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For a few es preoccupied theor shifted his weight slightly fro into his wrists He wondered if he could ask them to cut it loose or if that would be a major breach of court behavior Well, it orth a try

"Excuse es all looked at him in surprise

"Yes, Overlander?" said the woman

"Do you think you could untie us now? I'or "And they knotted the rope right over one of my squid-sucker sores You can't see it, but Ares's whole back is covered with open wounds fro mites that killed Pandora And Howard and Andromeda are pretty beat up, too"

Even if she said no, Gregor was still glad he'd spoken He wanted the for his death sentence -- that he and Ares and Howard and Andro their lives Suddenly he couldn't wait to testify

"Cut free the defendants," the head judge said, and turned back to her scroll

No one in the crowd dared object A guard cut all their bonds Gregor rubbed his wrists and glanced back to see that Hoas doing the same

"Did Mareth make it?" he asked

Howard's tormented face broke into a brief smile "Yes He will mend"

"I can't believe you kept hior He said "serpent attack" extra loud to make sure everyone heard, then turned back to the front before anyone could tell hiuard hurried into the rooe

"Very well," said the head judge "We will begin" She cleared her throat and read off the series of charges against the defendants The language was pretty complicated, but it all seeor hadn't killed the Bane, and nobody else had, either

The head judge finished the list of charges and looked up "We will now question those on trial"

"Can I go first?" It burst out of Gregor before he could stop it, but suddenly he knew he had to He could sense that Howard, Ares, and probably Androot up on the stand, they ht not be able to defend the over with the injustice of the whole thing

"Overlander," the head judge said fir a trial, especially one so serious in nature"

"Sorry," Gregor said, but he didn't hang his head or look away "What should I do if I have a question, raise ht?"

"Raising your hand should be sufficient," the head judge said, ignoring his lawyer question

He thought about raising his hand and asking if he could go first again But that ht seem snotty Whether it was because he had asked or because he was already slated to do so, Gregor was called directly to the stand He clined so people could see any twitch, any shift in the defendant's body language He felt very exposed

Gregor expected to be boes merely settled back in their seats and looked at hie "Tell us about your journey"

This threw him a little "Wherewhere do you want me to start?"

"Start froe

So, he did He told his story And every chance he got, he e the others on trial had shown When he got to the part at the Tankard, he said, "Ito fight hiht Andromeda, too, she knew that That's why they went ho me when I still had to kill the Bane?"

"And why did you not want theor had a moment of confusion "BecauseI don't knowbecause we needed to get Mareth back, for one thing And I didn't want a whole bunch of people in that uess I wanted my family to knohat had happened to my sisterand me, if I didn't come back And becausebecause" He spun back in his ulfed hiasp rose from the crowd at his insolence

"What do you mean, the Bane was yours?" asked the bat

"It was uy who's supposed to kill it? In the end, it was always or "And it was my call, who I wanted to take into that maze -- not yours" He paused "Anyway, if you kill Howard and Andromeda because they came back, that's just murder Nobody could have done better than they did"

He looked over to where the others stood It was hard to read Andros a little Howard's lips silently foror was pretty sure they were "thank you" Maybe he'd ument to keep them alive

"Go on with your story What happened after your coor took a deep breath This part was going to be harder He told about entering the Labyrinth, having to leave Twitchtip behind, finding the cone, and witnessing the bloody fight between Goldshard and Snare There was a reaction froor suspected they were happy that Snare was dead

Just then Nerissa appeared in the doorway, leaning heavily on Vikus's ar out of her hairdo There was not even the suggestion of a crown -- no tiara, no gold band -- on her head She kept squinting, as if she were in bright sunlight

It took Vikus and a pair of guards to help her up onto the throne She swayed slightly, even when she was seated, as if at any round

"Queen Nerissa, are you well enough to attend this trial?" the head judge asked in a neutral tone

"Oh, yes," said Nerissa "I have seen h I do not know the outcome"

This was the sort of stuff that ht to tell her to keep her visions under her hat Crown Whatever

"The charge is treason?" Nerissa said doubtfully, and Gregor realized she had no idea as going on

The head judge said slowly, "Yes, the defendants are on trial for treason"

Nerissa stared at an eive me I have only just awoken"

"Do you wish us to begin the proceedings again?" asked the head judge

"Oh, no, please continue," said Nerissa She knotted up her hands in her skirt, hiking it up above her knees Another braid sprang free from its pins and fell down the side of her face Her whole body was shaking

The head judge looked over at Vikus, who avoided her gaze and busied hi his cloak around Nerissa's shoulders

The queen gave hieez," thought Gregor She wasn't going to help their case any

The head judge turned to Gregor "So, after the fight between the gnawers, Goldshard and Snare What occurred next?"

Gregor tried to regain his focus "So, then, we heard a scratching in one of the tunnels, and we kneas the Bane But the tunnel was small; Ares couldn't fit into it I had to leave him in the cone I went down the tunnel; I was ready to kill it Then when I found the Bane, it started crying and calling, 'Mama,' and I uess you didn't know, or whatever, but I wasn't expecting the Bane to be a baby"

Nerissa flew to her feet "A baby!"

"Yeah, it was a baby rat," Gregor said, surprised she was even following along

She stu around the table, her skirt still twisted up in one hand while the other waved wildly "Oh, Warrior! Oh, Warrior!" she cried frantically As she lurched toward hi out of the way Right before she rabbed her by the shoulders The icy fingers of her free hand clutched the neck of his shirt

"Oh, you did not kill it, did you?" she said

"No, Nerissa, I didn't kill it," he said, totally baffled "I couldn't"

She heaved a huge, shuddering sigh and sank down to the ground at his feet, laughing in relief "Ohoh" She patted his knee reassuringly "Then we may all yet be saved"