With shock, Gregor saw a human was among the rats. Henry. He had been chasing Gregor, too. But that couldn't be right. They both couldn't end up dead. The prophecy only called for one more quester to die.
A flash of wing gave Gregor his answer. Of course. It was Ares, the bat who was bonded to this traitor. Ares would save Henry, and the prophecy would be fulfilled. But the rest of the questers would be safe, too.
Gregor had never seen Ares dive in earnest. He was heading for the ground at tremendous speed, dodging the rats that reached for him. Gregor began to doubt he would be able to pull out of it. "He overshot," thought Gregor as the bat rocketed past Henry.
He could hear Henry's desperate plea: "Ares!"
At that moment, Gregor slammed into something.
"I'm dead," he thought, but he didn't feel dead because his nose hurt so badly and his mouth was full of fur. Then he had the sensation of rising and he knew he was on Ares's back. He looked down over the side of the bat's wing and saw the rats beginning to burst apart on the rocks below. Gregor had been almost at the bottom when Ares had caught him. The sight of the rats was unbearable, even if they had just been about to kill him. Just before Henry hit, Gregor buried his face in Ares's fur and covered his ears.
The next thing he knew, they were on the ground. Luxa had his father strapped on Aurora. Temp bolted onto Ares behind him.
A bloody Ripred stood with three other rats that must have joined him in the final moments. He gave Gregor a bitter smile. "Delightfully full of surprises."
"What will you do, Ripred?" asked Gregor.
"Run, boy. Run like the river. Fly you high, Gregor the Overlander!" said Ripred as he took off down the road.
"Fly you high, Ripred! Fly you high!" shouted Gregor as Ares and Aurora sped over the rat's head.
They flew out over the canyon. Somewhere beneath them lay the bodies of King Gorger, his army of rats, and Henry. The canyon ended, and the bats headed into a large tunnel that twisted and turned every which way.
Now that he was safe, Gregor began to feel the fear of falling into that black void. His whole body began to shake. He pressed his face deep in Ares's neck, although it made his nose throb even more. He heard the bat whisper, "I did not know, Overlander. I swear to you I did not know."
"I believe you," Gregor whispered back. If Ares had known about Henry's plot, Henry would be flying somewhere right now and Gregor would be ...
The last words of the prophecy came back to him again.
The last who will die must decide where he stands.
The fate of the eight is contained in his hands, so bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps, as life may be death and death life again reaps.
So, it was about Henry as well as Gregor. Henry had decided to stand with the rats. That had determined the fate of the other eight questers. He had not taken care where he'd leaped, had not looked at all because he was so caught up in helping the rats. Henry had died because of his decision. Even to the last moments he must have thought Ares would save him. But Ares had chosen to save Gregor.
"Overlander, we have troubles," whispered Ares, interrupting his train of thought.
"Why? What's wrong?" asked Gregor.
"Aurora and I, we do not know which direction leads back to Regalia," said Ares.
"You mean we're lost?" said Gregor. "I thought Luxa said you could get us home in the dark."
"Yes, we can fly in the dark, but we must know which way to fly," said Ares. "This area is uncharted by fliers."
"What does Luxa think we should do?" asked Gregor.
There was a pause. Gregor assumed Ares was communicating with Aurora. Then Ares said, "Luxa cannot speak."
"Luxa is probably in shock," thought Gregor. "After what Henry did to her."
"To complicate matters, Aurora has a torn wing that must soon be mended if we are to continue," Ares added.
Gregor suddenly realized he was in charge. "Okay, look for a safe place to land, all right?"
The twisting tunnel soon opened out over a large river. The source was a magnificent waterfall that poured out of a stone arch and fell a hundred feet to the river below. Above the arch was a natural stone ledge, about ten feet deep. Ares and Aurora coasted over to it and landed. Their riders slid onto the stone.
Gregor hurried over to Luxa, hoping to figure out some kind of game plan, but one look at her told him he was on his own. Her eyes were unfocused, and she trembled like a leaf. "Luxa? Luxa?" he asked. As Aurora had reported, she couldn't say a word. Not sure what else to do, Gregor wrapped her in a blanket.