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.His own flier, his bond, was dragged into the water by two rats trying to save themselves, and she never resurfaced.Hamnet was pulled out by Mareth, who had to knock him senseless in order to keep him from diving back into what was by this time a lake of corpses,"said Ripred."When Hamnet regained consciousness in Regalia, he was, for all practical purposes, mad.For days, he recognized no one and spoke in strange, garbled sentences.Then his reason returned and he stopped speaking entirely.A few nights later he fled Regalia.The last person who saw him must have been Nerissa, who was just as unstable as a child as she is now, I might add.But she never mentioned it.A year after his disappearance he was pronounced dead and all efforts to locate him ceased," said Ripred."And that is the story of your Uncle Hamnet.""What happened to the garden?" asked Aurora."It lies underwater.And those golden apple trees won't grow anywhere else in the Underland," said Ripred."So they were lost as well."For a while, all Gregor could hear was the occasional crackle of the lantern and Boots's soft snoring as she slept on his chest.Then a strained voice came from the path on the left."Telling tales out of school again, Ripred?" Gregor didn't know how long Hamnet had been sitting there on Frill, holding his sleeping son.Long enough, though."You know my theory on that, Hamnet.The more tales told, the less chance of repeating them," said Ripred."Maybe it will help your niece out one day."Luxa and Hamnet exchanged a look."Maybe," said Hamnet."Depending on whose ears she inherited.""Any luck out there?" asked Ripred."I think so," said Hamnet.He held up a handful of plants.The roots still dangled from the stems.Above his clenched fist was a cluster of star-shaped leaves.***CHAPTER 22"Starshade," said Ripred."You found it.""You found it?" Gregor started to jump up, forgetting Boots was asleep on his lap.He set her on the ground and hurried to Hamnet."You found the cure?""It fits your description," said Hamnet.He settled Hazard on Frill's back and slid down the lizard's tail.They all gathered around him."What do you think, boy? Does it look like the picture in the book?" Ripred asked Gregor."Exactly!" said Gregor excitedly.They had found the cure! Finally, something was going right! He plucked a leaf from the plant and took a deep sniff.The clean, refreshing scent made his nose tingle."Mmm, smells like lemons.This must be it.It smells.like it could heal you.Where is it? Can we go get it now? And then get back to Regalia and —""Slow down, Gregor.I know we are all eager to obtain the cure.But first things first.We must sleep.Frill will keep watch.And then we will begin," said Hamnet.Gregor lay down next to Boots.He was tired, but keyed up, too.He held the starshade leaf in his palm and let the light dance over it.In his hand was life for his mom, for Ares, for all of the Underland.He pressed the leaf against his nose, and comforted by its lemony essence, closed his eyes.The next thing he knew, Hamnet was shaking him awake.They ate some leftover fish and a few plums.But when they started to get in their previous formation, Hamnet stopped them."I did not tell any of you save Ripred this last night because I did not want to disturb your slumber, but this final leg of the journey will be treacherous.The field is nearby, but to reach it we must traverse a very dangerous path.As a group, we will need to move with all possible speed.""I've designed a formation that should give us the highest rate of survival," said Ripred."Hamnet will show you.Do exactly as he says." Hamnet left Frill at the front of the line with the two bats and Hazard on her back.He instructed Temp to crawl beneath Frill's back legs.Flanking the lizard to the right was Ripred, with Boots and Gregor riding on his back.Luxa was to travel on Lapblood on the left.Hamnet was to run at the back."I can travel fast enough on my own two legs," said Luxa.She clearly didn't want to ride Lapblood."No, Luxa, you cannot," said Hamnet."And trust me when I say you will be grateful for Lapblood's speed."Luxa reluctantly settled herself on Lapblood and reached up to stroke Aurora's fur.Gregor placed Boots up by Ripred's shoulder blades and sat behind her.He had to keep his knees slightly bent so his feet wouldn't scrape the ground."We ride on here?" Boots asked him, puzzled."Just for a little way, Boots.Then you can go back on Temp," said Gregor.Boots crawled up on Ripred's neck and poked him on the top of the head with one finger." R is for rat," she said."Yes, and B is for bite," said Ripred in a singsong voice."Be careful the rat doesn't bite your fingers!" He snapped his teeth together for emphasis."Oh!" Boots quickly scooted back against Gregor and held her hands close to her chest."Was that really necessary?" said Gregor."Absolutely.You want her going up and trying to pet rats? Not in this day and age," said Ripred [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]