Everflame (21 page)

“Please,” Ben pleaded, “hear me out. If this feather and the footprint in the desert are signs that Tenturo is out there, then why has he not returned to us? There must be a reason. Possibly, something keeping him. Let me read you a passage from this book and then you tell me yourselves.” Ben went over to a shelf and picked up a copy of
The Book of The Holy
and opened it to a marked page. He then began to read:

“…And then the evil beast came at the Holy,

Cursing his name with its foul breath.

It came down from the sky and slashed with its claws

And it snapped with its beak.

But the Holy would not allow evil to win the day.

He conjured two magnificent steeds to combat the monster

And banish it from whence it came.

“Now, granted, we cannot take this book as truth, but something is keeping Tenturo away. It is only wise to prepare for all possibilities.” Ben finished and stared at the travelers. “Will you help us?”

The bears looked at Evercloud and he looked back at them. It didn’t take but a glance for him to see the concern in their eyes and only a second to realize why. Evercloud turned back to Ben.

“Almost all men worship the Great Tyrant and feel that the Ancients are evil. Why should we believe that you are different? Why should we believe that you would not use us to find the Ancients, only to harm them? We only ask these questions in protection of the Ancients.”

Ben looked at the travelers with sadness in his eyes. “You haven’t lived in our world to know why we feel the way we feel. So let me describe it for you. It is not a picture filled with harmony and happiness. It is not a picture of peaceful coexistence. It is a picture of fear and hatred and distrust. It is a picture of men at war with not only the world around them, but also with each other. And we have been told that this picture has been painted by a be
ing that calls himself the Holy, a being that calls himself good, and kind, and all that is right. That doesn’t seem to add up to us. So we call him the Great Tyrant and we choose to turn from him. We choose to do all that we can to bring about his end, however little that may be. We strive for a world that promotes trust and honor and peace, a world where children are not left to fend for themselves in the wilderness, a world where a man can believe what he chooses without fear of death, a world where I don’t have to hold a knife to a man’s throat before I can trust that he and his companions are good in nature. I see the Ancients as my only chance of such an existence. So what say you, travelers? Do we stand together?”

“Yes,” said Whiteclaw. “We head for the desert in the morning.”

Chapter 19: The Glass Desert

The next day, the group readied themselves for the journey.

“Here, take these, I’ve outgrown them. They’re no use to me. Take them.”
Ben threw a pack at Evercloud. He opened it and found it contained some clothes. “And you can use the pack on the journey.”

Evercloud took out a pair of trousers, a shirt, and a belt. He stepped into the trousers and pulled them up. They were a much better fit and were made of a much cooler material. The shirt was also a better fit and thankfully, made of very thin leather
, rather than the rough material of the other shirt. This shirt was also sleeveless, which Evercloud felt, at this point, was necessary. He then strapped the belt on and found there was a holster that his claw hooked onto quite nicely.
Now I look like a warrior,
he thought, and strapped the pack onto his back.

Not all of the family was joining the quest. Old Nikolas was staying behind and much to the disappointment of Evercloud, so was Iolana. Once they had made sure that they had everything they needed, the group gave their goodbyes and thanks to Nikolas and Iolana. Evercloud couldn’t help but l
inger in his goodbye to the beautiful woman.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Iolana…I hope that we will see each other again.” Evercloud blushed slightly.

“I believe we will, Evercloud. Good luck to you.” Iolana reached her hand out and touched Evercloud’s, causing him to blush even more.

“All right,” called Whiteclaw, “let’s go.”

Evercloud waved one final goodbye and the group began to make their way west. It was a beautiful morning to be walking through the forest. The sky was blue and the air was warm, a slight breeze moved through the trees and the world seemed to shimmer. Birds sang in the trees and Evercloud felt as if he could fly. He couldn’t wait to find Tenturo. He thought of the feather and imagined the great beast, soaring high above the mountaintops, a bringer of peace and prosperity to all creatures. He imagined himself back at home on Gray Mountain, his mother and father so proud of him, and his uncle, aunt and cousin sharing in the happiness. They would all be around him, proud of him and loving him. They would all be there, and so would she.

The group had walked out of the forest, well before midday, and was now on a stretch of plains. Evercloud had been walking alone, silently, immersed in his fantasies,
and ahead of the pack, as Ben caught up to him.

“So, Evercloud. Is this, in fact, the first time you have been around other humans?”

“Well, yes. I suppose it is.”

“I think that you fit in just fine. The bears have raised you well. They are not so different from us as I used to believe. I mean, we both live in caves don’t we.” They both smiled at the joke. “I hope they feel the same way about us.”

“I believe they will,” said Evercloud. “That’s really the point of all this, isn’t it? To create a better world, restore a harmony.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Ben opened his canteen and took a sip, and then he offered it to Evercloud.

“No, thank you.”

“Evercloud, I know that trust is something that builds over time, but I want you to know that you can trust me. You will meet many people who will not deserve your trust, so stay cautious
, but remain open-minded. If there are any questions you have about our world, just ask.”

“Thank you, Ben. I, as well as Riverpaw and Whiteclaw, are lucky to have found you.”

Ben glanced back at the rest of the pack, the two bears walking alongside his brother. “So, you really are the only human that lives among the bears?”

“It’s just me,” said Evercloud nodding.

“Well don’t worry, my friend, you will meet more men than I’m sure you care to before it is all over…as well as many other fair women.” Ben patted Evercloud on the back and Evercloud smiled and nodded. Ben’s words had seemed a bit odd to him though, after he had thought about it for a minute.
What did he mean by other fair women?
he wondered.

The five of them walked on through the day until the sun began to set,
then they stopped by a stream.

“This is the last stream before we reach the desert,” said Tomas. “We should make camp here for the night. I’ll shoot some fish with my bow.”

“Don’t waste your time,” said Riverpaw as he waded into the stream. Within seconds, he had already begun to throw fish onto the bank.

“Well
, I suppose I’ll make the fire then,” said Tomas.

“What do you need to make a fire for?” asked Evercloud.

Tomas chuckled. “To cook the fish. Don’t tell me that you eat them raw.” Evercloud nodded. “Oh, well… we prefer them cooked. Besides, it’s good to have fire going. It helps to keep the animals…away.” Tomas realized what he was saying, just as the words slipped out of his mouth. He slowly turned his head toward Whiteclaw, horribly afraid that this was what Whiteclaw had been talking about when he had said,
not do anything that will force us to kill you
.

“Funny,” huffed Whiteclaw with a stoic glare. “We don’t start fires mostly to keep the humans away.” Tomas began to shake faintly in the legs and stuttered, trying to apologize. Suddenly, Whiteclaw’s lips cracked in a large bearish grin. “Calm down
, little man. Where’s your sense of humor?” Whiteclaw sat down and began to laugh heartily. “You looked like you thought I was going to eat you.”

Riverpaw now began to laugh as he stood in the stream and even Evercloud and Ben began to smile.

“The bears are making fun of me,” muttered Tomas to himself. “Wonderful.”

It wasn’t long before the fire had been built and everyone had eaten their fill. The sun had set and the group sa
t in the glow of the firelight.

“I should warn you, there are dangers in the desert,” Ben began while he picked his teeth with a fishbone. “Apart from the danger of getting dehydrated, there are poisonous snakes and scorpions. Also
, there are crabs.”

“Crabs?” said Riverpaw. “Are they poisonous crabs?”

“Well, no,” continued Ben. “But they’re really big crabs.”

“Oh,” said Riverpaw with obvious cynicism in his voice
.

“Anyway, I assume that the two of you defend yourselves without any weapons,” Ben said, looking at Whiteclaw and Riverpaw. “My brother prefers the bow and I carry a sword. I noticed, Evercloud, that you don’t carry a weapon, so I brought along a second sword.”

“I have a weapon,” said Evercloud.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see it,” said Ben
, confused. “Where do you keep it?”

Evercloud untied the piece of cloth at his waist and uncovered his claw. He walked over to Ben and held it in front of him. Ben’s jaw dropped as he marveled at the golden weapon. It looked magical in the firelight
, as if it held some ancient power.

“That’s amazing,” whispered Ben.

“My father gave it to me,” said Evercloud.

“Well, anyway,” said Ben, snapping himself out of the weapon’s trance. “We’ll want to have our weapons on us at all times
, once we enter the desert. My brother and I know the safest routes, so we should be fine. The desert can make for quite the trek though, so I suggest everyone get a good night’s sleep.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Whiteclaw and he rolled onto his side. The rest of the group made their sleeping arrangements and sped quickly off into a world of slumber.

• • •

Morning came with anothe
r meal of fish from the stream. After eating, they put out the fire and began drinking their fill of water.

“Drink till your bellies hurt,” called Ben.

After that, they began filling skins with water. The brothers Floyd had brought many with them, knowing every drop of water that they could carry would be precious. Evercloud strapped his claw on tightly, wondering how long it would be before he had to use it. The sun had not yet risen above the horizon and the brothers Floyd wanted to begin the journey before it had.

“Let’s move,” said Tomas. “We want to have covered a good bit of ground before the sun gets too hot.”

And so they set out. It wasn’t fifteen minutes of walking before the grass started fading away, and within a half hour of their departure they were in the Glass Desert. As Evercloud looked out along the horizon, he understood why it was called the Glass Desert. All the paintings he had seen of deserts and the stories he had heard of them suggested that desert sand was colored anywhere from yellow to orange to red. The sand in this desert was a dark color of blue that made it look like they were walking upon a frozen ocean. Evercloud bent down and scooped up a handful of the sand, letting it fall between his fingers. It looked like tiny crystals of glass.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” said Tomas. Evercloud nodded. “She’s just as deadly. Make sure the three of you follo
w the path that Ben and I make. We’ll walk up ahead to make sure we’re taking a safe path, but don’t fall too far behind us.”

They all agreed and that was how they made their way through the desert. For the first time in a while, Evercloud and the bears were able to speak freely to each other.

“Do you trust them, Father?” asked Riverpaw.

“I think so, but don’t become too comfortable with them. Take care with what you say and the things in which you reveal.”

“I noticed,” added Evercloud, “that they made no mention of the powers that the Ancients once bestowed to man.”

“We told you, Evercloud, that much knowledge of the Ancients has been lost to man. You saw how much they depended upon that book. Honestly, I’m surprised to find out that they know as much as they do. However, it would be wise to keep that information from them. If they thought that there might be power to gain in this quest, thin
gs might become very different. Though I must admit, they do seem to act under a higher purpose.”

“That feather was amazing,” said Riverpaw. “It must be Tenturo’s. I mean, what else could it be?”

“I can’t believe this is real,” said Evercloud. “We’re going to find one of the Ancients.”

The wind had picked up and Evercloud looked into the sky. As the wind came across the desert, it made noises that Evercloud had never heard wind make. It almost sounded as if it were chittering.
There must be millions of little things like this that I’ve never experienced before,
Evercloud thought. He suddenly wished that he knew what all those things were. He felt so fresh and new to the world, as if everything were happening for the first time. The sun was very hot now and Evercloud took a large gulp from one of the water skins he was carrying. The sun was blinding as he tilted his head back, so he closed his eyes. His listened to the wind chittering as the cool liquid glided down his throat. He momentarily thought that he heard something else on the wind. It sounded like yelling.