Malgar stood at the top floor of his lair lost in thought, absorbing the blackness of the night through the balcony window. Soon he said to himself, soon you will rise again, great lord of the night, and this time there will be no one to stop you. Malgar chuckled out loud to himself, for he had much faith in the success of his ambitions.

"I have returned, my lord." A voice came from behind Malgar.

"Excellent, Mildred." Malgar said, turning to face his minion. His face twisted into a scowl and his eyes began to glow when he realised Mildred came back alone. "Where is the girl?"

Mildred dropped to a knee and bowed. "I'm afraid she and the wolf both escaped, my lord."

A furious red aura rose around Malgar's body. "She WHAT?" The large dark bat charged up an energy ball from his wing and hurled it against the wall in his wrath. The ball erupted into a burst of heat with a thunderous bang. "You imbecile! How can a group of fifty bats and a master sorcerer not be able to capture a single bat?"

"There was another that came to her aid. He grabbed her and teleported away before we could do anything, and the wolf escaped in the confusion."

"There is no excuse for failure! Do you understand me!" Malgar said as he charged up another energy ball.

"Your excellency, I implore you, calm down. She can't run forever."

The red glow in Malgar's eyes dissipated, as did the energy ball he was charging between his wings. Not so much as a sound came from Mildred, who didn't dare provoke his master any further. He watched in dreaded silence as Malgar held his wings apart, eyes closed shut in concentration. What looked like a line of electricity came between his wings, then went away. Malgar gritted his teeth and concentrated harder, but produced no more effect than the first time.

Around that time, another bat walked into the room, unaware of his lord's rage. "Lord Malgar, I..."

No sooner had he said that than Malgar shouted as loud as he could, sending a ball of mystic energy in the bat's direction. After a blinding flash, Mildred realized the bat who had once stood next to him had been vaporized by the attack. He looked up at Malgar, who had turned his back to Mildred, running his wing through his dark hair in frustration.

"My lord, brother Andrew was one of ours! Have you gone mad?!"

Once again a fiery aura of anger burst around Malgar as he shouted, "Silence!"

Mildred trembled, but kept his ground. "My lord, it is imperative that you calm down. The pink bat can't run forever."

Malgar turned his head and growled. At that time, a beautiful female bat of silver fur appeared in the doorway. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Lady Silvia..." Malgar said. He appeared to have taken his comrade's plea to restrain his anger.

"My lord, give me another chance to capture Foxglove. I swear to you, I will succeed this time." Mildred said.

"Out of the question. You've already failed me once, and I have yet to deal with the others who were in your squadron."

"My Lord, I..."

"Not another word, Mildred. My anger is nearing its peak as it is. Provoke me any farther and you will soon be joining Brother Andrew, do you understand me?"

"Yes, m'lord." Mildred said with a bow, realizing there was no reasoning with Malgar in his current state of mind.

"Then go."

Mildred stood up and walked to the doorway where the silver bat was still standing. "Too bad, Mildred. Perhaps your age is beginning to slow you down a bit."

"Watch your tongue, lady." Mildred growled.

After Mildred had left, Sylvia approached Malgar. "You seem stressed, my lord."

"Indeed, Lady Sylvia. Foxglove has escaped, and my homing spell seems to be jammed somehow. Now how am I supposed to find her?"

Silvia walked behind Malgar and started massaging his shoulders with her wings to calm him down. "Oh, don't worry about it too much, lord Malgar. You'll find her."

Malgar sat in silence for a few minutes to enjoy his massage. "Come, my lady," Malgar said as he stood up, draping a wing around Sylvia's slender figure, "Let us gaze upon the stars this lovely night."