Free Firewing by Kenneth Oppel

across his body, as if following some kind of moving pattern. The glowing thing again, Griffin guessed. Her ears had a suspicious forward tilt, making her demeanour rather fierce, and he noticed she kept her knees flexed, as if ready to take flight at any moment. Still, just being in the presence of a grown-up made Griffin feel calmer and more hopeful. She would be able to help him.
    “My name is Corona,” she said. “I am chief elder here. Where are you from?” Her voice was gruff, not unkind but not exactly welcoming, either.
    “The northern forests. From Tree Haven.”
    The tips of Corona’s ears twitched together into a peak, and Griffin heard startled squeaks erupt from the other bats. He glanced around in alarm. What had he done now?
    “
The
Tree?” Corona demanded—angry or frightened, Griffin couldn’t tell.
    “Well,” he stammered, “it is
a
tree, an old silver maple actually, but Tree Haven is just what we call it. It’s our colony’s nursery roost.”
    Corona’s ears relaxed. “I see,” she said.
    “You’ve heard of it, then?” Griffin said hopefully. “Maybe you know Lucretia, she’s our chief elder; or Ariel, she’s my grandmother actually, you might have heard of her, too….”
    He trailed off as Corona shook her head. “I haven’t heard of this place, or these elders.”
    “Well, what about Stone Hold—that’s the males’ summer roost. Near the ocean?”
    “I know of no ocean here.” Griffin swallowed. “Where am I?”
    “This is Oasis.”
    Oasis. He’d never heard of it. Then again, he didn’t know very much about the world. He’d never been beyond the valley that sheltered Tree Haven. His mother hadn’t even sung him the sound map to Hibernaculum yet.
    “But we’re
near
the northern forests, aren’t we?” he asked. “Maybe you can tell me how to get back there?”
    Again Corona shook her head. “How is it you fell from the sky?” she asked.
    Griffin tensed. He didn’t really want to try to explain this part right now. They thought he was enough of a freak already, with the glowing and all. But he figured there was no going back. He took a breath.
    “I was in the tunnels under Tree Haven, and there was an earthquake and I got cut off by a cave-in kind of situation, and the only way out was down. Through a crack in the rock. There was a breeze, and I thought it would take me back to the surface but it just went down and down some more, until I fell … well, really, I got suckeddown by the wind. I couldn’t stop, and I came out really fast from … this hole, I guess … and into your, um … sky.”
    He paused, watching Corona’s face. She was motionless, only her nostrils flaring and contracting as she breathed.
    “I’m as confused as you are, really,” Griffin said. “I just want to get home.”
    “You’re not a Pilgrim?” Corona asked intently.
    “No. I mean, I don’t even know what a Pilgrim is,” he replied, feeling close to tears.
    “I am sorry you are lost,” she said, without sounding terribly sorry. “Perhaps someone else here has heard of Tree Haven, but I am doubtful. Beyond Oasis is only desert. But I wish you the best of luck on your journey.”
    And with that, she gave a curt nod and flew off, the other bats streaking after her through the forest.
    “Journey?” muttered Griffin. “How am I supposed to go on a journey? I don’t even know where I’m going!” And for a moment, his anxiety was doused by anger. Corona hadn’t helped him at all, hadn’t told him anything useful! She just wanted to get rid of him! This was no way to treat a fellow Silverwing! If she knew who his parents were, she wouldn’t have treated him like that! But that was the problem: she didn’t seem to know anything about his colony or where he came from. Stupid bat. He’d find someone who did. Must be plenty of bats in this forest. He’d get directions from them. He dropped from his branch, and flapped into the trees. Right away he realized this