Gregor lifted his torch to get a clearer view and began to read:
If Under fell, if Over leaped,
If life was death, if death life reaped,
Something rises from the gloom
To make the Underland a tomb.
Hear it scratching down below,
Rat of long-forgotten snow,
Evil cloaked in coat of white
Will the warrior drain your light?
What could turn the warrior weak?
What do burning gnawers seek?
Just a barely speaking pup
Who holds the land of Under up.
Die the baby, die his heart,
Die his most essential part.
Die the peace that rules the hour.
Gnawers have their key to power.
Gegor didn't know what it meant any more than he had understood "The Prophecy of Gray." But his mind snagged on one phrase that chilled him to the bone: Die the baby...Die the baby...Die the baby...Boots...
"Okay, I want to go through this whole thing. Right here, right now," said Gegor.
Vikus nodded. "Yes, I think it wise we dissect the prophecy immediately. It is not as cryptic as the first, but there are things you must know. Shall we begin at the beginning?" He moved to the prophecy and brushed his fingers over the first two lines. "You have fresh eyes, whereas I have read this thousands of times. Tell me, Gregor, what make you of this?" Gregor looked at the lines more closely this time...
If Under fell, if Over leaped, If life was death, if death life reaped,
... and realized he did know what they meant. "It's about me and Henry. I'm the Over, I leaped. Henry's the Under, he fell. I lived, and he died."
"Yes, and King Gorger and his rats also died, reaping much life in the Underland," said Vikus.
"Hey, how come you didn't tell me about this before? Then maybe I would have known what was coming!" said Gregor.
"No, Gregor, it is clear only in hindsight. 'llnder' could have referred not only to Henry, but to any other Underland creature, or the Underland itself. 'Over' could have been your father. Your leap may not have been a literal leap but a mental or spiritual leap. Henry's fall might have alluded to any variety of physical deaths, not to mention a fall from power or honor. In truth, a human Underlander literally falling to his death was not a popular interpretation. Henry never would have suspected he would die in such a way," said Vikus.
"Why not?" asked Gregor.
Vikus glanced at Ares and hesitated.
"Because he would have expected me to catch him," Ares said bluntly.
"Yes," said Vikus. "So, you see that the first prophecy was indeed gray to us, although now, of course, it seems as clear as water. Shall we go on?"
Gregor read the next bit to himself.
Something rises from the gloom
TO MAKE THE UnDERLAND A TOMB.
"So, something bad is coming. Something deadly," said Gregor.
"Not just coming. It is here, and has been here for some time. Only the rats have concealed it, even from their own. You will find more about it in the next stanza," Vikus said, gesturing to the next four lines.
Hear it scratching down below,
Rat of long-forgotten snow,
Evil cloaked in coat of white
Will the warrior drain your light? Gregor studied the lines for a minute. "It's a rat. A white rat?"
"The color of long-forgotten snow, for we do not get snow in the Underland. Although I imagine it to be very beautiful," Vikus said a bit wistfully.
"It is," said Gregor. "There's snow everywhere right now. It makes everything look better." It did, too, when it had just fallen. It covered up the dirt and the trash, and for a while the city looked clean and fresh. And then it turned to slush. "So, this white rat...?"
"It is the stuff of legends. Even when he lived in the Overland, Sandwich knew tales of the white rat. Historically, one will appear every few centuries, gather other rats about it, and create a reign of terror. It is remarkable in cunning, strength, and size," said Vikus.
"Size?" said Gregor. "You mean it's even bigger than the other rats down here?"
"Considerably so," said Vikus. "As legend has it. And at this point in time, the only thing that stands between this creature and the Underland is you. The warrior. You are a threat to it. That is why the white rat has been so carefully concealed. The rats do not want you to find it. But you also have a vulnerability." Vikus tapped the third stanza, and Gregor read on.
What could turn the warrior weak? What do burning gnawers seek?
Just a barely speaking pup
Who holds the land of Under up.
"Do you know what is meant by 'pup'?" asked Vikus.
"Ripred called Luxa and Henry pups once, when they wouldn't obey him," said Gregor. And suddenly he wondered how much the large, scarred rat who had helped save his father knew about all this.
"He undoubtedly said it sarcastically, and to remind them he was in charge. For, to rats, a 'pup' is a baby. The only baby we know of who is close to you is Boots," said Vikus.
Gregor felt his eyes pulled to the last stanza of the prophecy.
Die the baby, die his heart,
Die his most essential part.
Die the peace that rules the hour.
Gnawers have their key to power.
"So, they think that if they" — Gregor could hardly say it — "kill Boots, something will happen to me."
"It will break you somehow," said Vikus. "And if that happens, the rats will overtake the rest of us."
"No pressure or anything," Gregor said, but he felt very scared. "You're sure it's Boots?"
"As sure as we may dare be. Your closeness to her is well known. That you sacrificed yourself, that you leaped rather than let King Gorger kill her — this made a great impression on everyone. Can you think of another baby it could be, Gregor?" Vikus asked solemnly.
Gregor shook his head. It was Boots. And they were right about one thing: If they killed her, something in him would break. "So, why did you bring her down here? Why didn't you just leave her in the Overland, where she was safe?"
"Because she was not safe. And neither were you. The crawlers watch you night and day, to protect you," said Vikus.
The roach he had trapped in the mayonnaise jar that morning flashed before his eyes. "You mean the little ones?"
"Yes, they are in communication with the larger ones below. But the rats watch you as well. They have been tracking your family's movements since shortly after you left the Underland, waiting for a chance to take your sister's life," said Vikus. "It was not possible in your home. But today you ventured out with her very near one of the gateways."
"We went sledding in Central Park," said Gregor.
Then Ares spoke up. "The Overlander was chased in the tunnels by gnawers. He had to drop into the Waterway to escape them."
"Then the crawlers must have rescued Boots just in time. She was the rats' target today, Gregor," said Vikus.