Chapter 14: Bad Idea
"This is hopeless," Marina concluded in a whisper.
They had flown the entire perimeter of the owl enclosure, and nothing stood out as an obvious exit. They had decided to search the area themselves, as Shade was still reluctant to wake the room's inhabitants. The owl enclosure was very similar to the bat enclosure: it contained similar trees, a small pond, the vent they had come through, and another skylight.
"We have to ask someone, Shade."
He shook his head in reluctance, "I still don't know…"
"Come on, Shade," she hissed, rolling her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of here before Goth shows up!"
Shade winced at her outburst, "Shh! I don't want to wake the owls up."
A voice sounded behind them, awfully close. "That's very considerate of you, but I'm afraid it's too late."
Shade nearly careened over in shock as an owl pulled up beside him, its silent wings churning the air effortlessly. How long had it been following them?
The owl jerked its head beckoningly, "Come with me."
Shade and Marina obeyed, trailing behind in the owl's smooth wake as it led them through the enclosure. They weaved their way through the dense foliage, which Shade realized had made it hard to tell just how populated the enclosure truly was. At each tree they passed, the owls roosting among its branches would follow them with their eyes, still staring long after they were gone. It was very disconcerting. The faces changed from owl to owl—some were curious, some disdainful, and some downright angry—but they all watched the convoy with the same, vigilant intensity. Shade had a bad feeling about the whole situation.
"Wait here," their escort ordered them as they settled down in a regal maple tree. He quickly took off again, heading into the higher reaches of the tree's branches without a backward glance.
"They seem pretty friendly so far," Marina whispered, although she too looked apprehensive.
The bats and the owls had been at peace for only a few weeks, and most still felt very uncomfortable in the presence of these giants that had, only days ago, been mortal enemies. Shade couldn't blame them. When you were faced with the brute strength, sharp beak, and hooked claws, you couldn't help but want to fly away.
"He must be going to get their leader," Shade speculated. "Maybe he'll help us. Maybe he knows a way out."
"Maybe," Marina said, unconvinced.
"Well they haven't eaten us yet."
"Yet," Marina pointed out pessimistically. "Doesn't this feel like a trial to you?"
Looking around, Shade noticed for the first time that the surrounding branches were filled with owls, all lined up in neat rows. Some of the onlookers were whispering to their neighbours, and still every single pair of baleful eyes was focused on the two bats. Shade realized that he and Marina were perched on the tree's lowest limb.
"What are they saying?" Marina wondered out loud, uneasily.
Shade calmed his breathing and flared his ears, trying to tune in to the whispered exchanges all around him. If he strained hard enough, he could just catch small snippets of conversation, and the general tone wasn't at all reassuring:
"…when did they get here? Weren't even expecting more owls until…"
"…I saw Captain Sommers arrest them just now. He caught them looking for…"
"…why have they come here? I can't imagine how they could…"
"…that one's been marked by the Humans. Do you think she…"
"…surely they're not a threat; they're too small. Especially the runty one, he…"
"…the Colonel will know how to handle this, he always…"
"…must be spies. Why else…"
"…wouldn't put anything past the bats…"
"Attention!"
Shade craned his neck upwards towards the source of the voice and could roughly make out the white plumage of the owl that had first found them—Captain Sommers, he assumed. Beside the Captain was a much smaller owl, whose feathers had grayed slightly with age. His eyes were not quite as piercing as the Captain's, but reflected vague intelligence.
As the Captain and his companion spiraled down to roost on a branch just above Shade and Marina, the other owls fell silent, standing very stiffly. Their large eyes were aimed straight ahead of them, and Shade was grateful to finally be free of their scrutiny.
"These are the bats, sir," the Captain reported deferentially.
"I see."
Whoever he was, this other owl was quite different from the captain. He didn't look at Shade and Marina with scorn or mistrust. He seemed to give off an aura of fairness, as though he considered the bats equals rather than inferior beings. Shade felt his fear ebb away, just slightly, and he smiled over at Marina encouragingly. Somehow, this owl would make things right.
"And what are your names, if I may ask?"
"I'm Shade Silverwing, from Tree Haven."
The owl nodded gently, turning its soft eyes on Marina.
"Marina Brightwing," she said. "I'm from the same colony."
"This is Lieutenant-Colonel Blake," the Captain informed them curtly, though some contempt leaked through his words. "He's the commanding officer here in the owl enclosure of sector—"
"Thank you, Captain. You may return to the ranks."
The Captain did not move for a moment, and his eyes flashed somewhat resentfully at his superior. Clearly, the Captain did not think highly of his commander, and Shade felt worried for the old owl. Sommers was obviously much larger and much stronger. How did Blake keep him in line?
But finally, Sommers obeyed, taking off and landing amongst the dozens of other owls. Their many eyes had resumed their rapt stare, and Shade began to feel uneasy again.
"I don't know how you bats got here, and I'm not going to ask," the Colonel began. "I've never been one to care for details, so I'll keep things quick. No doubt you two know where you are and what this place is. To us, it is a safe haven from the harsh environment outside these strong walls. We turned our backs on the outside world and started a new life. Here, we still maintain our military conduct and discipline, but our ethics have changed drastically, and for the better I feel."
"I disagree!" one of the spectators exclaimed.
"We were wrong to forget our duties to King Boreal!" another agreed.
"Silence!" the Colonel demanded, with surprising strength. This quieted the discontent owls, but Shade could still hear some unhappy murmurings. He felt his anxiety rise, fearing that their one ally might not have the power to help them.
"What happens outside of this enclosure," the Colonel continued, raising his voice to stifle the whisperings, "Is of no concern to us. The way I see it, you bats have come here bearing no signs of ill intentions. Therefore, I feel that it is only fair to award you the benefit of the doubt, and allow you to leave unharmed."
Marina let out an audible sigh of relief, but somehow Shade knew that it would not be so simple. Sure enough, more dissidents sprouted amongst the ranks of surrounding spectators, and their strength seemed to be growing.
"This is a gross betrayal of owl law!" someone burst out. "You're growing soft and senile Blake—so quick to assume innocence. These two are our enemies! How do we know that these bats aren't spies?"
"Spies!" Shade blurted out uncontrollably. "Why would we need spies? The owls and the bats are at peace now!"
"A likely story," a new owl jumped in. "We may be cut off from the outside world, but we are no fools!"
"No, it's true!" Marina pleaded, "Just a few weeks ago we came to a truce. We agreed that the Humans were our real enemies!"
Her words were met by stunned silence.
"They seem to be treating us just fine at the moment." The sarcastic replied broke the shocked quiet, and suddenly the whole tree was in uproar.
"I say we kill them!"
"Tear off their wings!"
"They'll not leave here in one piece!"
"No!"
The Colonel flared his wings angrily and a reluctant hush fell over the crowd. "When I first arrived here, long before any of you naïve and foolish hatchlings, I vowed to put an end to the flawed system in which I was raised. Maybe there were reasons for the way we treated the bats, and maybe there weren't. But it was so caught up in politics, and corruption, and ages of silly resentment, that I couldn't bring myself to trust our rulers any longer. When I found this place—and what a paradise it was! Free of the cold, free of danger—I promised myself that I would resist the old prejudices I had been forced to adopt. Our new society is to be one of justice and fairness. I will not kill two bats that have committed no crimes, just as I would not kill two owls that have committed no crimes. All that we have been taught is based on arbitrary rules that demand our hatred towards other species!"
"An arbitrary rule!" someone blurted out indignantly.
"There were reasons for the laws we made!"
"The bats are traitors!"
"Enough!" the Colonel said, but the effect was weaker this time. Shade found himself dreadfully doubting the commander's power. "I will not see these bats come to harm!"
Shade was reminded of Orestes—the only other owl that had stood up for the bats. He had been instrumental in the peace treaty between the two species. And now, another owl stood before them, willing to risk everything for what he knew was right.
"I think we've taken the old crone's orders long enough," a particularly muscular owl said to its neighbour. Its voice was just above a whisper, as though experimenting—trying to see who would support him and who would fight him. His face was fierce, and Shade worried that the owl's gaze alone could overpower the Colonel.
Shade let his gaze shift over the other owls—there must have been over fifty of them. Each was slightly nodding its head or staring at their leader contemptuously, weighing its options. He was witnessing a terrible mutiny, and Shade began to feel sorry for the old owl. It seemed that he and Marina always had the best of timing. Captain Sommers set down beside Lieutenant-Colonel Blake, and Shade feared that he too was about to overthrow him. To his surprise, Sommers spoke gently:
"Colonel, maybe it's time you retired. You've been a good leader, but you don't have the strength for these kinds decisions anymore."
He had the air of trying to defuse a situation carefully, before anyone got hurt or did something foolish. The Colonel's eyes lost their ferocity and seemed to dim slightly. His head drooped for a moment, lost in thought, before turning towards Sommers.
"I knew I would never be able to exert a hold on this group much longer. You're all too young, too foolish to understand. But I have hope still. Hope that one day, not so long after I'm gone, you'll realize just what fools you were."
"I've had enough of all this talk," the burly owl from before snarled as he jumped down beside Marina. "Out of respect for my superiors, I won't kill you," he said, "But I can't risk letting you fly back to your elders. I think pecking off your wings will be a fair compromise."
"Leave them alone, Sergeant!" The Colonel said, coming between Marina and the younger owl.
"I thought we made things clear, Blake: you're not in charge anymore."
The fallen leader took a deep breath, his eyes blazing for the first time. "Perhaps, Sergeant. But I refuse to sit idly by as my morals are so openly violated. If you want to attack these bats, you'll have to kill me first!"
"That's easily enough arranged."
In the blink of an eye, the Sergeant was on top of the Colonel, snapping at him with his beak. Their wings were a blur, indiscernible from each other, feathers flying everywhere as the two owls screeched madly.
"No!"
A third owl swooped down and grasped Blake with his claws, carrying him away to safety. All to quickly, a vast battle broke out around them, loyalists and dissidents fighting savagely. The Sergeant hooted indignantly, scoffing at the Colonel's savior.
"You're lucky Patterson was here to save you, you old geezer!" His eyes returned to Marina malignantly. "I'm sorry, but I'll need to confiscate your wings."
Marina tried to make a break for it, but the Sergeant deftly hopped onto her back, pinning her to the branch. Shade tried to help her, but he too was swiftly pressed against the bark, his wings stretched wide by an owl's talons. The limb's wood dug into his cheek, forcing his head to the right where Marina stared back at him. Her face was contorted in pain, the Sergeant's claws digging into her skin. The crushing weight of the owl's body on his back made it difficult to breathe—Shade had no air to spare for echo projections. There would be no escape.
"I'm sorry, Marina," he gasped. The owl was not the only weight on his chest as he spoke. "This is all my fault."
To his surprise, she smiled weakly. "I have to admit, Shade: it was fun while it lasted."
"You'll want to stay very still, little bat," the Sergeant warned her, calm and oddly detached from the war raging around him. "Believe me: you don't want me to miss."
He raised his head to strike—and very slowly at that. To Shade, time had slowed dramatically, and each breath seemed to take hours. With agonizing suspense, the Sergeant's sharp beak descended towards Marina's extended forearm. Surely, Shade thought, it would not hit its mark. Surely someone would save them before impact.
It was not so.
With a sickening thud, the owl's beak penetrated Marina's wing. Shade yelled out in horror, feeling the pain course through his own membrane as he watched Marina scream and writhe. His stomach lurched and his mind raced—he had never heard Marina scream like that. He wanted to claw out his own ears just to drown the noise.
"Marina!"
Hearing his own terrified voice only made things worse as blood oozed from her fresh wound, and he marveled that he was still conscious. He marveled that anything could still exist at all. Surely the world had come to an end, so excruciating was the pain in his heart as he watched the Sergeant torture her. This couldn't be happening.
But it was happening, as the anguish on Marina's face made all too clear.
The owl raised its head again, and Shade tore his gaze from Marina's wounded wing. He couldn't bear to watch any longer. It took a great effort to turn his eyes, for his head was still pressed firmly against the tree's limb. His panicking mind only vaguely sensed his own guard-owl rearing back to strike when his eyes focused on a strange, dark shape fluttering around the enclosure. It seemed to be searching for something.
His vision suddenly became clearer, snapping into focus, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Marina was bleeding—practically dying, in Shade's mind—and he was soon to suffer as well. There was chaos all around them as those loyal to the fallen Colonel fought to suppress the usurpers. And now, Shade watched as the one thing that could make the entire situation worse approached them determinedly from the other side of the enclosure. Shade smiled inexplicably.
Goth.