Page 10 (1/2)

PART 2: The Hunt

Chapter 10

Maybe you didn't actually have to have sleep Maybe it was soht they needed, but could really get by without Gregor hoped so, because despite his coht without a wink of it

Mostly he'd been trying to i white rat he was supposed to kill by hier than Ripred So Gregor figured the Bane was at least twice as tall as he was and probably weighed, oh, nine or ten tior could hit a bunch of blood balls? This thing would squash hione into any detail about it The sa on the fact that four of the twelve questers would be dead when "The Prophecy of Gray" was fulfilled He had a way of sidestepping issues he thought Gregor couldn't handle How long would Vikus have put off telling hior pictured hiiant while Vikus tapped him on the shoulder and said in an upbeat voice, "Oh, yes, and by the way, according to Sandwich, you have to kill hior re in Central Park, barely over a day ago, and how his biggest worry had been how they were going to afford Christ like one of Sandwich's prophecies to put your whole world in perspective

He shifted his chin to his other hand and tried to focus on the babble of voices around the stone table Vikus had called a councilto discuss his journey to find and kill the Bane The council was a group of older Underlanders ould govern Regalia by coe to rule

The only thing theas soon as possible Since the rats knew that Gregor and Boots were in the Underland again, they would surely take extra measures to conceal the Bane and hunt down his sister

Apparently Regalian spies also had brand-new inforht the white rat was hiding Although none of them had personally seen the creature, their sources indicated it was in a place called the Labyrinth The word or, but Ares whispered to him that a labyrinth was a maze Lizzie and her puzzle book flashed before his eyes She would be soher way around aof Lizzieabove, and the thought was unbearable

"Yeah, let's get going The sooner the better!" Gregor said, and everyone looked at hi he'd said allabout which way to travel to the Labyrinth

Although they exah the web of Underland tunnels was judged too dangerous While the hue of the Underland than they had before the war, the Labyrinth was situated in a remote corner of the rats' land So remote, in fact, that most rats never even went there But if they had the Bane there, it was sure to be guarded

"That leaves the Waterway," Vikus said with a frown "It is not ideal, but it is the least treacherous"

"What of the serpents? Their or didn't knohy Luxa's cousin had been allowed in theHe was just supposed to be on a fareed Vikus "And yet another reason to begin the journey at once Perhaps the party can slip by before the serpents awaken"

"Yippee, serpents," Gregor thought, and he re out of the Waterhen Ares was flying them home He wondered as attached to the tail

"Now, Gregor, there is so we need to address," said Vikus "It is the opinion of the council that Boots should realia while you pursue the Bane"

Gregor had anticipated this co Boots on another Underland trip But how could he leave her here when he had seen Ripred and Twitchtip get into the arena so easily? Sure, Ripred was extra smart, but none of the rats seeether, like hiswith or He knew this sounded uppity, but at this point he was too tired to care

There was a pause in which everyone glanced around, acknowledging that this had been out of line But ere they going to do?

Vikus sent him off to prepare for the journey He went to the ht sources The or's world There were a lot of cool, really old things, like a wheel froe, an actual quiver still filled with arrows, a silver , a cuckoo clock, a top hat More recent items, like wallets, jewelry, and watches, were neatly laid out in rows There were lots of good flashlights, probably because anyone who had been in the tunnels belo York City would have needed one Gregor selected four and dug out a lot of batteries

A couple of life jackets caught his eye, and he took these, too The last tih stone tunnels This ti over the Waterway Boots was too little to kno to swim He added to his supplies a roll of duct tape and a couple of candy bars that didn't seeular clothes folded in two neat stacks by the door Vikus or didn't care what they s his boots

When he went by the nursery to collect Boots, he was told that Dulcet had already taken her down to the river That was to be their departure point

Gregor thought thatdown the river had to be the quickest way to get to the Waterway But when he reached the docks, he saw a tea up two boats that were suspended by ropes at dock level above the river They were long, narrow vessels that reminded him of boats he'd seen in the museum back hoo But secured to the bottoular fin -- a real fish fin-- thatStrapped along the sides of the boats were more fins that could be extended and retracted horizontally as needed A curved bone was attached to the back of each boat as a rudder

"What's with the boats?" he asked Vikus, as overseeing the loading "Aren't we taking the bats?"

"Ah, yes, but the Waterway is vast and provides few hospitable places to rest No bat would have the stamina to cross it, so much of your trip or didn't know , it was slow It was going to take forever to get to the Bane by water

Just then, Twitchtip slunk out onto the dock "Oh, great," thought Gregor "I bet I end up riding with the crazy rat"

Dulcet helped hi, really, but they belted it on as best they could Gregor wasn't sure what to do with the second jacket -- he could swie of the dock, looking at the churning river below

"Hey, Te with us?" he asked

"Vikus says I or put the extra jacket on Te one, too, and because Gregor got through to him that it would help hi Temp in, he saw Luxa, Solovet, Mareth, and Howard coowns, not the long pants they had traveled in before

"Wait a or said to Luxa

"No, Gregor, I cannot I was only allowed to join you on the first quest because 'The Prophecy of Gray' dictated it This has been deelancing at Vikus

Gregor thought she at least could have put up an argu down the Bane It , then?" asked Gregor

"Well, first you should know that we had no lack of volunteers," Vikus said, as if to reassure Gregor that this was going to be a guaranteed good tis were very limited Besides yourself, Ares, Boots, Te Mareth and Howard and their fliers"

"Howard?" said Gregor He liked Mareth a lot, but he didn't want Luxa's cousin going along Hoas part of that Fount crowd, and who knew if he'd ever seen a rat -- besides that dead one on the beach?

"Apart frohter, he is well versed in the ways of water travel," said Solovet "We are most fortunate his visit coincided with yours"