The Secret of Ashona (8 page)

A faint giggle echoed from far away. Maybe they had heard him.
Erec gave Bethany a half smile. “Ready to jump in? I guess they’re either going to help us or they aren’t.”

Jam fitted a tube into his mouth and attached it to his oxygen tank. The tank seemed awfully small. Erec sure hoped it was magical, so there might be more inside of it than it seemed. Likely, Jam was prepared with what he needed.

Erec climbed up the well and jumped into the clear water. It felt strange in a familiar way—boiling hot and freezing cold at the same time, yet not exactly painful. The sensation was intense, the same as it always felt in the Oracle, or near Al’s Well—waters that were touched by the Fates.

Bethany slid in next, followed by Jam. Both of their eyes flew open in shock from the feel of the water. The Instagills in Erec’s wrists opened and he relaxed, breathing through them. He felt warmer and more comfortable, floating with ease. Bethany looked relaxed as well, but Jam was fidgeting with his mouthpiece and shivering.

They floated for a minute, not going anywhere. Then a rush of warm water shoved them to the bottom of the cistern and around a bend into a rock-lined channel. Erec tumbled through the water, arms over his head so he didn’t hit himself on a wall. The current catapulted them past forks and passage openings, around sharp turns and down steep holes.

Bethany was the only one able to control herself in the water so that she could travel headfirst most of the way. Erec could not stop laughing when he saw Jam spinning wildly in the water. Jam squeezed his backpack and oxygen tank to his chest as he whizzed by. His hair waved around his face like a lion’s mane, and his eyes were bugged out in shock.

Erec recognized a few of the wider turns and passages, but most of the tunnels looked alike. It felt good soaring through the water, almost like he was flying. Before long they slowed down, and the
water began to have that strange feel again. A hole in the roof of the tunnel let in a beam of bright sunlight, creating a lit circle in the water. When they swam into it, they found that they were looking up at the sky through an open toilet lid.

Jam popped his head into the air and took out his mouthpiece. When he realized he was inside a toilet, disgust crept over his face. He bit down on the mouthpiece again and sank next to Erec and Bethany.

A shadow fell on them as a large head leaned over the opening. Looking down through the toilet seat was a man in overalls. Tools hung from his belt, and a patch saying
AL
was sewn onto one of the blue straps. His mouth hung open in surprise, and then he burst out laughing. Erec and Bethany could hear him perfectly through the water, and they could speak as well—some of the perks of their Instagills. “Boy, do dose three girls have a sense of humor. Dey were complaining that deyr water was clogged with three pieces of . . . Well, never mind. I’m glad dey let me know you were coming. It’s about time you came back to pick your next quest, kid. Things in Alypium ain’t lookin’ so good, wit the Stain boys ’bout to become kings and all. You hear deyr coronation is on June twenty-fifth? Dat’s in just three weeks, enough time to prepare for whatever massive kind of celebration dey’re planning. Do ya think you can finish the rest of your quests before then so’s you can stop them?”

Erec had not even considered finishing all of his quests in the next few weeks. It actually wasn’t a bad idea—that is, if this and the other quests were a little safer. Once he had accomplished them all, he would be the true ruler of Alypium. The scepter would be his to command, and he would be able to build a huge new castle for himself with its magic. The Stain boys would be no match for him then. Even Baskania might not be able to hurt him with all the power he would wield.

Then a horrible thought occurred to him. What if he got the
scepter and then he turned evil? He tried not to think about how horrible that would be.

“What’s wrong?” Bethany eyed him suspiciously. “You should see the look on your face.”

“Um . . . nothing.” Erec wasn’t ready to tell Bethany about his visions of his future. “I’m just thinking about those quests. You know how hard they’ve been.”

“Al has a point. You might as well try to do them as soon as you can. What’s the use in waiting when the Stains are about to take over?”

“Yeah . . . we’ll see. Right now I need to get this one done fast so I can get Trevor out of that cave.” He looked up at Al. “Is the quest paper floating around in here somewhere?” He waved his hand around in the water hoping to find it, but nothing appeared.

Al shook his head. “Nah. You need to sign Janus’s paper pad first. Da ya remember how ya got there last time?”

“Oh, yeah.” Janus was the guardian of the quests, and he was in the Labor Society building right next to them. “I’ll be right back.” Erec dove deeper and found the water tunnel that tracked under the foundation of the building. Multiple pipes tracked straight upward from the tunnel. Most of them were too small for him to enter, but a few were wide enough. He swam up into one that he was sure he had been in before. Around the corner was a row of openings with light shining through. He cringed as he swam past those, remembering that they were openings from toilets in a bathroom.

The pipe narrowed, but Erec was able to fit all the way to the end. A small hole opened up above him through a sink drain. Yes, this is definitely where he had found Janus before.

Last time he was here, Janus had sobbed through the drain. The poor guy had been so lonely, with nothing to do but wait with his paper pad for the few moments of company he would have when Erec signed for his next quest. So Erec was confused when
he heard what sounded like dance music playing in the room.

“Woo-hoo! Shake it, baby!” The voice was definitely Janus’s, but Erec had never heard the little man actually sound like he was having fun. Laughter and voices tinkled through the room.

Erec had no idea how Janus would hear him with a party going on in the room. He shouted through the drain, “Janus! Janus! Help me—it’s Erec Rex. In the sink!”

His words were lost in the loud music. He had to think of another way. . . . Desperate, Erec wiggled the drain with his fingers. After poking it awhile, he gave it a punch and it popped out into the sink. His hand just fit through the drain, so he stuck it through, wiggling his fingers.

In a minute he heard a scream. “Eew! Look at this! A
hand
is coming out of the sink.
Janus!
”

“It’s okay there, sweetie. Just let old Janus here take a look and—ugh! You’re not kidding. What is this thing?”

Someone grabbed Erec’s fingers and tugged as if his whole body would come through the little sink drain after it. He figured that it must be Janus, so he yanked his hand back out, put his face up to the hole and shouted. “It’s me—Erec Rex! I need to sign the paper pad with you so I can get my next quest!”

“Oh, my! Is it really . . . ?” Then Janus’s tone changed from amazed to commanding. “Stop! Turn down the music, Lenora. We have an important guest here with us today! The
most
important one—the hero I have been telling you all about. It’s Erec Rex!”

The music stopped, and a hush settled over the room. “It’s him!” “Erec Rex is here!” “Now we get to see him for ourselves!”

“You have quite a following here, Erec,” Janus said. “Seems these good folks have come at the right time. Now they can witness the magic of you signing your name. I’ll go get the pad.”

Janus stuffed a pen through the drain into Erec’s hand. “So, old
friend, how have you been doing?” Erec had the odd feeling that Janus was bragging—playing up how close the two of them were . . . but that didn’t make sense. Why would these people care about him? And who were they, anyway?

“I’m okay,” Erec answered. Then he thought about his fate to become a Golem. “If you call having only a few months left to live being okay.”

There was a gasp in the room. Someone shrieked, “Erec Rex is going to die!”

Chaos ensued, with screeches and yammering. Someone was crying, accompanied by an odd sound like castanets clicking.

“Quiet!” Janus peered through the hole. “Erec, what is going on? Tell us what’s wrong. A lot of people here care about you. Can we do anything to help?”

Erec found himself speechless. It was still unthinkable to him that he could have fans in Alypium, let alone people that liked him at all. The last time he had been here, everyone despised him. They all had believed Baskania that Erec was a villain, trying to take over as their king even though the Stain triplets were the rightful rulers. People had booed him in the streets, called him names. . . .

Could people really be on his side? If that was true, the last thing he wanted to do was to tell them all that he would soon turn evil. “No, really, I’m okay. I just mean . . . things have been pretty dangerous. That’s all. I get worried about doing the quests.”

Janus sounded victorious. “You hear that? Erec Rex is as human as you and I. Which only makes him that much more remarkable. He does dangerous quests, risking his life, even though he is terrified of what might happen next. And he does this for you and me, so that we may live safely, protected from Baskania.”

Was Erec hearing right? He grinned from ear to ear. This was the first time he had had a pat on the back for doing the quests. Janus
was right—Erec had been risking his life for their sakes. He was starting to feel pretty good about himself. That is, until he remembered he would soon be stealing kids’ lollipops. . . .

“Thanks, Janus. Do you have the pad for me to sign?”

“Here it is.” Erec saw the paper through the hole and pressed the pen against it, marking it with his name. In a moment the paper split where his pen had touched it, opening deep into the pad. Bright light streamed through the cracks.

“There it is.” Janus waved the page in the air. “It is definitely his signature.”

Wild applause filled the room, and Erec could feel his face grow hot. He wished that Bethany had come with him so she could hear this as well. “Janus? Why are all of these people with you? Who are they?”

Janus’s voice filled with pride. “It’s your fan club, Erec. And it’s growing. You can thank your friend Jack for all of this. When he sent a mouse in here with a message for me once, it gave me an idea. I’m not allowed to leave this place, but there is no reason I can’t have visitors. I trained a few mice carefully, feeding them by hand. Then I strapped notes on their backs and let them go outside, hoping they would approach people for food. Well, a few of them did, and my notes got out. Next thing you know, life has been wonderful!”

“What did the notes say?”

Janus cleared his throat, embarrassed. “Well, they said I was having a party here, of course.”

“A party?”

“Um, yes. I figured that if I was going to invite people to visit, I might as well give them a good reason to come. So I always have a party going now. We have a great following. Some people bring music, others bring food, and I bring . . .”

Erec waited to hear what Janus had to offer. A few voices shouted, “Tell him! Tell Erec what you bring to the party!”

Now Janus sounded quite embarrassed. “Oh, dear. I bring . . . well, I bring excitement, I suppose. Adventure. Something out of the ordinary.”

How could Janus, the person with the most boring job on the planet, someone who had to sit and wait all the time, bring excitement to anybody?

Another voice shouted, “He brings
you
, Erec Rex. Illegal, unapproved, risky, dangerous you. That’s what’s exciting. It wasn’t just a party he invited us to, it was an Erec Rex party! On top of all our fun, we knew that at any time you might show up and do that magic with the paper. That was really cool!”

Someone else chimed in, “We all thought you were some kind of criminal mastermind before Janus told us the truth about you. That’s the word around Alypium—you are pure evil. Which is actually why most of us came here to begin with. None of us had seen you in person, so the chance that we’d get to glimpse the underworld villain we’d all heard about was kind of thrilling.”

“But you’re not like that at all!” a girl’s voice shouted. “Janus was
so
cool, telling us the real story about you.”

Erec flushed with excitement. People had heard the truth—and they believed it. Maybe he did have a hope of ruling them someday as a good king. . . .

But no. He didn’t have a soul.

“Come in here, Erec! We want to see you in person!” A chorus of cheers arose, along with shouts of agreement.

When it quieted down, Erec said, “I can’t fit through the drain. This is the only way I can get here now.”

Dissatisfied murmurs filled the room. Janus sounded uncomfortable. “Well, Erec, maybe you could stay there awhile and let people take turns looking at your eye through the hole?”

“Yes!” People sounded happy with that suggestion, so Erec agreed. When he put his eye against the drain hole, he finally got a
good look at Janus. In the past, the man had been covered in dust, dressed like a shabby survivor of a desert island. But now he wore sunglasses, a suit, and a bow tie. His long white hair had been cut and pulled into a neat ponytail, and he looked more like a movie star than a prisoner in a dungeon. The partygoers took turns staring at Erec’s eye, waving at him and peering inquisitively. Finally, Erec pushed his fingers through the drain hole and waved good-bye.

“Where were you? We were worried!” Bethany’s arms were crossed. “I was going to come find you, but Jam talked me into waiting. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Sorry, Janus had a party going on in there—and the people were all part of a fan club for me. I couldn’t believe it.”

Bethany looked like she couldn’t believe it either. But before she said anything, Erec felt something warm in his grip. “It’s the quest!”

His hand was shaking now that he was about to find out his mission. How dangerous would this quest be? And how long would it take? He needed to find the three Furies right away so that he could save Trevor.

Slowly, he brought the paper to his face. He read it out loud, his voice dropping off by the end of the unbelievable words that came out of his mouth: