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Rotten as the prophecy was, Gregor supposed it could have been even worse On the good side, Boots and his ht make it out of the Underland alive It looked like Boots, as known to the giant cockroaches as "the princess," had so But the prophecy didn’t call for anyone else’s death
Wait, yes it did
When the or had witnessed in the last few days, he couldn’t i the or had spared as a baby, had grown up to be a vicious leader consumed with hatred and was at least soile rat pup into a iven the order to wipe out thewhat he would do next He had to be stopped In the Overland, heBut that wouldn’t be an option in the Underland Down here, he would have to be killed
"I guess I should get started Eat soht An army of rats would be here soon Ares had flown over the ready He knew he had to fight
But he seemed frozen in place, as if he had beco he’d seen on a field trip he’d made to the Cloisters in New York City It was an old museum filled with medieval stuff One rooe of the dead person carved in stone There was this one guy -- had it been a knight? -- who’d had his hands folded over the hilt of his sword In fact, he’d been lying in alor was in now "That’s or "That’s ood as dead" How perfect for Sandwich to have put "The Prophecy of Tior would have to be lying just like this to read it How perfect that the sword under Gregor’s hands had once belonged to Sandwich and would now carry out his visions How perfect and horrible the whole thing was
The door swung open softly and footsteps crossed to hior? How fare you?" said Vikus The old or felt He probably hadn’t had alian council, Vikus was overworked, anyway His wife, Solovet, who’d been in charge of the Regalian ar research that had created a plague, and Luxa, his granddaughter, was in terrible danger in the Firelands No, Vikus couldn’t be getting or evenly "Never better"
"What think you of ’The Prophecy of Time’?" asked Vikus
"It’s catchy," said Gregor, and slowly, painfully got to his feet He’d messed up his knee on this last trip
"I came in to remind you how easy it is to or pulled his sword from his belt and tapped the line about his death with the point of the blade
"This? You think it’s easy to misinterpret this?"
Vikus hesitated "Possibly"
"Well, it seeor
"Believe or, if there was any way I could take your place, fulfill this prophecy myselfI would do it in a moment" Vikus’s eyes filled with tears
Despite his own situation, Gregor had to feel sorry for him Life had not been particularly kind to Vikus, either "Look, I could’ve died fifty times down here already It’s a " If Vikus was this upset, hoould Gregor’s family react? He didn’t ever want to find out "Just don’t tell my mom about it Or my dad No one in reeor slid the sword back in his belt, Vikus reached for it Gregor instinctively covered the handle "It’s ave it to me," he said brusquely How quickly he’d become protective, even jealous of the weapon
Vikus’s face registered surprise, then concern "I had no thought of taking it, Gregor Only you or’s and gave the handle a twist "At this angle, you will avoid cutting your leg"
"Thanks for the tip," said Gregor "Well, I’d better go get this stuff off ofon the cliff,away at his skin
"Go to the hospital They have a salve for that," said Vikus
Gregor started for the door but Vikus stopped hior, you have deo, you refused to even touch that weapon Remember that even in war there is a time for restraint A time to hold back your sword," said Vikus "Will you do that?"
"I don’t know," said Gregor He was too tired to ht, he usually lost control of himself "I don’t knohat I’ll do, Vikus" He sensed the ansas insufficient, so he added, "I can try" Gregor left the rooht and ht not do
Down in the hospital he was i with soned to remove the ash fros, Gregor began to cough up a lot of junk he had inhaled over the last few days It took not one bath but three until the doctors were satisfied that he was free of the ash, both inside and out Then they covered his skin in a pleasant-sor could barely keep his eyes open He drank the broth in a bowl held against his lips He thought he sed soor grabbed the nearest doctor’s sleeve "I have to go fight!"
"Not like this," said the doctor "Do not worry Wars are not fleet There will beleft when you awaken"
"No, I" said Gregor But soht The sleeve slipped froor opened his eyes it took him a minute to realize where he was His hospital room was so clean and well lit after his days on the road He drowsily took stock of his body His skin had absorbed the lotion and felt soothed and cool His knee, which he had injured falling from a rock, had been wrapped and was less painful Soed nails He was dressed in fresh clothes
Suddenly he sat bolt upright, his right hand clutching the empty space on his left hip His sword! Where was his sword? He saw it almost at once, propped in the corner of the hospital roo from it Of course they had not put hierous And no one had stolen it Still, even the twelve feet that separated him from the weapon caused him unease He did not like it to be out of his reach
Gregor inging his stiff legs to the floor to retrieve the shen a nurse came in with a tray of food and ordered hiue with her, so he obeyed But after she left, he slid the tray onto the sheets, got the sword, and propped it right against the side of his bed Now he could eat
Food had been scant over the last days of the journey Sonored the utensils and scooped up the food with his hands, stuffing it into his-- tasted wonderful and he ate every bite He iping his finger around the pudding bowl, trying to get out the last bit, when his old friend Mareth came into the room
"You are allowed to have seconds," said the soldier with a sor or noticed he was doing a lot better with his prosthetic leg, but he still needed the help of a cane to walk "You slept for a full day How do you feel?" he asked Gregor, giving hior He hadn’t been injured badly on this trip Mareth didn’t need to look so concerned Then Gregor realized he was referring to the prophecy calling for the warrior’s death "Oh, you an to seep into his brain He pushed it away, still unable to deal with it "I’ave his shoulder a squeeze but didn’t pursue it Gregor was glad they didn’t have to have so talk about it "How’s Boots and Hazard and everybody?"
"Well They are well They have all been purged of ash Hazard is confined to bed until his head wound has healed fully But Howard’shas paid off He did an excellent job of stitching it," said Mareth His friend Howard and his bat, Nike Luxa and her bat, Aurora Ripred They were not safe and clean in the hospital but fighting to free the mice ere still alive in the Fir elands "Any word froor
"None," said Mareth "Two divisions of soldiers have been sent after them We hope to hear soon But our normal channels of communication are somewhat disrupted now that Luxa has declared war"
Luxa
Gregor felt the back pocket of his pants, but it was empty His old clothes had probably been destroyed He felt slightly panicked "I had a picture In raph off of the bedside table and handed it to hior Dancing Laughing Captured in one of the few really happy o at Hazard’s birthday party Gregor slid the photo into the pocket of his shirt "Thanks"
Mareth did not or was not sure how to put into words what had begun to happen between hi into an entirely different relationship
"My parents?" Gregor asked
"Your father has been told of your safe return A bat was sent to the Overland with the news as soon as you arrived He said to tell you that your grandmother and sister Lizzie are well," said Mareth Then he paused
"And or prompted him
"She has had a relapse," said Mareth
"You or anxiously
"No, no, but an infection of her lungs," said Mareth "She will reatly"
This was not good Whatever else happened, Gregor needed to get her home If he had to die, he had to die But that made it a hundred tiet back to New York City safely His parents and grandma and sisters had to have one another
The nurse brought another serving of pudding and left Gregor no longer felt so hungry He poked at the pudding with his spoon
"Where are the rats now? The ones Ares and I saw headed for Regalia on our way back?" asked Gregor "Have they attacked the city yet?"
"No The rats turned back to the Firelands when they saw our troops fly over," said Mareth
"What?" said Gregor in surprise
"I am sure they mean to bolster the Bane’s defenses," said Mareth
"You or’s mind suddenly cleared He had coht back the kids and the wounded to Regalia He had read "The Prophecy of Time" And most of all, he had taken possession of Sandwich’s sword His next step, he’d assualia froalia "This is bad," heat the walls of a well-fortified city was scary, but a rat ar out in the open washis face with pudding, while his friends were caught in a battle in the Firelands?
Gregor shoved his tray off of his legs so quickly that the bowls clattered to the floor He jurabbed the sword belt
"What are you doing?" said Mareth
"I’ht those rats"