He was in that pool table! Erec looked around, amazed, and then climbed out, dripping water all over the rug. He found the same shelf that Bethany had kicked on the side of the room. It was pushed up against the wall. When he pulled the shelf flat, a green felt top covered the water in the pool table. The shelf was marked with a few wavy lines--a water symbol. He flipped the shelf up and down a few times and watched the water appear and disappear under the felt top. It must have opened automatically when he shot out of the tunnel.

Now he understood why the table had dumped tons of water on Bethany when the room was on its side. It was a passage out of the castle, leading into endless water tunnels.

Dripping all the way, he walked to his room in the west wing, dried off, and changed. He was safe now, and nobody knew where he was. If only he could find a way to figure out the rest of his third quest.

Erec called Jam on the house phone in his room, then met with him in the west wing dining hall. He figured it was a good place to wait for Bethany, since they hadn't eaten dinner yet. After Erec told Jam about what had happened, the butler looked faint. "Young sir, I believe you have had enough near-death experiences for all of us. Maybe it's time to relax a while. Rest in your room if you like. I'm more than happy to bring you anything you want there."

"I'm fine, Jam," Erec said. "I just want to find out what my quest was supposed to be. How will I ever know?"

Jam studied him. "Well, young sir, you do have those dragon eyes. Maybe you could learn to use them."

71.That was it! His dragon eyes could show him the future--and let him change it. That was exactly what he needed to do. Patchouli said she could teach him how to do it. Now he would just have to find her.

Bethany walked in, then stopped, staring at him in shock. "Erec? You're okay?" She threw her arms around him and then Jam, as if hugging one person wasn't enough to show her relief.

Erec grinned, thankful that she was safe as well. "Bethany, do you remember that pool table in the south wing near the castle armory that dumped water on you?" He told her how he had been catapulted there, flushed through Al's Well.

She laughed. "That explains one more thing I saw. Janus helped Jack, Oscar, and me escape from his shop after you and Baskania were gone. We hid behind some trees and bushes nearby, just in case you showed up and needed us. After a while we heard this noise. It was Balor, bursting out of a ditch filled with water. He was soaking wet, coughing and choking. I couldn't understand how he got there, or why. But I bet he flushed himself after you and ended up there."

Erec grinned. Of course Balor would try to follow him. "I wonder why we ended up in different places?"

Bethany thought a moment. "I bet the Fates had a hand in it. It is their well, right?"

"Yeah," Erec agreed. "And guess what they sent him when he reached into Al's Well?" They both laughed until their sides hurt.

"How did Janus help you guys escape?" he asked.

Bethany sighed with relief. "He was babbling, and kept pointing to different things around his shop. I thought he was just nervous. But then he made a big fuss about one of the dusty things sitting on a shelf. He acted all worried that someone was going to steal it, said it was really valuable and nobody should touch it, and we weren't really supposed to be in there anyway.

72."I thought he had gone overboard from all the stress. But he was pretty crafty after all. John Arrete picked the thing up, whatever it was, and he froze like a statue. Gog Magnon looked confused. He's not too bright, because when Janus begged him not to take the thing out of Arrete's hands, he grabbed it too, and froze. We just ran out of there."

"I hope Janus doesn't get in trouble for that," Erec said. Then he thought of something that made him frown. "I don't understand why Oscar is telling Baskania where I am. I can't believe it. I never thought he would do this to me."

Bethany shook her head. "I don't think he did anything, Erec. That's the strange thing. I believe him. Just looking at him, how upset he got at Baskania--"

"It was all an act," Erec scoffed. "Why would Baskania make up something like that? And how else would he know we would be there early?"

"I don't know," she said, puzzled by that too. "It's not like I have a good explanation. I just know Oscar."

"I don't think you do." Erec felt impatient. "What about my cloudy thought? If you had told your secret to Oscar you'd be dead right now. He has to be talking to Baskania."

Bethany could see Erec was still tense, and she changed the subject. "So the only part of the third quest you heard was 'Get behind'?"

Jam served Erec some macaroni and cheese, and Bethany loaded her plate with some of the goodies that were now in front of them. "Yeah. 'Get behind.' That really tells me a lot."

"I'm going to find King Piter." Bethany stood. "Wait here. Maybe he has an idea what we can do."

Jam disappeared for a while, and he was just returning with three cloud cream sundaes when King Piter walked into the room with 73.Bethany. "I'm glad you caught me, Erec," he said. "I'm leaving tonight for Upper Earth and won't be back for a few days."

"Jam." Erec motioned toward a chair. "Get a sundae for yourself, too, and join us, okay?"

Jam sheepishly nodded. Erec thought he looked grateful even though he was embarrassed.

The king listened to Erec tell about the ripped quest. "That's a shame," he said. "That never happened to Pluto, Posey, and me when we did our quests." He frowned. "Which reminds me, you are still doing them all alone." He shook his head. "I wish there was a better way."

"I've taken friends with me," Erec said.

"I know, Erec. That's not the same." The king shook his head. "I think you understand."

Erec did understand. His friends' help was important, necessary even. And it felt good to have company. But it was different than truly sharing the burdens with someone. All of the big decisions had been his alone. King Piter had done his quests to become king with his triplet siblings. Erec thought it must be nice to be part of a real team.

"How can we find out who the other two future rulers are, who are supposed to be doing this with me?" he asked.

King Piter didn't answer. Instead, he studied the wooden table. Erec watched him carefully. Something in the king's face struck him as odd.

"You know who they are, don't you?" Erec asked.

The king looked up at him guiltily, and anger rushed through Erec. How could he? The king did know who they were, and he was holding back that information too.

"Why is everything a secret? If there are two others out there who can help me, tell me who they are now."

74."There is nobody who can help now, I'm afraid," the king said. "There are problems with both of them, you see."

"Problems?" Erec said, enraged. "What problems? Who are they? Where are they?"

King Piter sighed. "Yes, problems. One of them is missing, you see. And the other--"

"The other is not missing?" Erec felt faint. "Who is it?"

"No." King Piter shook his head. "The one who is not missing cannot help you. I want her to stay hidden, for her own safety."

Erec sat down, stunned. Two kids somewhere could be doing the quests with him right now. Two other suckers who, for whatever reason, were also chosen to be the rightful rulers. Well, they were smarter than he was, staying away from the scepters and the dangers of the quests.

King Piter cleared his throat. "You need to find out what your third quest is, first and foremost. I think you'll need to consult the Oracle."

Erec thought he had heard of the Oracle before. He tried to clear his mind, swallowing his anger.

"What is the Oracle?" Bethany asked.

"It's the one place where you can speak directly to the three Fates," King Piter said. "I think you were meant to go there. They are the ones who design your quests, knowing how the thread of your life entwines with all of ours around you. If they gave you only a part of your quest, I think that means you need to go to them to find out the rest."

"So they know my future, then?" Erec asked. That sounded interesting.

"They know everybody's future. The Fates are the only ones who can give real prophecies." He looked pensive. "Except one seer from long ago. Bea Cleary, the one who foretold the future rulers of Alypium. But she was very rare."

75."And not part of my Cleary family tree, I found out," Bethany said with a scowl.

"Where is the Oracle?" Erec asked.

"It's in Delphi, Mount Parnassus," the king said. "Central Greece."

"Greece? In Upper Earth?" Bethany was surprised. "But I thought magic things don't exist in Upper Earth."

"On the contrary," King Piter said. "Life itself is magic, Bethany. But if the Substance gets messed up any further, I'm afraid you may be right."

Erec did not want to think about the missing bees and life on Upper Earth coming to an end. All he could deal with was thinking about surviving this next quest--if he ever found out what it was. And, of course, wondering who and where the other two chosen rulers of the kingdoms were. On top of his usual questions about who his real father and birth mother were, and why they had left him. Just a few small things to worry about.

"What about my dragon eyes?" Erec asked. "Maybe if I learn how to use them to tell the future, I can figure out what to do."

"That may take some time," King Piter said. "It's not a bad idea, though. Why don't you take the Hermit with you to the Oracle? He could probably teach you how to use your dragon eyes along the way."

"The Hermit?" Erec tried not to sound as shocked as he felt. "He's a little...strange, don't you think? I mean, I never could tell what he was talking about. I'm not sure if he's the right one to teach me."

"Well, you better get used to him," the king said. "Because I appointed him to be your new magic tutor."

The next morning at breakfast, Erec noticed that Jam had slipped some classic Alypium dishes in--ambrosia, a fluffy white pudding 76.sprinkled with nuts and berries, and nectar, a drink that tasted like sparkling honey. They actually tasted great, and after he ate he could feel energy surge through him.

"I can't believe King Piter knows who the other two future rulers are, and he won't tell me," Erec said. "Can you believe that guy? We'll have to come up with a way to find them."

Bethany nodded, uncomfortable. Erec felt guilty complaining about her father figure and decided to drop it. "Do you want to come with me to the Oracle?" he asked instead. Jam was nearby, adjusting a chafing dish of scrambled eggs. He seemed to be listening. "Jam?" Erec asked. "Could you come too?"

Jam's face flushed with excitement. "Sir! Young sir! Well. I don't know if I'm worthy of your newest trek, but I assure you there would be nothing more..." He stopped, at a loss for words.

"Great!" Erec said. "So you'll come, then!"

Jam muttered something about making arrangements and rushed from the room. Bethany grinned. "I'm in. This will be fun! Hey, can we invite Jack and Oscar? I know that's more than three people, but since you're not exactly doing the quest yet, it shouldn't matter."

Erec couldn't believe his ears. "Oscar? Invite Oscar? Bethany, do you want me to get killed? How could you begin to trust him with this?"

Bethany crossed her arms. "But you told him you'd let him come. You saw how excited he was. I'm telling you, there is no way he's been in touch with Baskania. I think Baskania's trying to split us up. That poor kid just lost his dad. How do you think he'd feel if we all went off without him?"

Erec felt awful, but how could he take the risk of letting Oscar know his plans? But he agreed to discuss it with Jack. Bethany lifted the finger where her new cell phone was implanted and stuck it in her ear.

"You look really cool like that." Erec laughed.

77."Shh." Bethany stuck her tongue out at him. "I have to listen for the tone." Then she put her finger to her mouth and said, "Jack Hare," and put it back in her ear. Erec grinned as she stuck her finger back and forth from her ear to her mouth. "It looks like you're eating earwax."

"Really funny," she said.

"Yeah, it is." Erec chuckled.

"Shut up." Bethany took out her finger and looked at it. "Something strange happened. I told Jack to come to the castle, but the phone was all garbled. Then there was a fizzy sound and a pop. And it stopped working." She tried to call her friends, Melody, and Darla Will, but her cell phone would not work at all. "Darn. I just got the thing too."

"Hey." Erec had an idea. "Before Jack gets here, let's go to the library tower and look up the Oracle. We should get as much info as we can about it, then pack up and leave soon."

Jam returned to the room. "I have taken care of the arrangements, young sir. I found my Serving Tray, made by Vulcan. It serves up some wonderful dishes. So this time I won't have to find nuts and berries for your meals."

"Awesome, Jam! Does it make desserts, too?"

"As many as you wish, young sir." He bowed.

Carol Esperpento, the librarian, had just arrived. Her narrow eyes looked lost behind the thin granny glasses that jutted from both sides of her face. She pointed to the fifth floor, where the books on the Oracle were kept. "The books must stay here," she warned sternly.

"Good thing she was here," Erec said.

"Nah," Bethany said, shrugging. "Piter gave me a key. These books are kind of all mine."

78.All hers? Erec wondered if this idea she had about King Piter becoming her father was going to her head.

They found the section on the Oracle under "Books about the Fates," and browsed through section headings such as "Great Oracle Vacations for under 400 Gold Rings" and "Famous Oracle Prophecies Through History." Bethany found a section called "Real Adventures to the Oracle--What to Expect."

"Check this out." She laughed, pointing at a book called Oops, I Fell in Again: One Boy's Story of Continual Spills into the Oracle of Delphi. She pulled The Total Loser's Guide to Getting Life-Altering Prophecies at the Oracle of Delphi The Total Loser's Guide to Getting Life-Altering Prophecies at the Oracle of Delphi and and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Oracle but Were Afraid to Ask Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Oracle but Were Afraid to Ask off the shelf and sat down. off the shelf and sat down.

Erec found a section heading called "Oracle, Shmoracle: Is It Really a Miracle?" and pulled out a book called Fate or False? Is the Oracle a Real Channel to the Famous Three? Fate or False? Is the Oracle a Real Channel to the Famous Three?

"It says here that the Oracle is a person," Bethany said. "It's someone who gives a message from the three Fates."

"No, it's a place." Erec pointed at his book. "It's in Delphi, like King Piter said."

"Oh, wait, I see that too. But look--here it says the Oracle is a message. A prophecy sent from the Fates." She looked at Erec. "It's a person, place, and thing? That's really clear. I wonder if the people who wrote these books have actually been there."

"So, we're going to the Oracle to meet an Oracle and get an Oracle?"

"Something like that." Bethany flipped a page. "This book says that there is only one real Oracle, the one in Delphi. You can still visit the ruins of the ancient Temple of Apollo there. But the Oracle isn't in the ruins. It's nearby in a short stone well right next to Mount Parnassus. Man, the pictures of that place look beautiful!"

79."Uh-oh." Erec pushed his book toward Bethany. "Looks like there's a catch. This book says the whole thing might be phony. You want to know why people aren't lined up for miles waiting to get their futures read?"

"Hmm." Bethany crossed her arms. "I hadn't thought of that. I guess it would be a pretty popular place to go. What, is it guarded by a monster?"

The word "monster" made Erec flinch. After befriending Tina, a Hydra, he had changed his opinion about that word. "No, it's not guarded. It just won't work at all unless you bring a 'medium' with you. And, according to this book, nobody's ever seen the thing work."

"A medium--like a psychic?" Bethany dropped her book, then looked up something in the other one, furiously. "I see it here. 'A true medium is necessary for communication with the Fates through the Oracle.' Oh, that's great. Now what do we do?"

Dejected, they returned to the west wing dining hall and found Jack waiting with Jam. "Hey! You're okay! That's great," Jack said when he saw Erec. "I was worried about you. Did you get the quest?"

After Erec filled him in, Jack shook his finger. "My cell phone is dead. It's been messed up since we were near Baskania. I wonder if he did something to it."

"Mine won't work either," Bethany said. "Now how are we going to get ahold of Oscar?" She looked at Jam.

"Unfortunately, modom, I am a bit old-school. I never got a cell phone."

"Are you still thinking about inviting Oscar along to the Oracle?" Erec asked. "Do you maybe have a death wish?"

Bethany smiled at Jack. "Before King Piter went to Upper Earth he said we should visit the Oracle to try and find out the rest of Erec's quest."

80."The Oracle? Can I come?" Jack said. "I called Oscar and told him to meet us here right before my cell phone died."

Erec stood up. "What? Oscar is on his way? Does he know that I'm here?"