River of Lost Bears

by Erin Hunter

  Yakone huffed. “I’m sorry, Toklo. I know you want to get home.”

  Toklo swallowed back frustration. “Home can wait.”

  Lusa darted from shrub to shrub, stopping beneath a tree. “We could build a nest here.” A wide branch arched, low to the ground. Grass sprouted in its shadow.

  Toklo padded to her side. “It looks perfect, Lusa.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Will you fetch bracken, Kallik?”

  Kallik was easing Yakone down onto the soft earth. She straightened. “Of course.”

  “I’ll help!” Lusa charged away.

  “I’ll hunt,” Toklo told Kallik. He tipped his head toward Yakone. “Will he be okay lying there while you build a nest?”

  “I can answer for myself,” Yakone grunted. “I’m injured, not deaf.”

  Toklo padded toward the white bear. “Sorry, Yakone.” Heat was pulsing from Yakone’s pelt. “Is it shady enough here?” Shafts of sunshine speared the forest floor.

  “I’ll manage until Kallik’s built a nest.” He twisted his head toward her. “Sorry I can’t be any help.”

  “You rest,” Kallik ordered. “Gathering bracken is easy.”

  Toklo headed away. “Stay close to him, Kallik.”

  She caught his eye. “Are you still worried about the coyotes?”

  “They’re probably far away by now.” Toklo paused. “But let’s not take any risks.”

  “Okay.” Kallik began tearing bracken from a clump.

  Toklo nosed his way through a patch of wild lilac. The ground crunched with leaves from last suncircle. It was good to be out of the dark pine forests. The air here already tasted of blossom. He followed the woods as they sloped upward. Hunting could wait. He wanted to see the mountains.

  The slope steepened, rocks jutting here and there as he neared the top. Cresting the hill, he frowned. Trees blocked his view. How could he see the horizon from here? A leaf tumbled down and brushed past his muzzle. Toklo glanced up and saw a squirrel scampering through the branches of an oak. He’d seen Lusa climb countless times. Perhaps he could climb, too.

  Gripping onto the bark, he hauled himself up. His claws ached with the effort, but the lowest branch was only just above his head. Digging in with his hind claws, he pushed higher and clasped the branch. His legs trembled, unused to the strain. He heaved himself up until he was straddling the branch. How did Lusa make this look so easy?

  He scrambled onto the next branch, spotting a higher branch beyond. Spiraling around the trunk, he followed the pathway of branches upward until the ground swayed far below. Don’t look down!

  Toklo dragged his gaze away, dizzy. The next branch was just out of reach. He would have to jump to reach it. Swallowing, he crouched, then sprang, plunging across the gap like a clumsy squirrel. His forepaws slipped. He hung on, gasping. Digging in his claws, he began to rock from side to side, until with a grunt, he hooked one paw onto the branch. Blood pounding in his ears, he dragged himself up and sat, blinking with surprise as the world spread out before him.

  The mountains!

  There they were, smudging the horizon. Their purple peaks were veiled in clouds. And he could see the river, too, snaking away between rolling hills.

  As Toklo breathed deep, tasting home, the air suddenly trembled. A distant rumble sounded far away. Toklo recognized the low roar of a powerful firebeast. A shrill hoot split the air.

  He stiffened. He’d heard that sound before. He scanned the hills, searching for the familiar flash of silver tracks, and saw the long, thin body of a firesnake. It hooted again, smoke billowing from its head as it snaked along its pathway, following the line of the hills like a river flowing downstream.

  Toklo’s heart leaped. It’s the firesnake from home! He used to eat grain spilled along its trail with Oka and Tobi. It could travel farther and faster than a bear could ever run. He didn’t need the river now. He could follow the SilverPath home.

  He squinted, trying to pick out a route to the SilverPath. He could see a patch of charred trees where the forest ended. A barren valley lay beyond, stretching toward a winding stream. Past the flashing water, the SilverPath glinted in the sunshine. Pelt pricking with excitement, Toklo scrambled down the tree, claws splintering bark, pads jagging on twigs. He reached the ground and galloped down the slope.

  “Kallik! Lusa!” He barged through the wild lilac, bursting out beside the makeshift den.

  Kallik looked up from laying bracken. “Are you okay?”

  “I know the way home!” Toklo blurted.

  “I thought we were following the river.”

  “We were,” Toklo told her. “But now I’ve found the SilverPath, we can follow that!”

  Kallik glanced at his paws. “Did you find prey?” she asked hopefully.

  He blinked at her. “Prey?”

  “You were going to hunt, remember?”

  “Oh, yes. But don’t you understand? The SilverPath leads home!”

  “Great.” Kallik padded away and stopped beside Yakone. The white bear had fallen asleep. “Let’s get Yakone to the den.”

  Toklo hurried to help her. “Have you ever seen a SilverPath?”

  “Yakone,” Kallik whispered in the white bear’s ear. “Wake up. We want to move you somewhere more comfortable.”

  Yakone blinked open his eyes. He tried to haul himself to his paws, but he floundered like a seal. Bristling with frustration, Toklo shoved his muzzle under Yakone’s shoulder and pushed him up. Kallik steadied the white bear, and together, they guided him to the nest.

  Yakone collapsed onto the bracken and Kallik began to pat spare fronds around him. “Is that better?”

  Yakone grunted and closed his eyes. “Thanks, Kallik. I’ll feel better once I’ve rested.”

  Toklo paced in a circle beside them. “It’ll be easy walking,” he told Kallik. “SilverPaths are flat and smooth.”

  Kallik didn’t look up. “Like BlackPaths?”

  “Not like BlackPaths at all,” Toklo reassured her. “Only one firebeast uses them. And it’s more like a snake than a firebeast, so I call it a firesnake. But you can feel it coming a long time before it appears.”

  Bracken rustled behind him. He turned and saw Lusa, her jaws full of herbs, her eyes round. “A firebeast that’s more like a snake?” She dropped her herbs. “You want us to follow its path?”

  “It’s safer than following the river!” Toklo exclaimed.

  “It’s a firebeast path,” Kallik argued.

  “No, it’s a firesnake path,” Toklo insisted. “We scavenged on its trail when I was a cub, me and Oka and Tobi. It’s easy to get out of the way, because it never leaves its path.”

  Lusa crouched over her herbs. “I think I’ve found an herb Ujurak used to use for fever,” she told Kallik. “And something that should work on our coyote bites.”

  Toklo flexed his claws. Why weren’t they listening to him? Toklo stared at Lusa as she nosed the herbs into two piles. “We should start moving,” he urged. “I’ve seen the way to the SilverPath. It’s easy.”

  Kallik sat down. “You told us we could rest.”

  “Yakone can’t go on yet.” Lusa poked one of her piles. “And I’ve got herbs for our wounds.”

  Toklo snorted. “I don’t need herbs!” His pelt fizzed with energy. He felt like he could run all the way home right now. It would only take three sunups.

  Kallik looked at him. “I know you want to get home,” she told him softly. “But we need food and rest.” She swapped glances with Lusa. “We can head for your home in the morning.”

  Grunting, Toklo turned away. “I’m going hunting, then.” He stomped through the lilac, trampling it under his paws.

  “Bring something back this time,” Kallik called after him. “We’re hungry.”

  Toklo kicked through grass and scanned the woodland for prey. That’s because you can’t smell your home!

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Toklo

  The smell of dew woke Toklo. Excited, he slid under the bra
nch and crept from the nest. His bites had stopped stinging. The herbs Lusa found had really worked. Pale light touched the trees and bushes. Birdsong rang through the woods. Kallik and Yakone were still snoring.

  Lusa stuck her nose from beneath the branch. “Toklo?”

  He leaned over the carcass of the deer he’d caught last night. “Hi, Lusa! Are you ready to travel?”

  She stumbled sleepily out of the nest and stretched. “I guess.”

  Toklo peeled meat from a leg bone and chewed happily. “Are you looking forward to seeing my home?” He couldn’t wait to show his friends where he’d been born.

  “I guess.” Lusa’s eyes glittered with worry.

  “What’s wrong?” Toklo stopped chewing.

  “What will happen when you get there?” she asked.

  Toklo frowned. What did she mean? “Well, I’ll be home,” he told her.

  “And Kallik and Yakone will go home and …” Her voice trailed away.

  “Toklo.” Kallik pushed her way from the nest. “Yakone feels hotter.”

  “Give him more of those herbs I found last night,” Lusa ordered.

  “I have.” Kallik glanced back into the den. “His wound smells sour.”

  Toklo shifted his paws. He was hoping Yakone would be better today. “Once we get to the SilverPath, it’ll be easy walking.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t travel,” Lusa ventured.

  The branch overhanging the den rustled, and Yakone limped out. “Yes, we should,” he growled.

  Kallik’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve held you up long enough.” Yakone began to limp through the trampled lilac, following the trail Toklo had beaten the day before. “Let’s get going.”

  Kallik hurried after him, slipping her shoulder beneath his to steady him.

  Toklo huffed at Lusa. “I guess we’re going.” He caught up to Yakone, pressing in on his other side.

  Lusa scampered around them. “So what is this firesnake thing you were talking about?”

  “It’s huge,” Toklo told her. “Bigger than you could even imagine.”

  Lusa’s eyes widened. “Bigger than the river?”

  “Not that big, but much bigger than the firebeasts you see on BlackPaths.”

  “So why are we going to find it?”

  “We’re not going to find it,” Toklo explained. “We’re going to find its path. It’ll show me how to get home.”

  “Oh.” Lusa bounded ahead, then turned. “Do you want me to lead again?”

  Toklo nodded. “You’re good at finding easy paths,” he told her. “I’ll tell you which way to head.” He could picture the route in his mind. He’d seen it from the oak. “First we have to get to the top of this hill.”

  Lusa found a zigzagging trail up, making it easy for Toklo and Kallik to guide Yakone. He was walking a little, but every now and then he slumped as his injured paw gave way.

  By the time they reached the top, Toklo’s pelt was prickling with excitement.

  “Which way now?” Lusa paced in front of them.

  “Down this hill, and up the next, then head toward the lightning trees.” Toklo pictured them in his head.

  Lusa tipped her muzzle. “Lightning trees?”

  “A burned patch of wood—”

  “Of course!” Lusa darted away. “I get it. Where lightning struck.”

  Toklo was the first to smell the scent of charred wood. It reminded him of Chenoa and the time she’d shown him the mountains from among the blackened tree stumps. Lusa waited while they caught up with her.

  Yakone wrinkled his nose. “The ice is burning,” he mumbled.

  “He’s stopped making sense,” Kallik fretted. “That means he’s too hot.”

  Toklo pictured the view from the oak. Thick forest, black charred stumps, parched yellow rock, then a glittering stream. “There’s water ahead,” he told Kallik. “That’ll cool him down.”

  Lusa led the way, swerving over the ash-covered ground among the lightning trees. Leaving the forest behind, they followed Lusa until they reached a wide, treeless valley, then slowed as Kallik struggled to find her paws on the rocky terrain. Hills rose on either side, too high to see the mountains beyond. Toklo could see Lusa’s pelt moving ahead, black against the pale yellow stones, as she sniffed out the stream.

  “Am I going the right way?” she called.

  “Yes!” Toklo answered.

  She disappeared over a rise, then came charging back. “I can see trees.”

  “Good!” Toklo remembered that the stream ran through woodland.

  Kallik stumbled beside Yakone as a rock slipped underpaw. “Will that mean we’re near the SilverPath?”

  “Yes.” Stones crunched beneath Toklo’s paws. His pads stung with the heat. Yakone must be burning up in the sun, even without a fever.

  Toklo’s thoughts drifted. If only they could reach his home. Yakone could lie in the wide, shallow river that Toklo had fished in as a cub. “The mountains will be cooler,” he promised Kallik. “There’s a river there where fish leap right out of the water. And the wind is fresh.” He glanced up at the sun, searing in the pale blue sky. “And there are shady trees everywhere.”

  As they reached the top of the rise, Toklo saw, with relief, woodland stretching below. Water glimmered between the budding branches. “The stream!” He heaved Yakone away from Kallik, taking his full weight. “Let’s hurry.”

  Yakone moaned beside him, his paws stumbling over the rocks.

  “Nearly there, Yakone,” Toklo soothed.

  They threaded between the trees and staggered out onto the shore of a meandering stream. Lusa splashed into it, barking with happiness. “It feels great on my paws! Kallik, come and try it.”

  Kallik didn’t seem to hear. She was sniffing at Yakone’s wounded paw. As she leaned down, he collapsed, dropping away from Toklo like a stone.

  “Yakone!” Kallik sniffed the white bear’s breath. “He’s really sick.”

  “I’ll find fresh herbs.” Lusa dashed from the stream and disappeared into the woods on the far side.

  Kallik’s eyes shone with panic. “What are we going to do?”

  “He’ll be okay,” Toklo promised.

  “You don’t know that!” Kallik hissed. “What if he dies here? What if he never makes it back to the ice?”

  Toklo’s heart twisted. “He has to make it! He’s come so far.”

  “Toklo!” Lusa’s bark made him freeze. She pelted from the woods and splashed though the stream. “They’re back.”

  Toklo froze. A chill washed his pelt. Kallik stiffened beside him.

  Lusa’s eyes were wild with panic. “The coyotes.”

  As she spoke, a snarl sounded beyond the stream. Eyes glinted from the undergrowth. A snout poked out. Toklo bared his teeth. The snout ducked away.

  Lusa circled restlessly, her pelt fluffed up. “The forest stinks of them!”

  Toklo swallowed. How many were there?

  “And the scents are all fresh.” Lusa jerked her gaze toward Yakone. “We have to get him moving!”

  Kallik was already heaving Yakone to his paws. Toklo ducked in the other side and pressed his shoulder against Yakone’s drooping flank. “We’re following the stream,” he told Lusa. He knew it crossed the SilverPath. If they could make it there, might a firesnake scare off the coyotes?

  Scare them off? Nothing seemed to scare off these vermin! He pushed the thought away. They couldn’t stay here, playing prey.

  “Leave me,” Yakone suddenly croaked, struggling between them.

  “Don’t be fish-brained!” Toklo told him sternly. “If you want to help us, try moving your paws!”

  The stream flowed down the valley and followed the curve of the hill. Stumbling along the rocky shore, Lusa watched the woods. Toklo fixed his gaze on the trail. They couldn’t fail now. They were so close!

  Ahead, the stream ducked through a gully and disappeared into a hole in the ground. Toklo blinked with surprise. Two lines glea
med where the stream had vanished. The SilverPath! It flashed over the stream and curved away past the hills.

  Toklo quickened his pace. “We’ve found it!”

  Kallik stumbled to keep up. Yakone limped heavily.

  “Come on!” Toklo heaved Yakone up onto the gray stones that lined the long silver tracks. He hauled him around and pushed him along the trail. “Just keep moving!”

  “Toklo.” Kallik’s voice was soft with dread. “Look.”

  Toklo blinked. A pack of coyotes stood on the SilverPath in front of them. They showed their teeth, their eyes glittering greedily.

  “Why are there so many?” Lusa pressed against Toklo until he could feel her shaking. “We killed two.”

  “They must have found more.” Toklo glared at them. “Stay away!” he roared.

  The coyotes held their ground, neither coming closer nor moving away.

  “What do we do?” Kallik hissed.

  “We go the other way.” Toklo turned, hauling Yakone.

  “But then we’ll be heading away from the mountains,” Lusa protested.

  Toklo’s belly hardened. How will I ever get home? “Watch our backs, Lusa,” he growled. “Tell me if they come closer.” He stumbled on, nudging Yakone along the SilverPath as his mind whirled in panic. What do we do? Where can we hide? Anger raged through Toklo. I’m a bear! Not prey!

  Suddenly he felt the SilverPath tracks throbbing. He stopped and pricked his ears. They were humming!

  “A firesnake’s coming!” he barked.

  “Spirits help us!” Lusa wailed.

  Kallik started to steer Yakone off the path. “Let’s hide in the forest!”

  “No!” Toklo growled. “There’s a bend up ahead!” He nodded toward a curve where the track disappeared around a low cliff. A rocky ledge jutted out halfway up the cliff. “I’ve got a plan.”

  “What?” Kallik’s voice cracked with fear.

  “They’re getting closer,” Lusa warned from behind.

  “We need to get on that ledge.” Toklo lifted his shoulders. “The firesnake slows down on corners.”

  “So?” Kallik gazed past Yakone.

  “We can jump from the ledge onto its back,” Toklo told her.