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TO MAKE THE UnDERLAND A TOMB
"So, soor
"Not just co It is here, and has been here for some time Only the rats have concealed it, even from their own You will findto the next four lines
Hear it scratching down below,
Rat of long-forgotten snow,
Evil cloaked in coat of white
Will the warrior drain your light? Gregor studied the lines for a minute "It's a rat A white rat?"
"The color of long-forgotten snow, for we do not get snow in the Underland Although I iine it to be very beautiful," Vikus said a bit wistfully
"It is," said Gregor "There's snow everywhere right now Itlook better" It did, too, when it had just fallen It covered up the dirt and the trash, and for a while the city looked clean and fresh And then it turned to slush "So, this white rat?"
"It is the stuff of legends Even when he lived in the Overland, Sandwich knew tales of the white rat Historically, one will appear every few centuries, gather other rats about it, and create a reign of terror It is reth, and size," said Vikus
"Size?" said Gregor "You er than the other rats down here?"
"Considerably so," said Vikus "As legend has it And at this point in ti that stands between this creature and the Underland is you The warrior You are a threat to it That is why the white rat has been so carefully concealed The rats do not want you to find it But you also have a vulnerability" Vikus tapped the third stanza, and Gregor read on
What could turn the warrior weak? What do burning gnawers seek?
Just a barely speaking pup
Who holds the land of Under up
"Do you knohat is meant by 'pup'?" asked Vikus
"Ripred called Luxa and Henry pups once, when they wouldn't obey hie, scarred rat who had helped save his father knew about all this
"He undoubtedly said it sarcastically, and to ree For, to rats, a 'pup' is a baby The only baby we knoho is close to you is Boots," said Vikus
Gregor felt his eyes pulled to the last stanza of the prophecy
Die the baby, die his heart,
Die his most essential part
Die the peace that rules the hour
Gnawers have their key to power
"So, they think that if they" -- Gregor could hardly say it -- "kill Boots, so will happen to me"
"It will break you somehow," said Vikus "And if that happens, the rats will overtake the rest of us"
"No pressure or anything," Gregor said, but he felt very scared "You're sure it's Boots?"
"As sure as we may dare be Your closeness to her is well known That you sacrificed yourself, that you leaped rather than let King Gorger kill her -- this reat impression on everyone Can you think of another baby it could be, Gregor?" Vikus asked soleor shook his head It was Boots And they were right about one thing: If they killed her, so her down here? Why didn't you just leave her in the Overland, where she was safe?"
"Because she was not safe And neither were you The crawlers watch you night and day, to protect you," said Vikus
The roach he had trapped in theflashed before his eyes "You mean the little ones?"
"Yes, they are in coer ones below But the rats watch you as well They have been tracking your family'sfor a chance to take your sister's life," said Vikus "It was not possible in your hoateways"
"We went sledding in Central Park," said Gregor
Then Ares spoke up "The Overlander was chased in the tunnels by gnawers He had to drop into the Waterway to escape them"
"Then the crawlers et today, Gregor," said Vikus
"Why not just kill or asked numbly
"They would be happy to But they have seen you leap and live to tell of it, so they are less confident in such a goal," answered Vikus "And at the moment they areBoots that they mean to destroy you"
"I still think ould be safer in the Overland We just won't go to Central Park We'll keep Boots inside" But Gregor wasn't really sure it would be safer
"I will send you back directly, if that is what you wish But they will find her, Gregor, now that they are set on it In their minds, it is a race They must kill Boots before the white rat is killed Only one ht her to the Underland to protect her," said Vikus
"And to protect yourselves," Gregor said flatly
"Yes And to protect ourselves," said Vikus "But as our destinies are intertwined, it see So, ill it be? Shall we take you hoor thought about the scraping sounds he sometimes heard in the walls of their aparth his dad said it was probably just mice But what if it was rats? And what if they were just a few inches of plaster aatching Boots? Watching and waiting and reporting to the giant rats below
There was a skittering sound at the door Gregor looked over to see Boots riding in the door on the back of a giant roach with a bent antenna
"Ge-go!" She giggled "I ride! Temp take Boots ride!"
She was so happyand tinyand powerless he couldn't watch her twenty-four hours a dayhe had to go to schoolthere was no one else to protect hereven he had been worthless todayif it happened again, the rats could kill her in a New York or "We're staying until this thing is over"