"What is this you speak of?" said Vikus. "Show me at once!" Gregor heard word of the new prophecy spreading through the room like wildfire. A buzzing like that of angry bees quickly filled the room.
"Okay," said Gregor, taking a hesitant step toward the exit. He led Vikus—along with several members of the council—down the dimly lit halls to the wall where Nerissa had been standing. Gregor spotted Ripred Howard and Luxa, along with several other familiar faces. Gregor quickly located the freshly carved prophecy. There were still small piles of dust under the floor, along with little chips of stone from the carving above.
"Ah," sighed Ripred. "Just when I thought we were done with this nonsense, Nerissa had to go and write another prophecy. If you ask me, I could go my whole life without hearing another prophecy.
But no, the fate of the Underland...you all know the drill." Gregor caught Ripred's eye.
"I thought you were more sensible than that." He said.
"And I for one, thought," the rat said in low tones, "That you understood the lengths which I go to ensure action." So, this was another one of Ripred's plans...? Yes, as long as there were prophecies people believed, Ripred would use them to get what he wanted.
He had told Gregor in secret that he didn't believe in Sandwiches prophecies but only used them to get what he wanted, by finding a meaning that was beneficial to him. Gregor hadn't told anyone about this except his bond, Ares. Not that Ares was going to spill the beans on that one, what with the fact of him being dead.
Gregor missed the bat so much it was like having a constant stomach ache. When he had been with Ares, his fear of heights had been lessened; the bat always caught him before anything could happen to him. But now it was back, and worse than before. And he was back to having nightmares involving falling to his death. These had temporarily disappeared when he and Ares had been bonded. But now it was back. A night rarely went without some dream of this sort.
Gregor could remember the day he and Ares had bonded like it was yesterday. The underlanders had threatened to banish Ares for not saving his previous bond (his previous bond, Henry had sold out his friends to the rats in hopes of gaining power). Gregor had stepped in and asked Ares for the bond. He had stood before Ares and reached out his hand. It took the bat a few moments to understand what he was doing. And when he had understood, at last, he had been reluctant, saying he was not worthy. The bond itself was a simple ritual that the underlanders performed: the bat and the human stood face to face, and held hands (claws for the bats), and recited an oath to protect each other. And that's what they had done from that day on. Gregor couldn't count how many times Ares had saved his life.
"Well, 'Warrior', let's get this over with," grumbled Ripred, shaking Gregor abruptly back to the present day.
"Wha—?" he muttered, still half lost in thought. "Oh, right." As Gregor cleared his throat an eerie silence fell over the room. Gregor began to read,
"When the last battle has been won,
And time is turning back where once begun.
The Underlander requires more to thrive.
In the darkness, secrets hide. "
"A sign of peace, a tool of war.
A grave and then a dove once more.
Scars left by battle, now all you know.
For hope to soar it first must grow."
A quiet fidgeting sound began to fill the room. As he read on, the sound grew.
"To save all from an endless night,
Call the one who brings us light.
The coming years will prove and test.
And to pass he must lead a quest.
To gather light and ascend the tower,
A mission accomplished by those in power. "
Gregor cleared his throat before reading the last line. Dead silence fell across the room once more.
"Will he bring back life to all?
Or will the Underland all fall? "
For a few moments, there was a billowing, deafening silence. Then—
"We must decipher this immediately," said Vikus, breaking the stony silence. "Why bother?" thought Gregor. Didn't they realize that the fact that Gregor was still alive proved the prophecies meant nothing?
The members of the council burst into feverish discussion of the prophecy. Some were disputing over whether or not it was legitimate; none of the underlanders had as much faith in Nerissa's abilities as a Seer as they did of Sandwich. Others were trying to find a basic meaning.
"So, Gregor, what make you of this?" asked Vikus, walking over to him.
"Honestly Vikus, I don't really care," said Gregor. He knew he was being rude but he was too tired and worried about his dad to care.
"I think I'm just going to go to bed," said Gregor. His eyes ached with tiredness, and he just wanted to escape from all of this; at least for the night.
He quickly left the room and went in search of the room he had been staying in. Somehow in the few hours he had been away, he had lost all sense of where his room was located. As he wandered the halls looking for his room, a wave of fatigue and grief washed over him. For the past several days, all he had done was lie around, yet he was still exhausted and drained. His thoughts began to dwell on Angelina and his family. They must be worried sick. What with he and his dad missing. How would they explain that to their friends? To the school? His dad hadn't worked in weeks... Was Lizzie still going to school? And trying to explain his absence...?
Gregor yawned and stretched. Then shook his head. Maybe he should get someone to show him to his room. He asked a passing palace guard. The man pointed him in the right direction, and Gregor headed there as quickly as he could. He opened his door and surveyed his room.
In the time he had been cooped up in there, he had completely wrecked it: random pieces of clothing were strewn around the room, food containers from the trays the underlanders had brought him were littered about the place, his bed was a jumbled pile of spider silk, and the whole room had an unpleasant odor to it. Maybe tomorrow he would clean it up, but right now he was too tired.
He walked over to the bed, tried to punch the pillow into a more comfortable shape, then dropped into the bed. He tossed and turned for a few minutes before falling asleep. His sleep was interrupted by a strange dream. He dreamed he was astride his bond, the great black bat Ares.
"Why didn't you save me?" the image of Ares flashed before his eyes. "You let all your friends die!"
"Wait - what? What's going on?" asked Gregor in confusion. "Ares!"
A dull mist swirled around his bat's head. And then Gregor was falling through open space. Just as he hit the bottom, he jerked awake with a start. The memory of the dream was slipping away like water in his hands. Had it been his fault? Had everyone died because of him?
Gregor knew he wasn't being logical, but he couldn't help feeling terrible.
So many people he knew had died with him. Gregor rolled over and fell back asleep. When he awoke the next morning he had no recollection of the dream.