It was as if someone had splashed water in Emma's face and brought reality rushing back. Ever since she'd fallen through the hole in the wall, things had been happening so fast, it was all she could do to keep up with them. Now, in this momentary calm the words "New York City" came as a shock.
Yes! She was a girl who lived in New York City and had to be home before her mother got home.
"I have to get home right now!" Emma blurted out.
Her mom worked at a grocery store and usually got out right at five and was home by five-thirty. She'd be worried sick if she came in and found that she and Diego had disappeared. Especially after what had happened to her father.
We probably fell for about five minutes, and then ran with the roaches about thirty, and we've been here for about ten, she thought. If we get back up there in the next twenty minutes it should be okay. No one would think to look for them before that, and she could just take the laundry up and fold it in the apartment.
"Sir, I really have to go back home," she said to Vikus.
The old man was still examining her closely. "It is simple to fall down, but the going up requires much giving."
"What do you mean?" asked Emma, her throat tightening.
"He means you cannot go home," said Luxa flatly. "You must stay with us in the Underland."
"No thanks!" said Emma quickly. "I mean, you guys are all awesome and I'm sure that you're really nice, but I've got stuff to do…upstairs!" With that she grabbed Diego and bolted for the way they had come in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luxa raise her hand as if she was saying good-bye, but that wasn't right. Luxa wasn't friendly enough to wave.
If it's not a wave, then it's a signal! She thought, picking up her speed.
About ten yards from the doorway the first bat swept in front of her, knocking her flat on her back on the ground with Diego sitting on her stomach.
Every bat in the arena had dived for them. They flew in a tight circle around Emma and Diego, locking them in a prison of wings and fur. Each one had a ride as pale as Luxa, and they all seemed to have different shades of grey hair colors. They could be almost-white-silver, to almost black-grey, but none were the same.
Despite the close proximity and speed of the bats, none of the people had any trouble staying mounted. In fact, only a few bothered to hold on at all. One cocky-looking guy on a glossy black bat actually lay in a reclining position, propping up his head with one hand.
The riders couldn't take their eyes off the captives. As they flashed by, Emma could see their expressions ranged from amusement to outright hostility.
Emma pushed herself up and turned and glared at Luxa from the gaps in between the bats. She had one hand on her hip and was smirking arrogantly at the dark-haired girl. Emma narrowed her eyes and got to her feet. Diego tucked his arm around her knee and leaned against her. The circle of bats shrunk in even closer. "What? Like I'm going somewhere?" snapped Emma. She heard a couple of the riders laugh.
Luxa must have given another signal, because the bats peeled off one at a time and began wheeling around the arena in complicated patterns. Emma saw that neither she nor Vikus had bothered to move from where she had left them. She looked at the doorway and she knew it was pointless. Still...these people were a little too smug for their own good. Emma sprinted three steps for the exit before she whipped around and headed back to Luxa, catching her brother's hand on the way. Taken by surprise, the bats broke out of their formation and zoomed down, only to find themselves with no one to capture. They pulled up in an awkward clump, and while they didn't actually collide, Emma felt gratified to see several riders struggling to stay on their bats.
The crowd, which had been amazingly quiet since their appearance, broke out in appreciative laughter. Emma felt her confidence boost a bit. At least she wasn't they only one who looked like an idiot.
Luxa's gaze was icy, but Emma saw Vikus trying to suppress a smile as she walked up. "So, you said something about a bath?" she asked Luxa innocently.
"You will follow to the palace now," said Luxa crossly.
"Oh, can't it wait a bit?"
Luxa looked shocked and then her expression hardened. She flicked her hand, and her golden bat swept down behind her. Just as it was about to crash into her, Luxa leaped in the air. She lifted her legs straight out to the sides and touched her toes in a move Emma thought she'd seen cheerleaders do. The bat ducked under her, and she landed on its back easily. It arched up, missing Emma by inches. Then it righted itself in the air and sped out of the stadium.
Emma rolled her eyes and snorted. She felt angry with herself because, in fact, she had to admit that Luxa had impressed her.
Vikus heard her, and his smile broadened. Emma scowled at the old man. "What?"
"Will you follow to the palace, Overlander?" asked Vikus politely.
"As what, your prisoner?"
"As our guest, I hope," replied Vikus. "Although Queen Luxa has no doubt ordered the dungeon readied for you." His violet eyes literally twinkled, and Emma found herself liking the man in spite of herself. Maybe because he reminded her of her grandfather. She nodded. "Alright then. Lead the way."
Vikus nodded and waved her toward the far side of the arena. Emma followed a few steps behind him, towing Diego.
The stands were beginning to empty. High in the air, the people filed out through exits between their bleachers. Several bats still wove around the stadium doing aerodynamic maneuvers. Whatever game had been in progress had ended when Emma had arrived.
The remaining bats and riders were hanging around to keep an eye on her.
As they neared the main entrance of the stadium, Vikus dropped back and fell in step with her. "You must feel as if you are trapped in a dream, Overlander."
"I was thinking nightmare," said Emma evenly.
Vikus chuckled. "Our bats and crawlers—no, what is it you call them? Cockhorses?"
"Cockroaches," corrected Emma.
"Ah, yes, cockroaches," agreed Vikus. "In the Overland, they are but handfuls while here they grow so largely."
"How do you know that? Have you been to the Overland?" asked Emma curiously.
"Oh, no, such visits are as rare as trees. It is the Overlanders who come at times to us. I have met six or seven. One called Fred Clark, another called Mickey, and most recently a woman known as Coco. What are you called, Overlanders?" asked Vikus.
"Emma. And Diego. Are those other people still here?" asked Emma, brightening at the thought.
"Sadly, no. This is not a gentle place for Overlanders," said Vikus, his face darkening. Emma stopped, pulling up Diego short. "You mean you killed them?"
Vikus stopped and looked at her sharply. "We? We humans kill the Overlanders? I know of your world, of the evils that transpire there. But we do not kill for sport!"
"Today we have taken you in among us. Had we denied you, count on it, you would not be breathing now!"
"I didn't mean you…sorry, that came out wrong, I just didn't know how things happened here," stammered Emma. She mentally face-palmed. Nice first impression. "Would the roaches have killed us?"
"The crawlers kill you?" said Vikus. "No, it would give them no time." There was that expression again. What did it mean to give them time?
"But no one else even knows we're here," said Emma.
Vikus looked at her gravely. Concern had replaced his anger. "Believe me, child, by this time, every creature in the Underland knows you are here."
Ice gripped Emma's heart. "That's not a good thing, is it?"
"No, that is not in any manner a good thing."
The old man turned to the exit of the stadium. Half a dozen pale, violet-eyed guards flanked two gigantic stone doors. It took their combined efforts to push the door open a few feet and to allow Vikus to pass.
Emma led Diego through the doors and they closed immediately behind her. She followed Vikus down a tunnel lined with stone torches to a small arch filled with something dark and fluttery. She thought it might be more bats, but on a closer inspection she saw it was a cloud of tiny black moths. Was this what she had passed through when she stumbled into the stadium?
Vikus gently slid his hand into the insects. "These moths are a warning system peculiar to the Underland, I believe. The moment their pattern of flight is disturbed by an intruder, every bat in the area discerns it. I find it so perfect in its simplicity," he said. Then he vanished into the moths.
Behind the curtain of wings, Emma could hear his voice beckoning. "Emma the Overlander, welcome to the city of Regalia!"
Emma glanced down at Diego, who had a puzzled look on his face. "Go home, Em-a?" he asked.
She picked him up and gave him a hug. "Not know, buddy. We have to do some things first."
Emma took a deep breath and stepped into the moths.