Page 27 (1/2)

Chapter 27

"Hi, you," Gregor said, thinking he would never let go of her "Oh, hi, you! Where've you been, little girl?"

"I go swio ride Flutterfly," said Boots

"Okay, all right," laughed Gregor "That sounds great" He'd have to ask the others what happened "Hey, Te to the roaches, and then he realized so Before him stood six roaches with two perfect antennas each and six solid legs Maybe he was finally learning to tell them apart, because he knew, anyway, that none of them was Temp

"Where's Temp?" he asked, and six pairs of antennas drooped

"We do not know, not we," said one of the roaches "I be Pend, I be" Gregor turned in a full circle, just to be sure It was the rooround Tehtened his grip on Boots

About this tiuards His face lit up when he saw Boots "They have returned!" he said to Gregor

"Just Boots, Vikus I'or said, and watched the color drain out of the old man's face

Vikus turned to the roaches "Welcome, Pend Many thanks for the return of the princess Tell us, will you, tell us the fate of the others?"

Pend tried to fill him in, but the roaches knew very little A moth -- that must have been Boots's flutterfly -- had arrived in their land carrying Boots It had been flying in the Dead Land when it had discovered the little girl and Te in the rocks Teed the moth to take Boots back to the other crawlers Since the reed When the crawlers sent a party back to rescue Temp, he was nowhere to be found

"Did they hter?" asked Vikus "Queen Luxa?"

"Run you, Queen Luxa said, run you," said Pend "Many gnawers, there were Temp said no more"

Vikus reached out and fumbled with Boots's hair "Temp seepy," she said "He shut eyes I ride flutterfly" She looked around "Where Teor Sleeping like Tick was sleeping, probably

"Shh," Boots said, putting her finger to her lips

Someone had wakened Dulcet When she tried to take Boots out of Gregor's aror I will bathe her and bring her back directly," said Dulcet Since it was Dulcet, he o

He followed Vikus to the dining room, where they'd last eaten with Ripred, and they both took a seat Gregor tried to piece it together in his head

"It seems," Vikus said at last, "they did not perish in the Tankard"

"No," said Gregor "But Twitchtip was sure there ater between us, and they didn't answer Ares"

After a while, Dulcet caor held her on his lap while she gobbled up enough dinner for ten toddlers

"Boots," said Gregor, "you knoe saw the big" He didn't knohat to call those things "Serpents" wasn't a word she knew "Those big dinosaurs"

"I no like," said Boots "I no like dinosaws"

"Me, either," said Gregor "But remembertheht you and Teo?"

"Oh, I swi the top of her head

Gregor separated her curls with his fingers He could see little scrape marks on the delicate skin of her scalp Where had she been? Not in the Tankard "Was it a big pool, Boots?"

"Baby pool," said Boots "I buor suddenly re them to The one half under water If Luxa had dived for that tunnel and made it, the entrance soon would have been flooded with the waves churned up by the serpents Maybe that was the water between the in water, or Boots wouldn't have said she'd been swi? Then he re hers when she came in, but she had had it on at the Tankard

He told his theory to Vikus "Yes, so of that nature must have occurred But then they would have been trapped in the Labyrinth," said Vikus "Boots, did you see rats?"

Boots put her hand to her nose "Ow," she said At first Gregor thought she had hurt her nose, but when she said, "Bandidge No touch I no touch it Ow," he knew

"Twitchtip found them Or they found her," he said "Was it Twitchtip, Boots? With the bandage?"

"I no touch Ow," Boots confir her nose

"And then what happened, Boots?" asked Gregor "What did you do with Twitchtip? Did you see ive Boots ride Fast ride!" Boots said, but that was all they could get out of her

"They were attacked, no doubt, by gnawers Luxa told Teht with Aurora and perhaps Twitchtip," said Vikus "I aor was sure their odds had been next to zero, but he tried to be encouraging "Well, if they had Twitchtip, they could get out of the maze, Vikus Or maybe the rats wanted to keep them alive and took them prisoner Like they did my dad I or shouldn't have said that, because the idea of what the rats ht do to Luxa if she was their prisoner was alht of his dad, waking up screahtmares

Vikus nodded, but his eyes shone with tears

"The point isthe point iswe don't know," said Gregor "A lot of things could have happened to theive me? The last time I was here?"

"Hope," whispered Vikus

"Yeah Don't give that up yet, okay?" said Gregor

"I done," Boots said, pushing her plate off the table and watching with satisfaction as it banged to the floor "I done"

"Well, if you are done, Boots, hoould you like to go hoo home!"

"I can stay, Vikus Or I can take Boots hoor started, but Vikus cut hior No If they are dead, there is nothing any of us can do If they are held prisoner, it will likely be months before we can locate them In that time, who knows? They could reverse Nerissa's verdict and execute you If I have need of you, believe me, I will find soo home You have worries of your own there, yes?"

Well, yes Gregor had worries wherever he was

In about half an hour they were down on the dock, dressed in their own clothes, cli on Ares's back The only ones who had come to see them off were Vikus, Andromeda, Howard, and Nerissa

"Give or said to Andromeda

"Yes, Overlander He would wish you well also," said the bat

Gregor turned to Howard "If you hear anything about Luxa and the others, let ateways Ares knohich one Leave et word to you," said Howard

To his surprise, Nerissa tucked a scroll in his coat pocket "The prophecy So you can reflect on it soor shook his head "I don't think I can forget it, Nerissa But thanks" What did she think he was going to do? Take it hoht, a large package in the shape of a cuckoo clock, and a silk bag that held a heavy stone jar "Medicine," he said "For your father The instructions are written inside"