Zachaire was about to lunge forward when the other guard in the doorway hissed at him.

"Zachaire, someone's coming!"

The Vampyrum glowered over his shoulder at him. "Close off the entrance. They won't come in here."

"I can't move it by myself!"

Zachaire took a deep breath, and it was obvious that he was struggling to control his temper. Giving Griffin a murderous look, he turned away and flew over to the entrance to help push the stone back in place.

As he watched the two guards look for the stick that they used to roll the stone back and forth, Griffin racked his brain. All those lessons he had had with his father in the past few weeks... why couldn't he remember anything? Relax, he told himself. You need to relax or you won't be able to do it. Clear your mind...

There was a dull thud as the stone rolled into place, and Zachaire turned around, the wicked grin back on his face. His devilish delight was quickly replaced by horror as a vulture lurched out of the darkness, it's wickedly sharp beak snapping at him.

"How'd that get in here?" the other guard cried, falling back against the wall.

"Open it!" Zachaire screamed, dodging the bird and throwing himself at the stone door. "Hurry!"

In their panicked state, neither Vampyrum noticed that the vulture had a vine around its ankles, or that it had a distinct bat smell. Within seconds of catching sight of the vicious bird, the pair had shoved the stone out of the way and vanished. Their voices could still be heard echoing in the chamber outside as they called for others.

Griffin was certain that his throat was bleeding. Emitting one last rattling echo, his feathers melted away, along with his beak, his giant talons, and his long, skinny neck. He was a Silverwing again.

"How did you do that?" the Graywing next to him asked in a cracked whisper.

Griffin let his head rest against the wall, shutting his eyes and trying to slow his pounding heart. "I'm like my dad," he told the other bat. "I'm a soundshifter."

Goth watched from his roost as Vulcan and Istra chatted idly nearby. He had decided to let his son live for the moment, not because he had found himself a potential mate, but because Goth thought he would make an excellent sacrifice to Cama Zotz on the day of the eclipse, in two day's time. Why waste a heart out of impatience? Perhaps he would sacrifice that female as well, what was her name again?... Istra. A Vampyrum sacrifice would be much more pleasing to Zotz than a puny little northern bat.

Istra laughed, and Goth saw Vulcan curl a wing around her, nuzzle her cheek. He was about to spread his wings and start toward the pyramid when he felt the branch move a little.

"Pretty young thing, isn't she?" Phoenix said, rustling her wings and wrapping them about her.

Goth said nothing and glanced at the pair again.

"I know what you intend on doing."

Goth turned back to Phoenix and gave her a thin smile. "And what would that be, darling?"

Phoenix glowered at him, her previous mood gone. "If you so much as lay a claw on him-"

"You'll what?" Goth sneered. "Tell Zotz? Vulcan has nothing to do with his future reign."

"I won't give you another child."

The male shrugged. "I've been thinking, and I've realized that I don't need an heir. When Zotz rises from the Underworld, the world will plunge into darkness, and everything will die. We will remain as we are, and I will be king for the rest of eternity."

"Then why are you doing this?!" Phoenix practically screamed.

Vulcan and Istra looked over at them, their ears pricked.

"He's your son, Goth!" Phoenix hissed, aware that the pair was listening now. "Killing him will accomplish nothing-"

"He will not die in vain," Goth said, cutting her off. "His death will be one of the many to bring Zotz closer to this world, and to his long-deserved glory."

Phoenix stared at him. "No," she said after a moment. "I won't let you sacrifice him."

"Why not? Isn't that how you wanted to die?"

The female looked away, thinking back to those final moment of the eclipse long ago. If only the priest had gathered more sacrifices, if only there had been more time... if only she had thrown herself down on the Stone sooner. Zotz had been one life away from gaining passage to the Upperworld when the sun appeared from behind the moon, and Phoenix' heart was torn from her chest.

"No," she said softly.

"King Goth, King Goth!"

Both Goth and Phoenix looked up as a panicked guard flew upward and hovered in front of them.

"There's something going on down in the dungeons," the Vampyrum panted. "There's been talk of a vulture."

"That's absurd," Goth snorted. "A vulture in the pyramid, indeed!"

"Two of the guard, Zachaire and Haemon, they say they both saw the bird," the male persisted.

"They wouldn't dare try to enter our home," Phoenix said. "A creature that big would never have gotten inside unseen." She looked at Goth, waiting for him to agree with her, but he said nothing.

The king was staring at the big stone building, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his face. Slowly, he turned to the guard once more. "Show me this... vulture," he said.

Griffin levered himself against the stick that the Vampyrum had left behind, pushing with all his might as he tried to roll the stone. It was no use; he couldn't do it by himself.

"Come on!" he yelled at the others, but they only stared dumbly back at him. After his little display earlier, some had become scared of him, refusing to come anywhere near him.

"Please, we can get out of here if you just help me!" he said again. "We can escape!"

"Why?" an old, whiskery-faced bat asked in his croaking voice. "So that we can be caught and dragged back here? Give it up, Silverwing. We're all going to die here."

There was a murmur of agreement, and Griffin's heart sank even lower. His eyes met those of the Freetail that Zachaire had been torturing earlier, and she shamefully looked away. She wasn't going to help him either.

"Fine," he snapped, "let's just sit in here and rot. That's what you all want to do, right?"

Silence followed Griffin's angry words.

"That's what I thought," he sighed, his rage ebbing from him. What was the use? His father was gone, and he had no idea how he was supposed to stop Cama Zotz alone. He couldn't even get out of this stupid dungeon by himself! That horrible sense of insignificance and defeat washed over him, and all of his hopes suddenly melted away. The old bat was right, he was going to die in here.

The stick that Griffin had pushed into the hole in the center of the round stone to move it abruptly jerked, and he fell backward, startled. The stick twisted and jolted until it snapped off and fell to the floor with a dull clattering sound, and then another one seemed to grow in its place.

"They're back!" a Brightwing screeched. "They back and they're going to punish us all!"

Many began whimpering and crying, trying to hide behind each other and get far away from the entrance. Griffin was dragged away from the stone as those in his chain struggled to make it to the corner and hide in the shadows.

The round stone made a grinding sound as it rolled to the side. Everyone froze when a familiar face was thrust inside. He hardly ever came down here. When he did, though, bad things always happened.

King Goth entered the dungeon, followed by his queen. The pair's gaze swept the room as if looking for something, then rested on the dead Brightwing lying near the wall.

"What happened here?" the king said, frowning at the bloody bundle of fur.

"A guard disobeyed orders, it seems," his mate muttered, glancing at the open entrance where the two guards who claimed to have seen the vulture were waiting.

"No matter, they will be dealt with later." Goth turned to the slaves huddled in the corner. He stepped forward and peered closely at them, scanning.

Griffin did his best to hide, but a sudden sharp shove sent him tumbling forward, and he ended up sprawled directly at the feet of the king himself. Slowly raising his gaze to the giant's, he swallowed hard.

"Griffin Silverwing," the Vampyrum said, a wicked smile on his face. "Just as I thought. You're beginning to become as annoying as your father was." He turned to his guards. "Unshackle him."

Griffin was hauled upward roughly, and the vine slid off his ankles. The other bats watched in mute horror as the Vampyrum guards grabbed him and began dragging him after their retreating sovereigns.

As Goth passed through the doorway, he stopped and glanced back at the slaves, then at Zachaire and Haemon. "You know," he said, "we gained eight new chains within the last three nights. We have more than enough slaves, and this has to be the most wretched lot I've seen in a while. Why don't you take care of them for me?"

Griffin watched as the two guards took the stick into the dungeon with them and rolled the stone back into place. Goth flashed him an evil grin, then turned away and started off down the corridor.

Griffin pinned his ears flat as he was dragged after the king, trying to block out the nightmarish sounds that escaped the dungeon.