Chapter 23

"Ughh, watch your wings." Gregor moaned, still half asleep. They had stopped to rest again. They were long past the Plain of Tartarus now. Gregor had the vague feeling that one of the fliers had brushed its wing against him. There were so many of them, Hera, Aurora, Nike, Daedalus, and Apollo. There were more fliers than humans!

Somebody laughed. "Gregor, me don't have wings!"

Gregor sat bolt upright. He knew that voice. Sure enough, a little curly-headed body was standing beside him, giggling.

"Boots!" Gregor pulled her into a hug so tight that even she was gasping. He felt like he'd never, ever let her go again. "Boots, what happened?"

"Big, scary guy took me from Dul-cee! Shhh, he's sleeping. I run, run, run! To you!" She said, pointing to Gregor. She giggled, clapping her hands.

"How far did you run, Boots?" Gregor asked.

"Came from over 'dere." She pointed to a tunnel off the cave they were in. Gregor hadn't even noticed it before.

"How did you see? Was it dark?" asked Gregor.

"Very dark. Boots ran to light!" Boots pointed to the flashlight. Gregor guessed he had left it on when he went to bed. It was a geed thing, too, or else Boots would've been lost.

Almost everyone else was up. Howard was the first one to speak. "Boots! You return!" he cried. His voice made Lizzie bolt up from the protection of Daedalus's wings.

"Boots!" she cried, scooping her little sister up in a hug.

"Liz-zee!" Boots cried back.

"Gregor, what has happened?" Luxa was awake now.

"Well, uhh, Boots said Henry took her from the nursery, and then she ran to our light while he was sleeping." Gregor replied, still happily observing his sister's ecstatic reunion.

"Well, we must know where she came from." Luxa said. Gregor pointed to the tunnel that Boots had shown him.

"Boots said she ran from there." He said. Luxa nodded.

"That is most helpful. Is everyone ready to continue?" she asked, raising her voice to the rest of the party.

"Yes, cousin, I think we should be going, for Henry will be looking for Boots soon." Howard said, but looked to Ripred for confirmation.

"Yes, yes, let's go. Watch out for gnawers, Gushgore and his armies are most definitely with your cousin." Ripred said.

They all mounted their fliers. Gregor pulled Boots onto Hera. Boots stroked Hera's fur as she always did. Hera laughed, and Boots petted her furry head.

"Pretty!" she giggled, and so did Hera.

"I am glad you enjoy my fur, princess." She purred. Boots giggled again.

"I am a pincess!" she squealed.

Gregor had noticed something about Hera. At first, he had thought she was happy all of the time, no sadness inside of her. But he got his first taste of a different side of Hera during that first battle in the fields with Gushgore and his small army. She was tense, cunning, and ready for anything during a battle. Even though, in reality, she was very inexperienced, she seemed to know what to do. It was strange, kind of like Solovet when Gregor first met her. She had been kind and gentle, and then he saw the cunning and wily side of her. But still, Solovet was a little extreme compared to Hera, she had locked Gregor in a dungeon for days once! Gregor guessed he still had a lot more to learn about this bat.

"Let us go, but we must be silent." Luxa said. They all descended down the tunnel in complete silence, relying on the bats for direction, because Ripred had told them to leave the torches.

Just then, Hera's head snapped up.

"Rats?" Gregor asked her.

"Yes, but it is just the general scent and sound. We near Gushgore and his armies." She answered. Gregor held Boots tighter.

"Ouch!" she cried. It echoed in the tunnel. Uh oh.

"Quiet her, Overlander!" Ripred whispered harshly. Gregor tried to shush Boots, but it had been too late. "They heard her!" Ripred said, not bothering to whisper anymore. "Be ready to fight, they're coming!"

Gregor fumbled with his sword, but he realized there was no possible way he could fight with Boots on top of him. He told Hera to fly up to Daedalus. "Lizzie, can you hold Boots?" He asked his sister.

"O…kay." Lizzie managed to get out. She had her face pressed in Daedalus's fur. Gregor passed Boots up to her. She sat Between Lizzie and Daedalus's head. Daedalus returned to his spot high above the rest of their party, and Gregor and Hera descended back down.

"You ready for this?" Gregor asked Hera.

"As ready as I will ever be." She answered.

At that moment, about two dozen rats rushed into the tunnel.

Hera dove for one as soon as it got close enough. She was about a yard away when she maneuvered her wings and swerved around it. Then she approached from behind, in clear shot for Gregor to stab it. He did. It all happened in a split second, and after the rat went limp, they moved on. Gregor slit one's stomach, but it didn't die. Gregor assumed it was just unconscious.

They went for rat after rat, and so did the others. Whenever he had a spare second, Gregor would look up at Daedalus and his sisters. Daedalus was smart enough to cover their view with his wings, so they wouldn't see the gory battle below them. Gregor could hear Lizzie's pitiful sobs.

Finally, when there were about five rats left, and that remaining five ran back to the other side of the tunnel. Gregor and Hera went to fly after them, but Ripred stopped them.

"Just give us all a second to catch our breath." He said. Gregor took that second to survey the group.

Daedalus and his sisters were still flying above, unharmed. Luxa Howard had some small cuts, but nothing horrible. Hera, Aurora, and Nike had some small cuts on their wings, but that was really nothing. He heard a rustling behind him, and only just then remembered Apollo was there. Had he fought? Yes, he had. He was breathing heavily, but seemed unharmed.

"Okay." Ripred said. At his cue, the party sped down the tunnel. Within minutes, they came to a huge cavern, nearly a quarter mile long! There were around four or five hundred rats there, but no sign of Henry, Thor, Stellovet, or Nyx.

At the sight of them, the rats jumped up. The fliers could ascend, but what would they do about Ripred?

"Ripred!" a voice called from behind him. Apollo was beckoning Ripred onto his back. Could he hold him? Yes, he lifted Ripred high off the ground with only a slight sound of exertion. Then they continued their search for Henry.

A flap of black and gray wings startled them.

Apparently Henry had found them.