Guardians of Ga'Hoole 03 - The Rescue

with it. “Lots of muscle there. In any case, we could get into places that were unreachable to blind snakes and, because of our musculature, we could actually dig holes, be it on the ground or in a tree. Yes, our fangs were as effective as a woodpecker’s beak.”
    The three owls froze as two long fangs shot from her mouth.
    “Scary, aren’t they?” She paused to give the owls another good look, then continued with her story. “It was Lyze who first thought of using us in battle. Lyze and I were about the same age. My parents knew his parents, but there really wasn’t much mingling between snakes and owls in general on Stormfast. You have to understand thatcreatures who live in the Everwinter Sea and along its coast aren’t really sociable types. They stick to themselves. It’s such a harsh environment that it, well, does not lend itself to—how should I put it?—frivolity. Except for yours truly here.
    “I was a problem snake. A problem as a young’un, and it only grew worse as I grew older. I loved fooling about, having fun, getting into trouble. I don’t mind telling you I was a terrible flirt in those days. It seems the whole industry thing for which our species was known had just passed me by. I can remember my mum saying once that if she didn’t know better, she’d think she and Pa were raising a chipmunk. Chipmunks are silly, incredibly irresponsible, frivolous creatures. I was driving my parents to distraction by the time I was a teenager. It was just around that time that Lyze came up with the idea to train Kielian snakes for battle. One day when Lyze was flying over the rocky crag where my parents had their nest, one of the few sunny days and I was out sunning myself, doing nothing, and my mum was ranting at me. Lyze heard her from above. He had just had the idea for a stealth force of Kielian snakes. He lighted down and said to my mum, ‘Give her to me, ma’am, and she’ll never have another lazy day in her life. I’ll turn her into a crack soldier.’ I, of course, was horrified bythe idea. But before I knew what had happened, Mum and Pa had nodded their consent, and I was in Lyze’s talons being flown off to a training camp. The only compensation was that there were some handsome male Kielians. But my goodness, after a day’s training I wasn’t fit for anything but sleep.
    “Well, you might not believe it, but I turned into a pretty fair soldier for the stealth force. I think it was Lyze who made me, to tell you the truth. That owl could inspire anybody.”
    Soren felt a twinge in his gizzard. How true it is, he thought, and remembered his times flying with Ezylryb through forest fires, gales, and the worst of storms.
    “Lyze took a mate shortly after I came into training. In a sense, that was when his troubles with his brother really began. His brother, a seemingly quiet, gentle owl named Ifghar, had fancied Lyze’s mate, but she did not fancy him. The War of the Ice Claws was getting fiercer. The league of Kiel, for it was the islands of the Bay of Kiel and the coast that had gathered into an alliance, was being beaten back by the league of the Ice Talons farther to the east. The King of the Ice Talons region was a brutal old Snowy who really wanted dominion over the entire Northern Kingdoms. It was at about that time that I was promoted to the most eliteof the stealth-force units. This unit, called Glauxspeed, was in Lyze’s division, of which he was the commander in chief. I served him directly.
    “Lyze and his mate, Lil, made a beautiful couple in battle. It was as if they did not even have to speak. Their gizzards were so in tune, so harmonious, that they instantly knew what the other was thinking. Together, they were a fearsome team. Their timing, their precision, couldn’t be matched. They were the anathema of the enemy. Everyone knew if the war was going to be won it would be because of Lyze and Lil.”
    “So what happened?” Digger asked. “Was the war won?”
    Octavia sighed deeply and put down her duster. “No, Ifghar became a turnfeather, betrayed them, betrayed his brother, his family, the entire Kielian league. So jealous was he that, by this point, he went to the other side and swore he could break up the team. His only condition was that Lil be given to him as a mate.”
    “Oh, no!” all three owls said at once.
    “I found out about the plan but it was too late. They were already on the wing, set to attack a recon unit on an island in the Bay of