Freeglader by Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell

Deepwoods. The shriek of razorflits, the squeal of quarms, the distant yodelling of banderbears communicating with those nesting belowhim on the forest floor. At sun-up, he was roused by the raucous chattering of a flock of bloodsucking hacker-bats, vicious creatures with large, violet eyes and tube-like proboscises, roosting upside down in a nearby tree – along with the cries of the cloddertrogs and flat-heads who were beating sticks and shouting in an attempt to scare them off …
    Xanth rolled over in his hammock, and looked round at the curious tree-encampment, strung out in the high branches of the ironwood pines. The sun, dappled against the rough bark and pine-needles, was bright and warm after the previous day's overcast gloom. Xanth smiled. Tomorrow had indeed turned out to be a brighter day, just as Cowlquape had said it would. Perhaps it would also be a better day…
    ‘Skycraft approaching from the east!’ bellowed a voice high above him, as one of the look-outs spotted an incoming squadron.
    All about him, as Xanth climbed from the hammock, the Ironwood Stands abruptly exploded into activity, with all eyes turning to inspect the sky.
    ‘They're coming from the Twilight Woods,’ someone shouted.
    ‘It must be the Professor of Darkness,’ bellowed someone else.
    On a branch some way above Xanth, Fenbrus Lodd passed Cowlquape his telescope. ‘They're right,’ Xanth overheard him saying. ‘It's Tallus all right. Let's hope he brings good news.’
    Shielding his eyes against the sun, Xanth watched thedistant rash of dots grow larger. Closer they came, the light blazing on their bulging sails and swinging weights, turning expertly as they swooped down through the air, preparing to land. Soon, across the entire Ironwood Stands, the uppermost branches filled with skycraft – sending the hackerbats flitting off at last, screeching with fear and indignation.
    ‘Over here!’ Fenbrus called across to the Professor of Darkness, who had manoeuvred his own skycraft down low amongst the trees and was looking for a place to land. ‘And welcome back, Tallus! What news do you bring?’

    ‘Nothing,’ came the reply as the Professor of Darkness touched down. He dismounted. ‘Whatever the shrykes are doing, they're not in the Twilight Woods.’
    Fenbrus frowned. ‘Curious,’ he said, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. ‘Being immune to its effects, I was quite convinced that they would launch an attack from there …’
    ‘Maybe they sensed that a Great Storm was on its way,’ said the professor. ‘You know how sensitive the bird-creatures are to the weather. And I'll tell you this, Fenbrus, nothing – not even the shryke-sisters – could have survived theafter-shocks of that terrible explosion of lightning as it struck.’
    ‘You saw it happen?’ said Cowlquape.
    The Professor of Darkness nodded. ‘Everything,’ he said. ‘From the advancing swirl of cloud, to the release of the bolt of stormphrax lightning. Quite awesome,’ he said, ‘though nothing compared with what came afterwards. A gigantic, glittering sepia storm that pulsed outwards in all directions, through the Twilight Woods…’
    Cowlquape shook his head sagely. ‘And poor Rook, unsheltered on the rocky pavement of the Edgelands, must have taken its full force,’ he said softly. ‘It's a miracle he survived.’
    Xanth, who was standing on a ledge to the right, busying himself with the rolling up of his hammock and packing of his bags, listened carefully. If it was as bad as they were suggesting, then maybe Rook would never fully recover.
    ‘A truly remarkable experience,’ the professor went on. ‘It was only a shame that Ulbus wasn't there to witness it for himself. As Professor of Light, he would have found it uniquely interesting…’
    ‘Skycraft approaching from the south!’ two look-outs bellowed in unison, and all around them, Undertowners and librarians began to wave and cheer.
    ‘Perhaps that's him now,’ said Fenbrus,