Candles flickered in the dark sanctuary hidden in the center of the Green House. Ward and Rock stood nearby, sporting identical black eye patches. Dollick was baaing baaing nervously, and Damon was tugging his brother's woolly hair for fun. nervously, and Damon was tugging his brother's woolly hair for fun.

292.

Damon said, "I still don't get it. Dad's not dad?"

"Shut up," Balor hissed. "The Shadow Prince is our father. We'll talk about it again later."

Damon looked at Balor quizzically, then approached Baskania with his hand out. "Can I have some money, Pop?"

"Fool," Baskania hissed, and Damon tumbled backward onto his bottom. "I see you two are recovering nicely," Baskania said, glowering at Ward and Rock. "Maybe, if you prove yourselves worthy, I'll take your other eyes one day, and you can join the blind followers at my headquarters."

Rock and Ward exchanged nervous glances with their remaining eyes. It was apparent they would rather be anywhere else.

"It seems the five of you have had no better luck than anyone else in locating Erec Rex or Bethany Cleary," Baskania said. "They may have gone into hiding. It is possible they are working on...Erec's next quest. He must have finished his third one, somehow. But the Harpy police gave me his fourth quest--that one is impossible. I saw for myself that Olwen Cullwich does not have what he is looking for." He snorted angrily. "What bothers me the most is that I don't know how he's doing it. How did he finish his third quest? What did he do?"

He stewed in a silence that all of the boys were afraid to break. Then he went on, "I need to find Bethany Cleary and learn her secret. I feel it will be quite important to me. We will have to find another way to draw her here. Find a weakness of hers. If we captured Erec, of course we could lure her in. What else does she care about? She has other friends, but it's best if we find something that will make her rush in without thinking. Can you boys think of anything?"

"She has a pink cat that tells her secrets," Balor said. "She calls it Cutie Pie." Balor remembered how that cat had once given him some nice cuts with its claws. He mused how he would love to see it taken away from Bethany.

293.

Damon stroked an imaginary pizza in his hands. "Pizza pie. She loves pizza pie."

Baskania's face lit up. "Cutie Pie. Pizza pie. I think you boys have given me an excellent idea."

After their short rest, they were ready. They climbed as far into the tunnel as they could, stretching the rope taut, before Jack pulled Melody in. As soon as she entered, loud cracks resounded through the passageway. Melody screamed as they all raced ahead of the collapsing rock.

As Erec ran through the tunnel, he said over and over in his head, "Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack. Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack."

He and Bethany spilled out of the tunnel into the hot sun. Where was he again? He looked at Bethany, confused. She, too, seemed totally lost.

But words echoed through his head. "Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal. Put it in Bethany's backpack."

"Hurry!" Jack shouted.

The crystal in his hands was pulling him toward a shining yellow thing. "Pick up the yellow thing with the crystal." Okay. He pulled the yellow thing up on the end of the crystal. "Put it in Bethany's backpack." He put the crystal over her backpack, which was unzipped just enough for it to fit, and dropped the yellow thing inside. As soon as he did, she collapsed.

He smiled. He'd done a good thing, he knew. Now he could rest by the pretty waterfall.

Screams came from a dark tunnel nearby. He wondered what that was about. Then he felt a yank. Someone was pulling him into it and pushing Bethany out at the same time.

294.

As soon as he was back in the tunnel, his head cleared. Bethany was slumped over her ropes outside, unable to do anything.

"Is Melody okay?" Jack sounded panicked. "She's not answering."

Jam was tugging on the rope. "I've got her. We have to move fast."

Erec nodded, thinking intently about what he would repeat: "Follow me. Follow the crystal."

The tunnel was disintegrating around them. Erec threw himself onto the sand behind the waterfall. Mist poured out of the tunnel with Jack, surrounding them.

"Follow me. Follow the crystal." Erec chanted the words until he realized that was something he could do. He marched forward, clutching the crystal before him. It was pulling him somewhere. Something was yanking on him the other way, though. Everything was blurry behind him. Someone was dragging on the ground, tied to him by a rope. It looked like a girl.

Should he pull the rope off? It seemed like a good idea. But the words in his head said to do something else. "Follow me. Follow the crystal." Okay. He followed the crystal, aware that others behind him and the dragging girl were doing the same.

Loud crashes and strange noises echoed around them. Huge waves smashed into the shore, but they were easier to hear than see. A tree fell somewhere, and he heard a cry. The sand under his feet felt wobbly, and the ground was shaking. But the crystal in his hand kept pulling him. Steadily, amidst the odd crashes and despite the tugging on his chest, he forged ahead. Soon he reached the entrance to a rocky cave.

The moment he crawled inside, his head cleared. He caught his breath and looked out the tunnel entrance. Although his vision was blurred by the mist, it looked like chaos out there. Bethany hung limply from the rope tied under her arms. Erec's heart went out to her.

He had to think. Once he pulled her into the tunnel, he'd forget 295.

everything again. Then he had a great idea. He reached around Bethany and pulled Jam into the tunnel with him, keeping her and her Awen of Knowledge out. Jam came to with a startled look. "What will we do now, young sir?"

"I had a thought. If we keep Bethany in the tunnel while we pick up the last Awen, then we'll know what we're doing when we're in Avalon. Maybe we should keep Jack in there with her. Then we'll be able to see better too."

"Smart idea, young sir. But Melody can't stay in the tunnel with them. It would cave in."

"I know," Erec said, thinking about that part. "We'll have to take her out with us. If there were only a way we could keep her safe...."

Jam frowned, setting his mind to this problem. "She seemed best off hanging in midair."

Erec took his rope off, knowing they had to keep moving. "I'm going through the tunnel and out into Avalon. See if you can hear me when I shout in to you. I'll give you instructions so you'll know what to do after you pull Bethany in here."

He scrambled on his knees down the rocky tunnel, and out the other end into Avalon. But as soon as he set foot on the ground, he was instantly in a bad mood. Why did he have to do all this stuff, anyway? Why was he always saving the day for everyone else? He shouted into the tunnel, annoyed. "Can you hear me, fuzz brain? It's me. You know, the one who has to save your sorry hide all the time."

A faint echo laughed back. "I hear you loud and clear, kind sir."

"Go!" Erec screamed. "Hurry up. Pull Bethany in, you idiot. Pull Jack in, and Melody. And fast, stupid! Get your act in gear. Crawl down the tunnel. Now, you dumb fools! Before Melody ruins everything again with her rotten Awen of Creation. Speed it up."

Yelling felt good, and soon he saw Jam approach, dragging 296.

Bethany behind him. The clueless look on Jam's face made him more upset. Crashes resounded behind them from Melody's Awen.

"Stop, fools!" Erec shouted at Jam. "Yes, you. Untie yourself. Loosen the rope and pull it apart." Erec was exasperated, having to explain to Jam how to untie the knots. "Now, you get out here."

Jam climbed out, and a look of frustration immediately overcame him. "You didn't need to snap at me, young sir."

Erec did not like Jam's tone when he said "young sir." He also didn't like how Jam avoided looking at him. This "ugly" bit was getting old. His friends were so weak, not being able to take a little change in his looks. He yelled into the tunnel for Jack to untie both himself and Bethany. After a lot of screaming on Erec's part, Jack managed to do so, even though he was blinded and confused.

Erec grabbed the rope around Melody and pulled. In a moment she crashed out of the tunnel, tumbling on top of him, then screaming in horror when she looked into his face.

"Stay there. Don't you move," Jam said to Jack. Bethany slumped against the wall of the tunnel, and Jack sat next to her, stupefied and content not to go anywhere. At least the tunnel was no longer caving in.

Melody jumped away from Erec, and the ground exploded under her feet. She tumbled into the pit she had created. "Look what you did, you ugly moron!" she shouted angrily. "Now what's going to happen to me?" She fell further into the pit as the ground collapsed under her. Rocks began to tumble on top of her. "Save me, you beast! What, did your brains melt away with your looks? You had to make me carry the most dangerous thing. Are you trying to kill me or something?"

Lugh, Brigid, and Dagda appeared with their long gray robes, ankle-length brown tunics, and huge oak staffs. After gagging from looking at Erec's face, blond-haired Dagda grabbed Melody's rope.

297.

With help from Lugh, he climbed onto a tree limb and tied her so she was hanging from the rope secured under her arms.

The whole time Melody cursed and spat at them, furious. "Is this the best you can do? My luck, I'm surrounded by mental midgets. I'm supposed to keep hanging here while everyone else goes off to drink lemonade?"

"Do not speak in opposites," Lugh called up to her.

"I'm not, you freak," Melody shouted back, obviously knowing what he meant and not wanting to play along.

"Nobody speak in opposites," Lugh repeated, nodding at Erec.

The reminder calmed Erec a bit. "We do not need to get the Awen here now. We do not want your help." Tremors shook through the ground under them, but at least the world was not collapsing yet, with Melody dangling free.

Though Brigid averted her eyes from the horror of his face, Erec noticed she looked excited, even despite the negative feelings the Awen was casting out. Probably because they hoped to be rid of it soon. She said, "We are very upset with you. You did a terrible job so far. But you look fantastic. I hope you do not feel okay."

"I do not," Erec said. "I am not fine."

She nodded. "Has it been easy?"

"Very easy." Erec nodded. "We nearly lived several times." He looked around. "I did not think that druids were here. Are they not here?"

Brigid swallowed a laugh. "We are not druids," she said, pointing at herself and the two boys.

"You are not?" Erec was surprised. "I thought druids were...young. You look too old to be druids."

Lugh looked pleased. "We are much younger than we look. We cannot choose how we appear so we do not make ourselves look young."

298.

"Why do you not stay here, in this place?" Jam asked. "Why do you leave?"

Lugh said, "We leave because this is not our home. Legend does not tell that someday one will not take the Awen away. So we do not wait for that day to come."

Dagda said, "When you do not bury the Awen in the Isle of Man, then do not come right back here, please. We do not have gifts for you."

Erec frowned. "Why would we not bury them?"

"The Awen will not stay where you bury them for three weeks. After that, they will not return to where you found them. Burying them will not keep them safe, and will not minimize their effects."

Erec nodded. He pulled his singing crystal out and let it lead him to the stream where they had originally seen the Awen of Harmony. Jam, Lugh, Brigid, and Dagda followed him, leaving Melody snarling, hanging from the branch.

The crystal pulled Erec to the large rock by the stream. He lifted it as the crystal struck a chord. The red dodecahedron with black symbols on its sides had a ruby aura around it.

"I should not carry this one," Jam said with a scowl. "It is not my turn."

Erec thought to prepare him. "It will not make you very angry, I think. Are you not sure?"

Jam shrugged. "I'm not sure. Don't give it to me. I can't handle it."

Lugh held a finger up. "Don't wait a minute." He returned with a large sheet made of sewn-together animal skins and nodded.

Jam unzipped the top of his backpack and Erec lowered the red dodecahedron into it. The instant it fell, Jam screamed in rage and attacked Erec. Erec jumped back in shock, trying to scramble away. Words could not form fast enough for Jam, so he grunted and hissed, kicked and spit. Erec rushed backward, but Jam fell on him, punching hard.

299.

Lugh and Dagda wrestled Jam off Erec and held him down while he jerked furiously, sputtering in anger. Brigid straightened the sheet out on the ground, and the three, with Erec's help, managed to roll Jam in it. Soon he looked like a nasty cigar with a fire-red face for a tip. At least he was harmless now.

Lugh said, "Do not come with me. I will not call your boat for you."

Erec followed Lugh along the path toward the shore where they had come from. When they reached the sandy beach, Erec pulled his coat tighter around him.

Lugh faced the waves, holding his wooden staff before him. He chanted a haunting refrain. "Am gaeth tar na bhfarraige. Am tuile os chinn maighe. Am dord na daithbhe. "Am gaeth tar na bhfarraige. Am tuile os chinn maighe. Am dord na daithbhe. I am a wind across the sea. I am a flood across the plain. I am the roar of the tides." Erec recognized it as the same song that the Hermit had sung. It was beautiful and frightening, as if it were from another universe. As he paused, Erec could hear water rush over a thousand tiny tinkling shells. "oig dar mhuir, mile laoch lionfas ler. Barca breaga bruigfidid. Let these youths float across your ocean, thy thousand heroes fill your sea. Bring your magic ships to moor." I am a wind across the sea. I am a flood across the plain. I am the roar of the tides." Erec recognized it as the same song that the Hermit had sung. It was beautiful and frightening, as if it were from another universe. As he paused, Erec could hear water rush over a thousand tiny tinkling shells. "oig dar mhuir, mile laoch lionfas ler. Barca breaga bruigfidid. Let these youths float across your ocean, thy thousand heroes fill your sea. Bring your magic ships to moor."

Foggy wisps fluttered in the air, gradually forming into the hazy shape of a boat. Its vague edges churned like a cloud, and soon figures appeared--the wraithlike sailors who had taken them to Avalon. The ghost ship shimmered in the sunlight. Soon it slid onto shore, silent as the mist.

Lugh spoke to the ghosts in a strange tongue that Erec could not understand. They seemed to be nodding, but when Erec looked straight at them they were hard to see.

Lugh said, "They will not bring you back here after you bury the Awen. Let us not bring Jam onto the boat first."

They carried Jam, spitting and growling, into the ship. As soon as 300.

Erec walked off the ghost ship he felt wonderful. He grinned, "It's over! The Awen of Harmony is leaving Avalon. It feels great here now!"

Lugh was prancing and spinning through the air, singing songs in a strange tongue. "You did it, Erec! You saved us!" Then his face grew sober. "At least for three weeks. Yet even three weeks of freedom will be pure bliss. I cannot wait to celebrate with you when you return."

"I hope it will be forever, not just a few weeks," Erec said. "Once I hook the Awen to the Twrch Trwyth--"

"The what?" Lugh looked a little disappointed. "That can't happen. It's been tried again and again. It's not impossible. I mean, it's impossible." He smiled faintly. "Sorry, it's hard to drop the opposite thing."

Erec said, "There is a small chance it might work this time. I have the Fates on my side." He did not tell Lugh that the Twrch Trwyth was missing, and he had no idea how to hook the Awen to it safely.

Dagda and Brigid were celebrating and hugging when they returned. "I've never felt this great!" Brigid sung.

"Who would be best to put on the boat next?" Erec asked. "I suppose Jack. He won't cause too much ruckus there."

The ground shook under the tree where Melody was tied. Branches fell around her. She called to Erec, "Hey, down there! Sorry about all I said before. Just got caught up by the Awen, I guess." She looked at Erec with a doleful expression, then immediately turned away in revulsion.

"You okay hanging like that?"

"Yeah," she said. "Better than causing avalanches and falling into pits."

Erec went to the tunnel and said to Jack, "Climb out now."

Jack did as he was told, leaving Bethany there asleep. Mist swirled after Jack into Avalon, and soon it was very hard to see. Jack perked up when he stepped out. "Where are we?" He felt around him until Lugh and Brigid grabbed his hands.

301.

"We're in Avalon now," Erec said. "We've got all the Awen. Jam's in the boat. He's a mess now."