The Search for Truth (7 page)

Erec couldn't believe his ears. “Oscar? Invite Oscar? Bethany, do you want me to get killed? How could you begin to trust him with this?”

Bethany crossed her arms. “But you told him you'd let him come. You saw how excited he was. I'm telling you, there is no way he's been in touch with Baskania. I think Baskania's trying to split us up. That poor kid just lost his dad. How do you think he'd feel if we all went off without him?”

Erec felt awful, but how could he take the risk of letting Oscar know his plans? But he agreed to discuss it with Jack. Bethany lifted the finger where her new cell phone was implanted and stuck it in her ear.

“You look really cool like that.” Erec laughed.

“Shh.” Bethany stuck her tongue out at him. “I have to listen for the tone.” Then she put her finger to her mouth and said, “Jack Hare,” and put it back in her ear. Erec grinned as she stuck her finger back and forth from her ear to her mouth. “It looks like you're eating earwax.”

“Really funny,” she said.

“Yeah, it is.” Erec chuckled.

“Shut up.” Bethany took out her finger and looked at it. “Something strange happened. I told Jack to come to the castle, but the phone was all garbled. Then there was a fizzy sound and a pop. And it stopped working.” She tried to call her friends, Melody, and Darla Will, but her cell phone would not work at all. “Darn. I just got the thing too.”

“Hey.” Erec had an idea. “Before Jack gets here, let's go to the library tower and look up the Oracle. We should get as much info as we can about it, then pack up and leave soon.”

Jam returned to the room. “I have taken care of the arrangements, young sir. I found my Serving Tray, made by Vulcan. It serves up some wonderful dishes. So this time I won't have to find nuts and berries for your meals.”

“Awesome, Jam! Does it make desserts, too?”

“As many as you wish, young sir.” He bowed.

 

Carol Esperpento, the librarian, had just arrived. Her narrow eyes looked lost behind the thin granny glasses that jutted from both sides of her face. She pointed to the fifth floor, where the books on the Oracle were kept. “The books must stay here,” she warned sternly.

“Good thing she was here,” Erec said.

“Nah,” Bethany said, shrugging. “Piter gave me a key. These books are kind of all mine.”

All hers? Erec wondered if this idea she had about King Piter becoming her father was going to her head.

They found the section on the Oracle under “Books about the Fates,” and browsed through section headings such as “Great Oracle Vacations for under 400 Gold Rings” and “Famous Oracle Prophecies Through History.” Bethany found a section called “Real Adventures to the Oracle—What to Expect.”

“Check this out.” She laughed, pointing at a book called
Oops, I Fell in Again: One Boy's Story of Continual Spills into the Oracle of Delphi
. She pulled
The Total Loser's Guide to Getting Life-Altering Prophecies at the Oracle of Delphi
and
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Oracle but Were Afraid to Ask
off the shelf and sat down.

Erec found a section heading called “Oracle, Shmoracle: Is It Really a Miracle?” and pulled out a book called
Fate or False? Is the Oracle a Real Channel to the Famous Three?

“It says here that the Oracle is a person,” Bethany said. “It's someone who gives a message from the three Fates.”

“No, it's a place.” Erec pointed at his book. “It's in Delphi, like King Piter said.”

“Oh, wait, I see that too. But look—here it says the Oracle is a message. A prophecy sent from the Fates.” She looked at Erec. “It's a person, place, and thing? That's really clear. I wonder if the people who wrote these books have actually been there.”

“So, we're going to the Oracle to meet an Oracle and get an Oracle?”

“Something like that.” Bethany flipped a page. “This book says that there is only one real Oracle, the one in Delphi. You can still visit the ruins of the ancient Temple of Apollo there. But the Oracle isn't in the ruins. It's nearby in a short stone well right next to Mount Parnassus. Man, the pictures of that place look beautiful!”

“Uh-oh.” Erec pushed his book toward Bethany. “Looks like there's a catch. This book says the whole thing might be phony. You want to know why people aren't lined up for miles waiting to get their futures read?”

“Hmm.” Bethany crossed her arms. “I hadn't thought of that. I guess it would be a pretty popular place to go. What, is it guarded by a monster?”

The word “monster” made Erec flinch. After befriending Tina, a Hydra, he had changed his opinion about that word. “No, it's not guarded. It just won't work at all unless you bring a ‘medium' with you. And, according to this book, nobody's ever seen the thing work.”

“A medium—like a psychic?” Bethany dropped her book, then looked up something in the other one, furiously. “I see it here. ‘A true medium is necessary for communication with the Fates through the Oracle.' Oh, that's great. Now what do we do?”

Dejected, they returned to the west wing dining hall and found Jack waiting with Jam. “Hey! You're okay! That's great,” Jack said when he saw Erec. “I was worried about you. Did you get the quest?”

After Erec filled him in, Jack shook his finger. “My cell phone is dead. It's been messed up since we were near Baskania. I wonder if he did something to it.”

“Mine won't work either,” Bethany said. “Now how are we going to get ahold of Oscar?” She looked at Jam.

“Unfortunately, modom, I am a bit old-school. I never got a cell phone.”

“Are you still thinking about inviting Oscar along to the Oracle?” Erec asked. “Do you maybe have a death wish?”

Bethany smiled at Jack. “Before King Piter went to Upper Earth he said we should visit the Oracle to try and find out the rest of Erec's quest.”

“The Oracle? Can I come?” Jack said. “I called Oscar and told him to meet us here right before my cell phone died.”

Erec stood up. “What? Oscar is on his way? Does he know that I'm here?”

“Not yet.” Jack shook his head. “I didn't know you were here until now. But what's the deal? You still don't trust Oscar? Look, I've known him since he was little. He's a good kid, really. You truly think Oscar is hanging out with Baskania?”

Erec regarded his two friends in puzzlement. “Look, whatever you think of Oscar, there are some facts we have to face. I like Oscar too. But I can't overlook those facts.” He paced. “Everything tells me this is stupid. But to prove you wrong, and to give him one more chance, I'll let Oscar see me here again. I just need to be ready to get out of here fast. So let's get set to leave now. As soon as Oscar knows I'm here, I'm in danger.” He shrugged when Bethany crossed her arms. “If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But we have to be ready, in case.”

Jam bowed from across the room. “I'm already prepared to go, young sir.”

“I've got backpacks at my place,” Bethany said. Erec was sure she had everything in the mansion that King Piter had given her, attached to the castle. “I'll bring one for you, too. Meet you back here in ten minutes.”

Erec looked at Jack. “I'm going to get a few things too. Jack, promise me you won't tell Oscar I'm here until I get back.”

Jack shrugged. “Whatever.”

 

First off, Erec put on his magic Sneakers that let him run soundlessly, throwing distracting noises elsewhere. He took a sack of some of the money he had stashed under his bed, plus his Magiclight, a prize he had once won that could leave beams of light hanging in the air.

Then he had an idea. Before going back to meet Bethany, he fetched Wolfboy from his doghouse. “C'mon, boy. Wanna go on an adventure with me?”

Wolfboy wagged the whole bottom half of his body, then jumped on Erec, knocking him down. “Whoa, boy. I take that for a yes.” Erec grabbed two bags of dog food and led Wolfboy into the castle.

Oscar was waiting, looking forlorn. But he smiled when he saw Erec. “You're okay! What happened to you?”

Everybody in the room seemed afraid to answer. Erec did not want Oscar to know anything. This was Oscar's final test as far as Erec was concerned. “I need to know, is there
anything
that you are telling anybody that could be getting back to Baskania somehow?”

Oscar threw up his hands. “No! I have no clue why Baskania said that. Maybe he's trying to split us up.”

Erec really wanted to believe him. He looked sincere.

He took a backpack from Bethany and put his things in it. A strange feeling came over him, making the back of his neck prickle. He felt his eyes swivel until his dragon eyes faced forward. Everything looked green. In the distance he could hear his friends gasp, but that felt too distant to absorb.

Then it happened. Images whizzed before his eyes in reverse order, too fast to make out. He had the feeling that he might swirl away, as if the ground had dropped from under his feet. He tottered, with nothing around him to grab, and then latched on to something—might have been Jam's arm.

Suddenly the vision slowed down and he could make it out. But he did not like what he saw.

The west wing dining hall hung thick with white ropes and coils of Substance. Erec was frozen to the spot, wound tight in rope from his shoulders to his feet. Bethany and Jam were bound up as well. Oscar and Jack were not, but stood frozen in the room.

Baskania's laughter echoed through the high-ceilinged room. He strolled through the doorway. This time his face was completely full of eyes, except for his mouth. Even his nose was replaced by eyes.

Anger filled Erec, clenching his insides. He'd fight to save his friends.

“Thank you, Oscar.” Baskania patted Oscar on the head. “You've helped me once again.”

A surge of rage poured through Erec. He opened his mouth to shout, but his anger spilled out with heat and flame in a more satisfying way. He struggled against the ropes around him with the claws that had sprung from his fingertips…fighting, tearing.

Baskania pointed a finger at Jam. Jam's head toppled over onto the ropes that bound him.

“Noooo! Not Jam! Leave him alone!” Erec shouted. Then he roared in fury. He could feel his tail thrashing behind him.

In a moment, Bethany was dead. Wolfboy was dead. Erec saw his eyes getting removed, then all went black.

He opened his eyes. The vision had faded away, and the room no longer looked green. He'd had a cloudy thought, and it told him that he had to get away from Oscar and Jack now if he wanted to keep what he had just seen from happening.

“Run!” he shouted at Jam. “Hide!” He looked at Bethany. “Follow me!”

Nobody moved. They just stared at him in shock. “Go, Wolfboy! Out of here. Back to your house,” he shouted. Wolfboy put his head down and slowly walked out, tail between his legs.

Oscar said, “You're turning into a dragon.”

Erec looked down at himself. His skin had a greenish cast and did look scaly, but it seemed to be fading fast.

Bethany had tears in her eyes. “That looked awful. Are you okay?”
She pointed toward the singed tablecloth. “You breathed fire. How did you do that?”

“I'll tell you later. Let's go.” Erec grabbed Bethany's hand and pulled her into the hallway. Jam, Oscar, and Jack followed behind them.

“Go away!” Erec shouted at them over his shoulder. But the only one who listened to him was Jam. Erec had really just wanted Oscar and Jack to leave so that Baskania would stop following him.

Jam shouted, “Yes, sir! Here, sir.” He tossed a silver disc at him, and Erec caught it. He tucked the Serving Tray into his backpack, then dashed as fast as he could up the hall. A moment later, though, he tripped over a rope that was floating at ankle length in the hallway and he crashed onto his hands.

Erec picked himself up. The others stopped around him.

In front of him, Balthazar Ugry stood gloating, a twisted smile on his face. “And what might you be doing now, running wild in the west wing? You might break something.” He gestured at the suits of armor lining the hallway, each holding monstrous weapons, except for the one holding a teddy bear. That one shrank farther away when Erec looked at it. “I thought you didn't need babysitting.”

Erec's voice was controlled yet strong. “We have to get out of here. I'm going on a quest. Stop tripping me up.”

Ugry gazed at Oscar coldly. “I told you, Oscar Felix, you are not allowed to go on any quests with Erec, because of your unpleasant associations with the criminal Rosco Kroc.” He pointed at him, muttering, and Oscar disappeared.

“What did you do with him?” Jack said, outraged.

“Put him back in his apprentice boarding house.” Ugry sounded bored.

“Thanks!” Erec ran right past him. They didn't have any time to waste.

Unfortunately, Jack followed right behind. Erec had to get rid of him. If Jack saw where they went, he would tell Oscar, and then Baskania would know.

As Erec ran, he thought. Maybe he could lose Jack, tell him to meet them somewhere. The castle maze. And then Erec just wouldn't show up there.

A moment later, an unearthly howl echoed behind them. They could hear Baskania's voice thundering, “Block the Port-O-Door. Guard the castle entrance. Search the castle for Erec Rex. Piter's not here now to get in our way.” After a moment he added, “And send someone to the entrance of the castle maze, and the center of the maze, now!”

 

Jack and Bethany followed Erec out of the west wing. “Look, Jack,” Erec said, “I need to take Bethany into the maze. There is a place in the center of the maze that we can escape through. Meet us there in a few minutes, at the front, okay? I forgot something for Wolfboy. Bethany has to come show me where it is.”