Gregor and the Marks of Secret-4 (19 page)

"Because he knew I was there and I wouldn't let anyone up to the palace. Lay off the warrior. Blame me, blame Vikus, if you want to blame someone," said Ripred.

"I blame you all," said Luxa.

"If you must. But it's not fair," said Ripred.

"It is not your city!" said Luxa.

"It may not be yours much longer, either, Your Highness, if such incompetents as Gregor and I do not choose to defend it!" snarled Ripred. "Or have you not kept up on your prophecies?"

"Your defense is no guarantee of anything, or have you not kept up on your prophecies?"

retorted Luxa. "And finding you languishing in a pit does little to reassure me of your worth!"

"Stop!" Howard sprang to his feet. "You upset the children. You upset us all. You gain nothing by being at each other's throats."

Gregor looked around. Howard was right. Hazard and Boots stood by Temp, holding each other's hands tightly, worried looks on their faces. The bats were rustling their wings in agitation. Cartesian tossed in his sleep.

"Who are you again?" said Ripred to Howard.

Gregor thought the rat was just trying to be insulting. "Shut up, Ripred. You know who he is," he said.

"No, I actually don't," said Ripred.

"Oh. His name's Howard. He's Luxa's cousin. His dad runs the Fount," explained Gregor.

"Well, all I was going to say was that I thought Howard made a good point," said Ripred.

"Fighting gains us nothing, Your Highness. We have much to do if we are to help your friends."

"I do not need your help, Ripred," said Luxa.

"I suppose you can take on the Bane's army yourself," said Ripred.

"The Regalian army will be here in a few days. They will free the nibblers," said Luxa.

"In a few days, there will be no nibblers left to free," said Ripred.

***

The rat's comment was enough to make Luxa drop her hostile manner. "What do you mean?" she said.

"What do you think the Bane's doing out here, anyway?" asked Ripred.

"We heard him speak. He said he was driving the nibblers to a place from which there is no return," said Howard.

"And did he mention where that would be?" asked Ripred.

"Somewhere outside of the Underland," said Gregor uncertainly.

"In the Uncharted Lands," said Luxa.

"The nibblers could return from the Uncharted Lands. They would only have to retrace their steps," said Ripred. "My dears, there is only one place from which there is no return."

The rat waited while it sunk in.

"Death," Luxa whispered.

"So it would seem," said Ripred.

"Are you saying he means to kill them? All of them?" said Howard.

"That is the general idea, yes," said Ripred.

"But there are thousands of nibblers. They may allow themselves to be driven somewhere, but they will not lose their lives without a fight," said Howard. "How can he kill so many?"

"Now there you have me," said Ripred. "Nibblers are good fighters, when backed against a wall. They outnumber the gnawers here, I would guess, ten to one. It would be bloody, they would lose many lives, but they could overpower the Bane's forces now if they wished to. So, they must believe, as you did, that they are only being moved to a new home. That they are saving their lives by not resisting. But have no doubt about it. The Bane means to kill every last nibbler."

"So say I!" a raspy voice choked out. "So say I!"

They all turned to see Cartesian. He had rolled onto his stomach and was struggling to lift himself up on his front legs.

Howard hurried to his patient. "Easy now. I will give you something to help you heal."

He removed the large green bottle and pulled the stopper.

"We must fight! This is not like the other times. The gnawers do not want this land by the Fount. The humans will not allow them to have it!" said Cartesian.

"Stop, Howard! Let him talk!" exclaimed Luxa. She ran over and kneeled by the mouse.

"He believes he is still at the Fount," said Nike.

"Yes," said Luxa. "Cartesian. Cartesian, I am Queen Luxa of Regalia."

"Oh, the good queen. The good queen," said Cartesian, calming a little. "Tell them, 'Fight now! Fight here by the Fount!'"

"I will tell them," said Luxa, running her hand down his back.

"I told them so, but few will take my side. Most believe the gnawers when they say they will only take us to other lands," said Cartesian. "Do not believe it!"

"No, I do not believe it. I believe you!" said Luxa.

"Why would the gnawers want this land by the Fount? You humans will not let them keep it," said Cartesian.

"Why would they want the jungle, either?" said Ripred. "No rat would live there by choice."

"So say I!" said Cartesian, and then his fevered eyes locked on Ripred and he went wild at the sight of the rat. "Where are the others? Where are the others?" He bared his teeth at Ripred and tried to attack. Cartesian's broken leg crumpled beneath him. "Where are the others?" he demanded.

"Now might be a good time for that medicine," said Ripred.

"Where are the others?" shrieked the mouse.

Howard quickly dosed Cartesian before he could really lose control. Within a few minutes, the mouse went limp.

Cartesian's words had given Gregor insight into the rats' invasion of the nibbler colony.

The mice had argued then, about whether to fight the rats or go quietly. And Cartesian's side had lost. Gregor bet it was Cartesian who had scratched the scythe into the cave wall.

"So, you can believe me and your nibbler friend there, or you can continue to console yourselves with the idea that the nibblers are going to some lovely new life somewhere," said Ripred.

Gregor thought of the baby mice, the twisted bodies beneath the cliff, the Bane's speech.

"No, I can't. We've got to find the mice and warn them. Can you travel?" he asked Ripred.

"Yes. I'm a bit stiff, but give me a few miles and I'll loosen up," said the rat.

"I have not agreed to let you join us," said Luxa.

"Fly on ahead, then," said Ripred. "You may miss me when you reach your destination."

A line appeared between Luxa's eyes as she pondered what to do.

"It is better to bend a little than to break, Cousin," said Howard. "We do need him. Let him pay off his debt to you."

"Yes, let me make things even between us," said Ripred.

"I will not be taking orders from you," Luxa snapped at the rat. "You will be following mine."

Ripred shrugged. "Fine. I have given enough orders for a lifetime. You make the plans.

Of course, if you'd like my advice at a given moment, don't hesitate to ask."

"Let us go forward, then," said Luxa. "Keep to the gnawer's pace."

They climbed back on the bats and took off, flying at Ripred's running speed. The rat made pretty good time given that he'd been confined to a pit for several weeks.

Gregor was preoccupied with the nibblers. How could the rats kill them all? Drive them off a cliff maybe, like they had in Hades Hall? Drown them? He was pretty sure the mice could swim. Starve them? That seemed like a popular choice in the Underland. Or maybe they would try to infect them with a plague....

After about half an hour Gregor looked down and realized that Ripred really needed a break. He was panting hard and foaming slightly at the mouth. Gregor knew the rat would be too obstinate to ask to stop.

"Ripred can't keep going like that," said Gregor to Luxa.

"It is good for him," said Luxa.

"He's going to have a heart attack or something," said Gregor.

"Do not worry about Ripred," said Luxa.

"You just planning on running him into the ground?" said Gregor. Luxa leaned over Aurora's wing and watched Ripred struggling to keep up. Then she sat up. "He is too rotten to die," she said.

"Luxa!" Suddenly Gregor had had it with her. "Okay, stop! Everybody land!" he shouted.

"You do not give orders here!" said Luxa.

"Neither do you. Not to me, anyway," said Gregor. He swung off Aurora's back while she was still in flight and crossed to Ares as the bat touched down. Thalia and Temp were piled on top of Ares. "Thalia, can you fly?"

"Yes, if we do not go too fast," said the little bat.

"Ares, can you carry Ripred?" said Gregor. Ares was the one bat who might have the strength to do it.

"I can try," said Ares.

"No, Ares, you do not need to carry that rat," said Luxa.

"Yes, he does," said Gregor. "Thalia, take Temp."

"Oh, now you are in charge?" said Luxa.

"Why does one of us have to be in charge? We were doing fine until you declared war back there and started bossing everybody around!" said Gregor.

"I recall it starting much earlier," said Ripred, dragging himself onto Ares's back. "Even as a baby she was very pushy."

"I am trying to help the nibblers!" said Luxa.

"Really? Well, you're not helping them by hurting Ripred," said Gregor. She scowled and opened her mouth to speak, but Gregor didn't give her time. "And I don't care if that makes you mad, Luxa. Get mad! Don't talk to me! How will that be different from about ninety-five percent of the time, anyway? You're always mad at me for something. Usually, I can't even remember what! What's it matter? I don't live here. I'm just visiting. Anything that I've been doing to help you, that's just a favor! Not something I owe you. And when we get back to Regalia, I'll be sent home and we can forget we ever knew each other! Okay?"

The last word hung in the tunnel. The outburst surprised even Gregor. It was too extreme.

Where had it come from? Was it connected to his rager thing? Why had he said it? What, in fact, had he said? He couldn't quite remember, but whatever it was, he could tell by the look in Luxa's eyes that he had actually hurt her feelings.

"Gre-go is too loud," said Boots. She scooted up to Luxa and held her hand protectively.

"Shh, Gre-go."

Everyone was staring at him, waiting for his next move. "I really think this will be faster," said Gregor in a gruff voice.

"Fine," said Luxa, and crossed back to Aurora with Boots trotting beside her.

Howard touched Gregor's shoulder. "Perhaps I will ride with —"

"Yeah, I'll go on Nike," said Gregor. "Don't worry; I'll hold on to Cartesian."

As he climbed up on Nike's back, he felt Ripred's eyes on him. "What?"

"Nothing," said the rat innocently, but Gregor noticed his nose give a deep and distinct sniff.

They did move more quickly now. Gregor tried to justify yelling at Luxa with that thought, but it didn't really work.

A light wind blew over his face. It was more than the usual breeze he caught by just being on a moving bat. The air was warm, too, and smelled more pun-gently of sulfur. A bit of something blew into his eye and he blinked repeatedly to get it out. It was hard to get any tears going in the wind.

What had he said that had hurt Luxa? It wasn't just that they had argued; they were always arguing. He tried to recall his speech. Something about the nibblers. Ripred. Go ahead and get mad. So, what? "We can forget we ever knew each other! ..."

That last part. He tried to imagine Luxa saying those words to him and realized how awful it would be. To suggest it would be possible to forget the last year. To forget what they owed each other. Without Luxa, he would have been killed his first night in the Underland. He would never have gotten his dad back. Boots would have died in the rats' maze. And he had done things for Luxa, too. Good things. Things he was proud of. Saved her from the spinners. Helped find the plague cure. He was here now tracking down the nibblers, wasn't he? For better or worse, their lives had wrapped in and around each other since the moment they'd met. He didn't ever want to forget he had known her.

"Nike, can you speed up?" said Gregor. "I need to tell Luxa something."

Gregor worked on his apology as they caught up. "I'm sorry," he thought; that would be a good opener.

Nike's nose was even with Aurora's feet. Hazard was asleep, his head on Luxa's lap.

Howard sat with his back to her, holding Boots. Luxa looked at Gregor, waiting.

Gregor swallowed and leaned forward so he could speak quietly. "Look, I just wanted to say, I'm —"

And that's when the currents hit them.

***

The first blast of air caught Nike from below and tossed her upward, slamming Gregor and Cartesian into the ceiling and pinning them between the bat and the stone. Luckily, Gregor had been leaning forward. His backpack cushioned the blow somewhat, although he could feel the edges of his extra flashlights and the binoculars cutting into his back. His face was pressed into the fur on the back of Nike's head. He struggled to turn his head sideways, so he could at least breathe.

Nike was battling to free herself from the powerful current when it suddenly abated. They dropped down a few feet and the second blast hit them from behind. Nike's wings shut as they shot like a bullet through a gun barrel through several hundred yards of tunnel and then out into wide-open space.

Then the winds took over.

There was not ore or two but dozens of currents competing in the cavern. You could see the individual airstreams. Each had the same misty look as the one that had first brought Gregor to the Underland from his laundry room and gave off a faint white light. Gregor was ripped off Nike almost immediately and then buffeted by the currents that accosted him from all sides. He felt like a kite being flown in a storm. A kite whose string had snapped that had no hope of being reeled in.

Fortunately, his flashlight was securely hooked to his belt loop. As he whipped around he caught glimpses of the others. They seemed as helpless as he was.

He panicked for a moment when his flashlight beam revealed the cavern floor fifty feet below. But then he realized he wasn't falling. None of them were. The currents held them aloft, swirling them around like leaves on a fall day.

Gregor got his hand on his flashlight and felt a tiny bit more in control. A particularly strong wave of air caught

him from behind and he struggled to break its hold.