Excerpt:
Deep in the palace, Gregor removed four thick stone bars that secured a heavy door and slipped through it, leaving the door slightly ajar for his return.  His feet carried him down multiple sets of stairs.  The Regalian council had reluctantly agreed for his lessons to take place here where he was theoretically still inside the city limits, but where Ripred’s presence could remain unknown to almost all of the people.  The rats and humans had been warring on and off for centuries.  Very few humans could deal with the idea of a rat prowling around so close to their home.

Ripred was waiting for Gregor in their usual meeting place, a large circular cave off a set of stairs.  The rat was lounging against a wall gnawing on some kind of bone.  He squinted when Gregor’s flashlight beam hit him and gave a snarl.  “Get that out of my eyes!  How many times do I have to tell you?”

Gregor redirected the beam but didn’t bother answering.  Even in the shadowy light, he could see Ripred’s nose working.

“What’s that smell?” he asked.

“Lizzie sent you this,” Gregor said, and tossed the doughnut at the rat.

Ripred easily caught it in his mouth and rolled it around, savoring the sweetness.  “Lizzie.  Why is it I never get to spend time with the nice members of your family?” asked Ripred.  “And the bag?”

“It’s from Mrs. Cormaci,” said Gregor.

“Ah, La Bella Cormaci,” sighned Ripred.  “And what does the enchantress of the kitchen send me today?”

“See for yourself,” said Gregor.  He was about to send the macaroni salad sailing after the doughnut when he heard a scuffling in the adjacent tunnel.  The sound startled him.  No one was ever down here except him and Ripred.

“I told you to stay put!” Ripred barked in the direction of the tunnel.

There was a slight pause, as if the creature was considering retreat.  Then came a sullen reply.  “I smelled food.”  On the word “food” the low-pitched voice broke into a squeak.  Gregor thought of his cousin Rodney, who everybody had teased when he’d became a teenager and his voice kept cracking between his kid voice and what was to be his man’s voice.

“Who’s that?” asked Gregor.

“That’s your little friend the Bane,” said Ripred. 

“After he maimed his last two babysitters, the job fell to me.”

“The Bane?” said Gregor in surprise.  He had not seen the Bane in months.  He remembered the soft bundle of white fur that had huddled in his arms in fear.  Last December, Gregor had been sent on a mission to kill him, but when he’d discovered the Bane was only a baby, he simply couldn’t do it.  He’d delivered the pup to Ripred instead.

“Can I come in?” the voice said from the tunnel.

“Oh, why not?” said Ripred.  “Come on in and you can personally thank the warrior for saving your life.”

Gregor turned his flashlight beam to the mouth of the tunnel, expecting a slightly larger version of the rat baby.  Instead, he found himself looking up at an eight-foot mountain of white fur.