Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole

Cletus caught it with his right talons.
    He would have been relieved, except that the chick on his back slid to one side during the maneuver. As he began to tip in the opposite direction to center his little passenger, a Sooty Owl came within a wingspan of him. Cletus looked for Tavis. He was pytes away, battling the other Sooty. Saul had recovered, but he and Trixie were still trying to outfly the last Barn Owl. The Sooty Owl knew that Cletus was near helpless and dove at him. Cletus banked ever so slightly to avoid him, and the chick on his back slipped again. This time, it almost slid off of Cletus’s back entirely. As he felt the chick slide, Cletus thought his gizzard would jump out of his beak. The Sooty Owl attacked again, and this time, he went after the tiny Burrowing Owl chick on the Great Gray’s back.
    Tavis dispatched his Sooty attacker with ease. He looked toward his brother and gasped in horror. He was going to lose the chick! Tavis flapped his wings hard and drove himself toward the last Sooty Owl. But before he could reach him, Trixie was there. With one foot firmly clutching an egg, Trixie dove toward the Sooty. The Sooty expected the smaller owl to try to fly away, not to counterattack. Trixie drove her razor-sharp beak into the Sooty Owl’s eye. There was a sickening little pop . The Sooty screamed and went yeep.
    They were but a few wing beats away from the tunnel now and of their attackers only the Barn Owl remained, and she was retreating. Cletus straightened himself in flight and returned the chick to the center of his back. They were all about to breathe a sigh of relief when Tavis turned and saw scores of Pure Ones on the horizon. Worse, Tarn and two of his Burrowing Owl minions had emerged from his burrow.
    “The tunnel! NOW!” he yelled.
    The four owls dove for the opening of the burrow. Saul and Trixie went in first and ran for the tunnel. Cletus went in next, with the chick and the egg. When he was safely in the tunnel, he gently slid the hatchling off his back and returned it to its parents.
    Tavis was the last into the tunnel. Immediately, Tarn and the two Burrowing Owls went into the tunnel after them.
    “If it isn’t my least favorite neighbors,” Tarn said. “I should have known you’d be a problem.”
    “Tarn, you bad-butt owl…” Tavis said as he tried to slash at him. It was near impossible as the tunnel was far too small for a Great Gray to fight in.
    Tarn knew this. Each time Tavis attacked, Tarn jumped back out of the way. And each time Tavis pulled his talons back to regain his balance, Tarn lashed out at the Great Gray. None of them were death blows, but Tarn was relentless. Tavis was hurt. The cuts on his chest and legs burned, but his hatred of this Burrowing Owl burned hotter. He tried over and over to get one good swipe at Tarn, but each time, Tarn was just out of reach.
    Cletus saw what was happening. “Tavis, stop fighting, you can’t win in here!” Cletus yelled from a little farther in the tunnel. “It’s time to run!”
    “No! We can’t let him get away with this!” Tavis grunted.
    Tarn churred tauntingly.
    “Remember your plan, Tavis. It’s time to go!” Cletus yelled again.
    Tavis had almost forgotten all about this part of the plan. He was near delirious with battle fever. He wanted so badly to kill this owl—this owl who turned on his fellow Burrowing Owls to join the Pure Ones, this owl who masterminded the takeover of all the burrows, this owl who sought to kill him and all his neighbors in the Desert of Kuneer.
    There was a great kerfuffle outside the tunnel. The rest of the Pure Ones had arrived. Enemy owls were filling the tunnel.
    “Let’s go, Tavis,” Cletus said again. He knew that his brother was loath to turn away from this fight. But if Tavis didn’t turn away now, all would be lost. “We came back for Saul and Trixie and their eggs. We can’t fail them now. Think of that little chick back there.”
    Tavis knew his brother was right this time. The only way he could win the fight was to run away. With Tarn still slashing and pecking at him, Tavis turned his back and ran as fast as he could into the tunnel. When he got to the spot that he had marked earlier with two gray feathers, he shouted, “Fail-safe!”
    It was the last part of Tavis’s plan. He had thought that the Pure Ones would likely follow the desert dwellers into the tunnel and try to stop them from leaving. So when he and Cletus dug the tunnel, they built in