Guardians of Ga'Hoole 03 - The Rescue

other owls. One owl in Metal Beak’s group went yeep and plunged to the ground. Immediately, Martin dropped a beakful of cinders on his flight feathers.
    “I aimed for the eye,” he breathlessly told Gylfie. “But I’m not nearly as good a marksman as Soren was with that bobcat.”
    “On your tail, Martin, watch it.” A Sooty with claws extended raked out toward Martin’s tail. With no thought of her personal safety, Gylfie dove into the heap of burning feathers of the owl who had gone yeep and came up with awad in her mouth, trying to hold it just as she had seen the colliers hold the coals. Hurtling herself toward the owl that had attacked Martin, she spiraled upward and ignited his belly feathers. There was a terrific yowl and then the Sooty turned into an airborne burning missile on a wild trajectory. “Dodge! Eglantine!” Eglantine went into a lateral spiral, leaving a clear track for the missile that smashed headfirst into the trunk of a tree. The owl’s battle claws had dropped off on the way. Soren swooped down and retrieved one. Otulissa the other.
    “Together we might make a pair and do some damage!” Otulissa shouted to Soren.
    “Twilight needs help! Get a burning branch.” Eglantine flew up with a freshly ignited branch for Soren.
    Otulissa had fearlessly flown ahead. I’ve never flown with such big battle claws. Twilight should have these, the thought raced through her head, but some instinct took over. She darted up and behind the huge owl, then plunged with the claws locked in the downward position and gave him a terrific blow. Metal Beak staggered mid-flight. He hadn’t seen it coming, and now Soren flew up in a flanking maneuver and shoved the slender, burning stripling branch under the mask. He shoved harder and a great piece of the mask lifted and fell to the ground.
    Soren blinked. He felt his heart stop, his gizzard turn to stone.
    “Kludd!” The name boiled up from Soren’s throat. His own brother now flew at him, his claws raised ready to rake out Soren’s eyes.
    “Surprise, little brother!” Soren dodged. His gizzard felt suddenly as if it was falling right out of him. Going yeep! Was he going yeep?
    “He means to kill you, Soren!” It was Gylfie crying out, which brought him back to his senses. He dove for the still-burning branch. There was a thicker one beside it. He picked up that one instead and then, like a volcano spewing live embers that blistered the air, Soren rose to do battle with his brother. Extending his talons, one foot with the battle claw, the other with the fiery branch, he advanced on Kludd, who lurched forward in a feinting maneuver and then dove. Soren felt the air stir beneath him. Two seconds before, Kludd’s battle claws would have raked his belly. Soren pivoted and flew straight up, an incredibly difficult maneuver but one that he executed perfectly. Kludd spun upward after him. But Soren could sense him before he saw him on his tail. Soren slowed his flight abruptly and plunged. Kludd overshot him, cursing all the while. Making a steeply banking turn to come back,Kludd shouted down to Soren who was thirty feet or more below, “I’ll get you!”
    This was the hardest part. Soren had to hover—hover and not bolt and not go yeep! Let him come, let him come. Steady, steady. Now! Soren roared up underneath Kludd, holding the burning branch straight up. The embers landed on what little bit was left of the metal mask.
    There was a deep grunt, followed by a quaking, horrendous scream. Then Ruby, Soren, and Twilight backed off and watched in a kind of hypnotic horror as the metal that had covered half the owl’s face began to melt into a molten mass and spread across the entire face. Metal Beak’s wings started to fold.
    He’s going yeep! Soren thought breathlessly. But then he blinked with disbelief as the owl, finding some extraordinary reserve of energy, raised his wings, twisted his head around, and opened the melting beak. “Death to the Impure. Long live Tytos supreme! Death to Soren! Turnfeather of the Pure, the true owls! Death to Soren!” The entire night seemed to sizzle with the words and then the enraged owl simply flew off into the night. Four owls were dead on the ground, the rest followed their leader, the Pure One with his beak still glowing red.
    Suddenly, it was quiet. A singed feather drifted lazilyon a small night breeze. Soren perched on a branch. My own brother. My very own brother is Metal Beak, and he wants to kill me.