Chapter 19

"Nyx, what ails you?" Stellovet rushed to her bat's side. But Nyx ignored her. She just stared at Ares, her brother's body. Finally she pulled her head away.

"It was YOU!!! My brother, he is dead because of you! I just KNEW Henry was a better match with him! You led my only living family member to his death, and now I am ALONE!!!" Nyx screamed at Gregor, taking air and lunging at Gregor with her deadly claws. Gregor's hand immediately went for his sword, but it wasn't there! He must have dropped it. The deadly claws were about a foot from his face when a flash of white and gold startled him. Hera was up and conscious again, and in a flash she tossed something at him from her teeth. It was his sword! He felt his rager senses kicking in, and in a flash, he sent it flying at Nyx, just missing Hera's head. She was in front of him, pretty much ready to sacrifice herself, but Gregor wasn't about to let that happen.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Nyx veered sideways to avoid the flying blade. It scraped her left wing, opening a small cut. Across the cavern, Aurora had Luxa pinned up against the wall, protecting her from any attack. Her wings were up against the wall. The sword was heading straight for her wing, but at the last second she realized and pulled away,

Before Nyx could get anywhere, Stellovet jumped onto her. They few out of the tunnel before either of them could get injured anymore. Henry paused for a moment, and then jumped. Thor was under him in seconds, and they took off after Stellovet.

"Luxa!" Gregor ran over to her and Aurora. Luxa was trembling lightly. Gregor wrapped his arms around her until she steadied.

"Gregor, Hera is in need of medical care. We must return to Regalia at once!" she said. Gregor rushed back to Hera, who was gasping, but looked okay.

"Hera, can you fly?" Gregor asked.

"Yes, yes, I must!" Hera replied. Gregor jumped, his legs spread to the side. Hera had him in seconds, and they sped off down the tunnel after Luxa and Aurora. Henry, Thor, Stellovet, and Nyx had retreated down the opposite tunnel, leading further into the rat's land.

They flew the nearly ten hour long flight back to Regalia in practically silence, stopping to rest about every three hours. They normally would have been able to fly longer without breaks, but with Hera's injury, they couldn't. About an hour away from the city, Gregor broke the silence by thinking aloud.

"So what are we going to tell everyone? That Henry's back from the dead, with Stellovet on his side?" said Gregor, to no one in particular. It was Luxa who answered.

"Yes, though it is not promising that many will believe us. It is really all we can say." She replied, sighing.

"I guess." said Gregor. He spent a couple minutes thinking about Nyx, how she was Ares's sister. If Ares was so…good, why was Nyx so evil? He consulted this with Hera.

Hera answered shortly after the question was asked. "Well, I am not sure if Ares told you this, but his parents were killed in battle with the gnawers when he and the rest of us were still young. Ares was older than Nyx, who was practically a newborn, so he could live alone. But Nyx had to have a mother to care for her, and the only flier who volunteered was grumpy old Astraea. Astraea preferred not to gather with other fliers, so she kept Nyx away from Ares, her only family. Nyx grew up knowing barely anybody, and since she knew none, she hated all. Finally, still only seeing Ares once in a while, she took off from the flier lands altogether, and with nowhere to go, she retreated to the Dead Lands. I assume Thor either met up with her there, or she found him. Either way, they make a good match, both foul and cruel. Although as I have heard, Thor is from a family who has been with the rats for countless generations, so he is purely evil. Nyx, however, may still have a chance, although I fear she is wasting it with Thor." She said, sadly.

"Oh." said Gregor. That was a little more than he had expected. He should have known Ares's family wasn't bad, and Nyx was only scarred from her past. That was what made her evil. Maybe if Thor wasn't there, Nyx would realize how much better it is to be like the rest of the fliers.

"We near the drop!" Aurora called. In about five minutes they touched down. Aurora and Hera went down the river, and Gregor and Luxa opened the turtle and ascended the steps to the nursery. Luxa sighed.

"First Henry, now Stellovet. I wonder how I shall tell Henry of this." She said gloomily.

"I can tell him." said Gregor.

"You do not have to, as he is my cousin." Luxa said. She reached up and pushed the turtle's shell open, and they stepped into the dim light of the nursery. In the hallway, she grasped Gregor's hand for a second, then slowly pulled away and retreated to the hospital, where Howard was working. Gregor tread down the seemingly endless corridor, to the High Hall. When he got there, Vikus was just arriving as well, from a different doorway. Hera was at her worst, lying on the floor, gasping. Her white fur was stained with a ton of blood, which was more visible in the torchlight of the High Hall than the dark tunnels. Aurora was fluttering over her, and it was clear she had been waiting for Gregor.

"Gregor, Hera needs care!" she cried, at sight of him.

"Gregor, Aurora! What has happened? Where have you been? Where is Luxa?" Vikus came up to them.

"Get Hera to the hospital. I'll tell you the rest... later." said Gregor. Vikus summoned a pair of Underlanders with a stretcher, and they loaded Hera onto it. Then Gregor and Aurora went with Vikus into the luxury room off the High Hall.

"Well, now will you two tell me what has happened? Clipclaw has said something about a betrayal, but that is all she knew." said Vikus. Aurora began, and told him about Clipclaw pulling them over from the High Hall and them listening in the hole. She told Vikus that it was Stellovet, and then stopped, letting Gregor take over.

"Me and Luxa found Henry," there was a pause, and Vikus's eyes widened. "and Stellovet. They both had evil bats and Henry told us how his bat saved him from falling after Ares saved me." Gregor said. He continued on, telling Henry's story and how they had chased them through the tunnels, and of Nyx's past and how she was only evil because of her past, not from anything else. Vikus stayed silent the whole story, letting Gregor talk. Finally he spoke.

"You are sure this is true, Gregor?" he asked.

"Totally sure. Would I really make this up? Henry's back, this time with Stellovet on his side." answered Gregor. That one sentence pretty much summed up the whole thing.

"Yes, I do not believe you would make this up. Where be Luxa?" asked Vikus.

"Umm, she went to tell Howard. She figured he needed to know, because Stellovet's his sister and all." said Gregor.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Aurora, would you be so kind as to alert the other fliers of this?" asked Vikus. Aurora nodded and flew off. "Well, Gregor, I must go talk to Howard's family. They must know of this. I suppose I will tell Nerissa as well, for Henry is her brother."

"Okay." said Gregor.

"Why do you not go get some rest? I know you have great need of it." Vikus suggested. Gregor agreed, and went to Luxa's room. He fell asleep right away, totally oblivious to the troubles that would face him in the near future.