The Secret of Ashona by Kaza Kingsley Page B

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, oldfriend, 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. Januswas 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