"Henry!" said Mareth, in shock. But Luxa was cracking up.
Gregor staggered to the side of the pillar and squinted into the darkness. The faint torchlight provided by the bats illuminated only a few yards. Had Henry really thrown Boots to her death? He couldn't believe it. He couldn't --
A happy squeal came from above his head. "More!"
Boots! But what was she doing up there? Gregor fumbled with his flashlight. The beam was strong and cut a wide swath of light through the blackness.
Twenty bats were wheeling around the cave, playing some kind of game of catch with Boots. One would take her up high and flip over, sending the toddler free-falling to the ground. But long before she reached it, another bat would scoop her up gently, only to rise and flip her off again. Boots was giggling ecstatically. "More! More!" she ordered the bats each time she landed. And each time they dropped her, Gregor's stomach lurched into his throat.
"Stop it!" he snapped at the Underlanders. Henry and Luxa looked surprised. Either no one had ever yelled at these royal brats, or they hadn't seen Gregor lose his temper yet. He grabbed Henry by the front of the shirt. "Bring her in now!" Henry could probably cream him, but he didn't care.
Henry put up his hands in mock surrender. "Take ease, Overlander. She is not in danger," he said, grinning.
"In truth, Gregor, she is safer with the bats than in human hands," said Luxa. "And she is not afraid."
"She's two!" screamed Gregor, wheeling on her.
"She's going to think she can jump off anything and be caught!"
"She can!" said Luxa, not seeing the problem.
"Not at home, Luxa! Not in the Overland!" said Gregor. "And I don't plan on staying in this creepy place forever!"
They may not have known exactly what he meant by "creepy," but it was pretty clear it was an insult.
Luxa raised her hand, and a bat coasted by lightly flipping Boots into Gregor's arms. He caught her and squeezed her tightly. The Underlanders were no longer laughing.
"What means this 'creepy'?" said Luxa coolly.
"Never mind," said Gregor. "It's just something we Overlanders say when we see our baby sisters being tossed around by bats. See, for us, that's creepy."
"It was meant to be entertaining," said Henry.
"Oh, yeah. You guys should open a theme park. You'll have a line stretched from here to the surface," said Gregor.
Now they really had no idea what he was saying, but his tone was so sarcastic, they couldn't miss it.
Boots wriggled from his arms and ran toward the edge of the pillar. "More, Ge-go!" she piped.
"No, Boots! No, no! No jump!" said Gregor, catching her just in the nick of time. "See, this is just what I'm talking about!" he said to Luxa.
He stuffed Boots into the pack and heaved her onto his back.
The Underlanders were baffled by his anger and stung by his tone, even if they couldn't understand his words.
"Well, it was not Boots who needed the lessons, anyway," said Luxa. "It was you."
"Oh, abandon the thought, Luxa," Henry sneered. "The Overlander would never give himself to the bats. Why, when he returns home, he may forget he is no longer in our 'creepy' land and jump from his own roof!"
Luxa and Henry gave an unfriendly laugh. Mareth just looked embarrassed. Gregor knew it was a dare, and one part of him itched to take it. Just run and jump into the darkness and leave the rest up to the bats. Another part of him didn't want to play this little game. Luxa and Henry wanted him to leap so they could laugh at him flailing around in the air. He guessed they both hated being ignored, though. So he gave them a look of contempt and walked away.
He could feel Luxa positively steaming behind him.
"I could have you thrown off the side, Overlander, and have no one to answer to!" said Luxa.
"So, do it!" said Gregor, holding out his arms. He knew it was a lie. She'd have Vikus to answer to.
Luxa bit her lip in vexation.