"But what about the good rats, Luxa?" asked Hazard. "Like Lapblood. She saved Boots's life in the jungle. Or Ripred. My father said he was a good rat and he is Vikus's friend," said Hazard.
"Yeah, what about them, Your Highness?" said Gregor. This was exactly one of the things that had been worrying him the night before.
"You must be very careful with rats, Hazard," said Luxa. "It would take many years and many acts of loyalty for me to consider a rat my friend. They teach their pups to despise us."
"You do the same thing," said Gregor. "Or are we supposed to feel sorry for the Big, Bad Rat?"
"You really have no idea how much they hate you, do you, Overlander?" said Luxa.
That gave him pause. "I know most of them do," Gregor admitted. "But there are a few I would call my friends."
"I wonder, would they call you their friend?" said Luxa.
Gregor let the question hang there. If you came down to it, it was hard to imagine Ripred or Lapblood actually calling him their friend. The only rat who might do that was Twitchtip, but she had been driven into the Dead Land by her own kind because of her extraordinary ability to smell and then she'd hooked up with humans on a mission to kill the Bane. She was not really a representative rat.
Hazard began to yawn and they stayed quiet while he went to sleep. It was not until the boy began to snore gently that Luxa spoke.
"You are very angry at me about declaring war," she said.
"I think it was the wrong thing to do," said Gregor.
"It has to happen, Gregor. Everyone knows it. The humans and gnawers cannot live in peace. One of us has to leave," said Luxa.
"Ripred said there was peace sometimes, in the past," said Gregor.
"But only for short periods. It never lasts," said Luxa. "We may as well get it over with. Have the war that will answer the question of who stays and who goes."
"Goes where, Luxa? If the humans lose, are you coming back up to the surface of the earth?" asked Gregor.
"I do not know. More likely, we would be forced into the Uncharted Lands, those beyond the edges of our maps. Perhaps, after some trial, another home could be found," said Luxa sadly.
"And if the rats lose, the ones who survive have to go into the Uncharted Lands?" said Gregor.
"I might keep Ripred around. As a pet," said Luxa.
Gregor had to smile. "A pet, huh?"
"Of course. I'd put bows on his tail and feed him shrimp in cream sauce and let him sleep by my pillow," said Luxa.
"He'd love that," said Gregor. He was laughing now. Something about the image of Ripred with bows on his tail.
"I had a pet lamb once and it was quite agreeable," said Luxa.
"Maybe you can teach him tricks," said Gregor.
"Maybe," giggled Luxa. "How to fetch and come when I whistle. My lamb could even jump through a hoop."
"It may take some time, but I'll bet he could learn that," said Gregor.
"Oh, yes, Ripred is very keen," said Luxa. She leaned against Gregor's backpack. He could feel her shaking as she laughed. After a while, she relaxed, but she didn't move away. She rested her head on the top of his shoulder, and he could feel her hair against his ear. It was nice. He sat very still, not wanting her to move away. Not wanting to think about wars. Or going home. Just wanting to sit close to her, in peace and quiet.
They flew a long while like that. The air grew warmer and a bad smell reached his nose. Like rotten eggs ... that must be sulfur ... and smoke. "We must be near the top of Hades Hall," Gregor thought. "Howard said the air would get foul as we came to the Firelands."
Aurora banked for a curve in the tunnel and at that moment the fireflies blacked out. Gregor could still see some, though. For a moment he was confused and thought they might be in the jungle. As his eyes adjusted to the dim reddish light, he realized they had left Hades Hall and entered a whole new world. It was like flying over some far-off planet. It was impossible to tell how long the cavern was, but it was only about twenty feet high. The ground was desolate, pitted with craters, covered with an ashy dust that swirled up in small clouds and then settled down again. It did not seem that anything could survive here.
But something was very much alive. Gregor could just make out the creatures' backs a few hundred yards away. They were rodents of some kind. A number of small ones were gathering around a gray figure, which towered over them. At first Gregor thought they had caught up to the mice and one of their rat guards. Then the gray figure gave a shake, freeing itself of a layer of ashes and revealing a pearl-white coat.
CHAPTER 16
Aurora made a sharp turn and they landed in a hollow space in the wall to their right. It was barely deep enough to be called a cave, but it did shelter them from the rats' direct line of vision. Ares and Nike were quick to join them.
"The dust should prevent them from smelling us," said Howard.
Gregor could hear the crowd of rats he had seen talking. But there were no angry cries to attack.
"And they must not have seen us," Gregor whispered.
"No," replied Aurora. "Their eyes are fixed upon ... upon ... is it him?"
"Yeah, that's the Bane," said Gregor, sliding off her back. Howard and Luxa joined him as he peered around the stone opening to get a better look.
"Let me see!" said Boots, lighting up her scepter.
"No, Boots! We need it to stay dark." Gregor quickly confiscated the scepter and slipped it into his backpack. "I'll give it back soon," he promised.
"He is enormous," said Howard.
"He's even bigger than the last time I saw him," said Gregor.
"What? When he was a pup?" asked Luxa.
Of course, they didn't know about his meeting the Bane beneath Regalia. He hadn't told anyone. "I'll tell you later," he muttered.
Luxa scowled. "Maybe you should tell us now. Have you seen him — ?"
But Howard cut her off. "Hush, he means to speak."
The Bane had leaped up onto a shelf of rock before the other rats. "Gnawers! Gnawers!" called the Bane. "I beg a moment of your time!" His voice had matured since that day Gregor had watched him fight with Ripred. It was low and deep and commanded attention. At its sound, more rats appeared out of the wasteland and joined those already assembled, swelling their ranks to several hundred.
"A moment of your time, to give you my thanks," said the Bane. "For being here. For standing beside me. Because what am I, what are any of us, if we stand alone?"
The rats had settled down now and were giving the Bane their full attention. The white rat lowered himself onto all fours and began to pace back and forth before the crowd. His manner was almost casual, his tone philosophical. "I know what we once were. The unquestioned rulers of the Underland. And I know what we have been of late. Weak. Hungry. Diseased. At the mercy of our enemies. Tortured by humans, and mocked by creatures who in the past would not have dared to look us in the eye."
A murmur ran through the crowd.
"We've never been liked," continued the Bane. "But we were always feared. Until Gorger died. When the others stopped fearing us, .they stopped respecting us as well. Does it bother you when the crawlers laugh as they strip our rivers clean of fish?"