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

come. There will be a meeting. Then a search for the cure will begin. Of course, if you take that hope away..." Ripred let the sentence dangle on purpose.

    "I'll be there, Ripred," said Gregor.

    "Don't bother coming without your sister. It's a waste of time. According to Sandwich, the crawlers have to be involved, and they've only agreed to send a representative if Boots is there," said Ripred.

    "I don't know how I'm going to get my mom to let her —" Gregor said.

    "Your mom. You tell your mom this from me. If you and your sister don't show up, the rats will send an escort," said Ripred.

    "What's that mean?" said his dad.

    "It means, be there at midnight," said Ripred.

    "But —" Gregor began.

    The rat gave a groan of pain and hunched over for a few moments. "Argh, I've got to find something to fill my belly. And in another minute it will be one of you," he snarled. "Go on. Go home! You know what you have to do! So do it!"

    Ripred turned and vanished into the shadows.

    Gregor and his dad climbed back up to the park, pried the stone slab loose, and pulled themselves out. They quickly repositioned the rock and headed toward the street.

    "What are we going to do, Dad?" Gregor asked, as they stood on the curb, trying to hail a cab.

    "Don't worry, we'll figure out something," said his dad. "Just don't you worry."

    But Gregor was very worried, and he could tell his dad was, too.

    His mom was home from waiting tables when they returned. She was still in her uniform, with her feet propped up on the coffee table, looking beat. She worked seven days a week, every week, unless it was one of those major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas when almost everybody was off. She joked that Saturday and Sunday evenings were her days off because she got finished at four o'clock. She never mentioned how she also had to show up for work at six in the morning on the weekends. No, his mom never complained. Probably because she was so grateful to have them all home again. And now he was going to have to tell her they were going back to the Underland.

    "How was the movie?" she asked with a smile as they came in.

    "We didn't see a movie, Mom," said Gregor.

    His mom raised her eyebrows questioningly, but before Gregor could continue, the door to the kitchen swung open and Mrs. Cormaci stuck her head out. "Good, you're back. Dinner in three minutes," she said and disappeared.

    "What's she still doing here?" Gregor blurted out.

    "I invited her to stay for dinner. She made the stew after all. Then she and the girls wouldn't let me help," said his mom. "What's with you, anyway? I thought you liked Mrs.
    Cormaci."

    "I do," said Gregor. "I do."

    "Then go wash up and find your manners while you're at it," said his mom. The kitchen door swung open again and Lizzie and Boots stuck their heads out. "Two minutes," said Lizzie importantly.

    "Two!" Boots echoed.

    "Go ahead and wash up, Gregor," said his dad. "We can tell your mom about our afternoon later."

    Gregor understood. There could be no talking about the Underland until Mrs. Cormaci cleared out. But who knew when that would be? There weren't that many hours left until midnight.

    He was fidgety the whole meal, wishing Mrs. Cormaci would go home. He felt kind of guilty because she was obviously having such a good time. They all were, his sisters, his mom, and even his grandma had come out and sat at the table instead of eating off a tray in her bed.
    There was stew and warm bread, and Mrs. Cormaci and his sisters had baked a cake for a surprise. It was practically a party. But Gregor could not join in the fun; he could not think of anything except getting to the Underland to help Ares.

    The meal dragged on endlessly. Then everyone sat in the living room to talk for a while.
    Gregor gave big yawns, hoping Mrs. Cormaci would pick up on the hint, but she didn't even seem to notice. Finally, at around nine-thirty, she stood up and stretched and said she better get home to