Read The Three Furies (Erec Rex) for Free Online

now, officially.
    Erec walked slowly toward the scepter, reaching out for it. His need for the thing seemed to grow the closer he got to it. He was silly to have left it here. King Piter had insisted that he guard the scepter for Erec, that Erec was not yet ready to use it. But that was just silly. He would be fine feeling its power again. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. It gave him the strength and purpose he needed.
    Chains were around the king's arms . . . maybe they would keep
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    him from grabbing the scepter before Erec could. In a moment Erec trembled with excitement and hope. He could take the scepter now--just reach for it and snatch it--and the king wouldn't be able to stop him!
    He was breathing faster. But then he looked at his father's glazed eyes and a chill raced through him. Was that what Erec looked like now? Haunted, possessed by this magic, ready to do anything for it?
    Erec took a breath. A small voice in his mind reminded him that his father was right. He wasn't ready. The scepter haunted him, filling his days with longing and his nights with vivid dreams. It didn't matter if he told himself that he would use it only for good, to help right the wrongs of the world. Deep inside he knew what would happen if it was his. His own dreams had showed him. He would only crave more and more power. There was no way he would be able to resist its pull.
    He forced himself to step back away from it. Why was he here? He was confused now . . . Bethany! How could he have been so distracted by the scepter that he could forget her? The idea made him sick, and he backed away from it more.
    "Dad? How are you doing? Dad . . . ? Hey, it's me, Erec."
    The king's eyes were glazed. He ran his finger along the gold scepter as though he hadn't heard a thing. Erec noticed how thin and sickly he looked.
    Erec spoke louder. "Dad? King Piter?"
    Erec touched his father's shoulder. There was still no response, so he shook the king. "Are you okay? What's going on with those chains?"
    King Piter startled a bit, then turned toward Erec. Recognition lit his face and he sighed. "Erec. You're back." He shrugged in embarrassment. "It's easier for me with these chains here. I can take them off if I need to. They're just a . . . reminder to hold back." He cleared his throat, looking awkward. "How was your trip home?"
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    "Fine. Dad, Bethany is--" Erec's throat tightened and he could not speak. Those words could not be said, or they would make her danger more real somehow. Everything might shatter around those words.
    The king's forehead wrinkled with concern. "What's wrong with Bethany? Can I help?" But then he looked back at his scepter and immediately was lost.
    Erec could not imagine how hard this must be for his father. If Erec had been near the scepter for more than a month, like the king had, he would never have kept himself away from it. No, he would have become a power-mad psycho trying to rule the world with it.
    For a moment everything seemed to glimmer. Erec felt his knees buckle. This was all his fault. The king used to be able to use his scepter with no problem at all. The power of his castle had given him that stregnth. Erec had ruined that. He had found out, against the king's wishes, that King Piter was his father. Which led to the castle being destroyed. Worse yet, the king himself was destroyed.
    He had wrecked his own father.
    And now he had let his best friend die.
    Erec felt like falling through the floor and never seeing anyone again, never doing more harm . . . but he couldn't even do that. If only the scepter was gone . . . That horrid thing had brought out the worst in him, and now it was doing the same to his father. He grabbed it to fling it anywhere, through a window, wish it to explode and never come back.
    But the second the warm gold was in his hand, everything changed. Calmness filled him, and control. It was all okay. He would help his father get better. He could make everything better.