Free The Three Furies (Erec Rex) by Kaza Kingsley Page A

into fits of giggles. They sounded like girls at a slumber party that had stayed up too late. "Look, you guys--no way! Erec's here!" "Oh, whoopee!" "I mean, like,

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    what a perfect way to end our gossip hour. Unh!" "It's our favorite hero." There was so much laughter, clapping, and hooting that Erec wondered if he would ever get a word in.
    He shouted over the noise. "Fates? I have to ask you something."
    The laughter after he spoke seemed to triple in volume, so they must have heard him.
    The voice that followed sounded ageless, warm, and yet just like a Valley girl. "Get that, Nona! Like, he like has to ask us something. Like we don't like know that, duh-uh."
    "Oh, sa-weet! I love this stuff, Decima. Let's shush up and hear him ask."
    The giggles piped down a bit, so Erec said, "My friend Bethany--I'm sure you know she's captured by Baskania. Is she going to be okay? She won't . . . ?" He felt his breath stop. This was the question he couldn't bear an answer to.
    A voice called out, "Well, like du-uh, of course she is going to die. I mean, come o-on. You have to know that, like, isn't it obvious?"
    Erec felt his heart stop. His hands froze onto the cold stones rimming the water. Their laughter seemed to grow stronger for some reason, but he couldn't think past what he had just heard.
    "You are so bad, Morta! I love it!" a voice cackled. "Oh, go on, tell him more."
    They were enjoying this, to Erec's disbelief. He could barely process what one of them said next.
    "Okay. Like, Bethany will die, your whole family will die, everyone you ever knew will die, you will die. Oh, yeah, and the whole world will die." She chuckled.
    The words entered Erec's mind like army ants, unstoppable regardless of the damage were doing. Why were the Fates so gleeful? Everyone would die? What would happen? This was too awful to think about.
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    A voice said, "Oh, stop it, girls. Look, we've made him all like upset and everything. Listen, kiddo. As if. Your friend Bethany, she isn't going to die, like, now . Well, that is, if you save her she totally won't. You do have a chance. And your family is fine. But, like, everyone dies eventually, right? I mean, like, you have to watch what you're asking us. We just told you the truth. Unh. Nobody lives forever."
    The haze of sorrow dropped from Erec's mind. So, everyone would be okay? Bethany would not die--at least now--if he was able to save her? A sense of purpose filled him again, along with a spark of anger. "So . . . you were just saying all that to upset me?"
    "Just having a little fun, worry wart. Stop taking everything so seriously. Blah, blah, blah. What a bore." The Fates sounded quieter, like they were fading away.
    "Wait! Sorry. How can I save Bethany from Baskania? He has a Draw on her. I heard those are unbreakable. Is his Draw as strong as the ones that the Furies use?"
    All sound stopped. Erec feared that the Fates had gone, but then he heard a solemn voice.
    "We don't like to think about our sisters locked away in Tartarus."
    Erec looked into the well, panicked that they would not help him. "S-sorry I brought it up. Can you help me? Please? How I can save Bethany with that Draw on her?"
    The voice that answered echoed quietly, no longer sounding like a chirpy teen. "I shall tell him." There was a pause. "Of the many things you could do, only one will work. In this order: You must first find the man with the magnet and ask him to use it on Bethany. Second, you must do most of your next quest. Only then must you find Bethany. Feed her a sip of dragon blood. That will break the Draw. Baskania is not able to make it as strong as our sisters could. Good luck, Erec Rex."
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    Erec recited the steps in his head, frantic to remember until he saw Jam jotting in a notebook.
    " Most of my next quest? Not all of it?"
    One of the Fates giggled. "You'll understand later."
    Relieved, Erec sighed. "Thank you so much. I'll do those things right away."
    "If you love Bethany, you'll do them as soon as