The Three Furies (Erec Rex)
inside joke with himself.
    Billy came back holding a box out far in front of him. He turned it over and dumped a silver horseshoe-shape magnet into Jam's hands like he couldn't get rid of it fast enough.
    "All right," Bill said. "You can leave now. You know where to come if you need any more help." He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his beach ball stomach, a look of amusement on his face.
    A black bat screeched out of nowhere and straight into Jam's face, knocking him onto his back. Erec could not believe how many things rolled out of Jam's pockets, including several more gold rings.
    "Well, look at that," Bill said. "Let me help you pick those up."
    Jam winced and struggled to sit while Bill rooted through his things on the floor. They were disappearing before Erec's eyes.
    96
    "Cut that out." Erec grabbed the Serving Tray and handed it to Jam, and he picked the silver luck magnet off the floor. In a moment Jam seemed better and stuffed the other things back into his pockets.
    Bill squinted at Erec and grinned. "Well, well. I don't know why I didn't recognize you before. It's Erec Rex. Right here in my very own shop. What a prize for me, eh? I'm sure I can get quite a reward out for turning you in--everyone knows that the Shadow Prince is after you. Heh heh heh." He shook his index finger, put it to his mouth, and spoke in the cell phone planted there. "Green House, please. This is Bill at Magnet Mountain. I've got a fugitive here. Yup, you heard me right. His name is Erec Rex."
    97
    CHAPTER EIGHT Cinnalim
    REC AND JAM took one look at each other and then ran from the room.
    "Stop them!" Bill screamed at several workers. He stabbed a button on his desk. "Two fugitives are trying to escape the warehouse. A boy and a ... a butler. Stop them now !"
    They had a clear shot to the front doors, but men trotted out of the warehouse aisles and blocked them. Erec slowed down, darting a
    98
    bit to his left, then right to find a path through. Just as he saw a gap, a huge metal beam dropped from the ceiling and landed right in front of him. Before he could stop himself, he tripped over the thing. His pants leg caught fast on one of its bolts.
    "Come on, young sir!" Jam grabbed him under the arms and yanked, but Erec remained stuck.
    Men formed a circle around them. "Got him. Go get the boss," someone said.
    Jam pulled a scissors from his pocket and snipped Erec's pants to free him. With a little struggling, and Jam's help, he soon popped back on his feet. "Um, excuse me, guys." He tried to squeeze past a row of men, but they only shoved him back into the middle of their circle. For a moment Erec almost gave in to them, but then he thought about Bethany. He wasn't going to let her down. With a roar, he threw himself into the knees of one of the men in his way. The man fell back, but another dove on top of him, hitting him square in the back. He felt like an elephant had sat on him. The doors were so close. If only Erec could just get a cloudy thought now, he would know how to save himself, he thought. But he had no such luck.
    Erec tried again, ramming himself into someone's knees. When they fell out of the way, he made it only a few feet before a worker drove by in a cart, colliding into Erec and grabbing his arms.
    "The magnet," Jam shouted. "Erec, get rid of it. It's bringing you bad luck."
    As soon as Jam said that, it seemed obvious. Erec stuffed the magnet into the shirt of the man that was holding him.
    "Ugh." The man yanked back his hands and grabbed the wheel of his cart. "My head is pounding. I can't see anything. I can't believe I got my migraines back again." He made some funny noises, then threw up all over his overalls. The cart sparked a few times, then shut
    99
    off, and smoke poured out of its engine. With a hiss, two of the tires went flat, sinking into dark puddles on the floor. The man tried to get out, but banged his head hard against the door frame and fell back into the cart.
    In the confusion, Erec

Similar Books

Thou Art With Me

Debbie Viguié

Mistakenly Mated

Sonnet O'Dell

Seven Days in Rio

Francis Levy

Skeletal

Katherine Hayton

Black Dog

Caitlin Kittredge