looked at Marina. “I’m sorry,” he said.
She was trembling with anger. “I can’t believe I let you do this.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“Just start thinking, all right, because—”
“Bats!”
It was the legs Shade noticed first, those surprisingly long legs dangling as if boneless, but tipped with four-pronged claws, ready to slash. The owl dropped toward them like a huge, winged head, beak open, shrieking to wake the forest.
Shade veered up into a tight weave of branches with Marina, the owl plunging narrowly past her tail.
“Bats!” the owl screeched again.
Shade could see the owl was a young male, traces of down still clinging around his wings. But even so, it was a giant compared to him. In the center of his chest, the mottled feathers made a pattern of white lightning bolts.
All around them, owls were waking, and within seconds, the air was churning with wings. Even as he blurred through outstretched talons, between legs and over winged heads, Shade was desperately scanning the forest for a hiding place. It was only a matter of seconds before he would be snatched up and eaten whole. He spotted a knothole in a tree, too small for owls, just big enough for them—he hoped. There wasn’t time to makea better measurement. He looked around anxiously for Marina.
“The tree!” he called out, and shot a flare of sound toward it so she could see. And then he hurled himself at the knothole, shooting through and almost knocking himself out against the inside. Dazed, he shifted out of the way as Marina half flew, half tumbled into the tree.
“Move back!” Shade cried, and she jerked away from the opening just as a she-owl’s beak thrust through, snapping. Her hard, pointed tongue vibrated as she roared.
Huddled together at the bottom of the hollow, Shade watched the owl press her flat face against the knothole and glare down at them with one huge, luminous eye. “Why are we here?” she shrieked.
The question surprised him. “I … I don’t know what you—”
“Are we to be prisoners until we die, is that your plan?”
“What do you mean,
our
plan?” Marina said.
The she-owl’s eyes hooded dangerously. “Your plan with the Humans. Yes, we know all about it. You’ve asked them to fight alongside you, and now you trap us here in their building.”
“How could we ask them?” said Shade in confusion. “We can’t talk to them any more than you can.”
“Tell us the way out!” the she-owl demanded.
“I don’t know the way out!”
“Then how did you get in
here?”
said the she-owl slyly. Should he tell her the Humans had trapped them too, that he was trying to find a way out, just like them? No, he wouldn’t risk telling her there were thousands of bats just on the other side of the tunnel. Even if the owls could fight the current, the tunnel was too small for them, he was quite sure of that—but he wasn’t about to take any chances.
“We had nothing to do with trapping you,” he said.
“We can wait, little bats. We have patience.” With that, the owl withdrew her head.
Shade looked at Marina. “We’ve been in worse than this.”
“Yeah,” she said, without much conviction. “We’ll tunnel out.”
Marina followed his lead and started searching the hollow for fissures in the bark. Even as he searched, he knew it was probably futile, but he had to stay busy to keep himself from shaking inside.
“What’re the Humans doing?” he muttered angrily.
“Maybe the she-owl’s right,” whispered Marina. “Maybe this is part of the plan, just like Arcadia said. Get all the owls in here, and then they can release us back outside.”
Shade faltered for a moment. He couldn’t deny the idea was appealing. All the owls in the world out of the way? Sounded good. But a big job, wasn’t it? There were a lot of owls out there.
“Here I was, happy with my life for the first time,” Marina muttered, “but no, you had to come along with your big frown and big
She was trembling with anger. “I can’t believe I let you do this.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“Just start thinking, all right, because—”
“Bats!”
It was the legs Shade noticed first, those surprisingly long legs dangling as if boneless, but tipped with four-pronged claws, ready to slash. The owl dropped toward them like a huge, winged head, beak open, shrieking to wake the forest.
Shade veered up into a tight weave of branches with Marina, the owl plunging narrowly past her tail.
“Bats!” the owl screeched again.
Shade could see the owl was a young male, traces of down still clinging around his wings. But even so, it was a giant compared to him. In the center of his chest, the mottled feathers made a pattern of white lightning bolts.
All around them, owls were waking, and within seconds, the air was churning with wings. Even as he blurred through outstretched talons, between legs and over winged heads, Shade was desperately scanning the forest for a hiding place. It was only a matter of seconds before he would be snatched up and eaten whole. He spotted a knothole in a tree, too small for owls, just big enough for them—he hoped. There wasn’t time to makea better measurement. He looked around anxiously for Marina.
“The tree!” he called out, and shot a flare of sound toward it so she could see. And then he hurled himself at the knothole, shooting through and almost knocking himself out against the inside. Dazed, he shifted out of the way as Marina half flew, half tumbled into the tree.
“Move back!” Shade cried, and she jerked away from the opening just as a she-owl’s beak thrust through, snapping. Her hard, pointed tongue vibrated as she roared.
Huddled together at the bottom of the hollow, Shade watched the owl press her flat face against the knothole and glare down at them with one huge, luminous eye. “Why are we here?” she shrieked.
The question surprised him. “I … I don’t know what you—”
“Are we to be prisoners until we die, is that your plan?”
“What do you mean,
our
plan?” Marina said.
The she-owl’s eyes hooded dangerously. “Your plan with the Humans. Yes, we know all about it. You’ve asked them to fight alongside you, and now you trap us here in their building.”
“How could we ask them?” said Shade in confusion. “We can’t talk to them any more than you can.”
“Tell us the way out!” the she-owl demanded.
“I don’t know the way out!”
“Then how did you get in
here?”
said the she-owl slyly. Should he tell her the Humans had trapped them too, that he was trying to find a way out, just like them? No, he wouldn’t risk telling her there were thousands of bats just on the other side of the tunnel. Even if the owls could fight the current, the tunnel was too small for them, he was quite sure of that—but he wasn’t about to take any chances.
“We had nothing to do with trapping you,” he said.
“We can wait, little bats. We have patience.” With that, the owl withdrew her head.
Shade looked at Marina. “We’ve been in worse than this.”
“Yeah,” she said, without much conviction. “We’ll tunnel out.”
Marina followed his lead and started searching the hollow for fissures in the bark. Even as he searched, he knew it was probably futile, but he had to stay busy to keep himself from shaking inside.
“What’re the Humans doing?” he muttered angrily.
“Maybe the she-owl’s right,” whispered Marina. “Maybe this is part of the plan, just like Arcadia said. Get all the owls in here, and then they can release us back outside.”
Shade faltered for a moment. He couldn’t deny the idea was appealing. All the owls in the world out of the way? Sounded good. But a big job, wasn’t it? There were a lot of owls out there.
“Here I was, happy with my life for the first time,” Marina muttered, “but no, you had to come along with your big frown and big
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