Read Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane - 2 for Free Online

now he'd hurt the roach's feelings. They were so thin-skinned. Well, thin-shelled. "No, I don't hate you, come on. It just scared me when you took Boots. I didn't know where she was," said Gregor.

    "With us, she was, with us," said Temp, confused now.

    "Yeah, I know that. Now. But I didn't know in the park," said Gregor. "I was worried."

    "Hates us, the Overlander, hates us?" repeated Temp.

    "No! I just need you to tell me if you're going to take her somewhere," said Gregor.
    Temp's antennas drooped noticeably. This was going nowhere fast. He shifted gears. "But, Temp? Thanks a lot for getting Boots away from the rats. You did a great job."

    Temp perked up. "Rat bad," he said with conviction.

    "Yeah," Gregor agreed. "Rat very bad."

    At that moment, Luxa appeared in the doorway. Her silvery blond hair had grown out a little, she was a bit taller, but it was the lilac circles under those violet eyes that caught Gregor's attention. He wasn't the only one who'd been having a rough time lately.

    "Welcome, Gregor the Overlander," said Luxa, approaching him but not touching him.

    "Hey, Luxa, how you doing?" asked Gregor.

    Her hand reached up distractedly and gave a quick nudge to the gold band around her head. Almost like she wanted to shove it off. "Fine, I am fine."

    She wasn't fine. Clearly the girl hadn't been sleeping well. She did not look happy. But she still had that arrogant tilt to her head, that half smile. She still stood like a queen. "So, you have come back after all."

    "Didn't have much choice," said Gregor.

    "No," said Luxa stonily. "You and I never seem to have much choice. Are you hungry?"

    "I hungry. I hungry!" said Boots.

    "We missed dinner," Gregor said, although his stomach was too knotted up to feel hungry.

    "You need to bathe and dine and then sleep. Solovet says you must begin training on the morrow," said Luxa.

    "Says she so?" Vikus asked, sounding a bit surprised.

    "Yes. Did she not tell you?" said Luxa, giving Vikus a mocking look to which he did not respond. They had a funny relationship. Vikus was her grandfather but, since her parents had been killed by rats, he was also the closest thing she had to a father. And he was supervising and training Luxa to take on the full responsibilities of being the queen of Regalia when she reached sixteen. Gregor thought it must be complicated for them, being so many things to each other.

    "I will see you on the field, Gregor, Ares," Luxa said, and left.

    Gregor and Boots were taken to the bathrooms by a couple of Underlanders he'd never met. The young woman took Boots into the locker room for girls, while a guy escorted Gregor to his side.

    He caused a scene by running out of the bathroom, dripping wet, with just a towel around him, to ask the guy not to burn their clothes. Ares was right, turning their clothes to ashes was standard, but Gregor knew it would cost a lot to replace them. And he really didn't want to lose his boots.

    "But...your clothes carry much scent. The gnawers will know you are here," the guy said uncertainly.

    "Oh, that's okay. I mean, they already know I'm here. Two of them chased me to the Waterway," said Gregor. "So, could you just...I don't know, maybe you could put them in the museum or something. That's all Overlander stuff, right?"

    Relieved at the suggestion, the guy went off to ask Vikus.

    They were fed a big meal: beef stew, bread, mushrooms, those things that reminded Gregor of sweet potatoes but weren't, and some kind of cake. Boots ate with gusto, which reminded him she'd had little more than a bowl of oatmeal and a peanut butter sandwich that day.
    At least the rest of his family would have the scalloped potatoes for dinner. If anyone could eat.

    Oh, this whole thing was his fault! If only he'd kept an eye on Boots, the roaches never would have run off with her. But then, the rats could have reached her first. He guessed he ought to feel grateful to everybody here for rescuing her, and he did, on one level.