Chapter 9

Shade watched as Apollo hovered in the open sky, muttering incantations. Every owl and bat below watched him. In the distance, he could see the Vampyrum heading towards them. There were so many of them that they formed a dark patch over what should have been a kilometre of air.

They had said goodbye to Frieda and left the Oasis, while she headed for the Tree with a few others, escorted by a team of owls. They were near the Cave of Mourners, where Shade had first found Griffin in the Underworld. According to Apollo, they had to remain close to the tunnel in the sky when the battle was fought. The ground was still moving closer towards the cave, and in less than an hour, it would be directly over them.

Shade wondered what was taking Apollo so long. The bat sage didn't seem to be in any hurry, despite the horde of Vampyrum bearing down on them. Most of the owls were still all over the Underworld, locating Pilgrims and capturing Vampyrum to bring to the Tree. If the summoning wasn't complete soon, they would be in trouble. He glanced at Griffin. This time, I won't be separated from him. I'll protect him no matter what it takes.

He was startled by the sound of Apollo's voice echoing through the sky. It was louder than what any ordinary bat was capable of, and Shade wouldn't have been surprised if even the distant Vampyrum could hear it.

"Nocturna!" Apollo bellowed. "I have been brought here by duty and by fate. I am fulfilling the prophecy you have bestowed upon me millennia ago! I am calling you at last to confront your brother, and I will give you strength with the lives of a million bats willing to serve you!"

There were murmurs of alarm among the bats. They hadn't realized that they would have to give up their life energy to summon Nocturna.

Apollo turned back to them. "Bats! Fly to me now, so that we may win this final battle!"

There were more murmurs, but none of them left their roosts. Shade watched nervously as the mass of Vampyrum grew larger, coming closer all the time. And still, not one bat moved.

The ancient sage was undeterred. "You must act now! You have come this far because you fought for our world! If you intend to remain free from Zotz's tyranny, you must offer this one thing you can offer to your god!"

"I'll do it," Griffin said.

"No!" Marina said immediately. "There are more than enough bats, let someone else do it–"

"That's what they're all thinking," he said fiercely, waving a wing at the other bats. "None of the other mothers will want their children to go." He turned his eyes onto his father. "You understand, don't you, Dad? You've done it for me before."

Shade didn't respond. He knew exactly what had to be done, but he couldn't say it out loud. Griffin looked away, and took off without another word.

"Griffin!" Marina cried. She turned to Shade in frustration. "I…he's right. I'm going too." The other bats fell silent as they noticed her flying with Griffin towards Apollo. Shade gazed after them with an ache in his unbeating heart. How could he watch this?

Then Ariel and Cassiel left their roosts too, followed by the Silverwing elders. The bats started murmuring again, but they sounded more excited this time. Cepheus joined the Silverwings a moment later, with Caliban and a dozen mastiffs closely behind him. The other bats were all flapping into the sky one by one, slowly at first, but then with more certainly. Soon the air was alive with shimmering bats. They flew in a circle around Apollo, and Shade saw him give Griffin a smile before turning his head to the stone sky.

"Nocturna! These bats are here at your calling, as am I. We give you our life energy, and await your revival!"

The stars in the stone sky suddenly glowed, their usually dim light become so bright that they were almost painful to stare at. The glow that surrounded the bats lifted off them as one; it twisted in the sky like a swirling cloud. Apollo closed his eyes and breathed out a pure white vapour from his mouth. It pulled away not only the silver energy from him, but his body himself. He didn't move at all, his head and wings still lifted high as he disappeared.

The white aura formed into a sphere in the centre of the silvery energy. A single ray burst outwards, so bright that it forced Shade to look away. When he looked back, he saw that the sphere was reshaping.

The bats' life force began to fuse with Apollo's; slowly, it all formed into a massive torso. The silvery energy shaped forearms and legs from it. When it was all settled, it spread open its wings, spanning hundreds of feet in the sky. The light-spun creature lifted her head, staring down at the bats and owls below that watched in amazement. It was Nocturna.

She spoke. "The time has come." Her voice sounded like that of a million bats speaking at once, and it was beautiful.

Everyone lifted into the air, joining Nocturna and the bats that had recently given their life energy.

When Shade joined Marina, she saw that she was staring up at the goddess, dumbstruck. There were two older Brightwings beside her. They were older than her, and she had a clear resemblance to both of them. He realized that they were her parents.

"Apollo told me of the offering," Marina said quietly. "But he never told me that he would be taken. Even if he did, I didn't know he would be…gone."

She must have grown close to Apollo, Shade thought. "I'm sorry." He wasn't sure what else to say.

She was still gazing forlornly at the glowing form of Nocturna when the ground shook below them. Shade looked down, wondering what could possibly be happening now. The Vampyrum were alarmingly close now, but they had stopped flying and were hovering in the sky, looking at the ground below them.

"They have revived Nocturna," whispered one of the Vampyrum, looking fear-struck. Goth glanced at Phoenix, and saw that even she was shocked beyond words.

"It is that wretched Apollo's doing," spat Kobold. "How dare he summon that heathen into Zotz's own realm!"

But Goth wasn't perturbed. "It will not be long before Zotz raises himself from the depths of the Underworld. Once he has killed Nocturna again, the Upper World will be his."

As if Zotz had heard his words, the ground below them began to tremble. Then it liquefied; the land disappeared completely and turned into a massive sea of black fluid. It wasn't opaque, yet no light penetrated or escaped from it. Goth had seen it only once before, at a cave where the dead saw whatever they desired most. It was one place he wouldn't have dared ventured into without his god guiding him.

The Vampyrum watched in awe as Zotz raised himself up from the endless black sea. Goth had thought he had seen his god before in the Underworld, but realized now that it was just a sound image. This, undoubtedly, was Zotz's true form.

Zotz was a bat, but to say only that would not be nearly enough. He was a gigantic bat, as dark as the depths he appeared out of. He had no fur, but was made out of a blackness that sucked in light the way Nocturna radiated it. His jaw was only slightly lighter, barely visible from the rest of his face. Only his eyes could be easily seen; blood-red and glowing with an evil that no one could look into without fear.

A deep, menacing voice rumbled out of Zotz, yet he didn't open his huge mouth. "The eclipse is still upon us. Nocturna guards the tunnel in the sky, but once I eradicate her and take the life energy of her bats, I will have the power to kill the sun. Go now, but leave Nocturna to me. She is mine."

"In the name of Zotz!" Goth roared. The Vampyrum snapped into action, flying en masse towards their waiting enemies.

The battle was, if possible, worse than the one at the temple.

There were so many bats and owls in the air that Marina couldn't see the sky, or the ground below her. She didn't even know how high up she was. I don't want to fall into that sea of…blackness, that's for sure. She did her best to keep close to Shade and Griffin. She would sometimes lose sight of them, but they would always appear again out of a mass of bats, northern or Vampyrum.

At least we can't die again, she thought. But that would mean the same for the Vampyrum. How was this battle ever going to end?

Marina saw a Vampyrum seize an owl with his large claws and broke his neck. The cannibal inhaled the bird's life, and it entered his body. With a contemptuous flick, the bat threw his unconscious victim into the dark sea below them. The owl did not come back up.

Once someone falls in, they can't escape it. She thought of her parents, feverishly hoping that they were alright.

Shade dove dangerously close to what used to be the ground, grabbing hold of the Hoary that was falling towards it. He grunted with the effort of keeping both of them aloft. The other bat righted himself, and with a nod of thanks, flew back into the fight.

Shade knew what the darkness below them was. He had fallen into a river once that led to a massive chasm with the same substance, and knew that there was no escape for anyone who was swallowed up by it.

He had also seen the land change like this before. Cama Zotz had made the entire Underworld out of sound, and could alter it whenever he wanted.

If only he's made of sound too, Shade thought, looking up at the mighty form of Zotz looming above the Vampyrum. Last time, he had managed to destroy a sound form of Zotz, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it here. This one was all too real. Only Nocturna would be able to defeat him.

And there she was, her silver form hovering just below the tunnel in the sky, watching her brother. What was she waiting for?

Shade spotted Ariel and Cassiel fighting off Phoenix. They would be no match for her, and if she forced them into the dark sea…

He flew towards them as quickly as he could, manoeuvring around the bats and owls. He didn't know what he could do to help, but he couldn't just watch…

He caught a glimpse of Griffin's surprised look as he launched past him. He must have seen Phoenix too, because the next moment he was next to Shade, flapping rapidly towards them.

Phoenix struck Ariel across the face, knocking her away. The gigantic bat grabbed Cassiel by the shoulders and dove downwards. "No!" Shade cried. But he was too slow, too far away. He remembered the sight of Goth attacking Griffin and wrenching the life out of him. The memory overcame him with despair as he saw his father in the claws of this Vampyrum, knowing he was too late again. This time, there would be no sacrifice he could make to undo the terrible thing that was about to occur.

A bat flew suddenly into Phoenix's face, causing her to let go of Cassiel with a roar of surprise. Without wasting a second, he bolted away from her. The Vampyrum flicked at the bat obstructing her vision, but an owl slammed into her side, and they both disappeared into the mass of battle. Shade realized with surprise that his father's rescuer was Halo Freetail. She was joined by–

"Chinook! Luna!" Griffin shouted joyfully. The Silverwings turned towards his voice. Elation appeared on their faces. To his relief, he saw that Luna was still glowing.

Chinook pulled both Shade and Griffin into a tight embrace. Shade saw that there was now a long scar on one side of his face, and wondered how he had died. But the joy in Chinook's voice was unchanged. "Shade! I was wondering when I was going to find you!"

Shade laughed, the battle temporarily forgotten. "Chinook, I'm so glad to see you. You have no idea how much I mean that."

"Is everyone here?"

"Pretty much."

"Have you seen my parents?"

Shade stopped smiling. "They were here a few days ago, Chinook. But they headed for the Tree." It had been good news at the time, but now that everyone here had the chance to be alive again, it felt cruel. Unfair.

The trace of hope in Chinook's eyes faded. "I hope they made it," he said quietly.

Halo appeared at his wingtip. "Sorry to break up the reunion, but we have bad news. This is only a small group of the Vampyrum Goth has gathered. The entire force is going to be on us in half an hour."

Chinook nodded sombrely. "It's true. Halo and I found Luna near the tunnel, and we were taking her to the Tree when everyone else came along. On our way back, we spotted Vampyrum gathering not far off. There's got to be a trillion of them at least."

Shade felt panic seize his heart. There was no way they could fight off a trillion cannibals. They would all be overwhelmed and forced into the dark sea.

"Then let's hope Nocturna can end this, quickly," he said. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, and gasped when he saw what it was.

A colossal wave rose from below them, fifty feet wide at least, and was rushing towards them. There was no way they would be able to fly clear of it.

Zotz summoned a gigantic wave of dark matter from the ground below, directing it at Nocturna. She scattered into silver energy, and the wave crashed back down harmlessly into the sea. She reformed her body, hovering calmly where she was before.

Zotz knew that she was toying with him. He couldn't catch her off guard, and knew better than to try the same tactic again. He flew towards the tunnel instead, faster than sound itself.

But his sister was just as fast. She reshaped again, forming a barrier of light over the hole in the sky; he pulled away. He knew that he would not be able to break through it unless he took her life away.

Zotz created another dark wave, this time moving it towards the mass of bats and owls, knowing that they would be unable to escape it. Nocturna released more silver energy, forming a shield in front of them. The dark matter dissipated.

Zotz felt the slightest irritation form inside him. But he had found her weakness at last. She had to protect her followers, but made no attempt to take the offensive. She could not harm another being, alive or dead.

You are weak, he said. No one would hear it except her.

You would think so, his sister replied. But that is what has blinded you for millennia, Zotz. He hated the sound of her voice; it was now like a bat's, another indication of her inferiority. He willed the sea below them to rise, and it steadily grew.

It is you who is blinded, he retorted. I do not fear death as you do. Now your bats and their foolish owl friends will know the extent of my power.

For the first time, he sensed Nocturna's unease. You are a cruel god, Zotz. You would doom your followers as well as mine to achieve a purpose you know is beyond your abilities.

More silver energy lifted off her, and formed into millions of tiny spheres. They encircled every northern bat and owl, protecting them from the dark energy below.

Zotz gave a maniacal laugh. His sister had fallen into the trap. By giving up her life energy, she had weakened herself too much. He darted towards her again, this time trapping her in his gigantic wings. He felt her struggling to escape, but he kept his impenetrable body around her. He would choke the life out of her, just as he had done millions of years ago. He had won.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain. Impossible. How could any being, mortal or god, be able to cause him pain? He saw a shard of pure white light impaled in the centre of his chest. It was no bigger than a bat, yet he could feel it cutting through him. Apollo!

He heard the sage's mocking laugh. You forget, Zotz. I am with my goddess, as I was the last time I thwarted you.

The shard exploded. Zotz screeched in anguish. He could feel his body shattering apart, the pieces plunging into the dark sea. This time, he had no control over it, and struggled helplessly as he felt his being consumed by it. The last thing he heard was Nocturna's voice.

This is the means to an end. Farewell, brother.