Free The Secret of Ashona by Kaza Kingsley

other poor souls kept hostage with the Furies? That wasn’t fair either. Erec tried to push them out of his mind.
    He would go to the Diamond Mines of Argos—no, it was the Diamond Minds, whatever they were. Tomorrow, before noon, he would sneak away and do whatever he had to do.
    “What is that look on your face?” Bethany stared at him suspiciously. “Something is up with you. I can tell.”
    Erec shook his head, the picture of innocence. “No, I’m just thinking about what to do.” He forced a smile on his face. “Let’s go home.”
    The paper with the quest on it was missing from his night table when Erec awoke the next morning. He guessed that either Jam or Bethany had taken it, hoping that he would not be able to do the quest without remembering its details. But its words were etched into Erec’s mind: Trade your life for the next five people to be killed by Baskania at noon tomorrow in the Diamond Minds of Argos. The next five people to be killed? What was Baskania up to now? How many people was he killing? The idea made him sick.
    Jam stuck his head into Erec’s room and nodded with a smile. “Ah, you’re awake. Splendid. Let me know if you need anything, young sir. And I’m so sorry. I hope you don’t mind the . . . inconvenience.”
    “What inconvenience?” Erec didn’t see anything unusual, butwhen he tried to sit up he was yanked back onto his bed. He realized thin cords were stretched around his wrists and ankles. The bands were tight but not uncomfortable. Strangely, there were no ties anywhere, so he could not take them off. “Jam! Get me out of this thing.”
    “So sorry, young sir.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed. “I didn’t put those on. And I’m not able to undo its spell. I’m afraid that Bethany had a . . . um, talk with your mother this morning.” He raised a hand and smiled sympathetically. “Don’t be angry, young sir. They both care about you a great deal, and they just wanted to make sure that you would be okay today. Ring that bell by your bed if you need anything. And I am sure that someone will take those off this afternoon, of course. Oh, and you received this snail mail this morning.”
    Jam handed him a letter, then backed out of the room, apologizing. Erec tried to sit up and was again thrown back onto his mattress. The more he struggled against the cords, the angrier he got. Who were Bethany and his mother to make this decision for him? They were ruining everything. Now he would end up turning evil and losing his life anyway . . . all for nothing. The people dying today would not be saved. Trevor would never be rescued. He would never talk to the Furies and try to get his soul back.
    Angrily, he tore open the letter Jam gave to him, able to raise his wrists high enough to read.
     
    Erec,
    I hope this finds you well. It has been a while since I’ve heard from you, so I thought I should give you some updates about what has been going on. Don’t worry about this snail being intercepted. I found a spell to charm the paper so it can be read only by you and me.
    Baskania is putting together a team of his top people to find Bethany’s younger brother—the boy that is supposed to know the secret of the Final Magic he wants so badly. He’s going to find that kid before long. His servants are looking under every stone in the Kingdoms of the Keepers. And when he does find the kid, it’s going to be nasty. Remember how Bethany was chained to that desk while he rooted through her mind, and then he planned to take her brain out? That’s what her little brother will go through too. I’m going to keep tabs, and I’ll let you know as soon as they find him, whoever he is.
    The Stain triplets are going to take over as kings of Alypium, Ashona, and Aorth soon. There’s nothing we can do about that, except hope that they don’t make too much of a mess of things. I wanted to tell you—you’ve got to finish your quests fast. Things are going to get ugly around here