The Melting Sea (20 page)

The route Toklo had chosen led them around the denning place in a wide circle, but as the sun climbed in the sky, Lusa began to hear a distant rumbling sound, and feel an ominous vibration under her paws.

“Is that a BlackPath?” she asked nervously.

Skirting around a stand of stunted trees, Lusa saw that she had been right. The BlackPath stretched in front of them, blocking the route they wanted to take. It was wider than most of the BlackPaths Lusa had seen before; gigantic firebeasts pounded up and down in both directions, roaring and wailing as their crushing black paws carried them along.

“We'll never get across that,” Yakone stated.

“We'll have to try,” Toklo retorted. “It's that or travel through the denning place.” He gestured to the others to line up with him along the edge of the BlackPath. “When I say ‘Now!'—run!”

But there was no end to the thundering firebeasts. The bears stood beside the BlackPath, their fur buffeted by the wind of the huge creatures' passing, waiting in vain for the chance to cross.

Once, in a short lull, Toklo stepped forward, his jaws parted to give the word of command, but another firebeast appeared, racing down on him, and he leaped back with a growl.

“It's no good,” he admitted after another long and fruitless wait. “We'll have to head for the denning place instead.” He gave a snort of annoyance.

“We'll be okay,” Kallik said, still with her air of confidence. “We'll just have to hide from the no-claws.”

Lusa wasn't sure that she shared her friend's certainty. They continued on, but walking so close to the BlackPath scared her, and her heart began to pound as another BlackPath joined it. It was a long time since they had been this close to so many firebeasts. On the Endless Ice she had become used to silence, and the continuous roaring and snarling froze her limbs with fear. She had to force herself to keep padding on.

“We'll have to cross this one,” Toklo said, glancing up and down the new BlackPath. “It's that or go back.”

At least this BlackPath wasn't as busy as the first, but Lusa was panting with terror by the time Toklo gave the order to cross. On the opposite side they found themselves on a stretch of rough ground with flat-face dens looming up in front of them. Toklo was still looking for a way to skirt around them, but in every direction the bears turned, they were blocked by more BlackPaths. Lusa thought it was as if some huge, unseen predator was herding them toward the dens, the last place they wanted to go.

As the bears crept between the dens, Lusa felt as though she was slinking along at the bottom of a deep crevasse. Strange, unexplained noises startled her, and she jumped with fright as a door opened in front of her. A flat-face popped out, looking back over his shoulder and growling something in a loud voice to someone inside. Toklo shoved her hastily around a corner, until the sound of the flat-face's pawsteps died away.

A narrow path lay in front of them, stretching into the distance. Kallik and Yakone took the lead, slipping along beside the walls and clinging to the shadows. Toklo and Lusa kept a lookout behind.

The silver cans that held flat-face rubbish stood here and there against the walls, giving the bears a little cover. Lusa's belly rumbled, but there was nowhere here to hunt, and the scents that came from the cans were harsh and unfamiliar. There was no food there.

Besides
, Lusa thought,
Ujurak told me not to take flat-face food anymore. I can find my own food now
.

The ground underpaw was wet and gritty, with not much snow left except in the crevices behind the cans. Lusa winced as the slush stung her pads, and raised her paw to lick it.

“Hey, that tastes good!” she exclaimed. “It's not just melted snow.”

Toklo grunted in surprise and slurped at the wet stuff on the ground. “You're right,” he said. “I wonder what it is.”

“And why have the no-claws put it here?” Yakone sounded suspicious. “It's not just to give bears something tasty.”

While they were still lapping at the ground, Lusa heard the loud sound of flat-face voices, coming from the end of the narrow path. “Hide! Quick!” she gasped.

All four bears ducked into the shelter of a group of silver cans, crammed uncomfortably together in the little space. Lusa was sure that some bear's paw, or some bear's ear, must be poking out somewhere.

The flat-faces are bound to see us!

But the flat-faces walked past, still talking together in loud voices, passing the cans without glancing aside.

Flat-faces never notice anything
, Lusa thought, shaking with relief.

Toklo waited for the noise of the flat-faces to die away before venturing out into the open again. “Okay,” he grunted, beckoning to the others. “Let's go.”

As they padded onward, Lusa realized she was feeling terribly thirsty. She bent her head to lap from a puddle on the ground, but it had the same sharp tang as the stuff on the ground earlier. Somehow it wasn't as tasty as it had seemed before; she started to feel slightly sick.

“I think this stuff is making me thirsty,” she said.

“Me too,” Kallik agreed. “I wish we could find some water, or even snow.”

Yakone grunted. “I knew there was something wrong. I just hope it's not bear poison, like whatever the no-claws were putting into the sea on Star Island.”

Lusa hoped not, too. Her thirst grew until she started to feel desperate for water, yet she could see nothing except for the narrow path leading onward, crossed here and there by other paths. Weird noises echoed around her from the dens.

Are we going to be trapped here forever?

At last the narrow path came to an end. Beyond it lay a wide-open space, tufted with twiggy grass and dotted with puddles. More dens loomed up on the far side. Lusa wanted to dash out into the open and drink, but she made herself stay still while Toklo carefully scanned the space in all directions.

By now the daylight was dying, the setting sun casting dark shadows across the ground. Here and there glaring yellow lights appeared in gaps in the walls of the dens. Lusa's ears strained to listen; she couldn't hear any sound of flat-faces moving around.

“Okay,” Toklo grunted at last. “Let's drink.”

Still wary, the bears ventured out into the open. Lusa plunged her snout into a puddle and winced at the foul taste of the water. It reeked of firebeasts and dirt, and a trace of the sharp tang that had made her so thirsty. But Lusa needed to drink so badly that she didn't care.

Glancing up with her muzzle dripping, she realized how filthy her friends were: Kallik and Yakone had turned almost black from the dirt. Lusa sighed, realizing how used she had become to seeing their fur almost as pure white as the snow.

I can't even see the red tinge on Yakone's fur anymore
.

Her own fur was just as filthy, but when she dipped her paw into the puddle it came out with grit on it, and the many-colored sheen of oil. Her skin itched, and her nose was sore, and her eyes stung so badly that she could hardly see out of them. Her friends were suffering just as much, blundering about like cubs just out of the BirthDen.

“We'd better find somewhere to sleep,” Toklo said.

He took the lead, and the others followed, stumbling over the rough ground. After a few pawsteps, Lusa sensed the surface beneath her paws grow suddenly smooth.

Hey, we must be on a BlackPath!

She was about to call out and warn her friends to get off it when she heard the sudden deep-throated roar of a firebeast. Looking up, she saw it erupt out of a gap between the dens opposite and head straight for them.

Lusa stared into its glaring eyes. Her mind was screaming at her to jump out of the way, but her body wouldn't obey her. It was as stiff and still as a tree.

Bracing herself for the impact, Lusa closed her eyes.
Oh, Ujurak, help me!

As Kallik sprang toward Lusa, the
firebeast swerved madly and hurtled around the corner of the nearest den on two round black paws. There was a huge bang, and a yellow flame flashed out of the mouth of the narrow path where the firebeast had disappeared.

Kallik raced around the corner to see what had happened. The firebeast had smashed into a large den built of pale stone and lay on its side, its black paws spinning helplessly while flames leaped from its head. Two no-claws were scrambling out, backing away from the wave of heat that rolled out of the firebeast.

Kallik's belly lurched in alarm as she spotted a den made of mesh lying beside the firebeast; it looked as if it had fallen off the firebeast's flat back. It reminded Kallik a little of the cages where she had been kept after the no-claws captured her. Inside the cage a white bear was lying very still.

The fire started licking at the sides of the building. Kallik stared at it in horror.
This is the place where the captured bears are
taken!
Bellows of fear and fury were coming from inside; Kallik could picture the bears and imagined their terror as they caught the scent of smoke and flame.

Three or four no-claws were running back and forth around the firebeast, shouting incoherently at one another. One of them suddenly let out a bellow of pain and fear as flames leaped across from the burning firebeast and caught on his outer pelt. Two of the other no-claws jumped on him and pushed him to the ground, rolling him over to crush out the flames.

The other bears surrounded Kallik, staring at the cage.

“Look—it's broken,” Toklo said, pointing his muzzle at a spot where the metal sides were gaping open.

Kallik and Yakone raced to Toklo's side and thrust their paws between the sides of the cage, prying it farther open. A white she-bear lolled out of it, so deeply unconscious that she had no idea what was happening. She lay on the ground in an unmoving heap.

Toklo and Yakone grabbed the she-bear's fur in their teeth and heaved, dragging her away from the burning firebeast. They made it just in time, for in the next heartbeat it exploded in a ball of flame. The bears and the no-claws were driven back as the flames seemed to reach out for them. Kallik gagged on the scent of scorched fur.

The frightened bellowing still came from inside the den, louder and more desperate than ever.

“There are bears inside!” Kallik told her friends. “This is where I was held. I know my way around. Follow me!”

Gathering all her courage, Kallik plunged through the flames. A vast wave of gratitude surged over her as she realized that her friends were following.
I can always trust them!

A gap loomed up in the side of the den, and Kallik raced through it. Inside, the heat was less intense, but thick smoke wreathed around her, stinging her eyes and catching in her throat until she choked. She led the way along a narrow passage and through another gap. Through the smoke she could just make out the white walls and straight gray columns that formed the cages where once she had been imprisoned. It was all just as she remembered it.

Inside the nearest cage were two young male white bears. They were pressed up against the gray columns, staring out with wide, terrified eyes.

“Help us!” they pleaded when they spotted Kallik. “Get us out of here!”

Kallik examined the door of the cage. She could see that it was fastened by a bar of metal, but she couldn't see how to open it. She clawed at the bar, but it wouldn't move.

“Hurry!” one of the young males gasped.

Toklo pushed Kallik aside and tried to work the bar loose with his teeth. While he struggled with it, the two captive males threw themselves at the columns again and again, while Kallik, Yakone, and Lusa yanked at the barrier with their paws and teeth.

But it was no use. The door remained firmly closed. Kallik reared up on her hindpaws and tried to batter it down by sheer strength, but all she did was bruise her paws.

The heat was growing more intense. Kallik could see the dusky glow of the flames through the thickening smoke. She knew that she and her friends had only heartbeats to get out, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon the two young males.