Baskania and his horse also stood still on the ground about fifty feet away, gazing at the spectacle. It was as if the two of them were the only fixed points around which everything else revolved.

“Go, girl! Let’s get that thing.” Erec nudged his horse again, and she took off. Baskania looked at Erec and his horse, and seemed to think that it wasn’t worth the risk to fight him. He darted the other way, into the middle of his army. Soldiers were dusting themselves off and mounting their horses again. Golems untangled themselves from piles on the ground and stood up to march. But now they no longer headed toward Lerna. Instead, all of the Golems turned toward Erec, marching inexorably toward him as their target.

There was no time left. It was attack or be mauled by Golems. Erec’s horse jumped over smaller ones in her way, diving expertly between Golems. Erec slid as far forward onto her neck as he could without falling, grasping her mane for dear life. He reached an arm out and focused on Baskania’s hand.
Charge!

In a flash, Erec and his mare were beside Baskania. He reached for the Master Shem, and with amazing precision, his horse put him in just the right spot. He clenched the magical item with all of his might, and then his horse raced forward.

But even though Erec gripped the Master Shem so hard that his hand almost ripped off, it did not come with him. Baskania still held the thing, glaring at Erec. He pointed, and smoking black daggers shot through the air toward Erec’s chest. The mare expertly dodged them, then turned again to face their enemy. Baskania sent more smoking daggers toward Erec, then darted to the far side of the Golem army. More sand creatures were reaching Erec now. They completely blocked him from Baskania, and Erec wasn’t sure how long he and his horse could hold out against them.

How was he supposed to do this? Baskania obviously used some sort of spell to keep the Master Shem stuck to his hand. Erec needed more help. He looked up at the sky, then he remembered . . . Aoquesth. His spirit dragon friend had said Erec could call him anytime. . . .

He closed his eyes and said, “Aoquesth,” and in moments the dragon ghost zoomed down from the clouds. With his shining dark purple-red scales and black spines he looked just as he had in life. He smiled. “Glad to help, old friend.” Even with patches over both of his eyes, the dragon spirit could see just as all ghosts could. Aoquesth blew a burst of fire over the Golems that were closing in, setting a few of them to flame.

Erec grinned. “Thanks. We need to get the Master Shem. It’s attached to Baskania’s hand.”

“There’s only one way to do it,” Aoquesth said. “Dive for it again. Your horse is smart enough to get you in just the right spot. As soon as you grab hold, stop time. I’ll be touching you, so I won’t be affected.”

“I’ll keep a hand on you too,” Spartacus said.

Erec grabbed one of Tarvos’s horns in his left hand and found the scissors to put in his right. He fished out the spell he had jotted down, and read it out loud. “
‘Tiggledy Piggledy Higgledy Poe, I tookund de talisman offend a Foe, Miranda, miractra, minstansilo blast, Eustanchia miranchia time ballido cast.’
Okay, ready.”

The mare raced toward Baskania so fast Erec could barely hold on. Her speed gave them extra force to shove between Golems and soldiers. She found Baskania, and Erec spotted the Master Shem still waving in his hand, commanding Golems. His horse expertly maneuvered to the right spot, and even as Baskania’s horse moved away, she kept right alongside. Erec reached closer to the Shem . . . closing around it . . . then grasped it in a death grip.

It was hard to let go of the mare’s mane without falling so he could use his left hand. He squeezed tight with his knees and snapped. . . .

All movement around Erec and his horse stopped. His mare ground her hooves into the ground, muscles flaring, so she could come to a full stop and hold still. It was nightmarish, Baskania stock still at his side, his eyes boring into Erec’s like frozen beacons of hate.

“Good job, Erec. Now, don’t move.” Aoquesth’s claw reached toward them. In a second there was a slice and the sound of a tear and popping as the claw cut through bone. . . . “Now run!”

Erec had the Master Shem in his hand. His horse charged, and only after Erec was safely away did he snap his fingers again. In a last glimpse, Erec saw Baskania’s face change from forceful arrogance to shock and horror. But Erec and his horse were one, and they did not stop galloping until the sounds of the Golem army were far behind them. When they finally slowed down, Erec looked at what he held.

Attached to the Master Shem was Baskania’s hand.

He shuddered and screeched all at once, dropping the thing to the ground. But then Spartacus grabbed it and stuck it back into
Erec’s hand. “Use it, quick! Turn the Golems against Baskania, and against one another, so he doesn’t follow us out here and get it back!”

Erec nodded, and addressed the Master Shem, hoping it would work. “Do it! Golems, attack Baskania. And destroy one another completely! Now!”

Spartacus flew away, then returned with a smile. “Done! Baskania buzzed off, and the sand things are shredding each other up. There will be no more Golem army to worry about!”

Erec dropped the Master Shem—with Baskania’s hand on it—into the dirt, and asked his horse to crush it. Baskania would never forgive him for this! Gone were the days of pretending he was a friend. Erec was sure the Shadow Prince would create a new hand for himself, but he’d never get the Master Shem again.

As the realization of what happened sank in, he felt like cheering. Everyone was safe now! Could this have helped Ashona, too, like the Fates said it would? His family might have died in there. He had to go back right away and make sure things were all right.

“Right on it, boss.” Spartacus grinned. “I was thinking the same thing. We’ll check and see that everyone is safe. But according to the Fates it should be, so who am I to question?”

Erec wished he shared Spartacus’s confidence.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The Secret of Ashona

S
PARTACUS HAD
E
REC BACK
to the Port-O-Door with the Ashona map open before Erec had time to blink. Riding such a fast horse had been exhilarating, and so was defeating Baskania. Erec could not wait to share the news.

The ghost swung the inner door open into Ashona, but he hit something and bounced back into the vestibule. A strange look crossed his face. “I don’t understand.” He reached to touch something in the air, pushing his fingers in and out of the doorway.

“What’s going on?” Erec stretched his fingers out to feel. Just like last time, an invisible wall stood between them and Ashona. “This is still here? I don’t get it.”

Spartacus sighed. “I’m afraid it’s much worse. Before, I had no problem crossing through the barrier—just like I can pass through anything. But this is different. This”—he tapped the obstruction—“is compressed more than any earthly material. I might be able to squeeze through, but it would take a long time. I have to push hard against the fabric of this thing.” Demonstrating, he shoved his finger forward. It moved just a speck.

A chill ran through Erec. “Why do you think it’s like this now?”

“I don’t know, but the barrier is growing stronger.”

This was the last thing that Erec wanted to hear. “I don’t understand. That last quest was supposed to have solved all of our problems.” He lifted the Amulet of Virtues off his chest, expecting the eighth segment to be lit up. It was not. Erec stood a moment, staring at the thing.

“I don’t know.” Spartacus frowned. “I thought you were done too.”

“I need to talk to my dad and find out what’s going on in there.”

Spartacus nodded. In a moment, the outer door of the Port-O-Door flung open and Erec was flying in the air in Spartacus’s arms. They arrived at Rosco’s apartment before Erec had time to wonder where to go.

Rosco was not in, but Spartacus let them inside. Erec found his MagicNet e-mail. After pressing a few buttons, a young man’s face appeared on the screen, sweat beading on his brow. “Can I help you today?”

“I need to talk to my father in Ashona—King Piter.”

“Oh!” The man looked excited. “Wow. Okay, then. Here you go.”

In a moment, several faces flashed onto the screen in a sequence,
looking Erec over, then transferring to someone else. Finally a gray-haired woman appeared. “You’re Erec?” She looked skeptical.

“Yes. Can I speak to my father, please?”

For a moment it looked like the answer would be “no,” but then she said, “Hold.”

King Piter’s face popped on the screen. His face was beet red and he was panting, sweat streaming down his brow. “Erec—are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I finished the quest . . . I mean, I thought I did. But you were supposed to be safe when I was done. We couldn’t get into Ashona again. You’re still trapped?”

The king took a moment to catch his breath. “Still.” He nodded. “Worse now. The air is almost used up. Most of us are sleeping so we don’t need as much oxygen. But it’s hard to sleep now that it’s so hot and uncomfortable. The pressure is horrible—almost worse than the lack of air.”

Erec was horrified. “What pressure?”

The king wiped his forehead. “Ashona is alive, Erec, and it’s malfunctioning. It’s keeping everything inside itself closed off. The seal is getting tighter, and it’s starting to pulse and crush us. Like a headache coming from outside of your body. Maybe we’re feeling its heartbeats. Whatever it is, it’s getting bad.

“Ashona has served Posey since she created it with her scepter five hundred years ago. It’s a wonderful place. Because it’s alive, it protects us from the sea and gives us everything we need without our asking. But Posey’s power over her scepter is gone, and now she can’t communicate with the Secret of Ashona at all. She is going to go to it directly and speak to it—even though that will probably end her life. The Secret of Ashona will devour anyone who comes too close, except the one who controls it. That used to be Queen Posey, but now . . . well, I think we know who has command of her scepter.”

Baskania, of course. But how could he have done such strong
magic with the fake scepter? “Is there another way to talk to the Secret of Ashona that is safer?”

The king shook his head. “Not from in here. When Posey reaches it, deep down in the workings of the base of Ashona, it will put her right inside the thing’s mouth. She wouldn’t even do that safely if her scepter was working. If she was able to go outside she would talk to it from underneath Ashona. But even that would be dangerous without her scepter. So we’ve spent most of our time trying to make her scepter work again, using spells. . . .” He sighed. “We’re really in a fix.”

Before the thought was fully formulated in his head, Spartacus was already saying, “No way. Let me do it.”

Erec hesitated, then grinned. “That’s a great idea! I was going to try to talk to the Secret of Ashona from below, but that’s even better. You don’t have to risk being killed.”

With a nod, the ghost disappeared.

“We’ll take care of it, Dad.” Before King Piter started to protest, Erec clicked the MagicNet off. It was not up for argument. Erec and Spartacus would do what they had to.