The Owl Keeper

by Christine Brodien-Jones

  230

  stood before a turret built of flat, square stones. Three enormous stone steps led to a huge door, which stood slightly ajar, almost as if someone were expecting them.

  "Is this the Owl Keeper's house?" asked Rose.

  Before Max could answer, a howl shattered the night. He felt the blood drain from his skull. The silver owl dove down and into his pocket.

  Hardly daring to breathe, he turned to see, a few yards away, three black wolves crouched on their haunches. His gut went numb as he realized that the crimson light wasn't coming from the moon--it was coming from their eyes.

  He pulled Rose protectively against him.

  "Get in the turret!" he ordered, pushing her up the steps. "Quick!"

  Rose flew up the icy steps, Helios clambering after her. The wolves sprang to their feet, shaking ice from their fur. Their bodies were gaunt and abnormally thin, and their eyes had a ravenous gleam. Max could see white foam dripping from their mouths.

  "Max!" screamed Rose from the turret entrance. "Max, come inside!" She started back down the steps.

  Eyes burning, the largest wolf began to make low, guttural, menacing sounds deep inside its throat. Max had never heard such terrifying growls.

  Emboldened, he stood on the bottom step, eyeing the wolves defiantly. For once in his life, he was determined to be brave. He'd fight the wolves to the death if he had to. He would do anything to protect Rose and his silver owl.

  Then his eyes widened in horror as they began running toward him.

  231

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  [Image: The owl.]

  P aralyzed, Max watched the wolves streak toward him. Flecks of dirty foam flew from their mouths. He was beyond panic, beyond fear. This is how it ends, he thought, astonished that his life could be over so quickly.

  "Max!" screamed Rose, clattering down the steps behind him.

  Max felt her mitten touch his head, dispelling all thoughts of death, and whirling around, he caught hold of her hand. They raced up the steps and into the turret, slamming the door behind them.

  Gasping for breath, Max lay on the cold stone floor, astonished

  232

  to be alive, Rose sprawled next to him. The owl struggled out of his pocket and into the air.

  "Rose--" he said, rising to his knees. "Rose, can you see?"

  A snarling plague wolf thudded against the door, knocking it open. Helios reared up, barking. Too frightened to scream, Max scrabbled to his feet, hauling Rose off the floor.

  The wolf crouched down, hackles raised, its eyes the color of burning blood, ready to spring.

  "Max, watch out!" screamed Rose, pointing to a second wolf. Smaller than the first, it looked wilder. The wolf stood poised in the doorway, its eyes consumed with rage. Max threw his arms protectively around Rose.

  Then, emitting a harsh shriek, the silver owl swooped down. Max clung to Rose in terror, thinking how his owl was so brave--but she could never fight off such a powerful creature. The owl dove at the larger wolf, sinking her claw's into its fur. The wolf shook her off with a startled yelp. Jaws snapping, the smaller wolf leapt up, but the owl was too swift. Max watched in breathless admiration as she somersaulted in the air, then flew at the wolf, raking her claws down its snout.

  With a surprised cry it sprang back, colliding with the other wolf, and both went flying down the icy steps. Rose kicked at the door just as the third wolf lunged. With a sharp growl it sank its teeth into her boot and tore it off her foot. Grabbing Rose's coat, Max yanked her away before the beast could get her leg. Helios uttered a savage growl and the wolf, startled, backed away.

  "My boot!" cried Rose, holding up her bare foot.

  233

  Max grabbed his rucksack and slammed it against the wolf, knocking the animal off its legs and down the steps.

  Heart thumping, he tried to close the door, but it kept springing open. "I can't shut it!" he shouted to Rose in a panic. "The hinges are broken!"

  "Think of something!" she wailed. "They'll be back!"

  If only he could devise a brilliant rescue plan. But Max's thoughts were in disarray and his heart was pounding so loud he couldn't think straight. Through the half-open door he saw the wolves leaping at the owl as she circled above them, shrieking and beating her wings.

  Terrified for his owl, Max whistled to her, but she kept on circling, distracting the wolves. What if they caught her? he worried. She might be clever, but she'd have no chance against them one-on-one. The thought of losing his owl was too much to bear.

  "The window!" cried Rose, launching herself across the turret. "We can fit through it, right?" Standing on her toes, she peered out the narrow window.

  Max rushed over and squeezed in next to her, then leaned out. His stomach dropped to his feet. He was astounded to see a steep descent into darkness, endless and terrifying. The fortress, he realized, had been built at the edge of a massive cliff.

  "Bad idea," muttered Rose, her face crestfallen. "Sorry."

  With a jolt Max realized that at the bottom of the cliff was what appeared to be a city, its buildings dark and frozen and jumbled together, locked inside layers of permafrost. It looked ancient--as if no one had been there for hundreds of years.

  234

  "Rose," he cried, hope rising in his chest. "That could be Silvern! That's where we have to go!"

  "Yeah, well," she muttered, "we'll need parachutes to get down there."

  But Max hardly heard her. Helios was barking again and outside the turret the wolves were growling. The two children ran to the door, throwing their weight against it. Through the gap Max watched in fascinated terror as the wolves snapped at the owl in frenzied leaps, blood streaming from their snouts. Shrieking, the owl swooped down, talons outstretched.

  To Max's puzzlement, everything suddenly went quiet. Ears pricked, the wolves paused. Helios whined softly. The silver owl hung motionless in the air.

  "Hear that?" whispered Rose. "Wings! Loose, flappy, squeaky wings!"

  Max strained to listen. From the depths of the forest came the familiar, gut-wrenching sound from his dreams. Moments later, the frenzied beating of wings filled the air, and he felt his sun tattoo grow cold as ice.

  "Skræsks!" he gasped. His silver owl couldn't fight them off too! She was just one little owl, not an army.

  "Max, quick!" Rose shouted. He turned to see her kneeling on the floor, tugging on a huge rusted ring attached to a square of beaten metal. "It's a trapdoor, like the one in the barn in Cavernstone Grey." She grunted as she pulled. "It could be an escape route!"

  He rushed over and clutched the ring, pulling with all his strength. But the trapdoor held fast. You've got to do this, he told

  235

  himself, you've got to find a way out. He heard a disgusting splat outside as a skræk hit the side of the tower and fell, gibbering and squeaking.

  Panicked, he jumped to his feet, kicking the door in frustration. Sweat ran down his face as he kicked again. "Come on, come on!" he yelled. "Open up!"

  "It's rusted shut!" yelled Rose, whacking her boot heel against it.

  Max kept kicking. Then, with a groan, the hinged square of metal shifted. Determined, he fell to his knees and pushed, flakes of rusted iron flying up into his face.

  He could hear skræks slamming into the walls and a commotion outside the tower.

  "Max, the skræks and wolves are fighting!" huffed Rose, pushing the trap door with her feet.

  Was that possible? he wondered. Were these creatures programmed to destroy whatever crossed their paths, including each other?

  He gripped the iron ring and, exerting what was left of his strength, pulled. The trapdoor flew open, and Max stared, incredulous, down a crumbling flight of steps. Weary relief washed over him.

  "An escape route!" cried Rose. "That's what it is, right, Max?"

  "Yeah, it must be. Go on, Rose!"

  Skræks flapped at the window, clawing at the stones, clambering and clinging to the outside wa
lls. Where was his silver owl? He had to rescue her before they tore her apart!

  "You go ahead," he said to Rose. "I've got to get my owl!"

  Skræks poured through the window in a whirling cloud of

  236

  teeth and claws and ragged black wings. A sickening stench filled the tower.

  "Helios!" called Rose. Max saw her reach for the dog, but she was too late. Wheezing and hissing, the skræks descended, and with a frightened yip the dog took off.

  "Helios!" cried Rose, dropping the trapdoor and charging after him. "Come back!"

  Max heard the door clank shut. A skræk whizzed past, startling him, and swiped his cap off his head. Terrified, he looked up at the creature, which was hissing at him through yellow teeth. The silver owl streaked past, hurtling herself at the skræk and snatching the cap from its mouth. Blind and confused, the creature gurgled and swerved away, bumping into another skræk.

  Shrieks rang through the tower. Sick with fear, Max staggered off, hands over his ears, shouting for Rose. A talon shot out, slicing his forehead. Warm blood ran into his eyes. He reeled back, tripping over Helios. He heard a growl and looked down at an enormous black paw. It wasn't Helios at all. The paw belonged to a plague wolf lying on the floor, with scores of skræks attached tightly to its fur.

  "Max!" howled Rose.

  He looked up and ran to her. Beneath a blur of wings she stood on the closed trapdoor, arms pinwheeling, batting away skræks. Her hat was gone and her snow-soaked hair whipped around her fierce, angry face. Dodging a skræk, Helios rushed to Rose's side, barking and snapping.

  Fueled by terror, Max knocked a skræk from Rose's head,

  237

  snatched her hat from the floor, then struggled to lift the trapdoor. He thrust Rose's hat into her hands and pushed her inside.

  "Helios!" she wailed. He grabbed the dog by the scruff, shoving him in behind Rose. The owl, Max's cap in her beak, soared down and flew through the open trapdoor.

  Max lowered himself into the opening.

  "Stop!" cried a harsh voice, and Max felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. Massive and alien, a hulking Dark Brigadier in a filthy cape and torn mask clambered into the turret.

  "By order of the High Echelon," he shouted, his voice bouncing off the turret walls, "I demand that you give yourself up! Otherwise I will be forced to attack!"

  Gripped by a heart-convulsing fear, Max pulled the hatch down over him, but not before he saw the Brigadier lift his gun and the plague wolf rise to its feet, shaking off skræks with a twitch of its back.

  Rose waited on the steps below, clicking her flashlight on and off, looking more disheveled than ever. Helios shivered beside her.

  "Shine your light up here!" Max shouted. "Quick!"

  She flashed the light in his direction and he saw the thick iron bolt beside the trapdoor. That it had survived the centuries was pure luck, he knew. Overhead he heard a gunshot, then the sound of wolves attacking. Were they going after the Brigadier, or the skræks?

  With all his strength he pushed, terrified that the Brigadier would burst through and arrest them. But to his surprise he

  238

  slammed the bolt forward, securing the door, with barely any effort. He slumped against the wall in a daze. The owl flew up with his cap and settled on his shoulder. Max's heart warmed as her feathers brushed his cheek. There was no owl in the world braver or smarter than she was.

  "Max?" Rose shouted up. "Are you okay, Max?"

  "I'm fine," he said, rushing down the steps toward her. "But we have to go, Rose. The Dark Brigade knows we're here!"

  239

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  [Image: The fortress.]

  Brushing against the frost-bound wall, Max started down the winding steps, holding tightly to Rose's hand, taking care not to slip on the ice. Down and down they went, as he tried to block out images of wolves and skræks and the terrifying Brigadier with his gun.

  Max had seen diagrams of fortresses in Gran's book on the Middle Ages, so in a way the tower seemed oddly familiar. The steps had been carved centuries ago into the stonework, with long narrow windows cut into the walls at intervals. He pictured armored warriors, arrows nocked to their bowstrings, defending the walled-in city that lay below.

  240

  The tower had a faint putrid odor, and he imagined droppings from bats or mice--hopefully nothing larger than a rat. A disturbing thought flew into his head: what if there were Misshapens down here, engineered to survive the deadly cold? He forced the thought out of his mind.

  "You're not scared, are you, Max?" whispered Rose.

  "No," he lied, trying not to think of the massive, sprawling cliff this fortress was built upon. "Can you see where we're going?"

  "Things are a bit foggy. Hold on to me, okay, Max?"

  "Sure thing, Rose," he said, determined to see her safely down.

  They spiraled deeper into the murky light. Max tried to move quickly, afraid the Dark Brigadier might be following them. But the ice was treacherous and many of the steps were cracked or shorn off. The wind howled, bitterly cold, shaking the tower as they descended. Rose lost her footing more than once, but Max always managed to grab her in time.

  As they passed the narrow windows, he caught glimpse after glimpse of the ruined city--smashed rooftops, frozen courtyards, hulking brick structures. He stared in awe at the skeletal archways and fallen chimneys, the serpentine passageways that folded into themselves.

  "Do you think he's really down there? The Owl Keeper, I mean?" whispered Rose.

  "Of course he's down there," Max answered reassuringly. But really he had no idea. Was this the way to the Owl Keeper? He was so cold and exhausted he couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

  Judging from the view, Max guessed they were halfway down the turret. Ice crystals floated on the air around them and the

  241

  temperature dropped lower and lower. His face felt funny, like it was going numb. He hoped his owl was keeping warm inside his pocket.

  He looked over at Rose and was surprised. Her eyes were glazed with frost, and ice sparkled on her hair and lashes. Her face appeared strangely luminous. She looked, he thought, like a silent, scary angel.

  Then, without warning, the steps made a sharp turn and ended. All he could see was a platform, slick with ice, jutting out over the frozen city.

  "Watch out!" he cried, grabbing Rose before she could go any farther. Helios bumped into them, giving a startled yelp.

  Queasy with vertigo, Max inched toward the edge, his heart knocking. He realized he was looking at a parapet. There had once been a railing around it, but now it was gone--and the steps along with it.

  Rose shook her head and ice flew everywhere. "Max, what is it? Why did you stop?"

  "They're gone, the steps are gone!" he cried, on the verge of tears. "There's no way down, Rose! It looks like a cannonball ripped through here--or maybe it was the tremors. All that's left is this broken parapet."

  The owl wriggled inside his pocket; he opened it and she pinged out.

  Rose frowned. "What's a parapet?"

  "It's like a balcony," he explained. "An overhang in a fortress where archers shoot their arrows."

  "Oh," murmured Rose. "I'm really, really cold." She sank onto

  242

  the bottom step, resting her head against Helios. The blanket Max had tied around the dog hung in tatters. "I'm so tired, Max ..."

  Worried at how drawn and dispirited she looked, Max took off his jacket and threw it over Rose and the dog.

  He turned and stared bleakly into the abyss. Viewed through falling sleet, the city was a blur of hollows and shadows and yawning spaces. He stared into the darkness until somewhere amid the buildings he thought he saw a light flicker. He rubbed his eyes and looked again but saw only snow. Had he imagined it, he wondered, or could life exist in the Frozen Zone?

  "I'm turning into an ice-mummy," muttered Rose, rubbing her bare foot. "I can't feel my toes."
/>
  Max saw with alarm that her toes were cracked and bleeding. Her lips had turned purple and there was frost in her hair and around her mouth. Were ice-mummies real, or had the High Echelon made them up? Max couldn't be sure about anything anymore.

  He unlaced his boots and stepped out of them. "Here, put on my socks." He peeled off his wool socks and handed them to Rose. "Sorry if they're a bit wet and smelly."

  She gave him a crooked smile. "That's okay."

  How was he going to break it to Rose that their odds of getting out of here were less than zero? He thought about taking out his owl book and reading aloud to her, to comfort them both, but he was too tired.

  "Try to sleep," he said, sitting beside her and huddling close. He could already hear her snoring gently. Crouched against the freezing wind, he closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

  243

  It could have been hours, or maybe only minutes, but something woke Max with a start. He looked out at the dead city, and his heart skipped. Over the rooftops and chimneys an incandescent wave of light was breaking. He watched, enthralled by its beauty, as it lit up the sky. Transparent and glowing, the light streamed in all directions, flowing over the rooftops like cool white lava.

  "Wake up, Rose!" he said excitedly, his heart lighter. "Something's happening!" Rose stirred beside him.

  "Open your eyes, quick!" The light shimmering across the ice took his breath away. "It's a huge silver wave, coming up over the city!"

  Rose nodded, still groggy from sleep, and Helios leaned against her, licking her face. "It's not a wave, silly, we're too far from the sea."

  "Not that kind!" said Max. "It's a wave of light!"