Chapter 2: Start into a new adventure

(Three weeks later)

''You sure it isn't too cold for you?'' I heard Icarus asking me for the dozenth time.

''I'm fine,'' I replied, though the arctic wind was giving me goosebumps. With one hand I tightened my grip on my cloak while holding on to Icarus neck fur with the other.

We were almost the entire night on our way to a building in the middle of the forest, hoping to find Shade's father Cassiel. Until a few weeks ago, the young Silverwing thought his father had died before he was even born. But then it turned out, he had just disappeared last spring. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that Cassiel was alive. But since the possibility existed, Shade had to go looking for him.

However, he wasn't alone in this. More than a dozen other bats accompanied him, including a young owl and I. Though other than the others, I wasn't an animal. I was a human. I know it may sound crazy, but it's the truth. About six weeks ago, I found a mysterious blue pearl, in the middle of the forest and got shrunk to the size of a mouse.

Without help, I probably would have died within a few days. But luckily I made the acquaintance of Shade and his colony. Made friends with him Marina and Orestes and went on the most spectacular adventure of my life.

Never would I have thought that two bats and an owl would become my best friends. However, unlike Shade, Marina was not a Silverwing. She was a Brightwing with a thicker light fur, narrow wings, and small shell-shaped ears. She got exiled from her own colony because of a silver band on her left forearm. But eventually, she found a new home with the Silverwings.

And as our friend, obviously was on this trip as well and so were Chinook, Breeze, and Todd. When I first met these three, Chinook had been a real bully. He harassed Shade whenever he had the chance and acted like he was the king of the forest. Since we arrived at the Hibernaculum, however, Chinook had changed. He still pulled a few tricks on Shade now and then, like throwing a snowball at his neck. But that was harmless. He no longer called him a runt like he used to before, but addressed Shade by his name and was also much friendlier towards me too.

Especially friendly was he towards Marina. It was impossible to overlook that he had taken an interest in the Brightwing female right from the start. He hung around with her almost constantly. Flew next to her all the time and even slept near her during the day. Marina didn't seem to mind all that. On the contrary. She enjoyed Chinook's attention. Shade, however, didn't like it that much.

Whenever he saw Marina talking happily with Chinook, he would give them both envious stares.

I could already imagine what kind of drama this would turn into. At the same time, I didn't want to get involved in it. No, thank you! I had my own problems. I had a broken leg, which had healed a bit, but still wasn't resilient. Plus a deep wound on my left wrist, which became infected but healed by now.

I owed both things to Goth, a cannibal bat from the south, who got captured by other humans and taken to the north. He had tried to kill me and my friends and wanted to get into the Hibernaculum to feed on the Silverwing colony during the winter. Luckily we managed to get rid of him and his cousin Throbb. But thanks to those two we now have a possible war with the owls on our hands.

And then there was something else. Something I could not believe I forgot. How nice of my body to remind me, by giving me it's traditional monthly greeting at the most inopportune time possible!

Gosh, what an embarrassment that was. I would have loved it if the others hadn't noticed anything. But they did. And that only because I couldn't really get anywhere without help thanks to my leg.

Mercury literally panicked. He thought I'd caught some terrible disease or something. Though after a lot of explanations I managed to calm the situation and everyone else down.

"And this happens every month?" Marina had asked me and, after I confirmed it, looked at me in a way I was sure she never wanted to become a human. Not that she ever wanted to become one at all. It's just that a banded bat in the mountains called Scirocco had claimed that all bats who got banded by humans would one day become humans themselves. What Nonsense! However, Scirocco would never live to see it becoming true anyway because he was dead.

Another thing on Goth's dime.

I shuddered and thought I would never forget that sinister giant bat and his cousin Throbb. They still haunted me in my dreams. Goth then pressed me to the ground and I could feel his weight resting heavily on my chest, could smell his hot breath on my face. Then Goth would bend his head down to me and whisper things into my ear, terrible things I didn't remember after waking up.

Which I was grateful for.

We had no idea what had happened to Throbb, only that he had fled into the forest after a fight with Orestes and Marina. Goth, however, had probably drowned. At least I hoped he did. With concern, I looked at the scar on my arm left by Goth's teeth. I still remembered the dreadful pain and all that blood. The mere thought of him nearly biting my hand off made me nauseous.

''Now it isn't far anymore'', Icarus suddenly said, distracting me from my thoughts. ''We should be crossing grassland soon and then it's only an hour flight. At least that's what Cassiel said.''

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shade prick up his ears at the mention of his father. He didn't know much about him. Except that he, like many other bats, got banded by humans and that he longed to know what it all meant. He must have believed that he would get the answer at the building we were heading to and Shade was sure that he would finally find him there, the father he had never known.

To be honest, I was also quite excited to meet Cassiel. I wondered what he looked like and what his character was. And I also wondered what he might think of me. A human in the size of a mouse.

''Bet he never saw something like that before'', I thought and chuckled softly, imagining his reaction.

Suddenly Frieda, the chief elder of the Silverwings, stretched out her wing in alarm, and immediately we all rushed to the closest tree.

As soon as we landed Icarus pushed me close to the tree trunk and asked me not to make a sound. Wondering what was going on I cowered as deeply as possible on the branch, trying to ignore the freezing snow on top of it. Fearfully I looked around and eventually spotted four owls on a tree not ten meters away from us. With their white and grey-brown speckled plumage, the owls were so well camouflaged between the snowy branches that they were barely visible to the naked eye.

The hood of my white cloak pulled deep into my face, I hoped I was camouflaged well enough to pass as a simple clump of snow, while the bats scattered on the other branches pretending to be icicles.

''Do you know who they are, Orestes?'' I heard Shade questioning nearby.

''Sadly, no. I have never seen these owls before.''

''I wonder what they are doing here,'' Marina said.

''I'll try to steer them away from here.''

''Be careful,'' she called out to him softly. Soon after, I watched how our feathered friend flew over to the owls in an arc. He gave a short hoot, getting their attention.

''Welcome'', Orestes greeted the owls which flew over to him and responded the greeting with a brief nod. Together they landed on a dead tree trunk at the foot of our tree.

''We are messengers of King Boreal'', one of the said. ''We come with an urgent message for General Brutus.''

Being as still as possible I tried to follow their conversation. The King? What did he want from the General? Probably nothing good. At least not for me or the Silverwings. If this was about an attack at Hibernaculum they would be helpless. Despite their large number.

Fortunately, the owls didn't know where the winter roost was. But in case they did find out, Frieda and the other elders had sent out messengers to find Ursa, the white Kermode bear. She should help them find an alternative save place for the winter and the owls.

Shade, Marina, and I had met Ursa on our journey and helped her become a true leader of the beasts. But because she was on our side, Brutus had exiled her to the eastern valley. Many of the forest animals went with her. Only the wolves joined Brutus in his feud against the Silverwings. Though their primary concern was food.

I frowned at the owls. This war between the birds and the bats only existed because Brutus believed the Silverwings were responsible for the death of owls and other birds. While in truth, it was Goth and Throbb who killed these animals. Unfortunately, Brutus refused to believe that giant cannibal bats existed. Although, having to admit, it did sound a little crazy. But I knew from personal experience that they were real. Besides, the Owl General's idea that small northern bats were more responsible for the murders than the existence of giant southern bats was far more idiotic in my opinion. He may be Orestes' father, but I still believed that Brutus was insane. After all, he was the one who ordered to burn down Tree-Heaven. The summer roost of the Silverwing females and their pups. Only because I and Shade had dared to take a peek at the sun. Something that was forbidden to all bats for thousands of years. Just because they had refused to take sides in the great war between the birds and the beats.

And there I thought my kind had issues.

''May I ask what this is about?'' Orestes asked.

The leader of the foreign owls looked at him bluntly. ''Definitely not'', he said. ''This message is reserved for the General only and must be brought to him urgently.''

''Eh, of course.''

Apparently, these owls had no idea they were speaking to the General's son. And perhaps it was better that way. At least Orestes didn't have to explain what he was doing here alone and instead told them where Brutus could be. Even though he had no idea where his father really was. He just directed them in a random direction. The owls thanked him formally and moved on.

Only when Frieda was sure that they were really gone, she allowed our small group to take back off into the air.

''That was close'', said Icarus and I nodded in agreement. At one point, one owl had peered in our direction. If Orestes had not promptly informed them of his father's possible whereabouts, we certainly would have been discovered.

Minutes later we broke out of the shelter of the trees and hovered over open grassland. I felt queasy. It was all so open that we gave away a much too easy target. Better we hurried a little. And as if Frieda thought the same, she encouraged the group to fly faster.

During the next fifteen minutes, no one spoke a word until Ariel turned to the elder with concern.

''What do you think that was about?'' she asked.

''I don't know, Ariel. ''But a message from the king is certainly not a good sign.''

Icarus snorted. ''For General Brutus, I'm sure it is.'' Then he got quiet, and I knew he was worried. Especially about his mate, Mercury. I couldn't blame him. I too found the idea that something may happen to him and the other Silverwings while we were away horrible. Mercury had been the first bat I'd ever met. He had saved my life and taken care of me during the time I had lived with the Silverwings before we set off on our journey to the Hibernaculum.

''Perhaps we should turn back,'' Hector said, but Frieda shook her head.

''There is nothing we can do against them,'' she replied. ''We'll just have to trust that your father and the other elders evacuated Hibernaculum before the Owls can invade.''

''Hopefully.''

''These bloodthirsty monsters!'' Icarus said, trembling with rage, ''The humans could help us fight them. Perhaps that is what the bands mean? Nocturna's Great Promise.''

I noticed him looking up at me as if to say I was the human he was talking about, or at least the bond between the bats and the rest of my kind. It made me uncomfortable. And it also reminded me of how Frieda had looked at me back in the echo chamber. She too had this hopeful glow in her eyes, as if I was the long-awaited chosen that would save them all. But I wasn't. I was just a simple human girl who had accidentally expressed a wish that brought me here. I could have wished for something else, like something to eat, a flashlight or even better the fastest way back to my hotel. But I didn't.

However, the more I thought about it, I wondered what would have happened if I had expressed a different wish. What if the pearl would have shrunk me, anyway? After all, what I wanted was to meet a real bat. But instead, that one of them appeared at my side, I got shrunk. Sure, I met the Silverwings later, but when I thought about it, I could just as well have met a family of mice instead and be now on a very different adventure with them.

Nevertheless, I was curious, what this great promise meant. But the thought that I of all people should play a major role in it. That was something I still refused to believe.

''If the owls wage war,'' said Hector, ''the humans may be our only hope. Cassiel must have known that. That's why he wanted to find this building.''

''If we get there,'' I heard Ariel cautiously asking, ''what will we find there?''

''What do you think, Shade?''

Noticing Frieda looking back over her shoulder I turned around on Icarus' back as well and noticed how he and Marina had caught up to us without being noticed.

''I was wondering when you would come to us,'' Ariel said with a lopsided smile.

''Come forward, you two,'' said Frieda, ''Cassiel is your father Shade, and we probably wouldn't be on this journey if it wasn't for you. Or you, Marina.''

I smiled happily as Orestes joined us as well after a while. It felt almost like our first adventure together. Just with more people now. My three friends smiled too, but then Shade noticed the troubled look on his mother's face.

''What's wrong?'' he asked.

''Nothing. I'm just wondering...What if Cassiel isn't here?''

Shade looked at his mother in shock. I knew that this dark thought must have also flashed through his mind from time to time, but he never spoke it out.

''He has to be there,'' he said, putting a lot of persuasion in his voice.

''I'm sure he is'', I replied, earning a grateful look from him. The truth was: I wasn't really sure about it, but I didn't want to destroy Shade's hope any further.

''We must be prepared for disappointment,'' said Frieda. ''But let us hope for the best.''

Shade opened his mouth to say something. But then stopped himself and turned his face to the right pricking up his ears.

''Did you hear that?'' he asked.

''Hear what?'' Orestes looked around searching.

''That was only the wind Shade'', Marina said but looked around as well.

''No, it sounded like...''

''Voices!'' I finished his sentence and stared in the same direction as he did. I couldn't tell if they were exactly bat voices. But since Shade was hearing hem too I assumed that they couldn't be human voices carried over to us by the wind.

I kinda felt as if I was back in the echo chamber trying to filter out the ancient voices of bats long dead from a multitude of voices in order to learn the history of the Great War.

''Wait, I think I hear something now too,'' said Orestes.

''Me too!'' said Ariel.

''Follow me, Silverwings!'' Frieda twisted her wings and then turned to the right. The rest of the group followed her on foot. The closer we got to the voices, the louder they became. Flowed together like a stream in the air.

''Look!'' I heard Icarus say just a few moments later.

The grassland before us sank down on a gentle slope. At the bottom of the valley, a pool of blinding lights and sounds spread out. And all at once, the voices seemed to rise from this place. A mysterious choir, confusing, but melodic and irresistibly attractive.

''What are they saying?'' Marina asked overwhelmed.

''I don't know.'' It was impossible to understand a single word. There was too much disorientation in them.

''Never mind,'' said Shade, sounding very agitated. ''That must be that human building down there! They want us to come to them. Come on!'' And before anyone could stop him, Shade threw himself down into the valley. The rest of us followed him, and now I could see walls and a roof with shiny metal chimneys. Additionally, the area was surrounded by an iron fence and secured with barbed wire. Whatever this was. Unauthorized persons were certainly not allowed to enter this area.

We landed on the roof of the building, which was covered by shiny black glass plates. I slipped off Icarus' back and tried to look inside, but couldn't see a thing.

''Hey, guys, over here.''

Not two steps away from me Shade leaned belly-up over the edge of the roof and pointed to something below. I crawled to his side and looked down. Just below the edge of the roof was a narrow opening. Big enough for a bat or even a mouse-sized human to fit in.

''Eh, well that's too small for me,'' said Orestes, who had now also leaned over the balustrade to have a look under the roof.

''Perhaps there is another entrance?'' Shade said.

I looked around until I noticed another hole further to the left. ''Over there,'' I pointed with my finger. ''This should be big enough.''

''I can try,'' Orestes flew over while Shade rose from the roof and headed towards the smaller hole.

But before he could do that, he got stopped by Marina. ''Wait a minute, boys!'' she said, ''We can't just fly in there. We don't know what's inside.''

''My father's in there Marina.''

''You don't know that for sure.''

''But if we stay out here, we'll never know.''

''He's right,'' I said, ''Besides, it'll be morning soon. What if owls fly by here and see us?''

''Vanessa is right,'' Frieda remarked. ''It may be risky, but dawn is approaching and there may not be enough time to find another shelter for the day.''

''Then what are we waiting for?''

''Shade wait!'' his mother cried out, but he was already in the hole. With Marina's help, I climbed in as well and noticed that the entrance widened into a deep dark tunnel. Instantly Shade crawled towards its end.

''Now wait a minute Shade, you can't just...''

But the young Silverwing just kept crawling. Ignoring Marina's warnings. I hurried after him and slowly but surely got a very bad feeling about this place. As if something was wrong with it.

''I don't like this Shade'', I said ''Maybe we shouldn't go any further.''

''But you do believe my father is here, don't you?!''

''Well, yes...'' I glanced to the side to avoid his piercing stare. ''I just don't think we should rush into something where we might not find our way ouAAAAAAAAHH!''

''VANESSA?!''

Without thinking, I had crawled on when suddenly the ground below me gave way. The chorus of the beautiful melodic voice I had heard until then stopped at once as I fell headfirst into the depth.

AN:

Since it's been indeed three weeks since I've posted the last chapter of Promise of the Night I thought it would be fun to post the next chapter of the sequel, when the story truly begins today ^w^ (the last chapter was more of a prologue)

Chapter 3 is already in progress. So if nothing happens (like me loosing motivation to write) it should be up someday next week. But I'm not sure.

*sighs* I know I don't need to hurry. (And I don't. Believe me I do take my time in writing this story ;) ) But, I honestly can't wait to get over this part in the human building. It's also my least favourite part in the original story. -.-