Chapter 1

"No! Not my home." Gregor said with as much force as he could muster. It was still only a groan.

Howard's surprise sounded behind him. "You wish to return? I thought to get you as far from Regalia as possible."

Grunting again, Gregor said, "The Overland's fine. Just... not home. Mom… never let me come back... if she sees me like this."

"Then where?" Howard said.

Gregor thought for a moment. It was hard to make his sluggish mind do anything but fall unconscious. "My building, but… neighbor... Mrs. Cormaci."

"That is acceptable. If you know the way."

Gregor grunted once more. He knew the way, but he didn't have a key. If Mrs Cormaci wasn't home to let them in, he didn't know what they would do.

As they flew, Gregor at last became aware that Howard was smearing something on his back, something soothing. Within moments, he could no longer feel the pain in his back. It had disappeared and he could move and breathe much easier. He took a deep breath. "What did you do?"

"It is an ointment that numbs the pain. But it is only temporary. Hopefully it will last long enough to get you to this Mrs. Cormaci. I cannot carry you myself. You will have to help."

"Sure. Whatever." Gregor was just glad his back felt better. Even knowing it wouldn't last didn't bother him much. He sat up to see he was on Nike. "Hey, Nike."

"Greetings, Overlander. We are nearing the vent."

And they were. Before he knew it, Gregor was staring at a vent that had never seemed so small. "It's a good thing I can't feel my back right now," he said. "I'd never make it through if I could."

Howard went through the vent first. He took a minute to make sure the laundry room was empty before reaching for Gregor. "You push, I will pull."

It wasn't until then Gregor realized a third person sat on Nike's back. "Hi. I'm Gregor."

The man smiled grimly. "I am aware. I am called Nom. Greetings."

"Nice to meet you." It was a ridiculous thing to say, given the circumstances. But being polite was too ingrained in Gregor for him to ignore his manners. He reached for the vent, and felt Nom push from behind as Howard pulled him through.

He couldn't have done it if his back wasn't numb from his neck down. He felt the side of the vent scrape the skin of his back, but all he felt was pressure. He had to grab on tightly to Howard as it was.

His feet cleared the vent, and he was free. He still couldn't quite stand up straight, and relied on Howard more than he would like. But he had never been more glad to see the boring old laundry room in his entire life.

A thin light filtered through the windows to one side, showing it to be dawn or dusk. The halflight obscured them. Shadows bounced crazily at them from the dryer beside the vent.

Howard leaned into a half crouch to put his arm under Gregor's shoulder. "Let me help you, Overlander. I am stronger than I look. Which way?"

"Like you're going to our apartment," Gregor said.

The hour must have been early in the morning. Nobody was around yet. They just might make it without being seen. They headed for the stairs.

They did make it unseen for three floors. Then some lady heading out for an early morning jog met them on the landing.

Gregor immediately began singing like he was drunk. "Oh, take me out to the…" He lost the melody in a fit of giggles. "The… the… ball… something. Take me out to-"

To his credit, Howard didn't even blink, though as far as Gregor knew, he had never even heard of alcohol. "We are almost there."

"Thas guuuuuuuddddd," Gregor slurred. Then he started singing again. "Take m' ouch ta tha… thuuuuh..." The door to the bottom floor slammed behind the would be jogger. They were alone again. "Good. She's gone."

"What was it you did?" Howard said, shifting his shoulder a bit for a better grip on Gregor.

"I pretended to be drunk. That way whoever that was wouldn't look at us twice. I didn't want her seeing your eyes or something."

"Pretended to be what?"

"Drunk. You know, like I'd been drinking."

"Drinking… water?"

Oi, this guy had a lot to learn about New York. About America. The world.

"Nevermind. I'll explain later. The pain's starting again. Let's hurry."

They travelled the last two floors without seeing anyone else, and half staggered, half snuck out the fifth floor doorway. "Where?" Howard whispered.

"509."

Gregor passed his own front door with trepidation. Sometimes his dad watched the sunrise from the roof, but today all was quiet. They crossed to apartment 509, and Gregor knocked, hoping to wake Mrs. Cormaci and no one else.

To his surprise, the door opened immediately. Mrs. Comaci stood to one side already dressed like she'd been waiting for them.

"Gregor. Well, don't stand there gawking in the hallway. Get in," Mrs. Cormaci said.

Howard dragged him through and Mrs. Cormaci shut and locked the door behind them.

Once inside, Howard slowly lowered him onto the couch in the living room. He instantly dove into the first aid kit he was carrying in a bag slung over his shoulder. Gregor hadn't even noticed it.

"What happened?" Mrs. Cormaci asked as she carried a bowl already filled with water over to Gregor's side, towels under her arm.

"He was whipped by an angry mob," Howard explained.

Oh. So that's what had happened to him. Gregor hadn't seen a whip before. He'd only seen them in movies. No wonder he hadn't recognized one.

His back must look a mess. Whips left angry red welts, didn't they? He wasn't sure. It sure felt angry.

Before he could think too hard about what his back must look like now, he remembered to do introductions. "Howard, this is Mrs. Cormaci. Mrs. Cormaci, this is Howard. He's training to be a doctor. He's almost one already. I trust him. Howard, the pain's coming back pretty strong now. I don't know if I can-" He was going to say that he might not stay conscious when Howard poured something bitter down his throat. Gregor knew instantly that it must be whatever that medicine was that put people to sleep immediately. That was the last thing Gregor knew.

When he came to, the sun was completely up and Howard was wearing dark sunglasses as he sat in the armchair across from the couch. "Whattimeisit?"

A puzzled look fell over Howard's face, but Mrs. Cormaci's voice came from somewhere above his head. "It's three o'clock in the afternoon. Whatever he gave you sure packs a wallop." She moved into his line of sight and sat in the armchair near the window.

The fire in his back had dulled, but not completely disappeared. He wanted to ask for more of that numbing stuff Howard had given him earlier, but didn't want to seem ungrateful for the lack of pain he already had. Besides, Howard would have given him more of that stuff if it was safe.

So Gregor concentrated on Mrs. Cormaci's information instead of his back. "Three o'clock? Have I been here all day?"

"A day and a half," Mrs. Cormaci said. "Had to have time to get these sunglasses. Sake's alive, but he has sensitive eyes."

"You probably already had them," Gregor said sleepily. "How did you know we were coming?"

"The cards told me."

With that, Gregor knew that her tarot cards were more than just cards. Or else they were as prophetic as Sandwich. Gregor didn't know if he trusted in Tarot cards any better than Sandwich's prohecies. He was just glad for Mrs. Cormaci's presence, no matter the reason.

Gregor forced his attention back to Mrs. Cormaci. She was saying, "Ever since that meeting with your family, I've been doing readings on you every day. Wanted to be prepared, didn't I?"

Gregor tried to shrug his right shoulder, and he felt the pull of stitches. "Why am I stitched up? Don't you just have to… I don't know… clean whip cuts and they get better?"

"Whoever did the whipping did not know much about using a whip," Howard said. "The gashes were uneven in places. I did my best for you to have little scarring."

"This guy's a miracle worker," Mrs. Cormaci said. "Wish he was my doctor. What he'll do in a few years when he has more experience…" Her voice trailed off, but that said a lot.

"Yeah, he's a pretty good guy to have on your side." Gregor gazed at Howard. He looked weird wearing Overlander sunglasses and Underlander clothes. "Did they make it out, do you know?"

Howard didn't have to ask who Gregor was talking about. Luxa and Nerissa. "Yes. Ripred took them to the hospital and had them don medical clothes. He hid them in plain sight in empty beds. It worked well."

Hiding in plain sight? "He's a genius. I'll have to remember that one."

Howard grinned. "I will not tell him you said that. He is already self-important enough as it is."

Yeah, Ripred was as good a rat as Howard was to have… Gregor suddenly stiffened as he abruptly remembered something else. "Vikus! He thought I would… before I went-"

"At ease, Overlander," Howard said. "Vikus is aware."

With that assurance, Gregor relaxed, then chided himself for his stupidity. If Luxa knew his whereabouts, it made sense that so did Vikus. It must be the drugs that were making his mind so slow. He decided not to mention it.

Howard's gesture towards him halted any further comments anyway. "Your Overlander shirt is ruined."

That's when Gregor realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and he was laying on his stomach. "That's okay. It was just a long sleeved t-shirt I got from a second hand store."

Howard clearly didn't know what that meant, but Mrs. Cormaci did. "I'll get you another. What size are you these days?"

"Large."
"You're growing too fast, Mister," she said. "That girl down there won't recognize you soon."

Gregor felt a thrill at even this sideways mention of Luxa. "Oh, there's a thing in my pocket that we can hock that might help buy clothes."

He had forgotten about the necklace he'd shoved in his pocket in the museum, but now its bulk made laying on his front uncomfortable. He twisted to the side so Howard could pull the red necklace from his pocket and hand it to Mrs. Cormaci.

"Sake's alive." She studied the jewels winking in the sun and wolf whistled. "You'll get a pretty penny for this."

"But they're fake, aren't they?"

"If I'm not mistaken, these are rubies. Real ones. I'll take it in tomorrow to see what price I get."

"You should take Howard with you. Set him up with some Overlander clothes. Let him get the full experience."

That plan didn't suit Howard much. "I do not want the full experience."

"Hey, if I had to get it in the Underland," Gregor said, grinning, "you have to get it in the Overland."

"Maybe I should have left you in the palace. You are far too cheerful."

A reference to what had happened to him sobered Gregor right up. "What was going on there at the end?" he said. "I didn't see any of it."

"Ripred told Perdita at the hospital you needed help. He did not wish to mix with the humans, and stayed with Queen Luxa and Nerissa while Perdita took two companies to meet the mob." Howard shook his head. "They were not good soldiers. Perdita's forces took only minutes to subdue them."

"Subdue them, not kill them?" Gregeor breathed easier knowing this. "Good. I tried not to kill anyone either."

"Ah, that is why they got the best of you," Howard said. "I wondered how they had done it. I have seen you fight, after all."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't like it if I killed anyone who wasn't the Bane. Does Luxa know what happened, where I am?" The thought of Luxa beside herself with worry about him made his stomach do a flip.

"Be at ease, Overlander. She knows."

"At least, I told some fella about you," Mrs. Cormaci said. "Told a bat, too. Talking to a giant bat..." Mrs. Cormaci shuddered. "Glad I don't have to do that every day. Don't know how you stand to be on those things."

"They're not so bad once you get used to them," Gregor said. "I really liked flying with Ares."

Mrs. Cormaci didn't look convinced. "Well, I'll keep my feet flat on the ground, thank you very much." She leaned forward. "Gregor, I wish you'd let me tell your parents that you're here. They must be worried sick."

Gregor felt the guilt pull at his heart. Felt the weakening of his resolve. But then he thought of what his mother would say if she saw him in this condition. She'd demand to know why this had happened to her son. He had no trouble imagining what she would do then.

She would forbid him to go back to the Underland, especially to Regalia. It's not like she knew he could take care of himself. She had never really seen him fight. He'd been carefully hiding his scars from her since he'd battled the Bane. He'd sworn his father to secrecy. The less she knew about the reality of the situation, the better. If he told the truth now, he'd never get to see Luxa again. That was the reality he faced.

"No," he said, determined. "I'd rather actually be all right when I see them again. Dad said they could live another month on the money they had. Let's get the best price we can for the necklace and surprise them. That's a better idea. I'll stroll into the apartment loaded with cash and have the Underland to thank for it. With any luck, they'll never know what really happened." He realized this plan hinged on Mrs. Cormaci's silence. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Cormaci, but you have to swear to keep this secret. I hate doing that, but… I hate the idea of never seeing Luxa again even more." He turned his gaze on Howard. "You can never speak of this either, Howard."

Both Howard and Mrs. Cormaci looked green with discomfort, but both nodded their agreement.

Gregor relaxed once they indicated they understood his reasons. He snuggled into his pillow. "I don't think I want to live without knowing I'll see Luxa again someday. I've already tried that, and I was so depressed these last months. I don't want to do that again."

The confession made Howard give a resigned sigh. "Overlander, I thought you understood-"

"No, it's you who doesn't understand, Howard," Gregor said, calm but forceful. "I don't care if Luxa is a queen. I don't care if in one year we hate each other. I know that in the past the royal family of Regalia had to be careful about who they chose to spend their life with. You said as much. I know that you think we're both too young to feel the way we feel. I know that you and my mom and my dad think I'll come around. That this is only a phase. But it isn't. I don't know what Luxa and I can do to convince you that we love each other. If the Warrior isn't good enough for a queen, no one is." Then inspiration struck him. "Don't tell me - Sandwich made a prophecy about this, too."

Howard looked guilty and relieved at the same time. "In truth, Overlander, Nerissa thinks -"

"Don't tell me what Nerissa thinks, or what the Regalians think, or even what they're supposed to think. I want to know what you think. Do you think I honestly love your cousin?" Then he corrected, "And I'm not talking about Nerissa. Though I like her too. But I don't love her. I love Luxa. Do you think I do - or am I making all this up?"

Howard remained silent for several pensive moments. "No, Overlander," he quietly said at last. "I think you love my cousin." He indicated the couch and the reason Gregor was laying on it. "You allowed yourself to be whipped for her safety." His head fell to his chest. "I must give you an apology. Perhaps I was overbearing in my letters to you." He rose to his defense even as he lifted his head. "I only sought to protect her!"

Gregor's gaze pierced him. Was he telling the truth?

Did it matter?

"Whatever the case," Gregor said, "you should have asked her if she needed or wanted protection first." He smiled. "Then if she did, you could have come after the Warrior with a poisoned sword and a clear conscience."

Howard smiled too. "You are right, Overlander. She has the right to do as she sees fit. So do you. I have no say in the matter."

"I wouldn't say you have no say, exactly. If you thought I didn't have the best of

intentions, or that my behavior was not the best, then you should definitely interfere. Has either of us given you reason to worry on that score?"

"No," Howard said in a convinced tone. "She was depressed these last months as well. I did not like to see her thus, but did not know how to help her."

"Seeing her again at the hospital was like-" Gregor cut himself off, unable to vocalize how it had felt to see her again when he had thought he never would. "It was - heaven. Wonderful. Flowers. Spring. Nirvana." He smiled at Howard like a sap. "Perfect."

Howard wrinkled his brow. "What is this Nirvana?"

Gregor laughed, then scowled as the move pulled his stitches. "Ow."

Howard was beside him in an instant. "Are you in pain?"

Gregor wore his most sincere expression. "Yes. But Luxa's worth it."