Chapter 16: Council of War

Orestes wondered if he should give up. His search for his friends lasted for nights, but there was still he couldn't find them. He hoped they were okay and that nothing had happened to them. It was difficult for him to locate them in the jungle even with his owl abilities. A sigh of frustration escaped his beak as he turned around again. There he noticed something in the corner of his eye.

''Vanessa?'' he asked, thinking he caught a glimpse of her chestnut brown hair but did not feel comfortable flying closer in case it was a mistake.

''Eh, Vanessa is that you?''

Still, he received no response. Either Vanessa didn't hear him, or it wasn't her at all. Thinking about it for a second Orestes went with the second option and made his turn to leave.

''Wait!''

He stopped. This wasn't the voice of his human friend. With his body still facing in the opposite direction, he turned his head to see a young and scared-looking barred owl sticking her head out between the foliage. He widened his eyes as he realized who she was.

''Please! Help me!''' Winnie cried, tears sparkling in her dark round eyes.

Orestes was speechless. When he checked the burning town and found no survivors, he was certain she had died as well. But there she was, alive, looking miserable and distressed.

''Please!'' she repeated herself, still looking at him. Her voice sounded so desperate that Orestes turned back around to land beside her on the branch. Winnie looked relieved to see him coming back to her instead of flying away. But shortly after he set down Orestes noticed something metallic shining on the other owl's belly. A metal disc. With his eyes widen he took a step back with a sharp gasp, causing Winnie to stretched her wings out to him, begging him to stay.

''That disk,'' Orestes said, still keeping his distance. ''That thing there on your belly. It...''

''It doesn't work,'' she interrupted him.

''What?''

''The disc. It doesn't work,'' she said. ''I landed where the thing in my ear told me to but nothing happened. No explosion. Nothing. Unlike with all the others.'' A shiver ran through her body as she thought about the horror they both had to go through. Orestes took a closer look at the disk. Not feeling entirely comfortable with the situation.

''Did anyone else survive?" he asked.

Winnie shook her head. ''I don't know. Honestly, I thought I was the only one until I saw you.'' She sniffled and wiped her beak with her wing.

''I see. And you haven't met any other owls here either, have you?''

''Oh, there are owls around. A lot of them, actually.''

''Really? But...''

''They chased me away when they saw the disc,'' she said, sniffling again. They were afraid it would explode.''

''Can't blame them,'' thought Orestes, pondering how he could help the young barred owl.

''Why did the humans do that to us?''

He sighed. ''I don't know,'' he confessed.

''I want to go home,'' she whined looking around, ''But I don't know where that is.''

Orestes shared her feelings. He too longed to be back in the northern forest. In a familiar environment. But first, he needed to find his friends.

''Listen,'' he said, getting her attention. ''I'm looking for someone. Do you remember the two bats and the small human who was with me in the human building?''

''The Intruders?''

''Well, yes. They are actually my friends. And two of them, the Silverwing and the human are here as well together with another Silverwing. They have survived the firestorms too but I've lost them again.

She snorted. ''Maybe they ditched you.''

Orestes shook his head. ''No. They would never do that.''

''How can you be so sure.''

''Because they are my friends,'' he said.

''But they are bats and one of them is even a human.''

He smiled. ''They aren't so bad if you get to know them. Especially Vanessa. She is nothing like the humans who tortured us, I can assure you.''

''If you say so.'' Winnie still seemed unsure what to think about this but didn't say anything further. Instead, she glared down on the disc, attached to her belly. ''This stupid thing is so heavy,'' she said. ''Last night I almost got eaten by a snake. I could barely lift off before it bit me.''

''Are you sure it's a dud?'' Orestes asked again, nodding towards the metal.

''I landed hard on the building and nothing happened.''

''Alright, I could try and bite through the stitches to get it off but that might hurt.''

''That's fine,'' she said, ''As long as I'll finally get rid of it.''

He walked closer to her and bend down to carefully cut off the seams. She winced after he cut the first one but bravely held still until he cut all but one.

''As soon as I cut this one be ready to fly off as fast as you can. I will try to grab the disc by its chain before it crushes to the ground.'' Winnie nodded and anxiously watched him biting through the last stitch. Feeling the weight of the bomb leaving her body, she dashed off from the branch like Orestes had said who quickly grabbed the disc with amazing agility. As careful as possible, Orestes flew down and put the disc in a soft place on the ground. Then he hurried back into the sky and rejoined Winnie above the treeline.

''Thank you,'' she said, smiling at him brightly.

''You are welcome,'' Orestes replied smiling back.

She kept smiling a bit more than looked around at their surroundings.

''Uhm, since we are both pretty much lost in this place. Why don't you join me while I'm searching for my friends?'' Orestes suggested. ''Maybe we have better luck looking for them together.''

''And what if they got captured by one of those giant bats?''

He blinked. ''You mean the Vampyrum?''

Winnie looked fearfully around in all directions as if just saying their name would attract these creatures.

''I've seen a few of them,'' she said. ''They hunt in groups with three or four individuals. One night I was hiding in a tree where they nearly found me if a different bird caught hadn't caught their attention. A loud guy with bright red feathers. They grabbed him with their sharp claws and carried him away.''

''They didn't kill him?'' Orestes asked.

''No. Maybe they carry their prey to a safe place to eat and then kill it.''

That couldn't be it. Orestes never saw Goth or Throbb hunt. But he was pretty sure that they killed their prey before carrying it off as other predators did. So why didn't those Vampyrum do the same?

''Let's not think about them too much,'' he said. ''Better we find my friends and make our way home as soon as possible.''

''Of course your highness. I'll follow you wherever you go.''

''Uhm, one more thing. Would you mind not calling me stuff like 'your highness' or 'your majesty', please?''

''Why?'' she asked raising an eyebrow.

''Well, first of I'm not royalty.''

''But...''

''And second, ''he interrupted her, ''I would feel much comfortable if you would just call me by my name.''

''Oh, ok. I can do that''

Orestes smiled but sure wondered why she and the other owls in the human building kept thinking he was some prince or something. He knew he could just ask her about it but decided to wait for a better moment. Finding Vanessa, Shade, and Chinook was currently more important.

After their conversation with the hummingbird Chirp-Chirp, they had continued their journey to the south. According to Achilles, tomorrow they would finally reach Bridge City. Marina couldn't wait to see what it actually looked like. She had heard many stories during their trip and longed to see it with her own eyes. A safe haven for millions of bats. All from different colonies. But was it really safe? Probably not for long if the owls decided to attack them. Which they will do, most likely. Marina shook her head, scolding herself for being so pessimistic. Everything was going to be fine, she told herself. They would reach Bridge City and they would find their missing friends. Her heart ached as she thought about what Chirp-Chirp had said about the firestorms. It gave her nightmares of Shade getting burned alive in those terrible explosions. She also worried about Vanessa, Chinook, and Orestes but Shade was the one she had to think of the most. If it hadn't been for him she might still be on her island. All alone by herself. She had to find him.

As a last stopover, they rested in a small clearing. The tired ones among them withdrew into a hollow tree to roost while others, including Marina, stayed outside to hunt. At Achilles' command, guards were positioned around the clearing until dawn to watch out for possible owl attacks.

Marina didn't feel hungry at all. But she knew she had to eat in order to keep up her strength. With her clawed feet, she grabbed a moth in midflight and tossed it into her open mouth. The bitter taste of the insect disgusted her. Not all bugs in the south were that horrible. But in her opinion, the ones in the north tasted much better.

Looking for more, she spotted another moth near a bush. However, before she could grab it, she noticed Mercury about to capture it as well. Deciding to leave the moth to him, she continued her search elsewhere.

With the bug in his mouth, Mercury flew back to his mate. Seeing him, Icarus smiled and made room for the other Silverwing to roost next to him on the branch.

''Here. This is for you,'' Mercury said, offering him his catch.

''You do know I'm capable of hunting on my own, right?''

''What, can't I share a meal the ones I love?'' he replied, noticing the amused glint in his mate's eyes.

Icarus chuckled and took a piece from the moth Mercury had caught. While eating the bug they looked around, watching Marina and the other bats hunt. At the sight of the young Brightwing, Icarus heaved a deep sigh and shook his head as Mercury offered him another chunk of the moth.

''Are you ok?'' he asked worriedly.

Icarus rubbed his claw over the band on his forearm ''I'm fine just thinking about Vanessa. I hope she is alright.''

''Me too,'' Mercury said and nuzzled his mate. Icarus moved closer to cuddle against his fur, wanting his warmth. He sure was happy that they were back together after months of being apart. Yet he didn't feel they were complete. Both of them hadn't known the shrunken human girl for long. But during the time she was with them, they grew attached to her as if she was their own child. Well, technically, Vanessa wasn't a child but a young adult. But still.

He and Mercury never officially adopted her, however, that didn't matter. They cared for her deeply and that was all that mattered.

''Kinda wish thinks would have been different,'' Icarus said, hanging in his thought. His mate throwing him an odd look.

''What do you mean?'' he asked.

Icarus shrugged. ''I don't know. But after everything that happened don't you wish that at least one of those things had turned out differently? Take our last encounter with the owls for example.''

Mercury shuddered thinking about this dreadful event a few nights ago. He was still thankful to Nocturna that Icarus got away unharmed and that they didn't lose too many bats.

''I don't think any of it could have been prevented. Even if the cause had been different, it still might have happened the way it did.''

Icarus huffed. ''Sometimes I wish you would be a little less of a realist.''

''I'm just saying,'' Mercury defended himself, lifting his hands. ''Or are you disagreeing with me?''

''No,'' Icarus sighed. ''And that's the problem. I don't think it's good if both of us keep thinking negatively.''

''Then let's stop that for now.'' Mercury wrapped his wings around Icarus and pulled him a bit closer to his body. ''Let's stop worrying for one night.'' Icarus nodded and snuggled to his mate who gently nuzzled his cheek.

They finally reached Bridge City the following night.

Marina had never seen anything like it. A gigantic metal bridge arched over a large river. It ran right through a human city, splitting it in half. Even from afar, she could make out the fluttering movements of colorful wings. Millions of bats, that had found their home beneath the human building.

Relief filled her at the sight of their destination. Never would she have thought to ever go there for real. If anyone had said she would go there, she wouldn't have believed them. But here she was, in the legendary city where bats were filling the sky. Of all the places in the world, this had to be the one where they were truly safe. No other place would be better.

Nevertheless, a queasy feeling came over her at the thought of being so close to humans. She reminded herself that not all of them had evil intentions and thereby thought about her friend Vanessa. Nonetheless, she wished that the biggest stronghold of all bats was somewhere else.

Flying closer, Marina discovered how such a structure could house such a large number of bats in the first place. Its length was immense, a latticework of metal struts supported at intervals by mighty pillars that rose from the depths of the riverbed. The upper part of the bridge served as a road for the humans, who raced their bright and noisy machines back and forth across it. The underside of the bridge, however, with its countless ledges and niches, provided plenty of resting places that stretched across the entire span from one bank of the river to the other.

They were greeted joyfully as they approached. The other bats flew out in swarms and surrounded them in mid-air in a circle of welcome calls and hellos. Marina almost felt dizzy with all the voices and strange faces around her. Eventually, the whole commotion died down and the traveling group was led to various free places where they could rest from the long journey. That this was even possible was almost a miracle for Marina. Considering how many colonies already lived here.

''Well, what do you think of this place?''

Marina had been listening to the tales told by the bats around her and didn't hear Ariel join her.
''Oh, it's wonderful. Just incredible,'' she said.

Ariel smiled and her eyes reflected the same jollity that resided in Marina's heart.

''All the stories... I never thought they were real. So many bats in just one place. If Vanessa and Shade could see this...'' She broke off and looked apologetically over to Ariel. The elder Silverwing female's smile faded at the mention of her son, thought lost for the second time. But she did not blame Marina. Instead, she looked around at the crowd around her.

''Yeah,'' she agreed. ''They'd certainly love this place.''

After their conversation with Chirp-Chirp, Frieda had asked Marina to not tell Ariel, Icarus, and Mercury the full stories of that meeting. Their worry would only increase. But Marina wasn't going to tell them anything about the assumption of Vanessa and Shade possibly having died in the firestorm in the south anyway. She, herself, refused to consider this as a possibility.

''Shade would probably say something like: With such large amount of bats, the owls don't stand a chance against us,'' Marina continued.

Ariel sighed and looked back at the young Brightwing. ''You should go to sleep. We have been flying straight for hours, and dawn is coming soon.''

''When are we going to fly further south?''

''That we have to ask Frieda,'' said Ariel and furrowed her forehead.

''What wrong?''

''I'm worried about her. She hasn't been flying on her own since nearly the beginning of our journey to Bridge City. And her coughing fits accumulate each night.'' She looked at her with an expression Marina didn't like at all. ''I'm afraid this last journey was too much for her.''

Marina shook her head. ''She'll be all right,'' she said. ''She just needs rest.'' She didn't want to hear anything about someone dying. Not now. Not here. Ariel replied nothing.

Despite the hustle and bustle all around her and her thoughts being overshadowed by fears, Marina slept peacefully. Shortly after sunset, she and Ariel were awakened by Frieda. Marina smiled joyfully at the sight of the Silverwing elder.

''The elders will hold a war council in an hour,'' she said, suppressing a cough. ''I would like you two to accompany me. You might need to replace my voice.''

Marina tried not to show how terribly out of place she felt. Dotted around her were dozens of elders from various colonies. They all looked around with serious expressions on their faces and maintained a rigid posture. Only Frieda seemed a bit more composed and yet radiated an aura of superiority and elegance.

Halo Freewing, the chief elder of Bridge City, had summoned them all to the top of the bridge's highest spire. She was an impressive personality with yellow-green wings, velvety dark brown fur that was slightly lighter on her belly and muzzle. Her hair and mane were gray from age, but her golden eyes still gleamed with vitality. Yet the special thing about her was the long free-swinging tail, which, Marina knew, had only a few species of bats.

''Dear friends,'' Halo began to speak and demonstrated her powerful authority. All murmuring and whispering instantly died away as soon as she raised her voice. ''I am pleased to inform you all that since yesterday Achilles Greywing and Frieda Silverwing have joined us.'' A chorus from welcome calls echoed from the other elders. ''Our scouts informed us that the Owls are gathering from the north. They will be here in quite a few nights. King Boreal himself is said to lead the largest force among them. I am sorry to say this, but it appears that there is no way to avoid a possible war.''

Marina looked around into fearful and concerned faces. Nobody liked this idea.

''I know that some of you believe strongly in the legend of Nocturna's promise and the possibility of the humans helping us in some way. But this hope is gone.'' With a nod towards Frieda, she asked the Silverwing elder to speak further. Slowly, but with some strength left in her aging voice, she reported to those present about the human building and the forest within it. A supposed paradise that turned out to be a deadly trap. Eventually, her voice failed her and Marina had to carry on for her. With a pounding heart, she began by telling how she, Shade, and Vanessa had escaped from the fake forest through the stream and what they had witnessed the humans doing to the bats, how they loaded them into their flying machines and transported them southward. When an elder asked if anyone knew what was happening to the abducted bats and where exactly they were being taken, Marina threw an uncertain glance back at Frieda. The elder coughed again and held her chest as if in pain. Ariel stood close to her, blinking back and forth between them in bewilderment. Once Frieda had regained her breath, she asked Marina to tell the rest. And so she told what she had heard from the hummingbird, about the bats being used by humans to carry fire.

There were gasps of horror and dismay all around. Followed by silence. No one had expected such a thing. Marina looked down at her foot claws. Not wanting to turn around and see Ariel's reaction.

''I will not pretend that we Freewings had ever much confidence in the great promise,'' Halo said, ''We were fine with the night, and we never longed for the daylight. We never thought it was necessary to fight with the owls for the sun. Quite in contrast to others who disapproved of our restraint.'' At this, she cast a brief and direct glance at Frieda and Achilles. ''As for the humans, we have lived near them for centuries without having any reason to distrust them. They never disturbed our roosts and only banded a few of us. But these messages from you, Frieda, concern me greatly. If they are indeed using us to carry their weapons, then we must consider them our enemies and be more vigilant than usual on the bridge. Still, I think the owls are our biggest problem for now.''

Marina uneasily lifted one foot after another. She had completely forgotten to mention what Vanessa actually was and only referred to her as a friend. However, she didn't feel that now was a good time to add it.

''The banishment from the day is one thing but such atrocities go too far. By taking over the roosts of hibernating bats and surprise attacks at night, the owls have violated a maximum number of laws. They have shown us that they are bent on war. Therefore, we have no choice but to fight.''

A general, if partly hesitant, rustling of wings signaled agreement.

''It will be terrible,'' Frieda said, her voice sounding so distressed that for a few moments no one spoke a word. Marina looked back at her with dismay and noticed how tired the eldest looked. Not only in her face but in her whole fragile body.

''I'm honestly surprised, Frieda,'' Halo said, trying to giggle as if to dispel the sense of doom Frieda had created. ''You were one of the loudest in the revolt fifteen years ago. Have you lost your desire for battles?''

''I think so,'' Frida said. ``For this does not seem to be a battle we can win without help. No matter how mighty our army might be.''

''But we have no help,'' sounded the bitter voice of a full-bearded elder. ''If we cannot hope for the help of the humans. What alternatives do we have?''

''We could at least try to talk to the owls and settle the matter diplomatically.''

Halo huffed. ''And you think King Boreal would agree to something like that?''

''If they discover that they are our allies then maybe.''

''Allies against whom?''

The humans have not only abused bats for their own purposes, the owls had to suffer because of them as well.''

''Maybe so. But the humans do not systematically drive us out of our homes. However, we shall try to talk to the owls when the opportunity arises. Nevertheless, we should prepare to fight, and to fight alone.''

''Perhaps the humans are not the only ones against whom we should ally ourselves with the owls.''

At the sound of this new voice, Marina looked around the crowd in surprise. It had been weeks since she had last heard it, and at first, she thought her ears were playing tricks on her. But then she caught sight of the wise old albino bat. With his milky dull eyes, Zephyr blinked kindly in Marina's direction before turning back to Halo and the other elders.

''I can't say anything for sure, but I have a feeling that we are in for far worse.''

''Worse than a war with the owls?'' Halo sounded skeptical but still seemed to believe his words. Marina wondered what Zephyr was referring to. She remembered his ability to sense echoes of the past and future. Though she didn't like the idea of bad things going to happen. Especially if they have no idea what it is.''

''Perhaps we should continue this discussion tomorrow. It seems to me that it would be better for all of us to digest this flood of information before making plans for the future.''

''Wise words Achilles,'' Halo said, nodding appreciatively at the general. Afterward, she announced the meeting was over and the elders dispersed in all directions. Back to their colonies. Marina, however, flew off to look for Zephyr. She wanted to know how he was doing and if he was able to use his abilities to find out something about Shade, Vanessa, and Oreste's remaining.

She thought she had missed him when the blind bat came fluttering over to her.

''I thought you'd be looking for me,'' he said.

''The pleasure is all mine,'' he said with a smile. ''But I sense that something is troubling you.''

Marina sighed. ''You were there at the meeting. You heard what happened.''

Zephyr nodded. ''And now you would like to know if I know anything about how your friends doing right now.''

''Do you think you can do that?''

''Actually, I already did when you were telling your story.''

Marina looked at him with wide eyes. ''So, did you find out anything? Are they all right? Where are they?''

''Easy, easy.'' Zephyr raised his hands soothingly, whereupon Marina took a step back in shame. ''I couldn't find out anything about their current whereabouts. But I have sensed that they are still alive. And at the moment they seem to be safe wherever they are. Though I fear it will not be permanent.''

Alive!

This word was still dancing around in her head after she said goodbye to Zephyr and flew back to Ariel and the others. Her friends were alive. They were out there somewhere and soon they would meet again. That she swore to herself.