Guardians of Ga'Hoole 15 - The War of the Ember

want to be buried in that cloud cover and track our three ember-carrying owls and anyone else who is following them.”
    “But if it’s a cloud cover, how will you see?” Butas soon as Twilight asked the question, he knew the answer.
    “I’ll hear !” Soren said.
    Of course, for Soren was a Barn Owl. A Barn Owl’s auditory skills were unmatched by any other species of owl. “I can recognize Nyra’s wing beats. How many times have we battled these owls?”
    “Too many,” Digger sighed.
    “But I’ll need at least two more Barn Owls. I was thinking of Eglantine and Fiona. Fiona is young, but her hearing is extraordinary even for a Barn Owl.”
    “And now to what I feel is the most important question. Where are they to take the ember?” Everyone’s head swiveled toward Coryn. As the anointed king, the embered monarch of the owl kingdoms, he was the only one who could make this decision. There was a long pause before he spoke. Finally, he said, “I have been thinking about this question ever since we started talking about this shell game.” Indeed, he thought to himself, I have been pondering this question longer than you can imagine. “It seems to me,” he continued, “that if the three owls succeed in getting the ember out, we should take it far away.” Coryn now looked at Tengshu, who had been perched quietly in a shadowy corner of thehollow. “To the Middle Kingdom…to the Mountain of Time.”
    “I am not sure, Coryn,” Tengshu said. “You understand that the ember is…is…” He hesitated. “A powerful relic from the ancient world.”
    “Yes,” Coryn agreed. “Theo fought beside Hoole when he first dived into the flames of Dunmore to retrieve it. It is a most vital link between not only the time of legends and now, but between our kingdom and yours, the Middle Kingdom, for Theo found his way there, Tengshu.”
    There was much more that Coryn was considering and chose not to say. Theo had been a gizzard-resister. After his service to King Hoole, he had flown as far away as he could from the violence of his world—to the Middle Kingdom. In many respects, Coryn felt the same way about the Ember of Hoole that Theo felt about battle claws. He, however, was king, so he could not leave. But he could send this ember to the farthest reaches of the owl world—to the Middle Kingdom.
    Soren regarded his nephew closely. He wants to be rid of that ember so badly. And yet he is king. It was astute of Coryn to link the ember to Theo, Soren thought.
    Tengshu blinked. “I must go and ask the H’ryth if this is possible, if he will accept the ember.”
    “Could you leave soon?” Coryn asked.
    “Yes, I shall leave immediately.”
    “And I shall speak to Ruby, Fritha, and Wensel,” Otulissa said.
    “Uh…Please stay, Otulissa.’” Soren hesitated before he began to speak. He coughed. “Perhaps Bubo, Twilight, Digger, and Gylfie could go and talk to Ruby, Fritha, and Wensel.”
    The owls looked at Soren, bewildered.
    “There is another item that we must focus on.”
    “Indeed, the rumors of hagsfiends!” Coryn whispered.
    “We hope they are rumors,” Soren said. “But not only that. What of this sighting of the Striga and Nyra together in the Northern Kingdoms? It must be investigated immediately. I want to talk to Otulissa and Cleve about a reconnaissance mission to the Northern Kingdoms.” Otulissa seemed to grow larger. Her plumage billowed. This was the first time she had been asked to do anything of import since her grave injuries. Tengshu, who had just been leaving the hollow, stopped. He swiveled his head toward Cleve and blinked. Cleve blinked back. Everyone’s attention was focused on Soren, who had begun to speak.
    No one noticed the quick exchange between Tengshu and Cleve, except one bird—the puffin. I wonder what that’s all about? Dumpy thought. I’m not that bright, but something was said without words. A signal. I’d bet my wee brain on it.
    Soren continued. “And I want to set up a crack corps of messengers to fly between all the Guardians on this mission, to deliver word of progress or problems. So when you’re finished speaking with Fritha, Wensel, and Ruby, come back here. There’s more to plan.”
    Half an hour later, Twilight, Gylfie, Digger, and Bubo returned. Soren looked up. “We’re just finishing.”
    “Good,” Coryn said. “Now we’re all here.” He looked at his uncle. “Soren, catch them up.”
    Soren swiveled his head toward Otulissa.