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touched, the king said, Erec?
Erec jumped back in surprise.
What is the meaning of this? Balthazar Ugry stormed into the room. So, it s you two cretins again.
Had to upset the king, didn t you? Pack your bags. You re going straight home. You kids think you can
come here and take over, be the next king or queen. Well, that s not about to happen.
Oh, Balthazar, I see you ve found my friends, said a voice from the doorway. Spartacus Kilroy winked
at Erec. Is there a problem?
Ugry hissed, You know these wretches?
Sure. They volunteered to help. King Piter wanted to meet a few contestants, and these two agreed.
That s funny, Ugry retorted. I haven t heard the king say a thing in years.
It s all in your approach, said Kilroy, smiling.
Ugry glared at Erec and swept from the room.
Thank you, said Bethany, very relieved. I would have died if I had to go home.
Kilroy shook his head at the thought. Balthazar tends to overreact. If it was up to him, all you kids
would go home. I m not sure who he thinks the next kings and queens will be. But he s a little set in his
ways. I think the world stopped for him when King Piter got sick.
Meanwhile, Kilroy added, more serious, don t bother the king again. One time, no harm. But he
needs his rest. Kilroy pointed Erec and Bethany out the door and out of the west wing.
The gardens around the castle were immaculate, unlike the castle itself. Beautiful plants that Erec had
never before seen were arranged without a weed in sight. The roses lining the path were taller than he
was, with blooms as big as his head. A terrace full of huge, brightly colored daisies whirred with activity.
The daisy heads took off into the air, spinning like little yellow, purple, and orange helicopters, and
landing on different stems.
Small green reptiles with big back legs hopped by. When one jumped on Bethany s head, she shrieked
and pulled it off. What was that thing?
A girl nearby said, Leaping lizards. They re harmless. The girl ducked as another leaping lizard sailed
past her own face.
Near the back corner of the palace, hundreds of flags waved from every country in Upper Earth and the
Kingdoms of the Keepers. A few kids ran between the flagpoles, touching one, then another. Seeing this,
Erec touched one too. A silence fell and a beautiful tune played. Erec guessed it was the national anthem
of that country.
Behind the castle was a great maze made of shrubs too high to see over. Oh, how fun, Bethany said.
Let s try it.
A sign in front of the maze entrance said it was closed for the day.
How can a maze be closed? Erec asked.
You re right. Let s go. Bethany tugged his arm.
Nobody was looking so they went in. Once inside they discovered that all the passageways looked alike.
They quickly got lost. With so many twists and turns, the maze seemed like an endless trap. Erec started
to wonder if they would ever get out.
Finally they heard a loud howl and cursing. Alarmed, they followed the noise. A gap in the shrubs
revealed a courtyard in the center of the maze. A man was chaining a strange, sleeping beast to a pole.
Another man sat on the ground, swearing. Blood covered his left arm, which hung limp at his side.
It s okay, mate, the first one said. They ll fix you right up at the palace, they will.
The man covered with blood groaned. Why do they want a minotaur here, anyway? All these kids
around. Someone s going to get killed, you just wait. Look what it did to me in its sleep.
The first man shrugged. This is what the king s AdviSeer wanted, and he knows better than us. Said
something about a surprise.
Well, do we leave food for it?
The AdviSeer wanted it hungry.
The sitting man didn t like that idea. This thing would eat a kid for breakfast.
Erec and Bethany tried to get a better look at the minotaur. It had the head and body of a huge bull, but
its lower legs looked like a giant, hairy human s in racing shorts.
Let s get out of here, Bethany said. If you follow the right hand wall of a maze you ll eventually get
out.
The sun was sinking and the maze seemed endless. Knowing that around any corner they might run into
the kid-eating minotaur again made it even worse. When they finally got out, Erec was shaking. They ran
into the dormitories and collapsed in a sitting room.
Later at dinner, all Erec could think about was asking his mother more questions. Why did she lie to him
his whole life? He didn t know what to believe. He wanted to put his glasses on right then in the cafeteria,
but kids were everywhere. His dorm room was no better with Jack and Oscar popping in and out. He
closed his eyes. I was stupid. Why didn t I put my glasses on in the maze?
Put them on now, Bethany said. Nobody can hear us. I ll pretend we re talking.
Someone could sit with us and I wouldn t even know.
Don t worry. I ll kick you if someone comes too close.
Erec slid the glasses on his face. His mother was knitting and reading a book with a television blaring.
Mom?
Taken by surprise, June dropped her knitting and spilled her lemonade. She put her hand on her heart.
Erec?
Yeah, it s me, Mom. A wave of embarrassment passed over him as he realized he was looking at
Bethany and saying, Mom.
Are you all right?
I m fine. I may have to leave at any second, though. He did not add that he was sitting in a busy
cafeteria. He could imagine what she would say. I have a lot to ask you. First, why didn t you tell me all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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