Guardians of Ga'Hoole 07 - The Hatchling

at me for no reason. There was something wrong with his gizzard, with his mind.
    “The worst of winter was soon upon us. We were starving. Game was scarce. It was at this time that we found the fox’s den and Da went after the baby. Da had always said that it was wrong to kill the young of any prey because if you did that, they would not grow up to have children of their own and then there would be no animals left to hunt. So I knew how Da had broken his own rule here. But we were starving. It wasn’t long after the killing of the babyfox that I noticed other changes in Da, small ones at first. It was as if he didn’t care about anything. He cursed in front of me, which he had never ever done before.”
    Never? Nyroc thought. Nyroc recalled how his mum cursed in front of him all the time.
    Phillip continued, “It was also around this same time that Wortmore showed up with Stryker. This is one of the Pure Ones’ best strategies for finding new recruits. They go into regions where forest fires have destroyed the land, where owls feel lost, confused, disoriented, and are almost starving to death. They promise them a good hollow with soft moss, plump voles, and rock rats. The new recruits are promised a chance to become the pioneers and leaders of a new empire.”
    “But the Pure Ones only recruit Barn Owls, right?”
    “Yes. Stryker and Wortmore said that only Barn Owls were worthy of joining this elite union. That the Union must be kept pure and only Barn Owls were pure enough.”
    “I know that’s what Mum always tells me—that we Barn Owls are Glaux’s favorites.”
    “Yes, but what they didn’t tell us was that some Barn Owls are more pure than others. No, no. My da thought he was going to be a big important squadron leader. He had become very bitter. It seemed that now that he had lost most of his family, he was ready to kill.”
    “So what happened when your father joined?”
    “What happened? Ha! He got killed!”
    “Killed?”
    “In the first battle he ever went into. Kludd had managed to kidnap one of the leaders of the Ga’Hoole Tree. But the great tree sent the Chaw of Chaws to rescue him.”
    “I know of the Chaw of Chaws. I heard Mum talk about it. I think my uncle Soren was a leader of it. Was he the one who killed your father?”
    “No, it was a Short-eared Owl. Female. I forget her name. She is supposed to be an incredible flier—fast, with unbelievable precision.”
    “Not the Great Gray who killed my father, then.”
    “No, not Twilight.”
    “Twilight? Is that what they call him?”
    “Yes.”
    Nyroc now knew the name of his father’s killer.
    A silence stretched between the two friends. Outside the den, they could hear the wind whipping through the narrow canyon. An occasional gust of snow was sucked into the den from a downdraft. Finally, Nyroc spoke. “So what happened to you after your da died?”
    “Nothing good. Without him, I was just another mouth to feed. Because I was a Sooty, I was given the most menial tasks and never trained for the elite units. I was miserableuntil you came along. Then everything changed.” Phillip shook his head in wonder. “I was the one chosen to be the closest friend, companion to the hatchling, the little chick that had emerged from the egg they called the Sacred Orb. My life changed. I got the choice pieces of freshly killed vole. I got to fly out and gather insects for your First Insect ceremony. I occupied a place of honor at all your First Ceremonies—right next to your mum. And although I did not much care for Nyra, I was liking, loving you more every day.”
    Again there was silence. Nyroc peeked out of the den. “It’s really dark out there now.”
    “Yes,” Phillip replied, “but I think it would be foolish to leave. We should stay here until daylight. Less chance of them keeping up the chase through the daylight. Besides”—Phillip gave a wink to Nyroc—“they don’t have a free pass from the crows.”
    “That’s right. I never thought of that.”
    “So let’s rest up and wait for daybreak.”
    So the two friends wedged themselves into the most comfortable corner they could find and tried to fall asleep. But Nyroc couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts were swirling through his head. His gizzard was in a twitter.
    “Phillip, you still awake?”
    “Sort of,” Phillip replied sleepily.
    “I was wondering…Was your name really Phillip when you were a young owlet and lived back there in Silverveil?”
    “I