Chapter 41

Breaking the Spells

The Vampyrum Prince took a deep breath in as he awoke from his slumber all thanks to the trick those four friends pulled on him and the other three giant bats. He felt no good when he opened his intense green eyes as the sleep seemed to have made things worse for him. Too much sleep was never the way to go after all and Goth was not one to sleep in too much but because of what the four friends did he now felt like a disaster. His fur was a mess now and when he saw it he started to dust himself off and as a Prince, he was he had to look like one, and even though he wasn't back in his jungle where he should be he still had to act his part.

After he dusted himself off he rubbed his temples so he could try to wake up more and the drugs that were in his food made him go out like a light. He cursed at himself inside his head in Spanish that he didn't see this coming. Those four friends managed to outsmart him and the other three giant bats and they were even keeping a close eye on them… perhaps though they weren't watching them carefully enough. It seemed like Martin did was genius, let alone it looked like the friends wouldn't have even escaped them because of Martin's magic but it seemed like karma bit them right in their hides.

Goth wasn't sure how long he was asleep for but when he looked to the sky it seemed like he'd been sleeping for a while and this made him growl in irritation. Not only was time going by too fast but now they lost those four little bats once more and Goth knew that they would have to find them because not only would they be the key to getting the food he and Throbb needed for the journey back home but the witch was the other key in which Goth and Throbb needed for them to get home. If they didn't have the redhead Silverwing for Martin he wouldn't help them get back home and Goth wasn't about to let that happen. He would make sure he got the witch to Martin because he hated these northern wastelands that were chilling him to the core and if he even kept on staying here it was likely he would end up dying as his prey would.

In one part of Goth's brain, it was telling him to do everything in his power to be sure that the witch would be gotten to Martin but in his other part of the brain, it was telling him that he shouldn't do it. It was still quite something to Goth that he didn't figure out sooner that the witch was a half Vampyrum and seeing half species of bats nowadays was pretty rare and the thought of even a Vampyrum bat and Silverwing mating was beyond laughable to Goth. Why would a Vampyrum even waste time wanting to mate with a weak insectivore bat when they had the strongest of Vampyrums to mate with? How did the witch's parents even end up mating anyways? More importantly how in the name of Zotz did they come across each other? It was one of the reasons why Goth wanted to blackmail that witch and even though she and her friends managed to escape, Goth thought that the information he had of Kassidy being a half Vampyrum could very much likely be a benefit to him somehow.

The witch was strange though for certain and after the events, Goth saw for himself while everyone else was sleeping something told him that Kassidy was no normal bat and witch… She could've been much more than that and the symbols that were now on the back of her neck proved otherwise. It was no dream for certain and if it was the Prince might've just shrugged it off but it was no dream. It was all real and it was like some sort of message was given to him from the one and only god he worshipped.

Then, Goth heard some groaning and he turned to see his brother-in-law waking up, and like him, Throbb looked terrible. Throbb was now rubbing his forehead gingerly and as he was, Goth approached him. The chubby bat then noticed Goth approaching him and when he did, Throbb tried to speak. "Goth, you're awake."

The Prince rolled his eyes at the obvious thing Throbb could say. "Is there anything you could say that is not incredibly obvious?" His eyes then narrowed at Throbb. "And where the hell is Martin and Dianna?"

Throbb didn't need to answer that question as he was looking at Goth's answer with confusion and also some disgust. Confused, Goth looked to where Throbb was looking, and when he did he was about as more confused and even disgusted by what he was seeing. Martin and Dianna were still asleep but what Goth saw was something he couldn't have even imagined Martin doing. Martin's finger was up his nose. Why did Martin have his finger up his nose? Even Goth had the sense in not doing something as gross as this but then the Prince realized something: one of the four friends must've done this to Martin and whoever did it to Martin, Goth could almost guarantee that Martin was going to get back at them and not in a kind way for that matter. Martin looked to be the type that loved to make someone suffer and suffering always seemed to put a smile on that snake-eyed bat.

Then, Martin and Dianna started to move and slowly wake up and as they were, Throbb got up and got next to Goth as they watched the two waking up. Goth then also noticed the side of Martin's head seemed to have a gash on it with dry blood spreading out on the side of the forehead. It got Goth to think that one of the four friends also did this to Martin and he could only guess who gave that gash to Martin.

When Martin and Dianna finally opened their eyes, Martin had some confusion in his eyes as he looked around him but then his eyes laid on his finger up his nose. Goth and Throbb looked at each other and back to Martin and when they looked back to Martin the snake-eyed bat's fur bristled in anger as he then snarled. Martin took his finger out of his nose and as he did fire started to form on the angered bat and Goth barely saw Martin get angry but when that bat was angered it seemed like he wanted to go out on a killing spree like a mad bat. All of the sudden, Martin cursed loudly and as he did he threw a ball of fire in a random direction and it just so happened that the fireball was coming towards Goth and Throbb and they barely had time to duck but they were lucky as to not have been burnt alive.

Goth and Throbb's eyes widened while they were still on the ground but they slowly managed to stand up and they looked behind them to see a tree now on fire. What stood out the most on this fire was that it was no regular looking fire; it was a green color. Goth had never seen green fire in his lifetime and the only type of fire he was used to was the red mixed orange kind.

However, Goth then looked back at Martin in anger. "You almost killed us, Martin!" Goth shouted at the snake-eyed bat.

Martin looked at Goth still in anger. "Do I look like I care about your life you stupid Prince!?" More of the green fire spread on Martin's body. "Keep in mind that your life isn't my concern and whether we still have that deal or not your life and his life ain't my problem!" He cursed once more as he looked away from Goth. "Those four managed to outsmart us… We didn't watch them closely… We didn't… watch… them… CLOSELY!" More of the green fire rose on Martin as he then turned back around and green fire could now then be seen in his eyes.

Goth and Throbb took a few steps back and Goth almost thought that Martin was going to set the whole forest on fire, however, Martin was then trying to calm down and as he was the green fire on him was slowly dying down and as it was, Goth and Throbb stayed quiet and dared not to say another word and if one of them even tried to talk, Martin might've indeed burnt one of them alive. Dianna then approached her husband and as she was, Goth saw that her hair looked like a mess but he tried not to think too much of it.

"Why did that orphan have none of her wounds on her, dear?" Dianna said. "Did you heal her wounds?"

Martin calmly looked at his wife as he then thought to himself. Goth dared not to say anything to those two about what he witnessed the other night. Her wounds were healed but not by Martin. Her wounds were healed differently and if Goth even said anything about it he could almost guarantee that these three might've thought he went crazy.

"No, I didn't," Martin said. "I don't know how her wounds got healed but I'm gonna find out one way or another. That snake was still on her and there was no way she even healed herself."

"Well, what other explanation could there be?" Dianna said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Like I said: I don't know." Martin then clenched his hands into fists. "But when we find those four they'll be sorry for what they did…" With that, he and Dianna were about to take off but before they did, Martin wiped the finger that was in his nose onto Throbb's mane while walking and not looking at him.

Throbb's eyes widened and he was disgusted by what Martin did but he still didn't say a word and neither did Goth. Martin and Dianna were crazy for certain but what the two didn't realize was that Martin and Dianna were even crazier than how they appeared.

A few days and nights have passed since the last time Orestes saw the bats he made friends with and even though he only knew them for a night he still considered them to be friends. Never would he have thought though that he would've made friends with bats or even humans that could transform into bats. It was like some wild fantasy that one would like to dream about and Orestes was pretty glad he met Shade, Holden, Marina, and Kassidy… However, the owls still believed that Kassidy was still a monster trying to take over forests with the help of Silverwings and giant bats, even when Ursa and Quacey told his Father about his four friends' stories.

Because the owls didn't believe Ursa and Quacey, Brutus banished those two to the high mountains for high treason as he thought that Kassidy used some sort of magic on them as he thought that Orestes was under some kind of spell by Kassidy. Orestes was still mad at his Father that he wouldn't believe him, even when his Father saw the giant bats for himself. It angered him more at his Father that he wouldn't listen to Ursa and Quacey and now they were banished. The wolves were now the rulers because Luger reported his cousin and Ursa to Brutus. Orestes couldn't believe his Father would appoint Luger to be the leader and if he was being honest he would much rather of seen Ursa to be the leader of the beasts, not that tattle tailing wolf.

As the nights and days have passed, Orestes had to be watched by one of the guards and he was not allowed to go anywhere without anyone watching him, it was frustrating to Orestes that he couldn't do anything without anyone watching him. His own Father really believed that Kassidy did some sort of spell on him… his own Father couldn't even have the heart to listen to his son and if his Mother was still around she would've listened to him. Orestes sighed as it was months ago since his Mother passed away and he now wished she was here to comfort him in her wings like she usually did. His Mother understood him more than his Father did and he could almost guarantee that if he even died, his Father wouldn't even care.

The young great horned owl hadn't spoken to his Father ever since he made a Barn owl named Zenon watch him. Barn owls like Zenon had great hearing and if Orestes even tried to go somewhere, Zenon would always be there watching him. Orestes was indeed impressed though how better of hearing Zenon had than his.

Orestes was at the moment preening himself after he did some hunting and of course, Zenin was on watch duty but he didn't complain about it to his Father as he was too angered at him to even speak a word to him. Whenever his Father told him to do something, Orestes would give his Father the silent treatment but do as he said. His Father wouldn't listen to him anyway and why bother even trying to talk sense into him when he knew he wouldn't even bother listening to him? Orestes hated his Father as much as this war that was now brought forth.

As Orestes was preening himself, a short-eared owl came towards him and Zenon and then landed on the tree branch away from the one the two were perched on. "Excuse me, Orestes." Orestes stopped what he was doing and looked at the owl. "Your Father requests your presence. King Boreal and Princess Helen are here and he says that it's important that you come at once."

"The King and Princess are here?" Zenin said. "I can understand the King being here but wouldn't the Princess be safer if she was back at her home?"

"Well, as far as I'm aware the Princess came along so she can gain some experience from her Father as far as all this goes. She is the heir after all."

Orestes's eyes widened at the mention of Helen. He hadn't seen Helen in a long time and when they were younger they were playmates. Their Mothers were great friends when they were still around and when he and Helen saw each other again they would play some great games as young owlets would do. He wasn't sure when it was the first time he and Helen met but he knew for sure he met Helen when he wasn't fledged yet. As Orestes and Helen grew older they barely saw each other as they both were now becoming busier and Orestes had to admit that he missed the good ol' days when there were no wars to worry about and other things like that.

Now, Orestes felt excited but nervous at the same time to see Helen again. He couldn't imagine the changes Helen had and he wondered if she too was excited and nervous to see him as well. She was probably the only friend he had back then and being her friend was an amazing experience for the young great horned owl. They got along pretty well and it could be said that they were best friends… Were they considered to be best friends still?

"Alright, I will follow you to them then," Orestes said.

The short-eared owl nodded then unlatched himself from the tree branch and as he did, Orestes and Zenin did the same thing and then started to follow the short-eared owl. As they were flying, Orestes was trying to think of what to say to Helen once he saw her again. He didn't wanna make a bad impression in front of her and he definitely didn't wanna make a fool of himself. What would she think of him now after a long time of not seeing each other? Orestes tried not to think too much about it but he hoped that Helen would at least speak to him.

Shortly all three of the owls could then see three owls perched on tree branches with one of them being Orestes's Father on one branch and two snowy owls on another branch. King Boreal and Princess Helen. Orestes took a deep breath as he was getting more and more close to these owls and he told himself to try and get this over with. He didn't want to speak to his Father but he really wanted to speak to Helen.

As Orestes and the other two owls were flying towards them, Zenin and the short-eared owl went to a far off branch while Orestes then perched on the branch his Father was on without saying a word to him or even looking at him. However, he couldn't take his eyes off of Helen. She changed a lot from the last time Orestes saw her and she looked very beautiful. She had white feathers with some black spots in places, with her long, wavy hair having a very dark blue color that almost looked like it was black, a mane that was a blue color as well, along with her beak being a dark gray color. What stood out the most on the Princess were her eyes. They were unlike any eyes anyone has ever seen before as they were an elegant purple. It was rare for any owl to obtain an eye color like Helen's and she so happened to of gotten her eyes from her Mother. With eyes like Helen's, it was like staring into an enchantress.

"Good, you're here," Brutus said as he looked at Orestes and he then looked back at King Boreal. "As I said before Your Majesty, the witch put some sort of spell on my son to make him think random things. She has crossed the line and she needs to be stopped before she causes more damage."

Orestes glared at his Father in pure hatred and wanted to protest but he promised himself he wouldn't even say a word to him. He then looked away and tried not to yell at his Father. If he did it would only make things worse.

"From what the messenger told us this is quite serious," the King said seriously. The King like Helen had white feathers but much more black spots on him than she did, a bit of a brighter blue hair color than Helen's, a long beard with the same color as the King's hair, a black mane with a gold color mixed into it, yellow eyes, and the same beak color as Helen. King Boreal was very strong and could practically take down almost anything. It almost made Orestes wonder what it'd be like for the King to face a giant bat. "But are you sure that this is all true, General?"

"Absolutely," Orestes's Father confirmed. "I've seen it with my own eyes and so has Orestes. A lot of weird things have been happening here, Your Majesty. A few days ago two owl guards were found dead and they were the exact two that were guarding the cell the giant bats were in. I believe it may have been the witch's doing."

Orestes cringed at the reminder of the event his Father spoke of. When Orestes, his Father, and a few other owls came back, an owl guard reported the two owl guards guarding the cell the giant bats were in to be dead. When the guard showed Brutus and Orestes the dead bodies, Orestes was shocked to see what happened to them. The giant bats hadn't killed them; rather the two owls attacked each other and somehow even ended up killing each other. Many wounds could be seen on those two owls and blood was shed everywhere in the area they were killed and even thinking about this more made Orestes want to regurgitate a pellet.

It was scary though that the giant bats were now on the loose but the only question was how did they manage to escape? Was it possible that… Martin did this? No. That was impossible, he was dead. Orestes saw it with his own eyes. There was no way Martin survived… right?

The King hummed to himself in thought and as he was, Orestes noticed that Helen was looking at him. Orestes then smiled at Helen and waved a little to her. On the inside, Orestes worried that Helen now thought of him as weird since he smiled and waved to her. However, to his relief, Helen smiled back and waved a little to him. Orestes now really hoped to speak to her soon enough.

"If it is indeed true, General then this is a really big matter now," the King said. "I want all the owls we can get for this war and when the time comes I want us to be fully prepared. Our main target will be the witch and once she's killed off the war will then be over."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

"I also want as many beasts as we can get to be prepared and I'm sure the leader of the beasts can handle that."

Orestes's eyes widened at what he heard. Expand the army? That was a lot of owls and beasts and once more they really didn't understand. Kassidy didn't do any of this. This was now getting the great horned owl worried. He had to warn his friends, but how? He was being watched by Zenin all the time so how could he slip past him? Orestes didn't know but he knew he had to warn his friends one way or another.

"Father, are you sure about this?" the Princess then spoke. "Won't we be risking many lives of owls and beasts if we did this? The witch seems like she's very powerful."

The King looked at his daughter. "The more we have the better the chances of winning this war, daughter. We will find a way to end the witch before she does further damage to the forests."

"Your Majesty, may I have a saying to this?" Orestes all the sudden said and when he did he could feel his Father's gaze on him but Orestes didn't look at him as he spoke to the King.

The King tilted his head as his eyes narrowed in suspicion and Orestes didn't even need to question why he was doing that. A lot of owls here think Kassidy put a spell on him anyways and it was like anything he said would make him the bad guy. Orestes tried not to let that get to him though as he has been different his whole life compared to these other owls.

King Boreal then shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Couldn't we maybe solve this whole problem peacefully? Kassidy is not the enemy-"

"The witch?"

Orestes nodded. "Yes, and she was not the one causing all this trouble and neither are the Silverwings."

"So you're saying that giant bats managed to do all this?" The King said in an annoyed manner.

"Please just hear me out. Yes, the giant bats managed to do all this, there are four of them and one of them has magic like-"

"Quit your nonsense, boy!" Brutus shouted at Orestes. "There is no giant bat that has magic and that's final! Not another word about it."

Orestes wanted to speak further to the King but it was clear that he didn't believe him like his Father didn't believe him. He wasn't sure what Helen thought but at this point, she probably wouldn't even believe him anyways like the other owls here didn't. Why couldn't the owls here be understandable like he was?

Without another word, Orestes took off from the tree branch he was on and he didn't dare to see if anyone was following him. None of the owls believed him and they probably never would. What was the point in even staying here any further when none of the owls here would even listen to him? Orestes wanted to leave and find his friends so he could warn them without any of the owls seeing him leave. It would be a hard task for him to do to try and leave without anyone noticing but he couldn't take it anymore here and would much rather help his friends on their journey. However, he didn't know where they could be by now but he was determined to find them.

Orestes then landed on a tree branch and as he did he thought about his plan in which he could find his friends and as he was he noticed Zenin perched on a far-off tree branch on a different tree. The young great horned owl turned his back to the barn owl and continued to think. If he were to leave without anyone noticing how would he do that? He needed to think very carefully about this and one wrong move and the owls here would definitely be keeping their eyes on him at all times.

As he was in his thoughts, someone landed near him. "Hey, Orestes."

The young great horned owl jumped at the voice but when he turned around he saw that it was just Helen. Orestes steadied his heartbeats and as he was he was surprised that Helen was here but in a way he was pretty glad that she was here. This could be his opportunity to talk to his snowy friend and he decided to not lose his chance.

"Oh, hey, Helen," Orestes said. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I just wanted to see if you were alright," Helen was then looking at Orestes from his head to his talons, and after she did that she looked back at the great horned owl with her purple eyes. "You certainly changed a lot."

"You have too, Helen." Orestes then sighed as he looked down. "Well, I appreciate you doing that but you really don't have to worry about me. I mean you probably would rather be getting experience from your Father and not worry about me."

"Orestes, I can always gain experience from my Father at any time but right now I see that you're upset." Helen then placed her wing on Orestes's back. "Are you upset because of your Father?"

Orestes felt surprised that Helen really wanted to be sure that he was alright. None of the owls here have ever asked him that but hearing Helen say that she wanted to check up on him made Orestes feel glad. She may after all still be his friend, even when they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

The great horned owl then looked back at Helen with a sad look in his eyes. "It's much more than that but… yeah. My Father is one of the reasons why I'm upset." He then inhaled and then exhaled out cold air. "He just never wants to listen to me and wouldn't even care if I'm dead."

"I'm sure that's not true," Helen said with reassurance. "He's… probably just confused on how to feel towards you." Helen then smiled weakly at the young great horned owl. "If you ever need anything while I'm still here you can always come to me. Even though we haven't seen each other in a while I still like to think of you as my friend and I'd be happy to help at any time."

Helen was a great owl and she still was to Orestes's eyes. Orestes was very glad to have a friend like Helen he hadn't seen in a long time. Even though she didn't have to comfort him she still did. Friends had each other's backs after all.

Orestes smiled weakly back at Helen. "Thanks, Helen. I really appreciate it."

Orestes then began to wonder if she'd be willing to help him sneak out of here and help him find his other friends but he wasn't sure though. If he did even mention this to her would she think of him as crazy? Would she report him? Did she believe that he was under a spell like the other owls did? He wasn't sure but deep down he wanted to tell her about his plan but would it be wise of him to do so? Orestes would have a lot to think about.

They hadn't stopped flying for hours and even though most of them were getting tired and were feeling aches in every body part they dared not to stop as they felt like if they even stopped it was more than likely that the giant bats would have better chances of catching up to them. They didn't stop for a break or even to get food. They needed to get as far as they could from the giant bats. The sky was now getting lighter and at any moment the sun would be up and they all needed to hurry before the sun peaked on the horizon.

Kassidy and her friends have been following Lightning for a very long time and they didn't say anything to each other as they all focused their attention on getting as far as they could from the giant bats. Who knew how long it would be until the giant bats woke up and went to go after them? Kassidy could only imagine what Martin was going to do to her once he got his hands on her… After she hit him on the side of the head with a rock she wouldn't be surprised if Martin now wanted to kill her. After all, she was Martin's main target now after all she did.

Quick, in here, Lightning spoke to the four friends through their minds as they were gaining altitude and up ahead of them, the four friends could see an upper cave in a mountain.

Kassidy looked up to the horizon and she could see the sun close to its peak and even though she was feeling exhausted from all the flying she and her friends did she pumped her wings harder and faster and her friends did the same thing. At that moment, they all managed to fly inside the cave and they barely made it inside as the sun was now rising. When they all landed inside the four friends collapsed to the ground with exhaustion. They were all trying to catch their breaths and it was like they were being tortured in a school gym class by having them do 100 laps.

However, as they were all trying to catch their breaths they noticed that Lightning didn't look like he was out of breath. How was that possible? Maybe he had some sort of magic to do the trick? Did he perhaps have magic as Kassidy did? It would make sense since he can speak to them through their minds.

"Thank Nocturna Lightning found this cave for us," Marina said as they were all slowly starting to get up but they were still exhausted from all the flying they did. "I guess we should probably thank you."

It's my pleasure, Lightning said through all the friends' minds. I actually found this cave before I got to all four of you and it seems I chose the right cave. He then looked at Kassidy and Shade. It seems like Martin did his magic on you two, but I have what you two need to get rid of Martin's doing. Lightning then went over to a corner and the four friends watched as he then removed some leaves on top of a couple of objects with one of them a bottle with a clear liquid in it and a golden pocket watch. He then looked at Kassidy. Kass, dump this holy water on the arm that has the snake on it and once you do it should be off of you.

"How do you know about holy water?" Holden asked. "And where did you even get that and the pocket watch from?"

This was all Morgana. She is the one who told me about holy water and gave me these items.

"Who's Morgana?" Shade asked as he tilted his head.

Lightning looked at Shade. Morgana is a witch like Kass.

At what Lightning said, Kassidy thought about it. Morgana, a witch like her… Did she and Lightning know about the spells Martin did on her and Shade? Did they even know that those giant bats had them in a good spot for a while? As she thought about it more she thought it would make sense otherwise Lightning wouldn't have brought these items but the question was how did Lightning and this Morgana know about the whole situation that happened with her and her friends while those giant bats had them?

However, she then walked over to the bottle and picked it up. Kassidy had never used holy water before and she wasn't entirely sure about this but if she even used her magic or said a spell the snake would likely spread pain towards her arm and who knows what else would happen. Lightning said that this holy water would get the snake off of her and she had to try and trust his words. It's not like this holy water would poison her right?

Before Kassidy could even dump the holy water onto the snake she looked at Lightning as she then thought of something. "Lightning… the snake on my arm… this was some kind of bad magic Martin used isn't it?"

At what Kassidy said, Lightning nodded. Blood magic.

Kassidy had the feeling it was either blood magic or black magic as those were two kinds of magic that a lot of people with magic dared not to mess with. But if someone had the guts to use it then they either must've been out of their mind or they just didn't care. Either way, those types of magic were not to be messed with. They're curses to anyone out in the world and Martin's doing on Kassidy with that snake was a curse on her for certain.

If anything, Kassidy would be glad to get rid of that snake on her arm for good and never have to see it again. It was causing too much pain for her and she would be very glad to use her magic again without that stupid golden snake getting in the way. The weird thing was she's never heard of a golden snake preventing someone from using their magic and it was the first time she's ever seen this golden snake do its work a couple of nights ago. It also made her wonder though how Martin knew about this and how he could've done it, considering he did come from the jungle… Unless there was something more to Martin that she didn't realize.

There were definitely a lot of things about Martin that Kassidy didn't like one bit and he was a dangerous bat being for certain. How he could know all these spells was beyond her. He was indeed good with magic but for very bad deeds like harming Kassidy and her friends. However, the more Kassidy thought about Martin the more she thought there was something odd about him, including his wife. She wasn't sure what though but even thinking about them brought a very bad taste to her mouth.

"Wait, what's blood magic?" Shade asked.

"It's when someone performs magical feats by using blood," Kassidy said as she continued to look at the snake. She couldn't stop staring at the bloody red eyes and she felt like this snake was watching her every move like a hidden camera was inside it. "It's not one of the best types of magic to be used and the same thing can be said for black magic."

"What do you call the magic that you use?"

"White magic." Although Kassidy wasn't entirely sure if her magic was considered to be white magic for now she would much prefer it if it was white magic, there was also gray magic but Kassidy, for now, would stick to saying that her magic was white.

"So white magic is the good kind of magic isn't it?" Marina asked.

Yes, that's correct, Lightning said into the friends' minds. But magic can be complicated at some points but if used correctly then there is no harm done, at least for some types of magic. Lightning then looked at Kassidy. It would be best now that you dumped the holy water on that snake. No one should stop you from using your magic completely and once that snake is off of you, you will need to do that sight-seeing spell. I'm assuming you remember how to do it.

"Yes, I remember how to do it," Kassidy confirmed, but she then looked at Lightning confused. "Don't you have magic though? Couldn't you do the sight-seeing spell?"

Lightning shook his head. I'm afraid I do not have magic as you do. But if I had magic I would've done that spell for certain.

"How are you able to speak to us through our minds though if you don't have magic?" Marina asked.

"Yeah, and how come you don't speak while moving your beak?" Holden asked.

Lightning looked at the four friends calmly with his dark brown eyes. He didn't seem to have a problem with answering any of their questions and it was like he answered questions like these many times before. After all, he was an adult hawk and looked like he could've been around his middle ages. Lightning did look old but even though he did he looked very strong and fast and Kassidy could tell because she's seen him in action before when he saved her back at the towers of fire. He was a magnificent hawk with a mysterious vibe to him.

Morgana used a spell so I can communicate with anyone using my mind and now it'll always be with me. I can even hear someone speak to me through their minds, Lightning said in their minds. As to your question, Holden, I was born without a voice.

The four friends gasped at what Lightning said. Born without a voice? Kassidy couldn't imagine all that Lightning been through without a voice. It was a terrible thought really at having no voice. How could anyone speak their mind or even sing? Kassidy felt really bad for Lightning but the red-tailed hawk looked like he wasn't sad about it. He looked very calm without expressing any signs of sadness or anything like that.

"You were born without a voice?" Shade asked. When Shade asked his question, Lightning nodded. "But… don't you ever wish that you had a voice? I mean I often wish I was tall like the other bats in my colony…"

It was silent for a minute as if Shade's words were a bullet shooting through the air so everything could be dead silent. Kassidy hoped that what Shade said didn't trigger anything in Lightning but he still looked very calm. She couldn't believe how calm Lightning could be and if anyone were to try and call him bad names it was likely his expression wouldn't even change. Even Kassidy couldn't be calm a lot, especially after some meditating. Speaking of meditating, Kassidy now wished she could get back into her meditation schedule but as of now, that was not going to be possible.

When I was an eyas I often cried myself to sleep because I didn't have a voice but when I met Morgana she helped me to get through the difficult times. She helped me to realize that just because I didn't have my voice it didn't mean I had to feel bad about myself. I may not have a voice but I am happy to be who I am. I am different like all of you and being different is never a bad thing. You may not believe me but in time I can guarantee that you'll be happy to be who you are. With that, Lightning then weakly smiled at the four friends.

It was sad what Lightning told them but he told it to the four friends without hesitation. Kassidy guessed the reason why he didn't hesitate was because of this Morgana's help. She admired that Lightning was happy with whom he was but as for her she really wasn't sure… Not after what she did.

Kassidy still felt a lot of guilt for eating that gray rabbit and she hoped that it wouldn't get out to her friends. The last thing she needed was for her friends to look at her like she really could be a monster. Perhaps she could be wrong though… Maybe they would understand her like last time when they saw her get really angry with her fire magic. But even thinking of that possibility was slim as insectivore bats were not meant to eat meat. She was still confused as to how she managed to scarf down some of that rabbit meat without barfing it all up and she still couldn't get over what Goth said… A half Vampyrum. That couldn't be possible she was a half Vampyrum, right? Ever since she first transformed into a bat she was a silver-haired bat to begin with, not a half breed… Or perhaps she was wrong this whole time.

Silver-haired bats definitely couldn't eat meat as their diet was of insects so how could Kassidy of eaten meat? She then began to wonder if her being a human had something to do with her managing to eat meat. She didn't want to assume things but that's what came to her mind but she didn't want to tell her friends this or even Lightning as she could be wrong but whatever the case was she needed to figure this out. Then, another thought occurred to her: if she could eat meat in her bat form was it possible that Holden could do the same thing? She then remembered that whenever Holden sniffed at raw meat it made him want to barf so Kassidy assumed that Holden wouldn't even want to eat a single bite of raw meat in his bat form. Either way, Kassidy would figure this whole thing out one way or another.

Like Kassidy, her other three friends thought about what Lightning said as they were looking at each other. Of course, they were different, everyone was for that matter. Kassidy was a witch, Holden was a human that was now a bat, Shade was short, and Marina had a band on her. So they could pretty much relate to Lightning.

Kassidy then cursed inside her head as she almost forgot about the holy water and before she could even forget she opened the bottle with the holy water in it and started to dump it all onto the snake on her arm and as she was she could feel the snake was starting to move and she could even feel that it was slowly starting to release itself off her. Then, smoke started to appear on the snake and when it did the snake released itself from Kassidy and slithered off her and as it did it started to hiss in pain. Kassidy watched with her eyes widened as the snake was hissing in pain and more smoke started to rise on it and her friends too were watching with their eyes widened. The smoke then surrounded that golden snake and the hissing grew louder and louder until it was no more. The smoke then cleared away and when it did the golden snake was nowhere to be seen as all that there was to be seen was dust.

She couldn't believe her eyes but now the snake wouldn't have to be on Kassidy anymore; Kassidy was free. Her arm was feeling swollen though but other than that she felt free at last.

"Wh-What the hell just happened?" Holden asked.

The holy water got rid of the snake since it was like a devil, Lightning said. There were other ways it could've been gotten rid of but since Morgana couldn't be here to get rid of it I took on the task of bringing the holy water here.

"What's in holy water?" Shade asked.

"Oh, I know," Holden said. "Water and salt."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, but don't ever drink it. Trust me on that."

Shade looked at Holden confused but then shrugged his shoulders as he then looked at the golden pocket watch. He then pointed to it. "What's that for?"

That's to get rid of the spell Martin put on you, Lightning said. It may not seem like much but it'll help you get rid of the spell he put on you.

When Kassidy put the pieces together she realized what Lightning was going to do and she thought that was a brilliant idea. Now Martin's magic on Shade will no longer be a problem either. Kassidy felt very thankful that Lightning came along.

Lightning was going to do hypnosis on Shade.

It'll be best that we get some sleep and then we must be on our way by tomorrow. Morgana wishes for me to get you all to her home so she can help you. Lightning then looked at Kassidy. I believe you know what to do.

Kassidy nodded and with that she looked at her friends and started to do the sight-seeing spell, making sure she got all the details right as she brought her hand down from their heads-without touching them-to their chins, and luckily enough the magic worked on them. After she used the spell on her friends she used the spell on herself. Kassidy was relieved to have finally done that spell.

Then, Kassidy realized she almost forgot about Lightning and she was about to do the spell on him but Lightning shook his head. That won't be necessary, Morgana already did that spell on me. Tomorrow though I'm certain you will have to do it on me. Without objecting, Kassidy nodded. Lightning then looked at all four of the friends. Now you should all roost and get some sleep, suns already out anyways but first I will need to do what I need to do on Shade. He then looked at Marina. Marina, would you mind helping me out with something?

Marina looked at Lightning confused but nodded. "Of course."

Good, now please roost next to Shade. Without any complaints, the four friends then roosted on the ceiling where there were some stalactites and they started to make themselves comfortable and as they were, Lightning flew up to where Shade roosted and dangled the golden pocket watch in front of Shade and slowly started to make it go side to side. You're getting very sleepy… very sleepy…

As Shade was staring at the pocket watch going side to side he was now getting very sleepy. Kassidy, Holden, and Marina watched as Lightning was doing his magic with interest and would be ready to go to sleep after Lightning helped Shade to get rid of the spell Martin put on him. Kassidy had never seen hypnosis in real life before but seeing it now performed by a hawk was quite something.

When Marina snaps her fingers you will wake up the next night no longer feeling Martin's hypnotizing magic on you. You will no longer have the urge to lead him and the other giant bats to where the colony is headed next.

As Shade stared at the watch he then started to get a little annoyed. "Is this really going to help? Now, I don't believe that once Marina snaps her fingers that-" But before Shade could say anything further, Marina snapped her fingers in front of the golden blonde's face and Shade instantly went to sleep.

After Marina snapped her fingers in front of Shade's face she looked surprised, but she then slowly started to smile. "That was amazing." She then laughed a little in enjoyment at what she did. But she then looked at Shade with concern. "Is he going to be alright?"

He'll be alright, Lightning reassured Marina. He'll wake up just fine.

Marina then formed a smirk as she looked at Shade. "I so can't wait to see Shade's reaction tomorrow."

"You and me both," Holden said as he was now smiling himself.

Kassidy had her arms crossed as she was pretty impressed by what Lightning did. He was a hawk but managed to do hypnosis on Shade. This hawk was something for sure. "You know what guys? Same here." She then slowly smirked.

A/N- Hey guys, new chapter is out! As you saw I have introduced my new OC Helen in this chapter and I think I really have been into too much Guardians of Ga'Hoole by the way as I got different species of owls in this XD

Well, I hope to get the next chapter out soon enough and hopefully get more good parts ;)