The Burning Horizon (30 page)

“Oh, no, I'm with my friends,” Lusa told him, pointing with
her snout to where Toklo, Kallik, and Yakone were making their way toward them.

Exclamations of shock came from the black bears, and the cubs huddled together, gazing warily at the white and brown bears.

“Those are white bears and a grizzly,” the male bear said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why are you traveling with them? Where did you meet?”

“They aren't dangerous!” Lusa retorted, annoyed by the male bear's abrupt questions. “I came to the last Longest Day Gathering with two of them.” Dipping her head to the cubs, she added more gently, “There's nothing to be scared of.”

As she spoke, the cubs peeped out from behind their mother. The youngest gave an excited little bounce. “Oh, wow, you've been to Great Bear Lake before? That's so cool! Tell me about it.”

A slightly bigger male bear let out an exaggerated sigh. “Why can't you wait till we get there?” He rolled his eyes at Lusa. “Ignore her. She's always pestering us.”

“Right,” said a third cub. “She never stops talking!”

Lusa felt a moment of sympathy for the young she-cub. “Well,” she began, speaking to the little one, “there are lots and lots of bears there, black, and white, and brown, as many bears as there are trees in the forest.”

“Really?” the little cub squeaked. “I didn't think there were that many bears in the whole world.”

“You'll see them soon,” Lusa promised. Turning to the adult bears, she asked, “When you were there before, did you
meet a black bear cub named Miki, or his family?”

The adult bears shook their heads.

“I don't know that name,” the mother bear replied. “But like you say, there are so many bears there.”

Lusa knew it was a long shot, but still, she felt a stab of disappointment.
I don't even know if Miki will be there this time.

The black bears started to walk again and Lusa walked with them, while the cubs plied her with more questions about the gathering. Kallik, Yakone, and Toklo followed a few bearlengths behind. Lusa knew they wanted to give her some time alone with the other bears. As the sun rose higher in the sky, a small copse appeared on the horizon. Drawing closer, Lusa could see thick undergrowth beneath the trees, and welcoming shade from the worst of the heat.

“We always stop here on our way to Great Bear Lake,” the male bear told Lusa. “There's just one more sunrise of walking to get there, so this is our last chance to rest peacefully.”

“I see berry bushes!” one of the older cubs announced. He and his brother raced for the trees, with their sister scurrying behind them.

“You're welcome to come eat berries with us,” the mother bear invited.

Lusa glanced back at her friends, who were watching from a respectful distance, giving her some space.
If we're so close to our journey's end, then I want to spend the rest of the time with them.
“No, thank you,” she replied. “I'm not hungry right now. Maybe I'll see you at the gathering!”

“Yes, I hope so,” answered the mother bear.

Lusa watched as the black bears disappeared into the shade of the trees, making faint grunts of pleasure as they found the berry bushes. Lusa turned and padded over to her friends. Kallik dipped her head to give Lusa a gentle lick around the ears, while Toklo nudged her shoulder. Yakone gave her a friendly nuzzle on top of her head.

Lusa closed her eyes with a mixture of relief and sadness. This was where she belonged for now. Tomorrow they would reach the end of their journey.
And I'll arrive at Great Bear Lake with the bears who have traveled with me from the beginning.

Will Taqqiq be at the lake?
Kallik asked herself. Excitement built up inside her as she and her friends continued their trek, leaving the black bears behind. More trees and bushes appeared as they padded on, and now—with the sun at its highest point—every leaf and twig glistened from the recent rain.

Kallik knew that if she and Yakone continued to Star Island, she would end up very far away from her brother.
Whatever else has happened, Taqqiq and I are still bonded through Nisa
.
I hope I can see him one more time before I start my new life.

Kallik was pulled from her thoughts as Toklo, who had been leading the way, stopped and looked back.

“Let's hunt,” he barked. “There's a group of trees over there that looks promising.”

Kallik saw a large clump of trees growing closely together, the ground beneath them filled with dense undergrowth. Her belly growled as she headed toward it, and her jaws started to water at the thought of prey.

“Can I hunt with you?” Lusa asked as they drew closer to the trees.

“Of course,” Kallik replied. She was surprised that Lusa wanted to hunt when there were berry bushes beneath the trees, red berries shining temptingly among the leaves. Then Kallik realized this might be their last hunt together before they reached Great Bear Lake.

Of course Lusa wants to share it with us.

The bears plunged into the copse, trying to tread silently through the clumps of ferns and bramble thickets. Kallik was the first to spot prey, a grouse squatting in the shadows of a juniper bush. She crept over to it with Lusa stalking quietly up from another direction, in case the grouse tried to break out that way. But it was Kallik who reached it first and leaped on top of the bird as it tried to fly off. She snapped its neck cleanly with one paw.

Picking up the grouse, Kallik padded over to Toklo and laid it down at his paws. “This is for you,” she said, dipping her head solemnly, feeling the need to give him the first catch from their last shared hunt.
We've looked out for each other for so long. . . .

Seeming to understand, Toklo dipped his head in return and kicked fallen leaves over the grouse until they were ready to carry it away. As they headed farther into the trees, Toklo stopped to sniff the air, his ears pricked alertly. Kallik heard a scuffling sound from the debris underneath a tree and picked up the scent of a ground squirrel.

Toklo slunk forward, crouching close to the ground, while
Kallik and the others spread out silently in a wide circle. The ground squirrel must have sensed them, for it popped up into view, darting frightened glances all around. Yakone let out a low growl, and the squirrel fled away from him, right into Toklo's paws. Toklo sank his claws into it, and the creature let out a thin shriek that was cut off as it went limp.

This time Toklo picked up his prey and carried it over to Kallik and Yakone. “This is for you,” he told them, repeating Kallik's words with the same solemn bow of his head.

Yakone looked around, his ears pricked. There was a bush not far away with scarlet berries hanging from the branches. Yakone padded over, broke off a laden twig, and carried it in his mouth to Lusa. He laid it at her paws, the berries looking like drops of blood on the dusty ground. “This is for you,” he murmured.

Kallik's throat felt too choked up to reply. The exchange of prey had proven how much they cared about one another, and the debt that they owed one another for their survival on this long and often terrifying journey.

Lusa clearly felt it, too, her dark eyes bright with emotion. “Thank you, Yakone,” she whispered.

But all this will end soon,
Kallik thought, fighting with sadness.

Dusk was falling, and the bears found a comfortable spot in a hollow between two trees where they settled down to share their prey. The Pathway Star glimmered above them, pointing them toward the very end of their journey.

As they ate in the silver-gray light of evening, Kallik noticed some movement just beyond the hollow. Turning her
head, she saw a shadowy brown bear pad up to join them. It sat just outside the circle, silent and barely there, but sharing with them the last day of their journey.

“Ujurak!” Kallik exclaimed.

Toklo caught her eye and nodded, while Lusa let out a murmur of delight.

Yakone leaned closer to Kallik. “I see him, too!” he whispered. “He deserves to be here. I wish I'd known him before . . . before he left.”

Kallik blinked lovingly at the white bear. She couldn't put into words how much it meant to her that Yakone believed in the star-bear's friendship. “We will never forget him,” she promised.

Kallik woke in a warm huddle of bears: brown, white, and black. Dawn light trickled through the trees and traced a shifting pattern on their pelts. Kallik could spot patches of blue sky among the branches, but the day was cool, with a fresh breeze whispering through the leaves.

Her three friends were asleep. Kallik lay still for a moment, listening to their soft breathing, trying to capture the whirl of emotions that swept through her.

This could be the last time we wake up together. . . .

Memories flickered through her mind of all the places they had been, and all the adventures they had shared.
Rescuing Ujurak from the healing den . . . stampeding the caribou to save the wild . . . watching the spirits dance in the sky.
She remembered their grief when Ujurak died, and their wonder when he turned
into blazing stars and rose into the sky beside his mother.
Riding the firesnake . . . chasing the wolves away . . . and now we're here, and it's almost over.

But Kallik didn't only look back. She was full of wild hopes for the future, too. Hopes of meeting Taqqiq again at Great Bear Lake, of finding a home where she could spend the rest of her life with Yakone. Above everything, she felt an immeasurably deep gratitude for the three bears who had been her best friends, her family, her guiding stars, for so long. And for Ujurak, who had saved them more times than she could count, and who had never let them down.

The light was brighter by the time the other bears stirred and rose to their paws. The distant sound of bear voices reached them on the breeze. Toklo pricked his ears, his gaze traveling around the other bears. Anticipation and dread mingled in his glance. “Ujurak, I guess I'll find out what you meant soon,” he muttered.

Kallik didn't understand what he was talking about, but she suspected she wasn't supposed to have heard. Ignoring the puzzling words, she gave Toklo a nod. There was no need to say anything.
We all know this is it.

Toklo took the lead as the bears set off, but when they emerged from the trees, they walked a little more closely than usual, their pelts brushing, their paces matched evenly. The land in front of them rose in a smooth, gentle slope. The bears padded in silence until they reached the top of the hill. Kallik caught her breath when she saw what lay beyond.

Great Bear Lake spread out in front of them, a silver
expanse that seemed to stretch on forever, dotted with the dark shapes of islands. There were bears everywhere, black, white, and brown, clustering close to the water's edge or shuffling through the surrounding woodland or among the rocks. The vast stretch of water glittered in the sunlight, with bears of all colors splashing at the edges. Beyond the lake, the horizon burned with the heat of the lengthening days.

Kallik let out a deep sigh. “We made it!”