Excerpt

EREC REX:
The Monsters of Otherness

by Kaza Kingsley

INTRODUCTION

Fantasy fiction author Kaza Kingsley won over young readers with the inventive gadgets, relentless action, and gross-out humor in her first book, Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye. The book became a bestseller and collected numerous children's book awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award for best new voice in juvenile fiction.

The highly anticipated second book in the series, Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, deals with themes of adoption and acceptance under the mythological framework of the Hercules legend. As Erec fights to save the lives of 50 dragon hatchlings, his real quest is to uncover the truth about his own identity.

The excerpt below is called "Erec Buys His Memory Back." It's a short scene where 12-year-old Erec Rex visits the Memory Mogul to find out what happened to his childhood memories.

"Erec Buys His Memory Back"

by Kaza Kingsley

It was not easy finding the Memory Mogul's shop. Most of the people Erec asked simply glared at him and turned up their noses. Finally a blind woman told him the store was near the edge of town, close to Medea's magic shop.

Inside the store, a counter stretched across the entire room. Behind it were racks of shelves covered with tiny packets. A small, spindly man hunched over the counter. His wild white hair and beard projected from all angles of his face, making him look like a dandelion gone to seed. He seemed to be in a daze.

The man remained still as Erec walked up to him. Erec cleared his throat, but the man seemed to take no notice.

"Excuse me."

The man jumped. "Oh! How's that for sneaking up on an old man? You should be ashamed of yourself, boy. Scaring me like that."

His wispy hair and beard waved around in the air as he spoke. It made him look so comical that Erec had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Now," the man said, "what were you saying, sonny? You have a memory to get rid of?"

Erec pointed at the shelves behind the man. "What do you sell here?"

"You don't know?" The man looked indignant. "Memory chips, of course. Splices. I cut, I take out, I add in. Anything can be altered." He coughed. "What was the question?"

"You were telling me about the memory chips."

"Of course. Memory chips. I've got all types." He waved a hand across the huge racks. "I've got bits of memories from all over the known earth and beyond. Want a bit of African jungle safari? Wild nights in the ogre bars? Dungeons? I've got plenty of dungeons," he said happily. "Of course there's no guarantee that the memory will be fully pleasant. But what fun would it be if it was all nice and safe, right? So what would you like, boy?"

"I'm not sure I want to buy any memories right now."

"So you're here to get rid of one? No problem. Would you like a replacement, or do you want to leave an empty gap where it was?"

Erec had to stop to consider. Why did Mr. Peebles suggest he come here? He said he might find out something about himself.

"Can I help you?" The man turned to him with a smile, white hair wagging around his face. He seemed to have forgotten their entire conversation.

"Do you happen to have any memories in the name of Erec Rex?"

The man chortled. "Oh, ho, ho! Erec Rex, eh? Even I remember the day I got the memory of Erec Rex. And I do admit my memory isn't exactly what it once was." He mused in silence a moment, then looked at Erec. "Can I help you?"

"I'd like the memory of Erec Rex. Tell me about it."

"You and everyone else, kid. I still remember the day his mother brought him here." His eyes sharpened, gained focus as if he could see her still. "He was real little, three, I think. And he was in trouble, hiding for some reason. He was here with another kid, and his mother had just changed their looks. They both got a chunk of their memories taken out that day. I talked his mother into giving Erec a replacement memory to take its place. It's usually easier on a kid to have some past to remember, I told her. It also doubled the price. And I happened to have a memory I had just gotten from a girl about his age. It was a short one, but who cared? It was something, right?"

The Memory Mogul's eyes danced as he relived old times. "His mom was real worried his replacement memory might be a bad one, but I told her it would be fine. The girl had looked nice enough. How bad could it have been, right? But then he started crying as soon as he got the memory, darn kid. His mom wanted me to erase it, but I couldn't do it for a week -- too dangerous -- so she had to leave it in." He shrugged. "Aw, don't worry about the kid. It was no big deal. His new memory was so short and hazy, and at that age it would only really come out in his dreams. The other kid there that day never got a memory replacement," he recalled. "The mom was too upset."

Erec gripped the counter, mind spinning. He couldn't believe his ears. He had known his mother changed his looks, but now this. And what was the memory replacement he got? Some memory discarded from a girl? What could it be? He squeezed his eyes shut. Something that would only come out in his dreams.

In the next moment he froze. His dreams? He remembered the nightmare he always had about his father. It was his only memory he had of his father. But what if -- Erec felt sick -- what if it wasn't really his own memory? So that wasn't his father then? It was someone else's father?

Erec's breath became heavy and he felt faint. He looked around the shop, but there were no chairs. He wondered if he should be glad that his memory of his terrible father wasn't his. He hated the memory, hated the man. But he had grown up with that memory nonetheless. It was all he knew.

The man tapped the counter, white wispy hair waving. "Can I help you, sonny?"

Erec stared at him. "I'd like to buy the memory of Erec Rex. Do you still have it?"

The man smiled. "Ah, Erec Rex. I still remember the day his mother came in the shop --"

Erec interrupted. "Do you still have it?"

"Oh, goodness no. I sold it the next day to a young man his age who had another memory problem to get rid of. But I wish I kept, I'll tell you. You and everybody else that's been in here want it. I could've gotten a good price on that one, yes sir. If I'd known how popular it would be, I'd have checked it out myself too. It's hard to resist trying out some of the memories I get in here, especially the more exciting ones. Of course, they can mess with your own memory if you're not careful. Not that I would ever let that happen to me."

Erec thanked the man, who settled back into a glassy-eyed stare. He didn't seem to notice when Erec left the shop.