Belle and the Prophecy of Bane

Chapter 20

Belle turned at the last possible moment, dropping to the floor and driving her arrow into the ground. It snapped in half with a disproportionately loud crack! She turned as she got shakily to her feet and saw that Gregor had driven his sword into the wall, breaking it into two pieces. He was staring at the cave.

"Boots?" he said hoarsely.

It had sounded like Boots--the pitch, the distress, how she broke that word into two long syllables. But it wasn't.

"Ma-maa!"

Belle's head reeled. Where was the Bane? That tiny white thing a few feet away from her--what was it? Because it definitely was not a ten foot tall rat trying to kill her!

Slowly, Belle made her way into the smaller cave. Gregor clasped her hand from behind and they went in together. The beams of their flashlights illuminated the cavern.

Huddled against the wall, trembling with terror, was a small white rat.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Why almost nothing was known about the Bane, why it hadn't taken over the rat kingdom, why it hadn't attacked them. Belle's vision had been right! It was just a baby.

Still, it was the Bane, and they were supposed to drain its light. Belle had more arrows, and it would be so very easy to kill the creature before her. But...but...

But it sounded just like Boots.

"Oh, geez. Oh, geez," muttered Gregor anxiously, tossing aside the damaged sword. It landed with a harsh clatter. Slinging her bow back over her shoulder, Belle crept forward to the baby rat. Kneeling, she laid a hand against its fur.

"It is all right," she said softly. "You are okay, little one."

The rat shuddered in fear and pressed back against the wall, wailing. "Ma-maa! Ma-maa!"

"Shh! Sh, it is all right, I will not harm you," Belle soothed.

"Ares!" called Gregor, his voice shrill.

He should not have shouted. He had frightened the Bane again, and now it was sobbing.

Belle heard Ares and Bastet scamper out of the last curve and wobble into the chamber. Gregor went out to meet them.

"What is it?" asked Ares. "Where is the Bane?"

"In there," said Gregor. "And we've got a problem."

"What? What?" The bats had come in ready to fight to the death, and now they were completely disoriented. "What is the problem?"

"This is the problem," said Belle, coming out of the smaller cave, the baby rat cradled in her arms. It weighed about as much as a small dog, and one day it would probably be ten feet tall. But today, Belle could pick it up and rock it. She turned to show Ares and Bastet.

"What is that? That is not the Bane?" said Bastet in surprise.

"Actually, I think it is," answered Belle. "Or at least, it is a baby Bane."

"I do not believe it!" Ares burst out. "That is some decoy! Some trick of the gnawers to lure us into a trap so that they may destroy us!"

"I do not think so," said Belle, shaking her head. "Look at his coat! How many white rats have you ever seen?"

"None, save this," Ares admitted. "But perhaps it is not a rat! Perhaps it is a mouse they have captured and used to deceive us! I have seen white mice!"

Belle sighed, exasperated. She held the baby out toward Ares. "Look at it, Ares! Does this look like a mouse to you?"

"No, it is most definitely a gnawer," said Ares.