Chapter 4

The next day Gregor and Luxa went with Howard and Mrs. Cormaci to the same hospital they'd visited before. Howard and Luxa both wore dark sunglasses, hats, and heavy winter coats over borrowed Overlander clothes. Luxa kept tripping over the old pair of his mom's tennis shoes she'd borrowed. She wasn't used to the way the rubber soles gripped the sidewalks. But Howard acted like an old pro at navigating the Overland. He didn't even get stuck in the hospital's revolving front door.

Once inside, they were immediately surrounded by people wearing medical scrubs, people in wheelchairs, people pushing wheelchairs, people on wheeled gurneys, and people talking in hushed voices indicative of hospitals and churches.

Howard started dancing on the spot. "Was I not right, cousin? Is this not amazing?"

Before Luxa could say anything, a nurse pushed a patient in a wheelchair through the special accessible exit near the revolving door. Luxa gaped. "She pushed that button and the door opened. By itself!"

"See?" Howard said, grinning. "Wondrous, is it not?"

Gregor tried to hurry them through the front lobby before they started attracting the unwanted attention of the security guards. "Where does your niece work?" he asked Mrs. Cormaci.

"Fifth floor," Mrs. Cormaci said. "She works mostly with stroke patients who can't talk."

Luxa said, "Like Vikus?"

"Exactly!" Howard said. "We might help Vikus! Gregor, you must -"

But Gregor wasn't willing to wait for Howard to elucidate on the wonders of the Overland in the middle of a busy hospital lobby. "Let's go this way. There's the elevators."

Getting Luxa on the elevator was another job. "It's like flying on a bat, only straight up." He held out his hand. "Trust me."

Luxa put her mittened hand in Gregor's. "I am glad you are well enough to be here." He pulled her onto the elevator, then dropped her hand to push the button. "I do not trust Howard as much."

Howard's grin turned to a frown. "The feeling is not mutual,"

"I only tease," Luxa said with a vibrant smile. "You are so excited you might dance away and leave me."

Did that mean she thought Gregor would never leave her? Wasn't that a bit personal? "Well," he said uncomfortably. "I'll keep Howard here. Promise."

Mrs. Cormaci grinned. "Sounds like a yes to me."

Gregor scowled. She was enjoying teasing him about his feelings for Luxa a little too much for his taste. He jabbed his finger hard onto the number five button.

Luxa jumped back. "The door shut by itself! And we move!"

Now that they were alone, Gregor grinned. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I am a queen," Luxa said. "I have no fear." She looked around the small elevator in awe. "I am a queen," she whispered, as if to convince herself.

Wanting to comfort her but not look like he thought she needed comfort, Gregor took her hand, resolving not to let go again. They rode up five floors in silence. Mrs Cormaci grinned as Gregor held tightly to Luxa's hand.

"You're back!" a girl in a ponytail greeted them near the nurses station once they left the elevator on the fifth floor. "You're in luck. I'm on my way to see Mr. Grizzner. He doesn't speak at all yet. Follow me, and you can watch our session."

He didn't know who this Mr. Grizzner was, but Gregor fell in behind Mrs. Cormaci as Howard danced next to the girl all the way down the white hall.

Mrs. Cormaci said, "Sarah, this is -"

"I am Howard, from yesterday," Howard cut her off in his excitement.

Sarah smiled. "I remember."

"And this is my cousin, Qu - Luxa." Howard gestured to her. "And Gregor."

Gregor waved. "Hi."

"And you know me," Mrs. Cormaci said. "How's my brother?"

Sarah laughed. "You always call Dad 'my brother.' Call him David. He said so."

Mrs. Cormaci grinned. "That's funny. His name's Gavin."

"It's just up ahead," Sarah said. "Room 509."

"Like where La Bella Cormaci lives," Howard said.

Sarah laughed. "What?"

Howard gestured to Mrs. Cormaci. "That is what Rip… a friend calls her."

Gregor had told him that Underland names would sound strange here, and not to say them if he could help it. Now Gregor was glad he'd been so cautious. Sarah gave Howard a strange look anyway.

"Maybe we shouldn't all crowd into the room," Gregor said, hoping to distract them.

"Maybe you're right," Sarah said, mercifully distracted. She glanced at them, then up the corridor, a thoughtful frown wrinkling her forehead.

Gregor said, "Why don't Mrs. Cormaci and I stay in the hall? We've seen this before. You and Luxa go in," he said to Howard.

"Very well." Howard held the door to room 509 open. "Sarah. Cousin."

They disappeared, Luxa with an only slightly doubtful look on her face.

Gregor faced Mrs. Cormaci. "This is really nice of your niece."

Mrs. Cormaci laughed and said, "Sarah's real patient-like."

"It's a good thing." Gregor grimaced. "I bet Howard's just one question after another."

Two hours later they had attended the speech therapy session with the ever patient Sarah, shadowed a doctor on her morning rounds, ate lunch in the hospital cafeteria, spoken to the lady who maintained the hospital's wheelchairs, and visited the gift shop. They were heading back to the apartment building when Luxa grabbed Gregor's hand. She pointed towards a frozen lake in the park across from the hospital where groups of skaters glided over the surface of water.

"What do they there?"

"On the lake? They're ice skating.

Luxa stopped walking, puzzled. "How stay they up?"

Gregor grinned. Skating must look astonishing to her. She had never seen frozen water before. "The water's hard, like stone. Like from a glacier. Like with Mareth and the pure water."

"Hard like stone?" Luxa said doubtfully. "They do not fall?"

"Well, it's slick, so they fall all the time, but they don't fall in."

Astonished, Luxa said, "The water holds them up when they fall?"

"Yep." Gregor's grin grew even bigger. "They wear special shoes that glides over the ice and helps you stay balanced, but it doesn't cut through the ice. Sometimes you fall anyway, no matter what shoes you're wearing."

Luxa turned shining eyes towards Gregor. "Can we see this ice up close? Before we leave?"

Howard and Luxa were planning on returning to the Underland later that afternoon, and had to get their things ready. "You go," Howard said. "Mrs Cormaci and I will get everything ready."

"You know the way back?" Mrs. Cormaci asked.

"Yeah," Gregor replied.

"You got money?" Gregor nodded. "Subway tokens?" Gregor took two tokens from his pocket to show Mrs. Cormaci. "Well, okay then. Meet us back at the apartment in an hour."

"An hour." Gregor looked at his watch and marked an hour from then. Then he grabbed Luxa's mittened hand, hoping Boots wouldn't feel left out when she heard Gregor had gone skating without her. But sometime in the very near future she would have to get used to Gregor being alone with a friend without her. He figured it might as well start right now.

So, he was going to be alone with Luxa. Alone. With Luxa. A girl. As in on a date. A real date. Without Howard or Boots or Ripred or Aurora or a war hanging over their shoulders.

Well, this was weird. And awkward.

A head shake later, Gregor had told himself to grow up. This was no girl. This was Luxa. He'd known her for… Well, only for a year, but it felt like much longer. They'd been through so much together. So many awful things. A little skating wasn't a big deal.

"It doesn't hold a candle to starting a war," he teased. "But it'll do."

"You're sure I will not drown?"

"If you do, I'll save you," Gregor promised and pulled her across the street. "You know, further down is the Central Park entrance to the Underland. I'll show you."

They crossed the street at the crosswalk, Luxa goggling at the walk signal, then headed for the lake. There were lots of people heading to the lake too, and just as many heading back, some with skates in their hands. "It'll be busy since it's Saturday."

"What means this Saturday?"

"It's the weekend. The free day. The no work day."
"Oh yes, you told me of this when… I do not wish to discuss that. I have no wish to ruin what time we have. We may not see each other again."

Gregor knew she was referring to the time from before. When they'd thought their picnic to Ares's cave would be the last they'd ever see of each other. "We were wrong, that time," Gregor said. "And we're probably wrong this time. You won't ruin anything.'" And he smiled a big smile.

Luxa smiled back. Just like that, they were two kids on a daring adventure.

"Come on," Gregor said. He pulled on her hand. "Let's run."

They left the sidewalk to plow across the snow-covered ground. "What is this? It is difficult to walk through."

"It's snow."

"Snow? Not ice?"

"No, ice is smooth, shiny." He could see that Luxa didn't get it. "You glide on it. Come on!"

They paid for skates at a rental stand, but Gregor set the skates aside for now. "It's better to start off in your shoes. You won't fall so often." And he stepped onto the ice. "See, it's stiff. It'll hold you up, no problem."

Luxa was reluctant to join him at first, but after her first few steps on the frozen lake, she gained confidence. "It is stiff. Hard."

"Cold," Gregor said. He scooted backwards, holding Luxa's hands.

Luxa paused for a moment, peering intently downward. "It is clear. I can see… is that me?"

Gregor grinned again. "Yeah. Pretty, aren't you?"

"Are not all queens pretty?"

"No. Just you."

Luxa smiled at Gregor. "I like this happy way you are now."

Gregor shrugged. "This is fun. Besides, I like doing things with you." Ripred would never let him hear the end of this if he ever found out.

"Do not hurt yourself. If you pull out your stitches…"

"Howard will sew me up again."

"It is not you I worry about. He will sew you, but never stop being angry at me."

"So you're really worried about yourself."

"That is not true." Then she considered. "Yes it is true. But not all of the truth."

Gregor smiled, glad this date stuff was proving to be easier than he thought it would be. "So, what do you think of this marriage thing that Howard mentioned?"

A thoughtful look crossed her face. "We must first take many things into account."

Gregor shook his head. "Not really."

She frowned. "You said we must listen to the others."

"Yeah, I still think that. And it might solve some problems. But what do you think?"

Luxa looked pained. "We are so young."

"Too young to know our own minds?"

"No. Not that young," she said gently. "It will upset many."

"And help many, I know," Gregor said. "But is it something you want to do?"

Luxa gave a shy grin. "It is not an unpleasant thought."

Gregor couldn't hold back the smile that lit his face. "No , it isn't." They stopped sliding on the ice to simply grin at each other. Finally Gregor said, "By the way, look where we are."

Luxa turned her head to the side to see where they'd left their skates… twenty feet away. "Oh!" She immediately lost her balance and fell, pulling Gregor down with her. He landed on top of her.

"Oof!"

Luxa gave another squeal. "Oh!" She gave a pensive pause. "It is hard!"

"What? You didn't believe me?"

"We have no boat, but I do not sink! How is this possible?"

"I told you, it's ice." He rolled off of her. "Let's go back and put our skates on. That's a lot harder."

But Luxa couldn't stand up now that she was down. Gregor ended up pulling her across the ice to their skates still laying on the shore. "Sit here. I'll lace up your skates. Don't bunch up your toes. Skates have to be really tight."

They spent most of the hour inching their way around the frozen lake, Gregor skating backwards so Luxa could skate forwards. She had lost any confidence she'd gained from earlier, obviously scared she would fall again.

"Don't be scared. Or so stiff! You're as bad as Boots!"

"Boots can do this?"

"She can now. I had to hold onto her for a long time before she learned."

"It took her how long?"

"She's only three, so she mostly skates on just her shoes. But they make double bladed skates for the really young. They're easier than single bladed skates like you're using."

Luxa glared at him. "You did not start me on them?"

Gregor smirked. "I wanted to watch you fall on your butt."

Luxa instantly pulled Gregor down. "Now I watch you fall on your butt."

"Hey! That hurt!"

"Do not worry. Howard will sew you up."

Gregor would have glared at her, but the smile she gave him then made it impossible to be angry. "That's not fair! I can't stay mad at you!"

"I know."

"Just for that, I think I'll leave you here."

"I can command you to stay."

"You would never! Besides, I thought we'd already settled that. I'm not one of your subjects."

She grew serious. "If we marry, you will be."

Gregor thought about that. "I'll have to move to the Underland." He would have to move away from Mom and Dad and Lizzie and Boots. "Wouldn't I? Have to move, I mean?"

"Yes, that would be easiest."

He stared at her. "Does that mean I'd move in with you?"

"And Hazard. Is that all right?"

How would he visit Grandma? And Boots? "I'd miss Boots growing up. And Lizzie."
"They could visit." She sounded doubtful even as she said it. "Would it be so bad?"

Suddenly Gregor smiled. "I wouldn't have to go to school anymore."

Luxa smiled with him. "You would have tutors."

"Like you did? You and -" He didn't want to say the name.

But even a near mention of the cousin she'd lost didn't cast a shadow on this day. "I suspect you would do better than he did."

"Yeah," Gregor agreed shyly. "I would never find the Underland boring. Creepy maybe… but never boring."

Luxa laughed.

"You don't laugh often."

"There is not much to laugh at these days."

Gregor decided to take his life into his hands and said, "We'll have to change that."

Luxa burst out laughing. "I dare you to try, Overlander!"

Luckily no one was near enough to overhear them when she said that, or he'd have had some explaining to do. "It's time to head back, so let's get out of here."

"So this is flirting," Gregor thought as he helped Luxa take her skates off and put her shoes back on. "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be." Ripred would be proud of him. After he stopped teasing him. No, it would be better to not even tell him.

They left the park holding hands and crossed the street again at the light, then proceeded into the subway station where Luxa tried not to gape at the automatic doors on the train. "I forgot to show you the Central Park entrance to the -" He stopped himself ust before saying the word 'Underland.'

"It does not matter," Luxa said. "It was a wonderful time, anyway."

They were still holding hands, bumping hips as they emerged from the underground station when it happened.

Five tall teenage boys sauntered right up to them, breaking their hold on each other. Two of the boys immediately backed Luxa into an alley while the other three headed off Gregor.

"Aww! Holding hands! Wike widdul kwids. How cwoot!" one said in an awful form of baby talk. His manic grin slid away. "We'll show the babies how we do things here. Rod, grab his arms."

One of the three surrounding Gregor pinned his arms to his sides. The two continued to shove Luxa towards the alley. "We got this one, Blade."

True to his name, the one called Blade pulled a knife from his jeans and snapped it open. "Got any money?" he sneered at Gregor.

The minute they'd touched him, Gegor could feel his rager blood pulsing. The splintering effect had already started, but he pushed it down. Trying to calm himself, Gregor played it cool. "Sure. Take the money. But leave us alone."

Blade laughed. "Think we'll let you off that easy, kid? Think again. Gonna have us some fun first."

Gregor heaved a deep breath, going for that calm feeling again. But it was hard with two big guys threatening Luxa like that.

Though Luxa didn't need any help. Gregor knew that. She had started a war, after all. Punks wouldn't even register on her radar.

When she moved, it was fast as lightning. She kicked out hard, her foot connecting with the shin of the boy nearest her. At the same time, she yanked down on the second boy's hand and twisted.

The kick caught the first boy by surprise long enough for her to deal with the second boy. She forced him to crash into the first boy, who lost his balance. The second boy doubled over in pain while Luxa kept up enough pressure on his wrist to force him down. He gave a yell and fell with a thud.

The noise surprised the other three into looking at him, leaving Gregor a split second to act. He threw off the arms pinning him, punched one in the throat, karate chopped another at the side of his neck, twisted the head of one of them, kicked the feet out from under the third, elbowed one in the stomach, plowed his hands down on one's back, twisted again to do another neck chop with his fingers, squeezed hard on the throat of another, and swished the legs out from under the third until all five boys lay unmoving on the ground. The whole thing had taken less than three seconds.

"Holy shit."

Surprised, Gregor looked right into the camera of a cell phone.

"How'd you do that, man?" The boy holding the phone sounded impressed.

He'd filmed the whole thing. As if he'd known ahead of time that that scene would happen. As if Gregor and Luxa had been targeted the second they'd emerged from the subway station.

The whole thing had been filmed on purpose.

A man passing by had stopped and bent over one of the boys laying on the sidewalk. He tilted the boy's head, and his hand came away covered in blood. Then he felt for a pulse. The man stared at Gregor, shock on his face. "This one's dead."

He'd killed him? But that didn't make sense. Gregor knew he hadn't struck any of the boys hard enough to kill them. The boy must have hit his head on something and that had done it. But he also knew that no police person would believe that. They would never listen to a...

Gregor's blood froze. He had killed a boy. Then he had stared right into that phone camera, so identifying him wouldn't be hard.

Disregarding the fact he'd dropped his gloves and lost his scarf, Gregor grabbed Luxa's hand. "Let's go!" He and Luxa took off running down the sidewalk.

"They attacked us!" Luxa panted beside him. "Why do we run away?"

"I killed one of them!"

"But you have killed before… why run away this time?"

"Because! Oh this is bad!"

Luxa yanked on his arm. "Gregor, stop!"

"No! Don't you get it!" Gregor urged Luxa through the open door of the apartment building. They dashed up the stairs, taking them three at a time. "They'll never listen to a twelve year old boy they know is a murderer! That guy filmed the whole thing! I looked right at him! They'll know who we are in an hour!"

"But those boys were in the wrong! They attacked us!"

"It doesn't matter! Look Luxa, I know how things work up here! It won't matter that you're a queen. It won't matter that you're just visiting. It won't matter that they attacked us first. What matters is they won't understand a thing about me being a rager! All they'll care about is that at least one of them is dead and it's my fault!"

They hurtled out of the fifth floor landing into the empty hallway leading to Mrs. Cormaci's apartment.

"I will tell them the truth," Luxa said, as if that would solve everything.

"It won't do any good, trust me." Gregor pushed her down the hall ns pounsws on the door to apartment 509. "We've got to get out of here."

Mrs. Cormaci answered Gregor's frantic pounding. "Mrs. Cormaci, you gotta help us!" Gregor shoved Luxa through the opening.

Mrs. Cormaci leapt aside so she wouldn't be flattened by the two. "Land sakes, what's wrong?"

"These boys… they attacked us… three went for me, two for Luxa. I tried… but killed…" Gregor was panting too hard to continue, so Luxa took over.

"One had a knife," Luxa said in an eerily calm voice, as if she talked about these kinds of things every day. "He asked for money. And some fun. I do not know what that means."

Mrs. Cormaci looked grim. "Nothing good."

"They grabbed Gregor's arms. I kicked one. I twisted the other's arm and pulled him to the ground. He yelled loud enough to make the others look, and Gregor threw off their arms and… I do not know what happened then. He moved too fast."

"I killed one of them is what happened!" Gregor had regained his breath by then, and turned to Mrs. Cormaci. "Some guy filmed the whole thing, and I looked right at the camera. They'll know who I am in an hour. Less. We gotta get out of here."

Howard appeared from the living room. He had changed back into his silky Underlander garb. He smiled at them in welcome. "Overlander!" Then he caught sight of Gregor's and Luxa's dishevelled appearance. "It goes poorly?"

Gregor grabbed Howard's arm. "We gotta go and I'm going with you." He twisted away, but Howard resisted.

"Be at ease, Overlander! You will rip out your stitches."

"No time!" Gregor said. " , you gotta tell my family what happened. Tell them where I am. Tell them I'm sorry. Tell them…" But Gregor couldn't put it into words.

He didn't need to. Mrs Cormaci understood. She helped Howard grab his medical equipment and pack it into his first aid bag. "Don't worry. I'll tell your parents. I'll give them the money, too. Now get going. You can leave through the laundry vent." She pushed them towards the door, not even giving Luxa time to change back into her Underlander clothes. "Take the stairs. I'll see to your family. Go."

They were down the stairs in seconds, in the laundry room in another, and at the vent. Gregor poked his head through it to yell, "Nike! We need you!"

Responding to the urgency in his voice, Nike appeared instantly. "I was flying around in case you called. Do you require...?"

"Yes!" Gregor interrupted. "Take us out of here, as fast as you can!"

"Then drop, Overlander."

Gregor took a split second to appreciate hearing those words again, then hurtled through the vent. He felt the stitches tear away as his back scraped the side of the vent, but he didn't care. He took one breath, then he landed with a thump on Nike's broad back. Luxa landed right behind him, and Howard followed.

"Where to?" Nike purred.

"To Regalia," Gregor said. He hoped things had calmed down in the city of humans and they would let him back in, even though he'd said what he'd said about Sandwich.

Nike clearly didn't understand. "There is trouble in the Overland?"

"You bet there's trouble."

"Then hang on," she said. "We go to Regalia.

"To Regalia. That's right. Because… I'm going back."

The End