The Siege by Kathryn Lasky Read Free Book Online Page B

stunned voice.
    “You won’t believe this, but Dewlap caught me.”
    “Caught you? How?” Gylfie asked.
    “Caught me reading a book, the book that Ezylryb gaveme. She made me do a flint mop.” Otulissa paused. “Well, I did it for a while.”
    “And then what?” Gylfie asked.
    “I threw a dead ground squirrel in her face and flew off. So here I am.”
    “You what?” Ruby said.
    But Soren cut in, “Now see here. We have to keep flying and we must keep our minds on our business. These winds are getting worse. Otulissa can explain it all to us when we fetch up on the other side. For now, keep flying. Gylfie, give us a course check.”
    “Two more degrees of easterly, then turn due south.”
    Good, Soren thought. Turning east would put the wind just off their tail quarter and ease their flight. They wouldn’t be working against it so much.
    The plan had been simple. After turning south, they would be on a direct course for The Beaks. Heading west and skirting the coastline of The Beaks, they would enter the mouth of the River Hoole, flying straight upriver until it joined a tributary that flowed out of Ambala. They would then fly across the southern portion of Ambala, still heading west, and onto the far border of the St. Aegolius Canyons, where they would fetch up for the nextday. It would make for a long night, but since it was winter, the dawn would be slow to break, and therefore there would be no danger of crow mobbing in the daylight hours. They would then wait until the following evening when they would make their approach and entry into the St. Aegolius Canyons where, at the very center, St. Aggie’s lay deep in a stone maze of chasms, jagged gulches, shadowy clefts, and ravines.
    Where they had fetched up for the day the woods were thin, and in the distance they could see the stone spires of the St. Aegolius Canyons etched against the horizon. Otulissa had just finished her story. The owls were in awe of the Spotted Owl. She was known for her ferocity of wit and intellect, but not for such unseemly outbursts, and never ones that involved raw power. Imagine, flinging a bloody ground squirrel into the face of a ryb!
    “Glaux knows what flint mop awaits you, Otulissa. A major one, no doubt,” Gylfie sighed.
    “I know,” said Otulissa solemnly. “But I’m still glad I did it.”
    Soren clattered his beak a couple of times, a habit that he had developed when he was thinking hard, as he was now. He didn’t like what he had heard. He found it disturbing that Dewlap had used Otulissa to serve her, literallyhaving her go out and hunt for food. That did not seem right. He also felt that this could provide a major distraction for the seven of them. He did not want the Chaw of Chaws thinking about flint mops for some boring old owl.
    “You know,” Digger began to speak slowly. “I don’t think there will be a flint mop for Otulissa.”
    “Why not?” Ruby asked.
    “Well, think about it. Major flint mops have to be approved by the parliament. So for her to receive one, Dewlap is going to have to explain too much,” said Digger.
    “You’re right!” Gylfie said suddenly.
    Digger continued, “Dewlap would have to tell Ezylryb that she tried to take away a book that he had given to Otulissa. She would also have to admit that she had been asking Otulissa to hunt food for her while on this flint mop. I mean, the whole thing is not going to put Dewlap in the best light. She’s going to appear as exactly what she is—a tedious old owl who went against the most revered ryb of the entire tree. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want Ezylryb against me. I would much rather have Dewlap against me and Ezylryb on my side than the other way around.”
    Soren breathed a sigh of relief. What Digger had just said made perfect sense. Now the owls would not be distractedby thoughts of flint mops. They were all very tired from their long flight, which had been mostly against headwinds. They were ready for sleep,