Chapter 19: Rescue with consequences

Sitting on a throne built of stone, Goth listened with a blank face to the report of one of his subjects. It was the same blonde-haired Vampyrum who, moments before, almost captured Vanessa and her friends by the lake had he not fled from the enormous bird that had materialized out of nowhere. To make his escape look less pathetic, he embellished his story to make it sound more like a tactical retreat, but Goth still sussed him out. And so did Alkaios. The late king's brother stood by his nephew's side and felt that something was amiss.

''So, you are saying, Theron, you let the fugitives go because vultures attacked you?'' he asked, eyes narrowing.

The kneeling Vampyrum nodded with assertion. ''¡Así es! Your Highness, I swear by the name of our God, I would have at least brought you the human if it weren't for...''

''Those vultures that showed up,'' Goth ended the sentence for him, rolling his eyes. ''I get it.''

''How strange,'' Alkaios said while scratching his chin. ''As far as I know, all vultures from this part of the jungle had already fled to the south when the firestorms began.''

Teron blinked. ''Well, uh, I suppose this one stayed,'' he said and nervously looked up at his king, who was slowly tiring of his fibbing.

''Now, was it several vultures or just one that you fled from?" he asked with a scowl. Theron's throat felt dry as dust when he tried to answer, but more than a squeak, ''one'' didn't cross his lips.

''One vulture and you still cowardly took flight.''

''With a-all due respect, Su Majestad,'' Theron stuttered. Even a single bird can be dangerous to us, Vampyrum.''

''¡Dios mío!'' Alkaios cut through the air with a flat hand. ''You are the captain of the royal guard. You are trained to stand against those opponents in battle. Not to run away from them like a pup.''

''B-but I...''

''¡Suficiente!'' Goth had enough and rose from his throne to step down to Theron, who was still bowing on the ground, facing the floor. ''You said that there were three bats with the human by the lake. Was one of them the Silverwing runt Shade?''

Theron pondered. ''There was one Bloodwing and two Silverwings. One of them, was quite smaller than the other and I think I heard the human calling this one Shade. But I'm not sure.''

''I see.'' Goth crossed his arms behind his back and circled Theron as he continued to speak. ''Say, were you present when I shared my stories about the echo tricks of this particular Silverwing?''

''M-maybe.''

''Maybe?'' Goth stopped in front of Theron and gazed down at him with a raised eyebrow. ''Weird, I could have sworn to have seen you among the other royal guards. Could it be that you weren't listening?''

''Of course, I was listening,'' Theron replied. ''B-but I thought not that much o-of a deal. They are just small northern bats. What harm could they do?''

''So you consider everything your king told you about the north to be nothing but lies and nonsense?''

''¡N-no, no! Of course not.'' Theron vigorously shook his head. ''I just thought...''

Goth waved two fierce-looking guards from the chamber's entrance to come closer. The blonde Vampyrum tried hard not to show the fear that was rising inside him. Whatever his king was up to, it made him feel a chill run down his spine and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

''Theron,'' Goth addressed him again. His voice was calm, but with no warmth. ''As head of the royal guards, it was your duty to protect me during a hunting session a few months ago. But you failed and I and Throbb got kidnapped by humans. Back then, my father could not punish you properly and my uncle here merely took away your position.''

Theron looked back down at the ground, trying to suppress his trembling.

''And now that I'm giving you a second chance. You fail once again. Not only do you return empty-handed, but you also dare to lie to your king and disbelieve my words.''

''I...a-am sorry, Your Highness,'' Theron stammered. ''I-I won't let you down n-next time. I-I swear.''

Goth's face darkened and suffocating silence subsided in the room, causing Theron's heart to skip a beat.

''I don't think so,'' the king finally said. ''In fact. There will be no next time for you.''

Before Theron could comprehend his king's words, the latter nodded to the two guards, who then moved and grabbed their colleague by his arms.

''Su Majestad, por favor.'' Theron struggled vainly against the iron grip and looked pleadingly into Goth's face. ''Give me another chance!''

''Eso ya lo tenías.''

Without another word, Goth raised his claws, ready to plunge them into the blond bat's chest. As suddenly, the high priest entered the room. ''¡Espera, su majestad!'' he said, one hand raised to stop his king in action.

''Voxzaco!'' Goth lowered his hand and stepped back from the captured soldier. Theron let out a sigh of relief and silently thanked Zotz for allowing his life to be spared.

''What are you doing here?'' Goth asked the priest. ''Don't you see I have important matters to attend to right now?''

''Oh, I do,'' the old bat replied while supporting himself on his cane with both hands. ''But I bring you urgent news.''

''Can't it wait until I dealt with this useless bat over here?'' He nodded shortly towards Theron, who gulped and felt the grip of his colleagues tighten around his arms.

Voxzaco shook his head. ''There is no need to kill him now.''

''And what do you suggest for me to do with him instead? Throw him in the dungeon?'' Goth huffed and crossed his arms before his chest. ''Why should I fill our cells with useless soldiers? It would make no difference whether he is dead or alive.''

''But it does, your highness.'' Goth threw Voxzaco a questioning look, whereupon the latter provided further explanation. ''What I'm saying is. We may soon need a lot of living beings as sacrifices to our god.''

''Why?'' Goth asked, looking confused into the priest's wrinkled face. ''What are you talking about?''

''Well,'' the old bat continued. ''There is this ancient prophecy written on the holy stone. Unfortunately, I know little about it, but as far as I do, it's supposed to be a ritual that will free our lord Cama Zotz from his underworld prison.''

With those words, Voxzaco immediately had Goth hooked.

''What is this prophecy precisely about?" he demanded to know, but Voxzaco shook his head. ''As I said before, I lack important details to tell you more. All I can read from the holy stone itself is that an important event awaits us very soon and that it has something to do with the said ritual.''

Goth approached the priest with a snarl, far from being satisfied with that statement. ''Isn't there a way to find out more about it?'' he asked.

''Perhaps,'' Voxzaco pondered, ''We might get the necessary details from our god himself. I could try to perform a small sacrificial ritual to seek his advice on the matter.''

Goth nodded, approving this idea. If there were indeed a way to bring their god back to the upper world, it would be best to ask Zotz himself more about it. But just when Voxzaco was about to leave stepped Erebos into the chamber, blocking his path.

''There will be time for that later,'' he said, apparently having overheard their conversation. ''I believe it is much more interesting to know how to recapture the fugitives. Now that Theron miserably failed.''

The said bat did not like to hear someone else reminding him of his blunder but also didn't dare to complain about it.

''What do you think you're doing?'' Voxzaco huffed, his wrinkled face flushing with anger. ''How dare you just walk in here and stop us from contacting our God?''

''I'd like to know that, too,'' said Goth.

Erebos smirked, not seeming to be intimidated by the king's threatening gaze at him.

''Forgive my ... impertinence,'' he said. ''But you can't just call a god whenever you want. It takes the right timing to do that.''

Voxzaco opened his mouth to protest, but Goth stopped him with a wave of his hand.

''And you know that because...?"

''Experience,'' came the plain answer. ''Nevertheless, I know about the importance of the prophecy, which is why I also think that the required details should be brought to light relatively soon. Just not now.''

Goth could only stare at this ambassador in confusion. Why in Zotz's name was now not a good time to call upon their god? What kind of experiences was he talking about? He would have loved to grab this guy by the throat and squeeze the answers out of him. Yet something within Goth kept him from doing so. ''Well then. We will wait for the right time,'' he said. Voxzaco wanted to protest once again, but Goth silenced him with a glare. Humbly, the priest lowered his head, not daring to say more.

''Well-spoken, your majesty,'' said Erebos and clapped his hands together. ''Now then. Let's talk about those runaways.''

Goth growled at the thought of Vanessa and Shade. ''I want the hunt for them to continue,'' he said. ''And this time, no one better is influenced by any more echo tricks.''

Erebos nodded. ''Good and with your permission, I would like to propose to take part in this search myself.''

Goth blinked in surprise. ''You?'' he asked.

''I know I am not a member of this colony, but as an ambassador, it is in my best interest to strengthen the relations between our colonies. And the best way to do that is to support you in what seems to be an important matter.''

Goth had to think for a moment. Then he nodded. ''All right. You may help. But be careful, this Silverwing and that human are not as harmless as they seem.''

Erebos grinned. ''Don't you worry about that. You will have at least one of them lying at your feet soon enough.'' And by that, the ambassador turned heels with a swift motion and marched out of the room. His wingtips waving behind him.

On his way through the corridor towards the exit, the second ambassador, Phoenix, stepped up to his side. ''Is it really necessary for us to take part in this ridiculous hunt?'' she asked, frowning. Much like Erebos, she had been listening to the conversations in the throne room earlier but had remained hidden. ''What do we care about this foolish king's obsession with some strangers?''

Erebos snorted but didn't dignify Phoenix with a single glance. ''I don't know why you're so upset,'' he said.

''This is a waste of time,'' Phoenix growled. ''Have you forgotten our mission?''

Erebos stopped and turned to face her. His blood-red eyes gazed down at Phoenix with slight amusement. ''What do you have against a bit of fun?'' he asked. ''We have plenty of time. Why not use it to enjoy ourselves a little?''

Phoenix crossed her wings before her chest. ''I still don't like it.''

''Come on, stop being such a buzzkill,'' Erebos playfully jabbed his elbow into her side, causing Phoenix to stumble with a gasp.

''Alright, fine,'' she grumbled, rubbing her side. ''Go ahead then and search for those strangers, if it makes you happy,''

Erebos smirked and turned back towards the exit. ''It will. Though I fear it won't be that exciting.'' In front of the exit, the dark Vampyrum spread his black wings and turned his head back to Phoenix once more. ''I don't even have to look for them at all. I know where they're going.'' And with that, he pushed himself off the ledge and flew into the jungle.

We didn't leave our hiding place the following evening in fear of running into another Vampyrum. For that, the resuming downpour came us just in handy. We stayed where we were and killed the time with storytelling. Tick enjoyed telling us more about his homeland. Though, he never mentioned to the boys what he had told me yesterday. It honored me that he'd told me his story. After all, we didn't know each other for that long, and yet he entrusted me with the most painful event in his life. Even though I was a human, just like those who had killed his parents and a lot of other Bloodwings. For his sake, I decided not to tell Shade and Chinook about it myself. Tick would let them in on it himself someday if he wanted to. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about it. His question of why the humans had done this kept bothering me all day. I wondered if the humans had harmed the animals to protect their livestock or if there was another reason for it.

Whatever the truth was, I probably would never find it out.

After a while, the rain subsided again, and we risked continuing our way to the Jesus statue, which Tick referred to as Statue Haven. I'd finally forgiven Chinook and Shade's yesterday behavior and started talking to them again. However, this didn't mean I wanted to experience such actions a second time. That was why I continued to let our vampire friend carry me around instead of one of them.

And so we traveled hour by hour through the dense jungle until Chinook grew tired of it.

''Urgh,'' he groaned,'' Will this rain ever stop? I have no desire to keep showering during the flight.''

''Now, come on,'' Shade giggled. ''I bet your fur has never been cleaner.''

Chinook glared at him in response. ''Watch it you little...''

''Guys, please.'' I felt like I was in kindergarten with the two of them. Luckily, this time they choose to listen and stopped bickering further. Instead, Shade fluttered ahead to talk a bit with Tick.

''How long do you think till we reach Statue Haven?'' he asked.

''At this pace, we should arrive there by tomorrow. However, if you guys can go on with no major breaks, we should make it by dawn.''

''Sounds good.''

Chinook was already behaving as if he were going to fall out of the sky from hunger. Of course, he only exaggerated. He was bored. Suddenly a big fat moth fluttered past us and right in front of the dark blue Silverwings nose.

''Hmm, you come just in handy.'' Licking his lips Chinook dashed right after the insect and nearly crashed into Shade, causing the smaller Silverwing to make a pirouette in midair.

''Hey!''

''Chinook, wait!'' I called after him, but the hungry bat didn't listen.

''I'll go get him.'' Before I protest Shade rushed after Chinook, leaving Tick and me behind.

''We better go after them,'' said the Bloodwing and turned to follow their scent into the thicket.

I knew they couldn't be far. I could still hear Shade's wings beating straight ahead of us. Seconds later, I even spotted the Silverwing on a branch overgrown with moss and lichen. But he was alone.

''Shade where is Chinook?'' I asked as Tick landed us both beside him.

''I have no idea. I was following him the whole time and then lost sight of him.''

''Just great,'' I replied and looked around. ''Hopefully, he didn't fly off too far.''

''We should keep searching,'' said Tick. ''Not that he gets himself into trouble.''

I nodded and raised my arms for him to grab my hands with his feet again as we suddenly heard a loud scream that caused all three of us to flinch.

''W-what was that?'' Shade asked, looking around with his eyes widen.

''I don't know. I just hope it wasn't Chinook.''

''HELP!''

''Well, whoever this is, they must be in serious trouble.'' Without wasting time Tick grabbed my hands and quickly flew after the sound. Shade following right behind us.

Around the next corner, we came to a fast-flowing river. Its water was additionally stirred up by the wind. Again we heard someone calling for help, but first, it wasn't clear where exactly it came from. That was until we discovered a twig, stuck between two stones a little further downstream, ready to break from the pressure of the current. A skinny, blue-green bat clung on the slippery wood for dear life.

"Please, somebody help me!" they called out again. Barely able to hold on for much longer.

''Guys, we need to do something,'' I said.

''I know,'' replied Shade. ''But how do we save them?''

Tick fluttered a bit down to examine the situation a little more closely.

"I got it," he said. "Shade, you take Vanessa while I'll fly down to pull this guy out of the water.''

''What?'' I exclaimed, rapidly shaking my head. ''Absolutely not. If you get caught in the current, you'll be in danger, too.''

Shade nodded. ''She is right, Tick. It's too dangerous. There has to be another way.''

''Ok, and what? I don't think this fellow has much time left.''

''I know,'' said Shade and frantically looked for a way to help the strange bat. Preferably without risking more lives. I did the same but found nothing helpful until my eyes fell on a climbing vine. The plant itself was too big for me and my friends to use, but the thin tendrils winding around it should work. Hopefully, they were sturdy enough.

''Guys, I have an idea,'' instantly I had Tick and Shade's attention and explained my idea to them. ''We take a piece of these tendrils and use it as a rope. I tie one end to myself and them, and you pull us out holding the other end.'' The two immediately agreed, and together we flew over to the vine to grab one of the tendrils. As I said, I wrapped part of it around my hips and secured it with a knot. I also plucked a tiny piece to bind my hair into a ponytail to get it out of my face. Afterward, I took the rest in my arms and let myself be carried over to the river. The poor bat was halfway still out of water. Its grip slowly losing strength.

''Hurry, land me down on the twig,'' I cried while trying not to think of all that could go wrong with this operation. Thanks to the rain, which was getting heavier, Tick had trouble not accidentally dropping me into the water. Cautiously, my bare feet sought their footing on the wet wood. The twig was dangerously thin and not designed to carry any additional weight. With a pounding heart, I looked around for the bat and slowly crept towards it. Holding one end of the tendril while Tick and Shade held the other end.

''Hey, you.'' I poked the bat in the shoulder to get his attention. Now up close, I could see it was an adult Silverwing male. He looked terribly exhausted and barely conscious. ''Who...?'' His eyes opened as if in slow motion. Yet as soon as he noticed what was beside him, he unexpectedly jumped up and jerked back from the branch. In reflex, I reached forward and grabbed his arm to pull him back onto the stick. Instead of thanking me for it, he pushed my arm away from him and snarled at me.''

''Hey, what gives?" I asked, frowning.

''W-what are you?" came the counter-question. The Silverwing looked at me with big and frightened eyes and leaned forward to sniff me. Immediately he jerked back again. However, this time without falling into the water. ''Y-you're a human, aren't you? Of course, you are. You look just like them o-only smaller.'' A slight bit of confusion showed on his face. Who could blame him? It wasn't common to meet miniaturized humans who could also talk to animals.

''You are right, I am a human,'' I said softly, not wanting to scare him any further and even lift my hands to show him I meant no harm. ''But I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help you.''

''Yeah right.'' He said while looking at me distrustfully.

''No, really.'' I sighed. This wasn't going as well as I hoped it would be. ''Look, do you see the two bats above us? They are my friends. Together we heard you cry and came to help you.''

He squinted his eyes, looking up. ''Those a-aren't jungle bats, are the?''

I shook my head. ''No, I mean one of them is, but don't worry, he isn't a Vampyrum. He is more like a northern bat like you.''

The frightened Silverwing was not entirely convinced. Though he realized that there was indeed no Vampyrum nearby.

''Now, let me help you get back to safety,'' I said. ''First, I will wrap this rope around you, and then my friends will pull us out of the water.''

''Why do you need me to be tied up for this? Can't your friends pull us up without that?''

''I'm not tying you up completely. I'll just wrap it around your hips. That's all. And no, they can't pick us up without it because of the storm. The tendril is there to prevent someone from accidentally falling into the water and being swept away.''

If this made sense to him he didn't show it. He still seemed unsure to trust me or not.

''Look,'' I tried again, reaching my hand out to him. ''I know you probably had bad encounters with humans before. But I promise you I'm not like those. I want to help you. Please, trust me.''

The Silverwing hesitated for a moment. Then he pulled himself together and grasped my hand. I smiled at him thankfully and began to knot the end of the rope around his waist. As this was done I looked up and waved at my friends to pull us back up.

Immediately I felt the jerk of the tightening rope and felt myself being lifted off from the wood. The strange bat was also almost in the air as a strong gust of wind pushed us back down on the twig. I was about to call up to Shade and Tick when I heard a suspicious cracking sound. Before I could do anything the twig broke apart under my feet. With a scream, I slipped from the wood and into the rushing water. Luckily, I immediately felt myself being pulled back out and clung to the broken twig. The current had washed it past the rocks along with me and the Silverwing thanks to part of the tendril that got caught on the wood. Coughing, I held tight to the piece of driftwood, trying to get the water out of my lungs.

''Tell me, was this part of your plan?''

''No,'' I replied swiftly, ignoring his scowl and trying to look for my friends. Unfortunately, I could hardly see anything through the rain and the mist around us. I tugged a little on the vine, hoping to be pulled back up in response. Nothing happened but then I heard the Silverwing beside me taking in a sharp breath.

''Holy Nocturna! Watch out!''

I turned around to see another piece of driftwood rushing towards us. Before I could even do anything, it crashed into our lifebuoy and threw us both overboard. Like a stone, I sank underwater until I felt the rope around my hips tighten again. I tried to swim back to the surface, but another weight pulled me down. The Silverwing! He had lost consciousness and showed no sign of coming to my aid. Unless I resurfaced soon, I would pass out, as well, and then it was over.

Panic rose inside me as I was running out of air. I kicked my legs to swim up, but the bat was too heavy and kept pulling me down. Still, I kept trying. Eventually, I couldn't hold back any longer and opened my mouth, desperately wanting fresh air. Instead, my lungs filled with river water. I tried to cough but ended up breathing in more water. I held my mouth and nose close with my hands and kept floating on the spot, starting to feel sick and tired. I needed to get out. I needed air.

Suddenly there was something else in the water. A fish? It swam towards me, but my vision was blurry. And then everything went dark.

When I came to, the first thing I felt was heavy pressure on my chest.

''Careful, man,'' someone said.

''Sorry.''

I paid no attention to the conversation and spun around to throw up. Fortunately, most that came out was only river water. Nevertheless, it wasn't pleasant and my stomach ached terribly afterward due to spasmodic forcing up of the unwanted liquid. I also coughed up the water that had gotten into my lungs until I could breathe freely again.

''Vanessa, are you ok?''

This time I recognized the voice as Shade's and turn back around to look into his worried face. I needed a moment to take a few deep breaths but then I nodded. ''I-I'm ok now. Don't worry.''

''Are you sure? You swallowed a lot of water.''

''I know but everything is fine now. This wasn't the first time remember.'' I smiled a little to lighten the mood, but he didn't return it. ''Hey, I'm ok. Really.'' Shade continued to look at me unsurely while biting his lower lip. Confused, I looked around and found myself safely on the riverbank with Chinook standing next to the strange Silverwing, who had probably just regained consciousness as well and was recovering from the ordeal. The tendril was removed from us both. I only still wore the piece with which I had knotted my hair, although some strands had come loose and were sticking to my face. I pushed one of them out of my eyes and sensed something was wrong. Not only was Shade acting strangely, but Chinook was looking at the ground the whole time with his ears folded back.

''Guys, what's going on?''

Shade hesitated. ''There were some problems during the rescue mission,'' he said.

''I know but in the end, we made it.'' I pointed to the stranger and me. ''We're out of danger and back on dry land thanks to you guys, and ... wait a minute. Where's Tick?''

I received no answer and felt a dark foreboding rising inside me.

''Guys, seriously, what happened?''

''Well ... Tick and I ...We both did what you said,'' Shade explained. However, when we tried to pull you up, a strong gust of wind came up and tore the vine from our clutches. We were able to retrieve it quickly before it fell into the water. But the storm was too strong for us to pull you out without help. Tick came up with the idea of tying the free end to a protruding root on the shore.''

''Good idea,'' I commented, ''But that still doesn't explain where he is now.''

''He flew off to look for help and found Chinook, but instead of joining us in pulling you out from the air, he jumped straight into the water.''

''Wait, he did what?'' I starred at Shade with wide eyes in disbelief. ''You're not serious, are you? Tick didn't try playing lifeguard, did he?''

Shade sighed. ''He did. He managed to get you both to the surface where I and Chinook could finally pull you out but ... you know how much junk there was in the water. Tick managed to climb on a drifting log to get airborne, but another one crashed into him and caused him to crash back into the water.''

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. ''Are you saying...''

''He never resurfaced after that.''

''No..no...that can't be ...'' I stumbled to my feet and hurried to the edge of the river. The current was still strong and a lot of leaves and driftwood passed by, carried by the water. But there was no sign of our vampire friend.

AN:

Spanish Translation:

¡Así es! - That's right!

¡Dios mío! - My god!

¡Suficiente! - Enough!

Eso ya lo tenías - You already had that

¡Espera, su majestad! - Hold on, your majesty!