The Rescue (Guardians of Ga'hoole) by Kathryn Lasky Page B

his eye. Twilight, always a quick study, steered his partner outside, following Soren.
    Others began to fly out of the Great Hollow and weave their way through the branches in the Glauc-glauc dance. Now Eglantine was coming with another Spotted Owl. Perfect! Soren thought. He knew that Otulissa had a crush on the particular Spotted Owl whom Eglantine now had as her dance partner. He came from a lineage as ancient and distinguished as Otulissa’s own. Soren managed to glauc-glauc-glauc across the air and through some branches to where the Spotted Owl and Eglantine were dancing.
    “May I cut in and have a dance with my own sister?”
    When Otulissa saw with whom she was about to be partnered, she nearly swooned midair.
    Soren danced Eglantine off toward Gylfie and Digger, who were dancing with each other. Digger had a lot of smooth moves for being such a great walker, as all BurrowingOwls were. He combined these with flight maneuvers in a unique way.
    “Watch this, Soren. I do the Glauc-glauc with a four-four beat. It’s incredible. It’s like the Glauc-glauc squared. Ready, Gylf?”
    “Ready, Diggy!” Diggy! This was too much. Had they all been drinking?
    “Listen!” Soren said sharply. “I think it’ll be time to go soon. Everyone’s pretty much in their cups from the look of it.”
    “I’ll say,” said Twilight, flying up to them without his partner. “Madame Plonk has passed out.”
    “Passed out!” The others gasped.
    “Oh, I’ve got to see this,” said Gylfie. Before Soren could stop her the others had followed.
    Sure enough, just inside the Great Hollow in a niche in one of the galleries there was a huge pile of white feathers. Octavia, who served as nest-maid to both Madame Plonk and Ezylryb, was slithering along the gallery toward her, muttering about how Madame couldn’t hold her berry wine, and it was always this way. But just at that moment, there came a roar from outside and then, “Aaah!”
    “The comet!” someone cried. And its red light seemed to flare for a brief moment and spill into the hollow, casting a fiery glow over everything. Madame Plonk’s feathersshimmered red and just in that same instant, Octavia, who had been nursing Madame Plonk, swung her head toward Soren. The old blind snake seemed to look right through him.
    Does she know? Does she know what we are planning and that this might be connected with Ezylryb? A shiver ran through Soren.
    “All right, it’s time,” he whispered to the others. “I’ll leave first, then Eglantine, then Gylfie, next Digger, and last Twilight. See you at the cliffs!”
    With that, Soren swept from the Great Hollow, but the entire time until the moss curtains parted, he felt the eyeless gaze of Octavia boring into him. Outside, the night seemed tinged with red. The moon, still newing, was just a sliver slipping over the horizon. In the light of the comet it looked like a battle claw dipped in blood.

CHAPTER EIGHT
Into a Night Stained Red
    W here’s Eglantine?” Soren said in a taut voice. “She was supposed to leave right after me.” All the other owls had arrived at the cliff except Eglantine. “Do you think she got frightened?” Soren asked.
    “Maybe she got caught,” Gylfie offered.
    “Oh, Glaux—I hope not.” Soren sighed. He wondered how long they should wait.
    “I hear something!” Digger said suddenly.
    Owls were unusually silent fliers, all owls, that is, except for certain ones like Pygmy and Elf Owls who did not have the soft fringes called plummels at the leading edges of their flight feathers. The wing beats that Digger heard were the unmistakable sound of Primrose. Soren knew it in an instant, for he had flown behind her many a time in navigation class. What in the name of Glaux was Primrose doing here?
    Eglantine, along with Primrose, slid onto the cliff andperched beside Soren. “I know what you’re going to say, Soren,” she blurted out breathlessly.
    But he said it anyway. “Primrose, what are you doing