Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods-3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

dad exchanged a look. Even if they could somehow convince his mom to let him go down, getting her to let Boots return to the Underland would be impossible.

    Ripred caught the moment that passed between them. "Well, you do know she has to come back? I mean, you've read 'The Prophecy of Blood,' right?"

    "I've read it," said Gregor evasively. "I'm just not sure what happens next."

    "I'll tell you what happens next," said Ripred. "Vikus is sending a bat up to your laundry room at midnight. He expects you and your sister to be waiting for it. We all do."

    "And if we're not?" asked Gregor.

    "If you're not, there's very little chance of any warmblooded creature surviving in the Underland. There's a plague running around down there causing all kinds of trouble, or didn't you hear?" said Ripred.

    "Yeah, that plague thing, that's not going to be a real plus when I ask my mom if we can go," said Gregor.

    "The plague. Tell us about it," said Gregor's dad.

    "Oh, it's some kind of pox," said Ripred. "High fever, pustules on the skin, eventually shuts down the lungs. They call it 'The Curse of the Warmbloods' because it only affects warmblooded creatures. The rats are dropping like flies. The bodies of a few bats who were scouts were found in the Dead Land. And nobody's heard from the nibblers yet."

    "The nibblers?' said Gregor.

    "Mice. That's what we call them. But listen, they've only had three plague cases in Regalia, and they're quarantined, so you'll be perfectly safe there. That's all we really need you for, the meeting in Regalia. All the warmbloods are sending representatives. Every creature's blood will be tested for the plague by the humans before they can participate. Just show up for that and you can go right home," said Ripred.

    "I can?" said Gregor. Usually a prophecy required a lot more of him.

    "Why not? All the prophecy says is to bring you from above. After that, what use will you be? You're eleven. No one expects you to personally whip up some cure for the plague with your chemistry set," said Ripred.

    The rat was right. Curing a plague was really more of a job for doctors and scientists than for warriors.

    Gregor looked at his dad hopefully. "It's just for one meeting, Dad. And no one with the plague will be there. That would be okay, don't you think?"

    "I don't know, Gregor," said his dad with a shake of his head.

    "Oh, the warrior will come. We know that. It's his sister we're worried about," said Ripred.

    "What makes you so sure I'll be there?" asked Gregor.

    "Because of that bat of yours. The big moody one," said Ripred.

    "Ares?" said Gregor. "What's this got to do with Ares? Are they going to banish him if I don't show up?"

    "It's worse than that, I'm afraid." The board Ripred was gnawing on snapped in two. He spit out a mouthful of wood shavings and looked at Gregor tiredly. "Those three plague cases in Regalia? He's one of them."

    ***

CHAPTER 4
    "Oh, no," said Gregor softly. Of all the horrible possibilities that had been running through his mind in the last few months, this was not one of them. "How bad is he?"

    "He's bad. He was the first case in Regalia. They think he contracted the plague when he was attacked by those mites in the Waterway. Then he must have passed it on to the rats in the Labyrinth," said Ripred.

    "Mites? But, I thought only warmblooded animals could get it," said Gregor's dad.

    "Yes, but bloodsucking or carnivorous insects can carry it and spread it from warmblood to warm-blood," said Ripred.

    "So, he's going to die?" Gregor said in a cracked voice.

    "Well, let's not write him off yet," said Ripred. "They've got medicines in Regalia that can at least ease his symptoms, which is more than the rats have. And he's strong."

    "That's true," said Gregor, feeling slightly more optimistic. "He's the strongest bat down there. And he's stubborn, too. He'll fight it."

    "Yes, he'll try and hang on because he believes help is on the way. Because the warrior, his bond, will