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Haven’s base where myriad passageways twisted into the ground amongst the maple’s roots. He didn’t know where he was going, and didn’t care. He just wanted to go down, and down, far away from everything.
    But his thoughts came with him.
Shut up
, he screamed inwardly. The tunnel was narrowing, and he was glad when it scraped against his face and back, when dirt got driven up his nostrils and against his teeth. He clawed his way along until the passage was blocked by a large slab of stone. It was totally dark, and he shut his eyes and his mouth, letting no sound light the world for him. If only he could make his mind this dark. Stop seeing Luna’s burning wings spinning earthwards. Stop hearing that scream she made as she fell.
    Unless the wind turned against them, Shade knew they’d make Tree Haven before sunrise.
    He’d been chosen as one of the five messengers. Maybe the chief elder had sensed, just by looking at his eyes, that he was going whether chosen or not. Still, it had taken Shade socompletely by surprise that he couldn’t help smiling. Orion had probably thought it was better to have him part of a group (where the others could keep an eye on him) than have him flapping off on his own.
    They’d set off immediately. Around him flew the four other Silverwing males: Cirrus, Laertes, Urriel, and Vikram. They were faster than him; they knew it, and so did he. And he also knew he was slowing them down. But rather than streaking on ahead and circling back impatiently for him every once in a while, they let
him
set the pace, and never showed any signs of restlessness. Shade was grateful. He hadn’t known them particularly well at Stone Hold, and none of them were big talkers, but he enjoyed their company. When they did talk, it was to remember Tree Haven, and wonder about their mates and their newborns, and trade stories about when they themselves were young.
    Sometimes Cirrus or Laertes would awkwardly ask him questions about the jungle, or Goth and the Vampyrum Spectrum, or the rat kingdoms. Shade had told these stories enough times now that they hardly seemed things that had actually happened to him. Still, he liked telling them, and never tired of the stunned amazement in the faces of his listeners.
    The weather had been so warm and the winds so fair that he was almost able to forget the fears which had urged him on this journey: the earthquake, the hissing crack in the earth, and the horrible presence he’d sensed down there. When Shade departed two nights ago, Chinook and his father were busily assembling a team of males to go and block the opening. As he’d said goodbye to his father, Shade felt a peculiar clutching at his heart. He knew he’d be back in a matter of nights, but he still didn’t like leaving his father, especially when it was not so long ago they’d first met. Cassiel had told him to have a safe trip, and that he loved him.
    Soaring over the dense forest, Shade’s pulse quickened as he recognized the familiar landmarks that told him Tree Haven was near. A few hours ago they’d passed over the derelict barn where he and his colony had roosted on his very first migration. Now the Human roads faded into deep forest, winding rivers. The sky began to brighten to the east. The sparse birdsong they’d been hearing for the past half hour was building into a dawn chorus. Shade’s thoughts leapt ahead to his arrival. The fast ride down into the valley, skimming over pines and firs and hardwoods towards the silver maple they had chosen for the new Tree Haven. Once they crested the next ridge, maybe they’d even meet some of the Silverwings out hunting. Maybe he’d cross paths with his mother, or Marina. Maybe even his son! He wondered if he would recognize Griffin. “Listen,” he said suddenly.
    And there was nothing to listen to. No frogs, no crickets chirruping, not even the sound of insects’ wings. For a moment even the light breeze evaporated, and then the air thickened ominously