Free Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane - 2 by Suzanne Collins Page B

rats' land. So remote, in fact, that most rats never even went there. But if they had the Bane there, it was sure to be guarded.

    "That leaves the Waterway," Vikus said with a frown. "It is not ideal, but it is the least treacherous."

    "What of the serpents? Their mating season is nigh," said Howard. Gregor didn't know why Luxa's cousin had been allowed in the meeting. He was just supposed to be on a family visit.

    "A good point," agreed Vikus. "And yet another reason to begin the journey at once.
    Perhaps the party can slip by before the serpents awaken."

    "Yippee, serpents," Gregor thought, and he remembered a twenty-foot spiked tail he'd seen flipping out of the Waterway when Ares was flying them home. He wondered what was attached to the tail.

    "Now, Gregor, there is something we need to address," said Vikus. "It is the opinion of the council that Boots should remain under guard in Regalia while you pursue the Bane."

    Gregor had anticipated this coming up. It would be terribly dangerous taking Boots on another Underland trip. But how could he leave her here when he had seen Ripred and Twitchtip get into the arena so easily? Sure, Ripred was extra smart, but none of the rats seemed dumb. He and Boots would stay together, like his mom always told them to do.

    "She's coming with me or I don't go. End of discussion," said Gregor. He knew this sounded uppity, but at this point he was too tired to care.

    There was a pause in which everyone glanced around, acknowledging that this had been out of line. But what were they going to do?

    Vikus sent him off to prepare for the journey. He went to the museum to look for some light sources. The museum was full of stuff that had fallen from Gregor's world. There were a lot of cool, really old things, like a wheel from a horse-drawn carriage, an actual quiver still filled with arrows, a silver mug, a cuckoo clock, a top hat. More recent items, like wallets, jewelry, and watches, were neatly laid out in rows. There were lots of good flashlights, probably because anyone who had been in the tunnels below New York City would have needed one. Gregor selected four and dug out a lot of batteries.

    A couple of life jackets caught his eye, and he took these, too. The last time, they had been traveling through stone tunnels. This time, he guessed they would be flying over the Waterway. Boots was too little to know how to swim. He added to his supplies a roll of duct tape and a couple of candy bars that didn't seem too stale.

    As he was leaving, he saw their regular clothes folded in two neat stacks by the door.
    Vikus must've said it was okay to keep them. Gregor didn't care what they smelled like; he was wearing his boots.

    When he went by the nursery to collect Boots, he was told that Dulcet had already taken her down to the river. That was to be their departure point.

    Gregor thought that made sense, since flying down the river had to be the quickest way to get to the Waterway. But when he reached the docks, he saw a team of Underlanders loading up two boats that were suspended by ropes at dock level above the river. They were long, narrow vessels that reminded him of boats he'd seen in the museum back home, boats Native Americans had used hundreds of years ago. But secured to the bottom of each was a large gray triangular fin
    — a real fish fin— that must've come off a whopper of a swordfish or something. Strapped along the sides of the boats were more fins that could be extended and retracted horizontally as needed.
    A curved bone was attached to the back of each boat as a rudder.

    "What's with the boats?" he asked Vikus, who was overseeing the loading. "Aren't we taking the bats?"

    "Ah, yes, but the Waterway is vast and provides few hospitable places to rest. No bat would have the stamina to cross it, so much of your trip must be by sea," said Vikus.

    Gregor didn't know much about boating except that, compared to flying, it was slow. It was going to take forever to get to