Smoke Mountain (26 page)

But if he wasn't dead, then they
had
to go find him. They couldn't abandon Toklo, who had been so brave and struggled so hard to take care of them all.

‘I'm going back,' Ujurak said, stopping in front
of her. He looked her right in the eyes, as if challenging her to argue with him.

‘Yes. I'll go with you,' Kallik said. Ujurak dipped his head in agreement.

Branches swayed and rustled above them as Lusa scrambled down the trunk. ‘I'm coming too!'

‘No, Lusa, you should stay here,' Kallik told her, sniffing her worriedly. She could smell the blood on the black cub, and a smell of burned fur. Had she been shot by a firestick?

‘What?' Lusa protested. ‘No way! I want to look for Toklo too!'

‘But you're still injured,' Kallik said. ‘One of your wounds must have opened up – I can smell the blood on you, Lusa. Did a firestick get you? I know you're hurting right now, even if you won't admit it.'

Lusa was quiet for a moment. ‘A death pellet hit my shoulder,' she admitted. ‘But that doesn't matter. It doesn't hurt that much. And I'm the best at being quiet. I can hide and I can sneak through the woods better than any of you. You might need me!'

Kallik wondered if she should point out that Ujurak could be any animal in the forest – he could definitely change into something quiet and sneaky
if he needed to. But then Lusa went on.

‘Don't leave me alone here,' she said, touching Kallik's paw. ‘I'd rather die helping to save Toklo than sit in a tree by myself and lose you forever and never know what happened. It'd be like you and Taqqiq, when you were separated and you didn't know if he was even alive. Remember? Remember how awful that was? Please don't leave me like that.'

Kallik sighed. She looked at Ujurak.

‘I say we let her come,' Ujurak said. ‘If a bear wants to be brave, I don't think it's anyone's place to stop her.'

Lusa blinked gratefully at him.

‘All right,' Kallik said. ‘Let's go. But be careful. And, Lusa, if you start bleeding any more, you'll have to stop.'

They stayed at the edge of the trees as long as they could before venturing back into the valley. The pine needles above them scraped against each other in the wind, and Kallik felt like she could hear voices whispering in them. Maybe Lusa's bear spirits were watching over them. Kallik peeked up at the sky, which was mostly covered by clouds. The sun was a
line of golden fur on the edge of the mountains. But she could still see the twinkle of a few ice spots . . . so maybe her spirits were with her too.

What about the spirits who watch over Toklo? Where are they?

‘Ujurak,' Lusa said, ‘do you know why the flat-faces hunt us?'

Ujurak looked uncomfortable, shifting his shoulders so his fur rippled and settled. ‘I . . . I think they do it for fun,' he said finally. ‘I don't know.'

‘Fun!' Lusa cried. ‘That's horrible!'

‘Well, I think hunting is fun,' Kallik said, trying to understand. ‘When there's something good to hunt, I mean, like a seal. But I do it to feed myself. And we still don't know if flat-faces eat bears.' They had to cross into the open now, and she lowered her head to sniff for any sign of Toklo.

‘I wish
I
had a firestick!' Lusa growled. ‘Is there a special forest where they grow? If I had a firestick, you can bet I'd make them leave us alone!'

‘Lusa, we wouldn't know what to do with a firestick if we found one,' Kallik said. ‘Firesticks aren't for bears. We'd probably just end up hurting ourselves with them.' They found the stream where
Kallik had rolled in the mud and splashed across to the other side.

‘Well, I wish I had one anyway,' Lusa said.

‘No, you don't,' Ujurak said quietly.

Lusa opened her mouth to speak, but just then Kallik caught a scent in the churned-up mud. ‘I smell the no-claws!' she whispered. She bounded ahead, keeping her nose close to the ground.

The cubs tracked the scent across the grass. Mud was caked into Kallik's fur, which gave her a sort of heavy, sticky feeling. Bits of it flaked off as she walked, but she was still more brown than white, which made her feel safer as they slunk through the open space. Even though they'd heard the firebeast leave, she couldn't shake the fear that a hunter might still be lying in wait for them.

At a huddle of rocks near the middle of the valley, they picked up the scent of more hunters. All four of them had been here. And there was something else as well . . .

‘Is that garlic?' Lusa asked, wrinkling her nose.

‘It smells like Toklo too,' Kallik realised. ‘I think he was here.'

‘Maybe he's still here,' Lusa said hopefully. ‘Maybe
he's just hiding until he's sure they're gone.'

They all stood still for a moment. It was eerily quiet, as if they were the only living creatures in the mountains. There was no sound from a brown bear hiding close by.

Without saying anything, Ujurak padded forward into the long, marshy grass. Tussocks of earth squished under Kallik's paws as she paced behind him, trying to puzzle out all the smells. They came to a dip in the marsh where all the grass for a bearlength was trampled down and there were broken reeds all around it. It looked – and smelled – like there had been a struggle here. Kallik could pick out the scents of no-claws, Toklo . . . and blood. Her heart sank.

‘Oh, no,' Lusa whispered. Ujurak pressed against her silently, his head drooping.

Kallik found a trail of smashed grass leading away from the spot, heavy with the same tangled smells. ‘They must have dragged him away.' She followed it cautiously, wincing at the tufts of brown fur and spots of blood along the trail. Lusa and Ujurak stayed close behind her, trusting her nose to lead them.

The trail led back to where the firebeast had
waited. Its paws had left deep gouges in the grass as it surged back on to a muddy dirt path. Kallik stepped on to the bare dirt and sniffed; it smelled like a BlackPath. And it looked like it ran around the mountain they'd just climbed. Kallik could see the firebeast's prints heading up the path, back the way they'd come.

‘Oh, no,' Lusa squeaked again, her voice rising in panic. ‘Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. Did . . . did the firebeast eat Toklo? Kallik, did the flat-faces feed Toklo to the firebeast?'

‘I don't know,' Kallik said.

She stared at the muddy tracks and the faint traces of blood splattered on the grass nearby. The acrid smell of metal and fear made her nose hurt and her eyes water. She could also smell rain in the air. Another storm was coming.

Kallik planted her paws firmly in the churned-up dirt. She remembered feeling like this when she first lost Taqqiq, when she realised that the most important thing in the world was finding him again. ‘If there's even a chance he's still alive,' she said, ‘then we're going after him.'

W
  
ham!
Toklo slammed into the hard side of the firebeast as it skidded around a corner. His claws scraped painfully on the slippery floor. He tried to push himself upright, but the flat-faces had tied his paws together. They'd wrapped their prickly vines around his muzzle as well, so he couldn't fight back with his teeth. They tied him so tightly that the barbs dug into his skin until he bled, leaving red smears on the grass as they dragged him to the firebeast.

The more Toklo saw of firebeasts, the less he understood them. This one had a large, flat, hollow back with two flaps, one above and one below, that opened like a mouth to swallow him up. The flat-faces dragged him over to the firebeast; it took all
four of them to lift him in, especially since he thrashed and kicked and fought as hard as he could.

You wouldn't dare to fight me one-on-one!
he thought furiously.
Cowards – I'd rip
your
skin off!

The flat-faces slammed the door flaps shut, bellowing at one another, and climbed into the front part of the firebeast. The firebeast roared to life and charged off down the muddy track.

Toklo couldn't tell how far they'd gone. The firebeast moved very fast, raging loudly. The ground was rough and muddy, and the firebeast kept slipping around and bouncing. Under Toklo's paws the floor bucked and rolled every time they hit a bump. He could feel the firebeast's power thrumming up through his legs. He gave up trying to stand and wedged himself in a corner, facing backwards. He didn't know if they were still in the valley. He didn't know if he'd ever see his friends again. He didn't know how much longer he would be alive.

A rumble of thunder shook the sky, and the clouds opened up. Rain poured down, splattering against the transparent squares on the sides and back of the firebeast. Toklo huddled miserably in the corner, trying to brace himself so he wouldn't hit the sides
so hard every time the firebeast swerved.

The firebeast pulled on to a winding trail that sloped down and around the mountain at the head of the valley. Toklo scooted himself over to peer out the back and saw the cliff yawning below him. The firebeast's paws churned frighteningly close to the edge of the steep drop. Far below, Toklo could see a brown river foaming with rapids and whirlpools.

The flat-faces whistled and hollered every time the firebeast skidded on the mud. Toklo closed his eyes tightly. He had never felt so terrified or so sure that he was about to die . . . or so alone. How would the flat-faces kill him? With a firestick or with claws? Would they kill him before they took his skin, or peel it off while he was still alive? How long would it take him to die? His body shook with horror.

For the first time, Toklo could understand the way Lusa saw the stars. The other animals up there weren't taunting the lonely bear in the sky – they were his friends. They kept him company. They kept him safe and gave him something to live for.

Toklo missed his friends. His heart ached; he wished he could see them one more time before
he died. He hoped Ujurak wasn't still angry at him – at least changing into an owl meant that Ujurak had escaped and was safe now. He hoped they all found one another and made it to the Last Great Wilderness without him. Kallik was getting better at hunting all the time . . . Maybe she could protect the others now that he was gone . . . Maybe she could keep Lusa safe.

Something shrieked inside the firebeast and Toklo's head banged against the floor as the firebeast slammed sideways into the mountain wall. Its paws churned frantically in the mud, but the force of the impact was too strong. The firebeast skidded out to the edge of the cliff – and tipped over.

The flat-faces screamed as the firebeast went careering down the muddy slope. Toklo howled with fear as it crashed into a tree, bounced off, crashed into another tree, shot out into empty space, and finally landed with a bone-jarring splash in the river.

The front of the firebeast hit the mud at the bottom of the river and the entire creature flipped over, then crashed heavily on to its side. Toklo's head whammed into the roof as it tipped and fell, and for
a dizzying moment he lost consciousness.

He was jolted awake by icy water covering his nose. The river was surging into the back of the submerged firebeast through the top back flap, which was wedged partly open. The water was rising quickly around his paws. A jagged piece of metal had peeled up from the side of the firebeast and sliced through the vine around Toklo's legs. As Toklo watched, the water tugged the vine loose.

Toklo!
He thought he heard voices in the river. Was it Oka and Tobi? Were they here to help him?

Toklo, get up! Hurry!

His whole body wailed with agony as he shoved himself upright, shaking off the last of the vines. He carefully scraped his muzzle against the sharp piece of metal, cutting through the vine holding his mouth closed. He winced as it scratched against the side of his face. He blinked through the rain, searching for a sign of his family's spirits in the surging river.

Get out! You have to get free! Toklo, hurry; fight!

Toklo waded across to the back, fighting the current of the river pouring in. The gap was too small for him to squeeze through. He pounded on
the back flap of the firebeast, but it was rammed against a giant rock. The firebeast was filling with water fast. He couldn't see the flat-faces, but he could hear them yelling on the other side of the wall. Were they stuck too?

The water sucked at his chest fur and he looked down. It wouldn't be long before the river reached the top of the space . . . and then Toklo would drown.

Of all the ways he'd thought he might die tonight, this one hadn't occurred to him. Drowning – his worst nightmare.

‘Help!' he shouted, battering the side of the firebeast with his paws. ‘Somebody help me!
Help!
'