Island of Shadows (31 page)

All that worried Kallik was the fact that every pawstep was taking them farther away from the Frozen Sea. “At this rate, we'll never get there before the ice melts,” she confided to Yakone. She was feeling hungry and tired, and so far that day Toklo hadn't stopped to hunt at all. “And then we'll have to survive with empty bellies through the whole of burn-sky.”

Yakone touched her ear with his nose. “It'll be okay,” he reassured her.

Kallik quickened her pace a little, then realized that Yakone had dropped back. She looked around for him, but there was no sign of him.

“I shouldn't have been so grumpy,” she muttered. “Oh, spirits, don't say I've driven Yakone away!”

Her heart sinking into her paws, she trudged after Toklo and Nanulak, all the while glancing around to see if Yakone was coming back. At last she spotted him, galloping up behind them with something dangling from his jaws. As he drew closer, she saw that it was a goose. Yakone's eyes were alight with triumph.

“Here,” he said, dropping his prey at her paws. “I caught it just for you.” Awkwardly he added, “You deserve to be looked after.”

Gratitude overwhelmed Kallik so that she hardly knew what to say. “Thank you,” she whispered, stretching forward so that she could touch noses with Yakone.

Then something made her fur prickle; she jumped back when she saw Nanulak watching them, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Kallik lost count of the number of days they spent trekking back to the middle of the island, though she knew it was taking far less time than their struggle toward the sea. Finally they stood on the rim of the little valley where they had found Nanulak, and gazed down. Fresh snow had fallen since they left, but it was softer than before, and not as deep; it was also trampled with the pawprints of white and brown bears.

Well, here we are
, Kallik thought.
Now what?

She glanced around for Yakone, but he had disappeared once again. Kallik spotted his tracks leading farther along the edge of the valley and vanishing behind a jutting rock. A worm of uneasiness twisted in her belly at the thought that he had gone exploring on his own.

We don't know what danger might be waiting for us here.

“I don't like it here,” Nanulak said, echoing Kallik's apprehension. “How long are we supposed to stay?”

“I don't know,” Toklo admitted. He was standing next to Kallik and Lusa, staring down into the valley as if the mess of bear tracks down there might tell him something. “I can't see why Ujurak sent us back here,” he added to Kallik in a lower voice. “There's nothing to find.”

Kallik nodded. “I've been thinking,” she began. “I can't help wondering why the white bears attacked Nanulak. If white bears and brown bears can live so closely that they have cubs together, why would they turn on each other?”

Toklo shrugged. “Maybe there wasn't enough prey to go around,” he guessed. “That's why Nanulak's family drove him away.”

Kallik wasn't sure. She peered intently down into the valley again, studying the rocky slopes, the snow, and the boulders that littered the valley floor.
There must be a sign down there. Something to tell us what we have to do now. Ujurak wouldn't have sent us back here if it wasn't important.

Suddenly she realized that Yakone had reappeared and was bounding along the top of the valley toward her. There was urgency in his face, but he didn't speak until he reached Kallik and the others.

“White bears!” he panted. “Several of them, over there.” He jerked his muzzle in the direction he had come from.

“No!” Nanulak whimpered, pressing himself against Toklo's side. “They'll find me and kill me. I knew we should never have come.”

“Did they see you?” Toklo asked Yakone.

The white bear shook his head. “No. But maybe we should get out of here.”

“Without finding out why Ujurak sent us?” Lusa argued.

Kallik understood her friend's reluctance, but she didn't want to stay near the valley if it meant a fight with white bears. “We're supposed to be finding Nanulak's family,” she argued. “But they're not here. I vote we find somewhere close by to hide, and come back when the white bears are gone.”

“Good idea,” Toklo said. “We—”

“No!” Nanulak exclaimed. “I'll be brave, Toklo. You were right. I should face up to my enemies.”

Kallik saw her own surprise reflected in Toklo's eyes.
Why should Nanulak suddenly change his mind?

Toklo stared down at Nanulak. “You
want
to confront these white bears?”

Nanulak nodded vigorously. “I want revenge!” he insisted. “I want those white bears to pay for what they did to me. You'll do it for me, won't you, Toklo?”

Kallik could tell that Toklo was uneasy; he hesitated for a long time before replying.

“How can you be sure these are the same bears?” he asked eventually. “You haven't even seen them.”

“The bears who attacked me lived around here,” Nanulak replied. “They must be the same.”

Toklo exchanged a glance with Kallik, still clearly uncertain.

“You said you would help me!” Nanulak reminded him.

Toklo nodded. “All right. But we need to get a good look at these bears first. I'm not fighting them if they're not the ones who attacked you.”

Nanulak looked sulky, as if he wasn't satisfied with Toklo's answer, but he said nothing more.

“Yakone, show us where you saw the bears,” Toklo said.

The white bear led the way back along the valley's rim. Rounding the heap of boulders, Kallik saw a confused mass of tracks leading into the distance, but no sign of any white bears.

“They're gone!” Nanulak exclaimed. “Come on, we have to follow them!”

Kallik thought how strange it was that he sounded determined to find the bears, when up until now he had been so desperate to avoid them. She spotted Lusa giving him a surprised look, too, as if she was wondering what was going through Nanulak's mind.

Toklo took the lead as they followed the tracks away from the valley, across a narrow frozen stream, and up a steep slope beyond. Reaching the top of the slope, Kallik spotted a group of white bears heading away from them, trekking across a shallow dip beyond the ridge. A huge male was in the lead, followed by two younger bears, a male and a female, with a very old she-bear bringing up the rear.

“Well?” Toklo asked. “Do you recognize them?”

“Yes.” Nanulak's eyes were full of anger. “That big bear—he's the one who attacked me!”

“Are you sure?” Lusa asked, looking worried.

Kallik shared her anxiety. The white male was far bigger than Toklo, and he looked tough. She didn't know if Toklo could beat him in a fight.

“I'm sure!” Nanulak snarled. “Do you think I could ever forget what that bear did to me? He's a vicious bully, and he deserves to die!”

Kallik shivered. Something about this didn't feel right.

“Okay, let's go for it.” Toklo squared his shoulders and headed after the group of white bears.

Kallik and the others followed. Kallik noticed that Nanulak was keeping well to the rear, where the white bears wouldn't spot him right away.

Lusa was trotting beside Kallik. “Do you think this is why Ujurak sent us back?” she whispered. “To take revenge?” She shook her head. “That doesn't sound like Ujurak at all.”

Kallik had to agree with her, but there was nothing she could do to stop the fight now. Toklo had given his word to Nanulak.

“Hey! You there!” Toklo roared as they began to catch up to the white bears. “Wait!”

The white bears halted and turned to stare at them. For a moment Kallik thought that Nanulak had disappeared, until she spotted him hiding behind a boulder, peering around it to get a good view without being seen.

As Toklo approached, the biggest white bear signed to his companions to stay where they were, and strode out to face Toklo. He had a wary look, as if he was ready for trouble. Kallik exchanged a glance with Yakone. Without needing to speak, the two of them began circling in opposite directions, to place themselves between the big white male and the bears with him.

This is going to be a fight between two bears
, Kallik thought determinedly.
This bear's friends aren't going to help him against Toklo, not if Yakone and I have anything to do with it.

“What do you want?” the male bear asked.

“You.” Toklo halted, his snout thrust out aggressively. “I heard you've been attacking smaller bears. But now you've got me to deal with.”

“What?” The white bear sounded startled. “I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't attacked any bear.”

“You would say that,” Toklo sneered. “You're a coward. You're too scared to face up to a bear your own size.”

“You're not my own size.” The white bear loomed over Toklo, and his voice deepened to an angry growl. “But no bear calls me a coward. If you want a fight, you can have it.”

Toklo braced himself, holding the white
bear's gaze.
How did I get here?
he wondered. He didn't want to fight. He knew that if he was injured, it would make their journey much harder. And yet he also knew that Nanulak was watching.

Maybe this is my destiny
, he thought.
Maybe I'm here to teach this white bear that he can't bully bears smaller and weaker than himself.

He tried to imagine Ujurak by his side, supporting him and urging him on, but he had no sense of his friend's presence.
You brought us back here
, he thought,
so now where are you?

While he hesitated, the white bear let out a roar and lunged at him. Toklo ducked under his outstretched paws and rammed his head hard into the white bear's belly. Dodging aside, he felt a violent blow on his shoulder, and for a heartbeat his whole leg went numb. He almost lost his balance, and in that moment the white bear was upon him.

Toklo flinched as his opponent raked his claws along his side. Staggering, he aimed a blow at his shoulder, but his claws passed harmlessly through the white pelt. He saw scarlet drops of blood spatter on the snow. While he was still off balance, the white bear gave him a hefty shove; Toklo barely managed to stay on his paws.

“You can't win,” the white bear growled. “Get out of here, or I'll rip your pelt off!”

Toklo lurched to his hindpaws and advanced on the white bear, his forepaws splayed out and his jaws gaping as he roared a challenge. He dropped forward onto the white bear's shoulders, slashing his claws over and over again, feeling a savage satisfaction as they dug into flesh.

The white bear let out a yelp of pain. Suddenly he went limp, dropping Toklo to the ground and rolling on top of him. Crushed, half smothered in white fur, Toklo struggled to throw him off. His senses were reeling, the world beginning to dissolve into sparkling darkness. With a massive effort, Toklo brought up his hindpaws and battered at the white bear's belly. He caught a glimpse of dripping jaws and sharp white fangs as the white bear lunged for his throat.

Summoning all his strength, Toklo dragged himself from underneath the white bear. The hot reek of blood was in his nose, and blood was trickling into his eyes from a scratch on his forehead. Panting, he realized that he would have to finish the fight quickly.

“Come on, fish-breath!” he taunted. “Is that all you've got?”

The white bear sprang at him again. Toklo slipped to one side, landing a couple of good blows on his enemy's rump. The white bear turned to strike back, but he wasn't fast enough. Toklo charged into him from the other side, carrying him off his paws. Leaping on top of him, he held him down with one paw across his throat, while he bared his teeth, ready to rip at his flesh.

“Had enough?” he snarled.

The white bear nodded. “You win,” he rasped, blinking blood out of his eyes. “You fight well.”