Guardian's of Ga'hoole: Out of the Ash

Chapter Ten

   I found myself at Nyra's side as Metal Beak and a screech owl were glaring at each other. "Well, the legendary Lyze of Kiel." Metal Beak said with dry amusement.
   "Once again, is come down to just you and me." Lyze of Kiel said while the two started to circle each other.
   "And now I can take my vengeance for this." Metal Beak said, referring to his missing beak.
   "You should thank me. It appears to be an improvement." Lyze of Kiel snapped before Metal Beak charged at him. Lyze of Kiel dodged before taking off with Metal Beak right in his tail feathers.
   Nyra joined in and shoved into Lyze, catching him off guard as he struggled to right himself midair. I watched as he then was caught in Metal Beak's talons as the older two owls started to torture the guardian. They threw him around and against the wall until Nyra body slammed him into the ground.
   All of the sudden Soren charged into Metal Beak with a stick that had flame on one end, though Metal Beak was able to dodge the flames.
   I glanced around for a moment, looking for Kludd... But my quick search proved futile as I returned back at the battle in front of me.
   "I'm not letting you hurt one more soul." Soren said with rage in his voice.
   Soren didn't even glance at me, but I knew for certain that he knew of my presence.
   "Oh, you're not letting me? Oh, what a pity to waste such a strong, young and confident Tyto." Metal Beak said while pinning Soren down.
   "No, Soren!" Lyze shouted from under the claws of Nyra, making Metal Beak smirked through his mask.
   "Oh. You know this sad old owl?" He asked and Soren growled. "He's my teacher. My hero."
   "Well, your hero can teach you one last lesson about Pure Ones' strength..." Metal Beak started as Nyra motioned me over. I got my claws ready, knowing that they wanted me to deal the final strike.
   "Don't move." Nyra said to Lyze of Kiel as he tried to struggle, my left claws close to his head.
   "...by letting you watch him die!" Metal Beak finished but as I was about to kill the old screech, Soren suddenly pushed Metal Beak off and grabbed the stick with the flame at the end.
   As Soren and Metal Beak fought, Lyze of Kiel kicked Nyra off of him and I jumped out of the way as he turned to glare at me. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as the High Tyto landed on Soren. Lyze most of noticed to as he gave a quiet noise of sorrow.
   The feeling of triumph was short lived as Metal Beak fell to the ground with a stick lodged in his chest, causing me to let out a shriek of dismay. There stood over him was an unscathed Soren.
   "Pure Ones! Fall back! To me!" Nyra commanded as she flew off.
   I turned to fly after her but I was suddenly tackled by the guardian, Lyze of Kiel. Soren came over to us. "What shall we do to her?" Lyze of Kiel asked Soren, as if he was the most valuable bird around. He looked down at me with hints of sadness in his eyes... A weakness to be used against him.
   "Ash." He whispered before taking of my pure one helmet. I snapped my beak at him but was unable to do damage because of the old screech on top of me.
   "Where is Kludd?" I screeched in anger. Soren looked even sadder if that was possible, proving that the news would drown out all forms of hope. "He fell into the fire, I couldn't save him!" I felt crestfallen. Kludd was dead.
   I screeched again before using all of my might to shove Lyze of Kiel off of me. I then pushed my wings down against the air, flying to where the fires were and hoping I'd find him still alive.
   Once I got there I flew over the desolate remains of charred forest. It was a void of life with not even so much as the feather of my friend.
   After I came up with nothing, I returned back to where Metal Beak's corpse was. It was so I could gather my helmet and journey in the direction Nyra flew in, but I was met with a surprise.
   Standing over his body was a barn owl wearing Metal Beak's mask, his feathers singed beyond recognition. He must of heard me approach because he turned to look at me threw the mask. He had a dark look in his eyes... Well, right eye. The left one was burnt and blind. His right eye was a familiar red that softened slightly upon seeing me.
   "Kludd?" I asked weakly, not really knowing if my mind was deceiving me or not. He nodded in affirmation. I shouted out his name as I threw my wings around him, nuzzling my head on his shoulder.
   "I thought you would have gone with Nyra or something." He whispered quietly, nuzzling into my hug. "I stayed back, hoping that you were alright. Soren, he thinks that your dead. But you aren't!" I exclaimed while burying my head into his singed shoulder feathers.
   "You talked to Soren?" Kludd asked with a hint of hostility in his voice as he stepped back away from me.
   "Kludd, what happened?" I asked in worry, ignoring his question. Kludd let his head hang low in defeat. "When me and Soren were fighting, I fell into the flames. It ruined my face but I will survive." He explained.
   "Now, we're going to find Nyra and the surviving pure ones. We might have lost the battle, but we will win this war." He said while looking down at me.
   "Okay." I nodded absentmindedly and we started on our way to meet up with Nyra and the surviving pure ones.