Chapter Seven
Wow. "Well that was unexpected," thought Gregor. He watched Luxa just talking to her parents, after so long. She was smiling, and laughing, and her hair kept falling into her eyes. They stood there for about five minutes, Howard and Gregor just smiling having seen Luxa so happy, and Aurora wasn't really sure where to go.
It reminded Gregor so much of the time when he and his father had finally returned. From his first trip to the Underland. That seemed like an eternity ago, when he had tried to escape from the palace and had run into Fangor and Shed. When he had taken the daring leap into nothingness, then suddenly feeling Ares appear underneath him, and the rescue. Him bonding with Ares.
And now he was gone.
But would they find him here? That was what was bugging Gregor. Ares had seemed unsatisfied with his life. Had he, indeed, attempted to get into the Golden Lands or had he instead decided not to take the risk and just went straight to Hades?
"Howard?" he asked. The doctor turned to him.
"Yes, Overlander?"
"What happens in Hades?"
Howard shook his head. "It's a tale, Gregor, but I will tell you if you must know. But I advise you to decline it."
Gregor nodded. "I can take it," he said.
"Very well then," Howard said, sighing. "It is said that they must live alone, not having anything to eat. They may even go crazy. Fire is all around them, and the air is full of sulfur, but yet they do not die. They live in a constant state of consciousness, but it is filled with pain. It is said to be worse than…worse than the plague was."
Gregor thought about it. He remembered seeing the huge purple welts on Ares' fur, and the patches of it that were missing. Ares, struggling to breathe as the plague took over his body. What could be worse than that? Gregor wondered.
Aurora brought him back to reality. "Overlander," she said.
Luxa was gesturing for Howard and Gregor to come to them. They began walking, and Gregor started wondering what he'd say. "Yo," wouldn't be too…Warrior-ish.
They stopped, and the pairs just looked at each other. Luxa stood off to the side between them, and kept looking anxiously from one group to another.
Up close, Gregor could see what they looked like. The man had the silver hair, of course, with a bit of stubble creating a mini-goatee around his mouth. He had kind eyes, and looked well built. Gregor resisted asking the man if he ran track.
The woman had the same shade of violet that Luxa did, and the same nose and face. She was just about an inch shorter than the man, and had the same kind eyes.
"Hi, I'm Gregor," he said, offering his hand to the man.
The man seemed startled for a moment, but recovered relatively swiftly. "I am Marcus," he said.
Gregor started at the mention of the bodyguard's name. Luxa giggled softly. The woman looked at her. "Luxa, what is it?"
"Oh, nothing mother," Luxa replied, her face still a little red from laughing.
"I'm Amina," the woman said.
Howard still stood there, not saying anything. Gregor figured he'd do the honors. Then he realized that they already knew who each other was, and he shut his mouth.
Amina seemed a bit uncomfortable with the current situation. "C—come, let's come inside," she said.
Gregor was curious as to what it looked like inside a house in heaven. The shack was simple, but it felt good. It was made out of all natural materials. Straw and reeds were tied together, and wood (again, Gregor wondered how these things got down here) supported it. Mud was used as a type of plaster.
They all sat down around a large stone table. It was awkward for a few moments, until Gregor asked the question that had been on his mind since he saw them. He hoped it wasn't considered rude, but he had to know. "So…who'd you have to battle to get here?"
Luxa shot him a glance. He guessed she'd considered it rude. "Sorry," he said.
Luxa's father just laughed. "It's fine, Luxa. He's just curious."
Gregor didn't really know what to say, so he didn't say anything at all. "It all began after we fought the rats," Amina said. "We suddenly appeared here, and this giant monster came up to us. He asked us if we wished to enter the Golden Lands or enter into Hades. We answered the first, and he told us we needed to battle someone."
Gregor started thinking. "I think we encountered that monster on the way in," he said.
Marcus nodded. "He smells only the dead. If the living comes this way, he leaves them alone until they are dead."
Amina continued. "We never thought it'd be him. But it was, so we had to fight. It was Ripred's older brother."
Gregor started. "Ripred has a brother?"
"Had a brother. His name was Flashtail. Very experienced. A rager, just like you,' she responded. There was a twinkle in her eye when she said that last sentence, and it sent a small shiver down Gregor's spine.
"So anyways, we battled him. He told us he'd let us in and wait for his brother. So he let us win, and we were allowed. We could hear his cries as we left."
A look of sorrow passed Amina's face, and her husband gave her a hug to comfort her. "We thought we'd have to wait an eternity," Marcus said.
"But now you're here," Amina said, and proceeded to break down crying. Luxa walked over to the two and hugged them back. Pretty soon it was a hugging and crying festival.
Gregor and Howard just sat there, pretending not to watch the display.
When it was finally over, Marcus apologized. "You must be tired. Come, we have rooms," he said.
When he got to the room, Gregor was surprised to notice that despite everything, the bed looked just like his own. He turned and glanced at Marcus, who was behind him, and began to ask the question.
Marcus interrupted him. "These are the Golden Lands. You are not dead, so you don't have full control over what you see and have here, but you at least have a bed that you like," he said, and walked out.
Gregor collapsed into his bed, thinking about the day's activities and the journey ahead of them.
Luxa came sometime during the night and kissed him. "I love you," she whispered, and left. Gregor fell asleep and dreamed of home, exhausted from the day.
