Guardians of Ga'Hoole 11 - To Be a King

was patience. But it galled her to think that another hagsfiend was living in the Ice Narrows and was now stealing her formulas, her spells! Was there no honor in this world?
    And so she waited one night, then two, and finally onthe third night, the divining eyeball cleared. She fully expected to see the puffowl in the cave. She had thought he would have flown to Mycroft’s cave to warn him, but the cave appeared empty and the beautiful head was still in its niche. Was it a trap to lure her there? Had the puffowl warned him of her intentions? She looked again in the divining eyeball and muttered an old demonic incantation, a charm especially suited for making visible the invisible and revealing what was concealed. Her breathing calmed. It looked as if neither the puffowl nor Mycroft was around. The time was now.
    “Come, Lutta. We need to get you a feather.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Ice Palace of the H’rathghar
    T he splendor of the Ice Palace of the H’rathghar could be seen from many leagues away. It was a majestic sight on a clear sunny day. Its spires of ice shimmered like silver in the blue sky. Its walls and ice bridges and towers all carved by the wind seemed to blaze with a brilliance unmatched by any diamond. But by moonlight it was even more magnificent. As they approached the palace, Theo’s mother couldn’t stop talking.
    “Oh, you’ve never seen the likes of it. And to think it is all Shadyk’s now!”
    “But what happened to Lord Arrin?” Theo asked.
    “I told you, Theo. He ain’t got no respect anymore. Not after the Battle in the Beyond, where he was beat so bad. Half his forces flew off. Some of the hagsfiends left to start up their own bands; one was named Ullryk, I believe.”
    She believes! She says it so casually. As if it doesn’t matter who fights for what anymore. Or who fights on which side. So now they fight among themselves — hagsfiends, rebel owls, kraals. It truly is as Svarr said: A feast for vultures.
    Theo’s gizzard lurched as he caught sight of the hagsfiends draped over the ice parapets of the palace, their shaggy black wings dark slashes against the shimmering ice. Philma gave four long hoots and then two short, the usual hoot pattern of a Great Horned Owl, but then she paused and gave three more short ones. She swiveled her head toward Theo. “That’s our signature call. They know I’m Shadyk’s mum. Oh, it’s all so grand. You won’t believe how fine they treat us, Theo. We’re very important now, almost like royalty.”
    “But how did Shadyk get to be—what do you call him?”
    “We’ll call him king soon. He’s to have a crowning ceremony—what’cha call that?”
    “A coronation.” But how did all this happen? Was it raw power on Shadyk’s part? Theo was about to ask when his mother interrupted.
    “My goodness, there seem to be more hagsfiends than usual outside the Ice Palace. Oh, and Theo, wait until you see the throne hollow and Shadyk sitting on thethrone. To think, a son of mine sitting upon the H’rathian throne. Ain’t it grand?”
    A sickening feeling swept through Theo as they entered the palace and proceeded to the throne room. It was immediately evident why the hagsfiends were all outside. The inside of the once magnificent palace was rotting. Rotten ice! The two words shrieked in Theo’s brain. He had always thought it was just an expression, but now he knew that it was real. Inside the palace the ice was cloudy, and it looked as if it were disintegrating. Theo had seen a honeycomb in a tree hollow in the S’yrthghar and that was exactly what this ice looked like to him, a honeycomb. Sweet rotten ice!, Theo thought as they entered the throne hollow. The palace was rotting from the inside, so only the outer walls were safe for the hagsfiends to perch on. How long would they remain to serve their leader, their monarch, this ridiculous-looking owl who perched upon the melting throne? Shadyk was not that much larger than when Theo had left, and his feathers were bedraggled and looked as if they had not been preened in ages, although four female owls, a Pygmy Owl and three Elf Owls, were busy running their beaks through his feathers and picking nits from his ear slits and between his talons.
    “Mum?” Shadyk leaned forward.
    “Yes, sweetie. Look who I’ve brought.”
    Shadyk immediately stiffened. “How often do I have to tell you that I am to be addressed as Commander—Commander Strong Talon.” He turned to Theo. “Good