The rat glanced around at Luxa, Mareth, and Henry, who were keeping their distance. The bats were extending and folding their wings, unsure of what to do. "Well, come on, then, isn't anyone else hungry? I hate dining alone. It makes me feel so unloved."
"I did not prepare them, Ripred," said Vikus.
"Clearly," said the rat. "Clearly my arrival is an unexpected pleasure." He went to work on his beef bone, making an awful scraping sound.
"Meet you, Ripred the gnawer," said Vikus to the group. "He shall be joining the quest as your guide."
There was a quick breathy sound, as half of those gathered inhaled sharply. A long pause followed in which no one exhaled. Gregor tried to make sense of what Vikus had announced so calmly. A rat. He was leaving them in the hands of a rat. Gregor wanted to object, but his throat had frozen.
Finally Luxa spoke up in a voice hoarse with hatred. "No, he shall not. We do not travel with rats."
" 'The Prophecy of Gray' requires it, Luxa," said Solovet. "One gnawer beside."
"'Beside' could mean anything," snarled Henry. "Perhaps we leave the gnawer dead 'beside' us."
"Perhaps you do. But having witnessed your last attack, I doubt it," said Ripred, starting on a wedge of cheese.
"We have killed five rats since midday," said Luxa.
"You mean the idiots that I handpicked for cowardice and ineptitude? Oh, yes, bravo, Your Highness. That was a masterly piece of combat," said Ripred, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do not flatter yourself you have yet fought a rat."
"They themselves killed Fangor and Shed," said Mareth bravely.
"Well, then, I stand corrected. Fangor and Shed were excellent fighters, on the rare occasions they were sober," said Ripred. "However, I expect they were outnumbered and somewhat thrown by the arrival of our warrior. What say you, Warrior? Do you refuse to go with me as well?"
Gregor looked into Ripred's mocking, tortured eyes. He wanted to refuse, but if he did, could he ever find his dad?
As if following his thoughts, Vikus spoke up. "You need Ripred to guide you to your father. These tunnels are unmapped by humans. You would never find your way without him."
Still, he was a rat. Gregor had only been in the Underland a few days and he already despised rats. They had killed Luxa's and Henry's parents, imprisoned his father, and almost eaten him and Boots. He felt a kind of power surging through him when he thought of how much he hated them. But if all rats were bad, who was this strange creature staring at him from across the fire, offering to be their guide?
"So, what's in this for you?" said Gregor to Ripred.
"A fair question," said Ripred. "Well, Warrior, I am planning to overthrow King Gorger and I need you to help me."
"By doing what?" said Gregor.
"I don't know," admitted Ripred. "None of us does."
Gregor rose and caught Vikus by the arm. "I have to talk to you alone," he said. The anger in his voice surprised even himself. Well, he was angry! The rat was not part of what he'd agreed to. This was not what he'd signed on for.
Vikus took Gregor's mood in stride. Maybe he had expected it. They walked about twenty yards away from the group. "So, how long have you had this plan with the rat?" asked Gregor.
Vikus thought a moment. "I am not sure exactly. Perhaps two or so years. Of course, it was all dependent upon your arrival."
"How come you didn't tell me about it before?" demanded Gregor.
"I do not believe in giving people more information than they can handle," said Vikus.
"Who says I can't handle it? I can handle it!" said Gregor, obviously not handling it.
"Perhaps you can, at least more easily than Luxa and Henry. I may well have told you if we had ever finished our discussion of 'The Prophecy of Gray,'" said Vikus. "No doubt you would have asked, and, yes, I may well have told you."
Gregor pulled the prophecy from his pocket and said, "Let's finish it now." He searched out the part of the prophecy where they'd left off.
One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead.
"So Ripred is the 'gnawer,' and my dad is the 'one lost up ahead,'" said Gregor. He read on.