Chapter 20

Amazing Grace

As Kassidy was flying back to the cathedral she couldn't stop thinking about what she saw. She wished that she was seeing things and move on but how could she when she saw a crime scene like she was on Law and Order? She knew whoever did this to Grace and her family was very dangerous. How could these animals harm innocent pigeons like Grace and her family? How could they even kill squabs? Those squabs were going to grow up to be like Grace and their Father and now they won't be able to have the chance to do that. She couldn't even imagine the look on Grace's face when she saw these creatures attack her and her family. It must've been one of the scariest moments of her life.

Then out of nowhere she then started to hear someone cry. She furrowed her brow confused and she flicked her ears forward to hear well. It sounded masculine and she thought she should probably ignore it but something told her she better make sure that whoever was crying was alright. Maybe they were hurt or even worse.

She changed course and she set on her way to where the crying was coming from. She started to hear it come from atop another building. She thought that if this was supposed to be some sort of ambush she knew she would regret ever trying to see what was going on. She flew to the top and then she carefully landed quietly so that whoever was crying wouldn't hear her. When she saw who was crying she was surprised to see it was the sentry, Hegland. He was crying in his wing and he looked really upset about something. Kassidy knew Hegland was scared of what he saw and what tried to attack him but she didn't expect him to cry over it. She guessed it must've really traumatized him.

Kassidy looked around her but she saw no pigeons insight. She then figured that he must've been alone at this moment. Poor thing. She then walked over to Hegland and when she got near him she stopped. "Excuse me."

Hegland screamed and he jumped. He then started to shake and he slowly turned his head around and when he saw Kassidy he looked like he was going to pass out. "It's you! Please don't hurt me, I almost got murdered by giant bats and I don't want to be murdered tonight!"

Kassidy put her hands up towards Hegland in a calm way. "Easy, Hegland, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not a murderer."

Hegland then continued to cry. "What am I even saying? Maybe I should've gotten murdered that night! Why am I having the worst luck recently? First I saw my closest friend get murdered by giant bats and now my family got murdered by giant bats!" He then put his face back in his wing to cry more. "My beautiful Grace and my sweet squabs are gone…"

Kassidy gasped when Hegland said, Grace. Again, she thought things were definitely getting crazy. "Did you just say, Grace?"

Hegland sniffed and he looked back at Kassidy. "Why do you care if I said Grace or not?"

"Because I know Grace."

Hegland's eyes widened. "What?" Hegland wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Grace is alive? Is she alright?"

Kassidy smiled weakly. "Her wing is sprained but she'll be alright. A good friend of mine named Zephyr is helping her get her wing fixed up."

Hegland then started to gleam. "After all these days, Grace is actually alive? Can you take me to her?"

Kassidy didn't know how her friends would react to this. She especially didn't know how Shade would react to this. However, Grace was Hegland's mate and if she did bring Hegland to the cathedral they could be happily reunited. But if she did take Hegland to the cathedral would he report them and get them arrested? But when she looked into Hegland's eyes she could tell that he really wanted to see his mate again. How could she refuse? He and Grace were family and family always matters. This also made her think about a quote from Lilo and Stitch. Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

"I can," Kassidy said. "On one condition though, if I take you to Grace will you promise me that you won't tell anyone about me and my friends?"

Hegland nodded without a second thought. "I won't tell anyone about you and your friends. I promise." Kassidy nodded and she flew off the building and Hegland followed her. "So what's your name?"

"My name's Kassidy, but you can call me Kass for short."

"Kassidy?" Hegland asked. "I've never heard of that name before, what does it mean?"

Kassidy looked over her shoulder at Hegland and she smirked. "My name pretty much means clever."

Shade and Holden were trying to come up with the best echo projections they could muster. They bet on one tiger moth to see who could do theirs better and Marina was the judge. Shade had his claws to the sides of his head as he was humming and he could hear Holden doing the same thing. Shade tried to do what Zephyr said he needed to do to conjure an echo projection and he was trying to do a ladybug. It seemed simple and plus they were pretty small. He tried not to let his emotions get in his way, but it was hard to do that now they had a bird problem.

He waited for Marina to decide who's was better and while he did she hummed to herself. "Guys, I don't know. I can barely see them."

The boys both opened their eyes to look at Marina. "Marina, can you just choose?" Shade asked. "Mine has to be better than Holden's."

"Forget it, Smalls," Holden said. "Mine's ten percent better than yours." Holden then smirked. "I can't wait until I get my tiger moth."

Shade smirked at Holden. "You wish, clumsy hunter. I'm going to win this and when I do I'll be the one laughing in the end."

"Not when I win though and when I win I'll be the one laughing in the end."

Marina sighed as she rolled her eyes. "It's a tie."

"What?" The boys both shouted at the same time as their smiles went down.

Marina shrugged her shoulders. "I could barely see them and they both disappeared at the same time."

The three of them then heard a whoosh coming from down below them and when they looked down they saw Kassidy flying up and then Shade gasped when he saw a pigeon flying up with her. They landed near Shade, Holden, and Marina and the three of them were staring at the pigeon shocked. Shade then realized that it was Hegland and to him, it felt weird seeing him again for the third time but he felt some sort of anger that Kassidy could even think of bringing him here. What was she even trying to do?

"Kass, why did you bring him here?" Shade asked. "You gave up our hiding spot!"

Kassidy scowled at Shade and Shade hoped she wouldn't explode into flames. "He's here for a good reason, Shade. He's Grace's mate."

"He's Grace's mate?" Holden asked.

"That's what I said didn't I?"

Hegland looked around him. "Grace? Grace?" All of them then heard murmuring and they looked up to see that Grace was waking up. Hegland then gleamed. "Grace!"

Grace's eyes widened and when she looked down she gasped when her eyes laid on Hegland. "Hegland?"

Hegland flew up to Grace and then he roosted next to her and as soon as he did he gently hugged her. They rubbed their heads against each other and they cooed softly to comfort each other. "Grace, you're okay… I thought I lost you…"

"Me too, Hegland…" Grace then looked at Hegland very sadly and Shade saw that tears were forming in her eyes. "Our family…"

Hegland had the same sad look in his eyes. "I know, Grace… I know…"

Grace then started to cry and as she did, Hegland pulled her closer to him and she continued to cry in his feathers. Shade watched what was happening and he didn't know what to feel at this moment. He looked at his friends and they were looking at the pigeons feeling pity for them. He was still mad at the pigeons for what they were about to do to him and his friends but he didn't know if he should feel bad for these two or not.

Marina then looked at Kassidy. "Is their family…"

Kassidy looked at Marina and she sighed but she slowly nodded her head and as she did, Marina put her hand on her mouth.

Holden walked up to Kassidy. "How'd you and Hegland get in here?"

Kassidy looked at Holden. "There were people coming into the cathedral so we took our chance to slip in before the doors closed." Kassidy then looked back up at the pigeons. "I can't imagine how hard it must be for them at the moment..."

"Well… at least they still got each other," Marina said.

Shade looked back at the pigeons and he saw they were still sad but at the same time, he could see the relief on their faces. This made him think about his Mom. This made him wish he could hug her-even if he might not ever get to see her again.

He then looked at Kassidy. "Kass?" His friends looked at him. "I think you made the right decision of bringing Hegland back to Grace."

His friends looked a little surprised but then Kassidy gave him a weak smile as if to say thanks. Shade then noticed that Zephyr was looking at him and he saw that he was giving him a weak smile and he was slowly nodding his head.

Later, Holden and his friends were on a beam looking down at the people that were seated in neat rows beneath the light and Zephyr, Grace, and Hegland were with them as well. Huge pillars stretched from the floor to the vaulted ceiling. High windows glinted darkly in the walls. The people were staring at the priest that was on the platform reading from the bible out loud. Hanging on the wall behind the priest was a cross with Jesus Christ on it.

Holden listened intently to the priest and it'd been a while since he ever been to something like this. When he was younger his grandparents would take him and his younger brother, Lewis to church every Sunday while his parents were always bickering about something at home and sometimes they even had to spend the night with their grandparents on the weekends if the arguments were really serious. He remembered when he was in church he felt safe and protected from all the worries and problems in his life but since his grandparents passed on he no longer went to church. But at this moment it felt like he was the younger boy again being safe and all as he continued to listen and watch the priest. In this cathedral, he didn't have to worry about getting killed by owls and such. He felt relieved to get away from all that's happened but he knew it wouldn't last long but he wanted to make the most of it before he and his friends had to leave to continue on with their migration.

"I've never seen so many all in one place," Marina breathed, a look of anticipation on her face. As if something wonderful was about to happen."

The priest told the people to rise and they were silent as the priest continued to speak. "What're they doing?" Shade asked.

"They're praying," Holden said.

Shade looked at Holden confused. "Why?"

"We're living in a world that is filled with danger, Smalls. A lot of us come here to pray to our God in hopes of living in a better environment and having a peaceful life."

"Peace is never easy to make with some," Zephyr said. "However, it can serve a great purpose in life."

"Even if it had to be owls?" Kassidy asked.

Zephyr looked at Kassidy. "Even if it had to be owls. Now you and Holden should know something and I told Shade and Marina the exact same thing I'm about to tell you. You must never underestimate the power of a kind act, even towards one enemy."

Holden and Kassidy looked at each other. Holden knew that Zephyr was right and he knew Kassidy was thinking the same thing.

All of them then started to hear the people sing and after a few lyrics in, Holden could tell in an instant that the people were singing Amazing Grace. The church organ was playing as the people were singing and it soothed Holden. He remembered this song by heart and he still remembers it.

"What is this strange and wonderful sound?" Grace asked curiously.

"It sounds beautiful," Hegland said.

Holden smiled weakly at the pigeons. "They're singing and they're singing Amazing Grace." The pigeons stared amazed at what Holden just said. "I think this song would be a good one for you, Grace."

Holden looked back at the people and when he did he started to sing along. He didn't look at anyone else as he continued to sing but this song somehow made him feel hopeful about getting home. He felt confident that God would help him and his friends out of this mess. He hoped that God was watching them.

"You can only hear the world around you with emotions that are calm and a heart that is open," Zephyr said while the four friends were standing next to each other outside on the mouth of the gargoyle statue listening to what he was saying.

Then in the sky, the brightest shooting star soared across the sky and this was Kassidy's first time seeing one and it was magnificent. As it disappeared in the sky she and her friends wowed. She was impressed with how much Zephyr knew and what he could do. What else could this guy do?

"You can hear a star?" Kassidy asked.

"Hear? No," Zephyr said as he shook his head. "But I can sense it."

Kassidy then noticed something in Shade's eyes and those were the eyes of hope. "Can you sense what's happening to my colony?"

Zephyr started to tilt his head and ears in different directions as he was mumbling to himself with his eyes closed. "Uh… so many colonies… so much interference… something is wrong... very wrong…" Zephyr then opened his eyes. "They're in grave danger."

Kassidy's eyes widened at what Zephyr said. She didn't want to believe what Zephyr said but she could tell that Zephyr was telling the truth. Her friends were as shocked as she was but it was mostly Shade who was.

"Where?" Shade asked worriedly. "Where are they?"

"In the valley," Zephyr said. "South of the city."

Kassidy knew they had to find them and fast before it was too late. But would they be able to reach them in time?

"We have to warn them," Shade said.

"Be careful," Zephyr said. "There are owls patrolling this area."

Shade, Holden, and Marina were about to take off but they noticed that Kassidy was walking up to Zephyr. Kassidy smiled weakly at him. "Thank you, for all you've done."

Zephyr smiled and he placed his hands on Kassidy's shoulders. "It was my pleasure, my dear. And Kass?" Kassidy tilted her head. "Keep them safe and be a good friend you are. I hope to see you four again."

Kassidy looked at her friends and then she looked back at Zephyr and nodded. "I will keep them safe, I promise. We also hope to see you again soon."

Kassidy turned around and before they took off, they looked at Zephyr one last time and he was smiling at them. He then turned to look at the city. The friends looked at each other and then they flew off from the gargoyle's mouth and flew into the city. They flew as fast as they could into the city.

"We should be flying low so the owls don't see us," Marina said.

"I think we're fine Marina," Holden said. "Besides I don't see any owls in sight."

Kassidy and Marina looked around the city and they both weren't confident about what Holden said and it wasn't very reassuring to them. Kassidy had a bad feeling that they were being watched. Then as if her thoughts were heard, she heard owl screeches. She and Marina looked up and they gasped when they saw two owls perched on a tower. They then took off into the air and they had their eyes on their targets.

Holden and Shade.

"Holden," Kassidy shouted. "Shade!"

"Shade," Marina shouted "Holden!"

"Behind you!"

The boys looked behind them confused and when they saw the owls they smiled sarcastically. "Guys, it's okay," Holden shouted. "It's just another one of Zephyr's fancy-schmancy echo projections!"

The owls screeched more and they had their talons out ready to grab the boys, but before they could even grab them, Kassidy quickly did everything she needed to do in magic and used her wind spell to quickly blow Holden and Shade away from the owls and when she did the boys yelped and the owls almost caught them. Kassidy and Marina quickly got to the boys as they quickly regained their flight. They then heard the owls screeching again and they looked behind them to see the owls were now charging at them.

"Fly," Kassidy shouted. The four friends quickly flew as fast as they could in the city and as they did the two owls were on them.

"Okay, those weren't echo projections," Holden shouted in fear.

"Stop talking and fly for Nocturna's sake," Marina shouted.

They kept flying and as they did, Kassidy saw a forest on the outskirts of the city. She pumped her wings even harder. "Get into the forest!"

The four of them kept flying as the owls screeched and chased them down. Even though Kassidy and her friends were getting exhausted from the flying they kept going. They eventually made it into the forest. They maneuvered passed anything they came across just to try and lose the owls and Kassidy was even using her magic to try and get rid of them but no matter what they did the owls kept keeping up with them.

Kassidy then noticed that the boys were having a hard time keeping up with her and Marina. If they kept lagging farther behind she knew the owls would get them. They needed a miracle.

"Guys, up ahead," Marina shouted.

Kassidy looked to where Marina was looking to and she saw a tree with a hole big enough for all four of them to fit through but small enough so the owls wouldn't get through. Kassidy kept her eyes on the tree and didn't take them off it as she was determined to get inside it. She didn't even blink.

Then all four of them made it inside and when they did they landed and breathed for air but they didn't have time to regain their energy as they were close to being pierced by one of the owl's talons and they were lucky enough to jump out of the way. The owls were digging their talons into the bark and were trying to make the hole bigger to try and get to the four of them. When one of them had their talons in the tree hole, Kassidy took her chance to bite on them and the owl screeched out in pain and then Kassidy somersaulted out of the way before the other owl could get her. The four friends had their backs to the wall as the owls kept trying to make the hole more open. Holden was shaking scared, Marina kept staring with her eyes widened in horror, while Kassidy and Shade had their teeth bared at the owls and Kassidy was growling. Kassidy wouldn't let them get to them and she was ready to fight them when the hole was big enough for them.

All of a sudden something attacked the owls and the owls screeched out surprised. Then the four of them heard snapping and the cries of the owls. Then everything went silent.

None of them moved and Kassidy could feel her heart pounding but she wouldn't let that stop her. She had to stay strong for her friends. She then started to smell blood like she did when she went to Grace's roost. The four of them looked at each other but together they slowly went to the hole of the tree and when they got to the hole they looked outside and to their shock, they saw the two owls dead. Blood was pouring out of them everywhere and they were covered in it. Not only that they saw not two but four tall figures and Kassidy couldn't believe what she was seeing.

They were giant bats.

They were eating the limp owls and this made all four of them gasp silently. Luckily, the four giant bats didn't hear them and kept eating. However, Kassidy's eyes caught something on one of them and when she saw what it was she gasped silently again.

On the back of the giant bat, Kassidy was staring at had a snake on it.

A/N- Man, I was not expecting to get another chapter in this fast but it's completed. I guess you could say it's also for practically not getting my chapters published a while ago. I'm not gonna lie I'm really excited about starting the next chapter and I've been really looking forward to it. Also, I might change my rating from T to M but I mostly want to keep it T so I might just keep it T for now until I know for sure if I should change it but honestly I might just keep it T. That's all there is to say and the next chapter will be here soon.