Chapter 1

"I could!" I yelled, silencing the crowd. "I trust him with my life!" And then I knew what I needed to do. I ran to Ares and extended my hand. The bat lifted his head in puzzlement, then understood. "Oh, no, Overlander," he whispered. "I am not worthy to accept." I reached out and grabbed the claw on Ares's left wing with his right hand. You could hear a pin drop in the room as I spoke the words. "Ares the flier, I bond to you," That was all I could remember of the pledge Luxa had told me, but she was right behind feeding me the words in a whisper. "Our life and death are one, we two. In dark, in flame, in war, in strife," And the last line came to me without prompting.
"I save you as I save my life." Some hope had come back into Ares. The warrior bonding with him was no guarantee he would escape banishment, but it was something that could not be easily ignored. Still, he hesitated. "Say it," I said softly. "Please say it back."And Ares finally did, replacing his name with my own. "Gregor the human, I bond to you, Our life and death are one, we two. In dark, in flame, in war, in strife, I save you as I save my life.

I awoke with a start. Another dream I thought to myself. I used my strong echolocation skill to look around my dimly lit room. I did not see much, a bed, a dresser and a desk. But there was one other thing a small heat source in the corner. I clicked my tongue again and saw that it was a small rat with two scars on it's face that make an X… It reminded me of Ripred… wait I thought Ripred has sent rats to watch me before. This has to be one of them. I clicked again and the rat was gone. As I slowly got out of bed and turned on the lights my sister Maggie (What Boots wants us to call her as she is “a big girl now” at the age of 8) ran into my room. “Gregor we have new neighbors!” she said with joy. Great I thought to myself, more people to ask about my scars. “And there's a girl your age” said my other sister Lizzie who was leaning against the door frame. I shot her a glare and she just winked back. Once Maggie was out of the room Lizzie sat down on my bed with me. “I'm just messing with you. I know you still have feelings for her.” I lightly punched her in the arm and said sadly “Yes you are right… just she might not even remember me” “Gregor she will, trust me” she replied while smirking. When Lizzie got up and left the room I quickly got changed into joggers and a sweatshirt to cover… my scars that I got in the underland. Some have faded just some will stay forever. As I slowly run my finger along the large claw scar on my chest I think of Ares again. I quickly pushed Ares out of my mind and walked out of my room. Once I got down the I greeted my family and sat down on the couch. I slowly picked up the remote to turn on the TV when I heard a quiet knock on the door. I stood up while running my fingers through my hair to go answer it. When I opened the door I saw a girl… no a woman. She looked a lot like… Luxa. She had light blonde almost silver hair and blue eyes with a hint of purple in them. I started at her in awe until she broke the silence. “Hi! I'm Lexa your new neighbor!” “Gregor, nice to meet you” I responded with a very dull voice. Wow I thought her voice…. her name…. everything about her screams Luxa. “Come on in.” I said with a tiny bit of hope. “Oh hi! You must be Lexa. I’m Grace!” exclaimed my mother who just finished cleaning dishes. As I slowly lead Lexa to the living room and sat down I heard her mumble “Ar- fli- I bon- you.” I asked quickly “What did you say?” She replied trying to act surprised “Hmm!? Oh nothing.” I just decided it's nothing to worry about and rubbed it off. Lexa tried to start a conversation by saying “So uhh, have you lived here your entire life?” I replied “New York”
“Why would you move here from the big apple?”
“Life wasn't good there…”
“Why?”
“See these…” I said while rolling up my sleeves to show my many scars. “I got them from a bad car crash” I was obviously lying.
“oh I'm so sorry..” she replied while slowly moving her hand to my arm. Before she could touch me I jerked away and walked out the door. When I got outside I hopped up on top my porch's overhang and sat down. I pulled out the folded picture from my pocket and unfolded it. I stared at it for a long time in deep thought. My thinking was broken when I heard a voice beside me.
“She's cute and all but a bit too young for you.” “Huh?!” I replied looking up. I saw Lexa and said “Oh uhh she's a cousin.. that died.” why do I have to lie i thought to myself. “Oh I'm uhh sorry.” said Lexa looking ashamed. As she slowly started slid off the roof I grabbed her arm and said “Cya around” “Cya Overlander” She replied and ran off.

A/N I am so sorry that this took soo long to get out. I was suffering from writers block and life has come in the way. But anyways hope you liked it!
-Mothy