The Burning Horizon (27 page)

For a moment her friends were silent, looking guiltily at one another, and Lusa's heart beat faster. “This could be my only chance of finding other black bears,” she said quietly. “How many have we met since . . . since Chenoa? I can't make a home on my own; that's not how black bears live. You have all found someone, a bear of your own kind,
and
a territory to call home. But I haven't, and I can't miss this chance.”

Toklo was the first to speak. “I'm sorry, Lusa. You're right. Maybe we have been dragging our paws. But I promised I'd get you to Great Bear Lake in time for the Longest Day, and I'll keep my promise.”

“I'm sorry, too,” Kallik added. “It's just that I know we'll be splitting up when we get to the lake, and I'm not looking forward to it.”

“Me either,” Yakone agreed. “Not one bit. But we know
what the gathering means to you, Lusa, and we'll get you there.”

Lusa drew a long breath. “Thank you,” she said. She felt a wave of sadness well up inside her as she gazed at her friends. She understood why they had been delaying.
I don't want to say good-bye, either.
“Maybe we should let those other bears go on ahead,” she added, understanding how precious their remaining time together was for everyone.

Continuing their trek, the bears crossed the shallow valley, heading farther away from the other two brown bears. At the opposite side of the valley they began climbing up to the next ridge, though boulders and patches of loose scree drove them away from the direct route.

Toklo halted, panting, after a particularly hard scramble. “How much longer are we going to be stuck on this spirit-cursed hill?” he demanded to no bear in particular.

I wonder if the brown bears found an easier route,
Lusa thought.
Maybe we should have followed them after all.
But she didn't dare say that to Toklo.

At last they struggled up to the ridge and found that they were looking across a stretch of barren ground to a lake. Bushes and a few scrubby trees surrounded it. Islands rose from the water here and there, dark against the glimmering surface, and the far shore was just visible through a haze.

Lusa stared down at it. She hadn't expected to come to the end of their journey quite so soon.

“Is this it?” Yakone asked.

“I think so,” Toklo said hesitantly. “It's big enough, and
there are islands dotted all over it.”

“There are bear scents everywhere, too,” Kallik added, sniffing the air. “But I can't see any bears. Where are they all?”

“Maybe they haven't arrived yet,” Yakone suggested.

“Lusa, what do you think?” asked Toklo.

“It's not quite how I remember it,” she began, “but it probably looks a little different because we're coming at it from a different direction. Right, Toklo?”

Toklo just grunted and led the way down the slope toward the shore. Lusa's mind whirled as she followed. They had arrived! And yet she didn't feel triumphant or excited or relieved. She felt scared.
What if the other black bears don't want me around? Will I ever find friends as good as Toklo, Kallik, and Yakone?

The bears crunched over small, sharp stones as they neared the water. The lake was almost completely still, barely rippled by the warm breeze. Suddenly Kallik and Yakone bounded forward and flung themselves into the water. In a spume of white foam, they dove under the surface and vanished for several long moments, emerging farther into the lake with a toss of their heads. Their fur already looked several shades whiter.

Toklo waded into the shallows, head tilted down as he searched for fish swimming around his paws. Lusa watched him for a little while, then splashed into the lake until the water was deep enough for her to swim. Cool water soaked into her fur, and she relished the feeling of dirt washing out of it. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be clean.

But even though she was enjoying her swim, Lusa began
to feel more and more uneasy.
Something's wrong.
When they had all returned to shore, she could see that the others were troubled, too. Kallik's ears were flat, and Yakone's eyes looked serious.

“Why are there no other bears here?” Kallik asked again.

Forcing the fur on her neck to lie flat, Lusa gazed up and down the shoreline. It was empty in both directions, apart from a few birds pecking near the edge of the waves.

“Maybe they're just not in this part,” Toklo said. “We should check farther along.”

Lusa took the lead as they padded along the water's edge. Her pawsteps grew more and more urgent as she looked around the lake and searched among the trees for bears and other recognizable signs of Great Bear Lake. But nothing was familiar to her. Lusa couldn't see the stretch of woodland where she had met Miki and the other black bears, and she didn't recognize the pattern of islands. And though she could pick up bear scents, they were all stale, as if bears had paused here briefly and were now long gone. She stared across the lake, letting her ear fur blow in the wind. Whichever direction she looked, nothing fit her memories from the previous Longest Day.

At last she turned to the others. Toklo raised his head, reading the look on Lusa's face. “There's no denying it,” he growled. “This is the wrong lake.”

Kallik braced herself to keep walking.
It was a shock to find they had still more traveling to do. But inwardly she couldn't deny a pang of relief that they hadn't arrived at Great Bear Lake yet.

I'm not ready to say good-bye
.

When they set out, Yakone drew up alongside her and leaned close to murmur in her ear. “You'll have to say good-bye soon.”

“I know,” Kallik responded, grateful that Yakone understood her so well. “But not yet.”

“Lots of bears have clearly passed this way,” Toklo announced, giving the air a good sniff. “Great Bear Lake must be close.”

“If we were birds,” Lusa said, sounding discouraged. “Look at the size of this lake! We can't even see the ends of it. And look, Toklo—those hills on the other side . . . didn't we cross them last time to get to Great Bear Lake?”

Toklo squinted into the distance. “You could be right,” he grunted. “I didn't notice them before.”

“So we need to get to the other side of the lake?” Yakone asked.

Kallik nodded. “It looks like it. But there's nothing to tell us which direction is best to go,” she added. “The scents don't help.”

“Then let's look for tracks,” Lusa suggested. “The bears who passed through here might have known the route better than we do.”

All four of the bears walked alongside the lake, spread out from the water's edge to the bottom of the ridge they had crossed earlier. But tracks didn't show up on the pebbly shore and the short, tough grass. The slight traces of other bears they found didn't tell them anything useful.

“This is hopeless,” Toklo said, halting at last. “What do we do?”

“Maybe if we wait for dark we can follow the Pathway Star,” Yakone suggested.

Kallik dug her claws into the ground in frustration. “But the days are so long!” she objected. “Think of all the time we'll waste.”

“I think I remember the Pathway Star is in that direction,” Lusa said, pointing with her snout.

Toklo let out a grunt. “Not even close! Look, the sun's over there, and that means the Pathway Star would be . . .” He let his voice trail off, staring up at the sky.

“You're not sure, are you?” Lusa challenged him.

“How about wind direction?” Yakone asked, facing into the breeze that blew off the lake. “Does that help?”

Kallik shook her head. “We've just got to choose a direction and go.”

“What if we pick the wrong one?” Toklo snapped.

“Well, there's one way that is definitely the shortest,” Kallik retorted, stung. “Across. We can swim.”

Lusa's eyes flew wide open in alarm. “It's so far!” she protested.

“It is. But we don't have much time,” Toklo reminded her. “The nights are so short now that the Longest Day must be close. Kallik's idea might be best.”

“I know it's a long way,” Kallik said, hoping to reassure Lusa. “But there are islands all the way across where we can stop and rest. And I'll help you,” she added. “We promised to get you to Great Bear Lake, and we
will
.”

Lusa nodded glumly. The four bears headed for the shoreline and stood there with the lake water lapping at their paws.

“Look over there,” Toklo said, angling his head at the nearest island. “See that rock shaped like a crow's beak? It's easy to spot, so that's where we'll head first.”

“Okay,” Kallik agreed, newly energized now that they had a plan. “Don't forget that there will be currents. If you feel like you're being swept away, then swim across the flow.”

Yakone nodded. “And don't let the cold water bother you,” he added. “It'll be colder farther from shore, but it's not cold enough to be dangerous.”

Lusa let out a little snort, half-amused and half-frightened. “So says the ice bear!”

Kallik touched Lusa's shoulder with her muzzle. “Swim
close to me,” she said. “And if you get tired, tell me right away so I can help you.”

“Thanks,” Lusa responded.

Kallik took a deep breath, aware that her friends were doing the same. They exchanged determined glances.

“We can do this,” Toklo said.

“Sure we can.” Yakone nodded confidently.

Together the bears waded into the water and began to swim. The sun was so hot that Kallik reveled in the cool touch of the water slicing through her fur as she headed for the crow's beak rock jutting up from the nearest island. She swam beside Lusa, but the black bear was paddling strongly and didn't need any help.

Just as Yakone said, the water grew colder as they swam farther out, and Kallik felt the tug of a current, but she kept the crow's beak rock in sight, swimming strongly toward it. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw the shore was already fading behind them.

The waves were growing choppier, and Kallik noticed Lusa spluttering, as if she was tiring. Kallik swam closer to her, but Lusa battled on, churning her legs and holding her muzzle above the water.

“I'm fine!” she gasped.

“It's not far now,” Kallik encouraged her, seeing the crow's beak rock looming above her head.

A moment later she felt her paws strike stones. Managing to stand, she gave Lusa a shove forward, until both of them could wade up the island shore, their fur dripping.

“You made it, Lusa!” Kallik exclaimed.

Lusa nodded, too out of breath to speak.

Toklo and Yakone had come ashore together, a few bearlengths away on the far side of the rock, and they padded over to join Kallik and Lusa.

The island was tiny, with a pebbly shoreline and smooth, grassy slopes leading up to a clump of bushes in the center. There were no tracks, no scents of other bears, and Kallik realized they must be the only ones who'd taken this route.

I hope we made the right decision,
she thought with a faint prickle of anxiety.

Toklo shook the last of the water out of his pelt. “I don't know if there's any prey,” he panted, “but I'm going to take a look.”

“I'll come with you,” said Yakone.

The two male bears headed away along the waterline, disappearing after a few moments around a shoulder of the hill. Meanwhile Kallik and Lusa found a sheltered spot underneath the beak-shaped rock.

Lusa's jaws gaped in a massive yawn. “I think I'll take a nap while we wait.”

She had barely closed her eyes when Toklo and Yakone reappeared, each carrying a duck.

“They were swimming in an inlet just around that bend,” Toklo reported as he dropped his catch. “They had no idea we were creeping up on them.”

“That's right,” Yakone agreed. “In fact, they hardly had a chance to even know they'd been caught!”

“
Nice work,” Kallik commented, her jaws beginning to water as Toklo divided up the prey.

Once the bears had eaten, they settled down to sleep for a while. When they awoke, the sun was close to the horizon, casting scarlet light across the surface of the lake.

“We'd better cross to the next island before it gets dark,” Toklo warned.

He took the lead as they trekked up the slope, past the clump of bushes in the center of the island and down a steeper incline to the opposite shore. A narrow channel separated their island from the next one.

“That doesn't look too bad,” Toklo commented, as he gazed out at the low-lying stretch of land. “It should be an easy swim before night falls.”

“There isn't a good landmark to aim for, though,” Yakone pointed out. “Do we really want to do this now?”

Kallik gave Lusa a concerned glance.