Guardians of Ga'Hoole 06 - The Burning

fangs flashed in the dimness.
    “Gragg!” Gylfie gulped.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Twilla Suspects
    I t was just after the evening meditation flight, and Twilla made her way back to the hollow, which was empty as she expected. Where had that miserable old owl and that beastly snake gone? She felt a twinge of guilt calling Ifghar “miserable.” This was certainly not the way of the Glauxian Brothers’ retreat. She had looked after Ifghar for years and although he did provoke pity in her she could never say she had felt any warm feelings toward him. It was the Glauxian way to always forgive, and she had forgiven him for his treachery against his brother, the noble Lyze of Kiel and the Kielian League. Lyze himself had said to her before he had left the retreat that he was sure that someday his brother, Ifghar, would come seeking mercy and help, and he hoped that she would help him as she had helped Octavia and himself when they had arrived. But Lyze had not really needed much help. He had only needed solitude and time to mend from the devastating loss of his beloved Lil.
    Ifghar needed everything and yet he gave nothing. He had been cast out by the Ice Talons League. So the betrayer had felt himself betrayed, and it had driven him to dementia. His snake, Gragg, was barely tolerable but easy to ignore much of the time as he was always either tipsy or had passed out. Gragg had been the only one to stick with Ifghar. Twilla supposed she had to give him some credit for that. But in the last few weeks, things had begun to change, ever so slightly at first. Gragg was sober, for one thing. With Ifghar it had been harder to explain. She had first noticed a new luster in his perpetually dulled eyes. He had begun to fly better, and then there had been that night when Gragg had said that he and Ifghar were going out together.
    “Together!”
    “Yes, together,” Gragg had said.
    “Do you think he’s up to it, Gragg? I mean, he hasn’t flown with a snake onboard for years.”
    “He’s up to it. We’ve already done a few short practice flights.”
    “You have?” She was stunned. When had they managed that, she wondered. “Well, a short practice flight is one thing, but this sounds like a longer flight, and I think I should accompany you.”
    “Twilla,” the snake said firmly but in an almost kindlyvoice for Gragg. “That will be entirely unnecessary. I hope you have noticed that I have not had a drop of bingle juice in some time.”
    “Well, yes, Gragg, I have noticed.”
    “I have taken the pledge.”
    “My goodness, I am impressed.”
    “Yes, so is Brother Thor. I know I can handle this flight. I…I…don’t know how to say this…” Gragg hesitated and shook his head. “I hope you understand, but it is very important to my self-esteem and to Ifghar’s that we do this flight on our own.” He paused and then looked up at Twilla. “We have been through a lot, Ifghar and I. We have done things of which we are not particularly proud. But now I think we are both recovering in our body and our spirits.”
    Twilla was taken aback. She had never heard this Kielian snake talk in such a manner. He was certainly sober and he was modest and almost likable as well.
    “Well, yes. I do understand, Gragg. I think this is most admirable.”
    “I knew you of all owls would understand, Twilla. You have been with us for so long.”
    Twilla thought back now on that conversation. It had occurred just a few weeks ago, but in that time Gragg and Ifghar had made several flights and often did not show upfor meditation. She was getting suspicious. And so she decided one evening to follow them. It wasn’t easy, not with her damaged wing. What’s more, she was surprised to see them flying not south but due east toward the Hrath’ghar Glacier. Why in the world would they be flying toward the Hrath’ghar Glacier? There was nothing in that Glauxforsaken place—except hireclaws and kraals!
    Her wing pained her greatly but Twilla had been a great flier in her day, a great reader of winds, and she knew exactly how to work every gust, every eddy of wind to her best advantage. But now on this treeless tundra she would have to be careful. A plain-feathered owl like herself, oddly enough, was bound to stand out among the garishly painted kraals that dominated this land beyond the glacier. She was a good low flier and she could use the scant dwarf shrubs for some coverage. It was daytime, but there were no crows in this region, so any owl