Guardians of Ga'Hoole 09 - The First Collier

prongs at their pointy ends and make them hollow.”
    It took him some time, but he did it and when he stepped back, he blinked. “It looks just like a claw, almost like my talons, but more like polar bear claws,” he whispered.
    “Yes, Theo. You have made the first battle claws.”
    “I what?” He looked stunned. But I was so excited, I hardly paid attention to his reaction. “Now make another one and we’ll have a pair.”
    “ You’ll have a pair!” he said hotly. “You seem to forget that I am a gizzard resister.”
    I stepped close to him. “I am not asking you to fight, Theo. I’m just asking you to make these claws. Hagsfiendsare on the rise, you know this as well as I do. The coalition with Lord Arrin and Penryck is a monstrous one.”
    “Lord Arrin and Penryck?” Theo asked. He seemed surprised. “You mean the Sklardrog.”
    “Yes, precisely, the Sklardrog, the sky dragon. He has joined forces with Lord Arrin. And I repeat: I am not asking you to fight, but just to make these battle claws.”
    “There’s no ‘just’ about it. ‘Just’ is a stupid word to use. What difference does it make if I don’t fight if I provide the weapons that help owls kill each other?”
    I was so exasperated. I wanted to wring his impudent neck. I squeezed my eyes shut for a long time and tried to think of a reply. There must be something I could say that might change his mind, but I didn’t know what. Then it came to me: I had to tell him about the egg and whose egg it really was. I began slowly.
    “Theo,” I said, “I am going to tell you something that I swore I never would.” He slid his head around to peer at me. I knew I had his attention. Theo’s curiosity knew no bounds. “The egg in that schneddenfyrr up there.” I nodded toward the tree. “It is not just any egg. It is not an ordinary egg.”
    “It isn’t?”
    Did he really know more than he was admitting to? I wasn’t sure. But I had to go ahead. “This egg is the egg ofthe beloved King H’rath, who was slain in the battle of H’rathmagyrr, and his mate, Queen Siv.” If Theo had appeared stunned before, he was now overwhelmed. “Come along, lad, I’ll let you take a peek.”
    “You will?” He was completely astonished. I had not let him anywhere near the hollow with the schneddenfyrr since he had arrived. He followed me up.
    “Step in, young’un.”
    He gasped in disbelief as soon as he entered. The entire hollow was luminous from the glow of the egg. Its luster and the intensity of its luminosity had increased every day. I had never seen anything like it.
    “This, Theo, is the future of our kingdom. This is a sacred charge that I have been given by Queen Siv herself. I must protect this egg at all costs. I have told you about Lord Arrin and his alliance with Penryck.”
    “Oh, yes,” Theo replied. His voice quaked.
    I felt there was more to this story than just “oh, yes,” but I was not going to pursue that now. “Well,” I continued, “Lord Arrin wants the egg. The hagsfiends want it. They have chased Siv halfway around the N’yrthghar. If the hagsfiends get it they will turn it to evil. With their nachtmagen, they can transform it into exactly what they are—part crow, part owl. Lord Arrin wants the egg because, as a hostage, it would be invaluable to his effortsto become the High King and rule the entire N’yrthghar. And I think he also wants it for revenge.”
    “Revenge?”
    “Just before the battle in which H’rath was killed, his own son was killed by one of the ice harvesters who had survived the attack in the Firth of Fangs.” I paused. “Killing H’rath did not seem to satisfy that vengeance he sought.”
    “But that is my point. Killing never satisfies. Violence simply breeds more violence.”
    I ignored his remarks and, looking him straight in the eyes, said, “I intend to do everything in my power to protect this egg. The queen herself has entrusted it to me. Do you know what it means for a mother to give up her chick? I am to raise him, see to his education.”
    “It’s a male?”
    “Yes.” I nodded. “Theo, I am asking you to make me a pair of battle claws so I might protect this egg from destruction, to keep this hatchling from being murdered. You can see by looking at this egg that a special chick will hatch from it and—hopefully—grow into a great king. A king who can annihilate the hagsfiends—or at least nullify their magic.”
    The long silence in the hollow was as intense as