The Siege

The Siege
Kathryn Lasky

Fourth title in a mythic adventure series in which the heroes are owls!In the owl kingdom, a war between good and evil is raging. On one side, Soren and the noble owls of the Great Ga’hoole tree. On the other, Soren’s fearsome brother Kludd, who wears a terrifying metal mask to cover his battle scars. Driven by an all-consuming lust for power, Kludd leads his forces in a brutal attack on the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.Meanwhile, Soren is asked to lead a mission back to the one place he never wanted to see again – St Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. He and his crew will have to enter St Aggie's as spies, then leave without being noticed…or caught.Soren escaped the rocky confines of St Aggie's once. If the Ga’Hoole tree is to be saved he must do it again…

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_bf6a7349-2acb-552d-b3ad-151353f5059d)

HarperCollins Children’s Books

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in the USA by Scholastic Inc 2004

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2007

Text copyright © Kathryn Lasky 2007

Kathryn Lasky assert the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007215201

Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2016 ISBN: 9780008226824

Version: 2016-12-05

AUTHOR’S NOTE (#ulink_0942d221-0099-5643-824b-bbcbe84d1892)

Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of England during World War II. For months, citizens of London were subjected to ceaseless bombings by the Nazis. It was called the Battle of Britain and the courage of the men, women and children was remarkable during this terrifying time. Churchill’s radio addresses helped rally an exhausted and frightened nation. It was said that Winston Churchill was the man who mobilised the English language. I would like to acknowledge a great debt to Churchill, for I very closely modelled many of Ezylryb’s speeches in chapters Eighteen, Twenty and Twenty-two after some of Mr Churchill’s most stirring addresses.

When I was a child, a popular reply to a bully was: Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Now that I am an adult, I think this is not true. Words can hurt. But I never would have dreamed back then when I was a child that words like Mr Churchill’s could give such courage, strength, stamina and valour to the citizens who were facing the most horrific circumstances of war.

As Dewlap lashed out in futile desperation against the wind and water, the book she had left on the rock tumbled end over end into the sea …

CONTENTS

Cover (#uc6cc451a-f869-5d8a-9101-4c0c556913f5)

Title Page (#ude0148d2-372c-545f-8b98-9809a01ae18a)

Copyright (#ulink_2f68a02a-c334-5842-a2fe-9fc267118eab)

Author’s Note (#ulink_40d747e6-771c-51b3-85aa-d5294cb5c966)

Prologue (#ulink_c617699a-d148-5fc5-a28f-2686b2c8c460)

Chapter One: The Pilgrim (#ulink_ab1972ed-ced2-5d89-83d7-0a2b9fae74b2)

Chapter Two: The Watcher in the woods (#ulink_5f0607f3-4b78-58e2-9065-59f2d0508fb7)

Chapter Three: At the Great GaHoole Tree (#ulink_d9de5001-17e9-53c4-9fe4-9c2a40acd3ef)

Chapter Four: Sprink on Your Spronk! (#ulink_fd704153-fced-5319-8e83-c9c8888037ae)

Chapter Five: A Mission Most Dreadful (#ulink_a2f3e987-b508-52f0-88c8-787a658a0498)

Chapter Six: Learning by Heart and by Gizzard (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven: A Special Flint Mop (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight: Across the Sea and to the St Aegolius Canyons (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine: The Most Dreadful Place on Earth (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten: To Fear the Moon (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven: Flecks in the Nest (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve: The World According to Otulissa (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen: A Rogue Smith Is Called (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen: Escape (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen: An Old Friend Discovered (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen: Let Us Fly, Mates! Let Us Fly! (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen: A Sodden Book (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen: The Great Tree Prepares (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen: At War (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty: The News Is Not Good (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One: Besieged (#litres_trial_promo)